I have read many of Karen Armstrong's books. This may be on the shortest, it is quite full of information and can provide an great introduction to Islam for most people the lay person to Islam. She distills the warp and woof of Islamic history into clearly understandable lineages and ideas that greatly expands one's understanding of the religion. But the book is often simplistic and sometimes is too heavy handed in trying to create a narrative - could I expect anything less in a book that is slightly less than 200 pages? I recommend that people use her books as a jumping off-point for further exploration.

The one thing I have come to value in Armstrong and that is on full display here is that she has a remarkable grasp of religion as a phenomenon and especially of religion in modernity. I would recommend whole sections of this book, especially towards the end, for its eloquent understanding of modernity and the role that religion plays in contemporary life.