PositiveThe New York Times Book Review... fascinating ... Hansen draws upon nearly 30 years of research to make her case. She has examined contemporary records, travelogues, art, artifacts and more, and consulted with archaeologists, Arabic scholars and other experts around the world to paint the fullest cross-cultural picture possible ... At times, Hansen’s narrative bogs down in mind-numbing descriptions of dynasties and tribes. Occasionally, too, her use of the professorial \'we,\' in phrases like \'as we’ll see in the next chapter,\' is irksome, drawing the reader out of the world she has created and into the lecture hall. But these are minor disturbances in an otherwise highly impressive, deeply researched, lively and imaginative work.
