Making Big Money in 1600: The Life and Times of Isma'il Abu Taqiyya, Egyptian Merchant (Middle East Studies Beyond Dominant Paradigms)

I totally disagree with the first reviewer. This is a fine book, on a time and place that few people know much about, which makes it important. Obviously well researched, it is also well written. No, of course it's not a novel! Whoever said it was? It's a study in Islamic capitalism at about the time of Shakespeare, when Europe had gotten started on capitalism, but had not yet attained its breakthrough to industrial production and marketing. We know much more about European mercantilism than we do about that of the Middle East. This pioneering book helps fill the gap, and does so by focusing on a single individual merchant, operating under completely non-European paradigms of financing, transportation, societal norms, and creating wealth.The book could in some ways be read as a novel, since it is about one person in a strange society, and in my view this simply shows what a good book it is. When you can even imagine a historical work as a story, then the author has done a good job. If you want a vision of what a non-European model of trade might be, this book will help you attain that.

This book describes the life of a merchant (Abu Taqiyya) and some details about his family. You see how he traded, where he traveled, how he negotiated, etc. Also, you see how his family was affected by Abu's merchant lifestyle. It's informative cultural history. But, it's a little slow.The details sometimes get a little too detailed. It's not a sweeping novel, by any means. This was written by a scholar, so expect to see more detail and analyzation than you would in say, a historical fiction novel.The book does its job -- teaching you about merchant culture in 17th century middle east. It's just not a "fun" book compared to most.