A History of The Encyclopaedia of Islam is the back story of the decisions that shaped the pre-eminent reference work in the field of Islamic Studies and of the labour that went into it, a story that has not yet been told. It is a record of a monumental, century-long project, undertaken by the greatest scholars of its time; of friendships and rivalries; and of the extraordinary circumstances in which it took shape. As a product of and a contribution to a century's evolving view of Islamic history, civilization, and religion, this history sheds light onto the world of academia, of the individual scholars who contributed to the encyclopedia's success, and of a time-Europe before and after two world wars-and an age of publishing that dramatically changed in its lifetime.

About the Author
Peri Bearman, who retired as associate director of the Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School, is widely known as an editor of major works of scholarship on the Islamic Near East. She was senior acquisitions editor for Islamic Studies at Brill Academic Publishers from 1990 to 1997; an editor of the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam from 1999 to its completion in 2006; and is currently associate editor for the Islamic Near East for both the journal (JAOS) and the monograph series of the American Oriental Society. She is co-editor of The Ashgate Research Companion to Islamic Law (Ashgate, 2014), of The Law Applied: Contextualizing the Islamic Shari'a (Tauris, 2008), and of The Islamic School of Law: Evolution, Devolution, and Progress (Harvard Law School, 2005).

Reviews
"The author had access to archives of personal papers and letters, and to documentation in the publisher's records. This has enabled the writing of a work that brings a unique perspective to the history of an invaluable resource, and shines a fascinating light on its creation and backstory, a story that should be of interest to all who use the Encyclopaedia of Islam, for reference, research, or teaching." Roberta Dougherty, Librarian for the Middle East, Yale University Library



Book Information
ISBN 9781948488044
Author Peri Bearman
Format Paperback
Page Count 316
Imprint Lockwood Press
Publisher Lockwood Press