History, Medicine, and Science: Nonfiction and Fiction discussion

I was just wondering how many members are planning on reading The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance this month?

Found it at the library today. Interestingly my son read it for one of his college courses this year. He tells me it is a very interesting read. Looking forward to starting it.

Me! I have a library copy and have started. I like the author's style.

That's great guys!
I probably won't get a chance to read it this month, so I can't wait to hear what y'all think.

I have wanted to find something that told about Arab contributions to science and architecture but also why they declined. Maybe I will find out in this book. A fascinating book that I read about western Europe during the "dark ages" was A World Lit Only by Fire by William Raymond Manchester. It tells how during this time very little happened in western Europe in the way of new thought or invention.

Planning on reading this one too.

I'm reading this as well! Just picked up my copy today from the library. Looks fascinating!

I am really enjoying Lyons emphasis on how the spark of invention and learning comes from inter-cultural exchange. It is interesting how looking at a question from a different angle or asking a different question can make the difference.
It is also interesting that religion inspired science. We are so used to religion being a drag on science.

Is it just me or does this book seem a little disorganized? Or am I missing the organizing principle?

Not so much disorganized as difficult to keep the names and events straight. I have been struggling for this as a slow read for a while (I had to renew it. I rarely renew books). I started to skip some chapters and have found it easier reading the chapters in which I had an interest. Cheating, but working.

I have finished the book and I thought there was some very interesting information in the book. It is interesting to find out that the renaissance scientists didn't come up with their ideas totally out of the blue but had been exposed to the science of the Arabs and Greeks through the translation and dissemination of their works through Europe.
I was hoping for some information on why Arab science declined. It doesn't seem to be in-fighting--at least not at first where Lyons suggests that, at least on the Iberian peninsula, that stimulated science and cultural competition. And again, at least at first, it did not seem to be because of invasion--when the Mongols invaded and destroyed Bagdad, they built an astronomical observatory! But maybe these things eventually took their toll.
Did the Muslim religious institutions become more conservative and resistant to new ideas as European Christendom had done?
I was looking for an answer to that question and this is not the book with the answer.