Click for full-size.
Leo Africanus
by Amin Maalouf; Peter Sluglett (trans)
- Used
- Fine
- Paperback
- first
- Condition
- Fine
- ISBN 10
- 1561310220
- ISBN 13
- 9781561310227
- Seller
-
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Lanham, Maryland: New Amsterdam Books, 1992. Trade Paperback. First Paperback Edition (stated). Fine. Interior pristine. Spine straight, tight and uncreased. Covers clean and bright. Very slight wear to bottom front corners. Not from a library. No remainder mark. 360 pages.
This fictional autobiography of the famous geographer, adventurer, and scholar Hasan al-Wazzan. Born in Granada in 1488, his family fled the Inquisition and took him to Fez, in North Africa. Hasan became an itinerant merchant, and made many journeys to the East, journeys rich in adventure and observation in a world in a state of religious flux. He was captured by a Sicilian pirate and taken back to Rome as a gift to Pope Leo X, who baptized him Johannes Leo. While in Rome, he wrote the first trilingual dictionary (Latin, Arabic and Hebrew), as well as his celebrated Description of Africa, for which he is still remembered as Leo Africanus. In re-creating Hasan's extraordinary experiences, Amin Maalouf sketches an irrisistible portrait of the Mediterranean world as it was nearly five centuries ago - the fall of Granada, the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, Renaissance Rome under the Medicis: all contribute to a background of spectacular colour, matched only by the picaresque adventures of Hasan's life.
This fictional autobiography of the famous geographer, adventurer, and scholar Hasan al-Wazzan. Born in Granada in 1488, his family fled the Inquisition and took him to Fez, in North Africa. Hasan became an itinerant merchant, and made many journeys to the East, journeys rich in adventure and observation in a world in a state of religious flux. He was captured by a Sicilian pirate and taken back to Rome as a gift to Pope Leo X, who baptized him Johannes Leo. While in Rome, he wrote the first trilingual dictionary (Latin, Arabic and Hebrew), as well as his celebrated Description of Africa, for which he is still remembered as Leo Africanus. In re-creating Hasan's extraordinary experiences, Amin Maalouf sketches an irrisistible portrait of the Mediterranean world as it was nearly five centuries ago - the fall of Granada, the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, Renaissance Rome under the Medicis: all contribute to a background of spectacular colour, matched only by the picaresque adventures of Hasan's life.
Reviews
On Oct 16 2010, ElectricEel said:
A lovely historical novel. The hero, like Maalouf - and like me - is someone forced by both circumstance and inclination to live in several very different cultures, and loves all of them.
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Books of the World
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- RWARE0000003466
- Title
- Leo Africanus
- Author
- Amin Maalouf; Peter Sluglett (trans)
- Format/Binding
- Trade Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Paperback Edition
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 1561310220
- ISBN 13
- 9781561310227
- Publisher
- New Amsterdam Books
- Place of Publication
- Lanham, Marylandd
- Date Published
- 1992
- Pages
- 360
- Size
- 8vo
- Keywords
- Léon l'Africain, Leo Africanus, Hasan al-Wazzan, fiction, biographical fiction, historical fiction, discoveries, discovery, explorers, exploration, geography, religion, Morocco, Africa
- Bookseller catalogs
- Africa; Exploration, Expeditions, and Discoveries; Fiction; Biographies; Religion & Spirituality;
Terms of Sale
Books of the World
30 day return guarantee, with full refund if an item arrives mis-described or damaged.
About the Seller
Books of the World
Biblio member since 2017
Arlington, Virginia
About Books of the World
Finding new homes for the library I collected over five decades of travel around the world.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Remainder Mark
- Usually an ink marking of some sort which indicates that the book was designated a remainder. In most cases, it can be found on...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Trade Paperback
- Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Collecting Arkham House
Learn about collecting the iconic horror and fantasy publisher that produced books by the likes of Ray Bradbury, August Derleth and H. P. Lovecraft.
The Great Formosa Hoax
George Psalmanazar played a grand prank in 1703, pretending to be a resident of the island of Formosa. His book took London by storm. Learn more...
