GORDON, Matthew S. 1957-

PERSONAL: Born July 31, 1957, in Princeton, NJ; son of David Crockett (a professor) and Ann (a lecturer; maiden name Hutchinson) Gordon; married Susan Wawrose (a law professor), September 17, 1989; children: Jeremiah, Katharine. Education: Drew University, B.A., 1979; Columbia University, M.A., 1984, M.Phil., 1988, Ph.D., 1993. Politics: Green Party.

ADDRESSES: Home—24 Telford Ave., Dayton, OH 45419. Offıce—Dept. of History, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Miami University, Oxford, OH, professor of history, 1994—.

WRITINGS:

Ayatollah Khomeini (juvenile; "World Leaders Past and Present" series), Chelsea House Publishers (New York, NY), 1988.

The Gemayels (juvenile; "World Leaders Past and Present" series), Chelsea House Publishers (New York, NY), 1988.

Hafez al-Assad (juvenile; "World Leaders Past and Present" series), Chelsea House Publishers (New York, NY), 1989.

Islam (juvenile; "World Religions" series), Facts on File (New York, NY), 1991, revised edition, 2001.

(Editor with L. Carl Brown) Franco-Arab Encounters:Studies in Memory of David C. Gordon, American University of Beirut (Beirut, Lebanon), 1996.

The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of theTurkish Military of Samarra, A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E. ("SUNY Medieval Middle East History" series), State University of New York Press (Albany, NY), 2001.

Islam: Origins, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Persons,Sacred Places, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Historian Matthew S. Gordon has written widely on the Middle East. Among his books are several written for younger readers, including Ayatolla Khomeini, which studies the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the rise of that country's controversial leader. In the first half of the book, Gordon provides a history of Islam that is useful in helping readers understand current events and also includes and explains a number of Islamic terms. In the second half, he provides a thorough study of the Iranian Revolution, including the rule of the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1941-1979), Khomeini's opposition and the resulting struggle for power, Khomeini's reforms, and Iran's war with Iraq. School Library Journal reviewer Judith L. Olson called the book "an objective study of one of the twentieth century's most important revolutions."

The Gemayels presents a study of the leading political family in Lebanon since the 1960s. Gordon identifies the country's major religions and sects, provides a history of the events that led to war in Lebanon, and offers a study of the lives and careers of Lebanese leaders Pierre Gemayel and his sons, Ashir and Amin. During the 1970s Lebanon enjoyed a period of stability after having been dominated for nearly half a century by its neighbors. In 1982, however, Ashir, the thirty-four-year-old president of the country, was killed by a bomb and his brother Amin was elected to replace him. In early 1984 the United States withdrew its troops from the divided country, and Amin was put in the position of seeking support from Syria. He also initiated peace conferences that produced few results. Reviewing The Gemayels in Booklist, Linda Ward Callaghan called Gordon's style "direct and balanced." Lola H. Tabard in Voice of Youth Advocates, called the book "a fantastic piece of research for all ages to peruse."

Two more books for younger readers include Gordon's Hafez al-Assad, a chronological history of the man who ruled Syria beginning in 1970, and Islam, a history of the religion and a study of how it is practiced around the world.

Gordon is editor with L. Carl Brown of Franco-Arab Encounters: Studies in Memory of David C. Gordon, a collection of essays written primarily by American, Arabic, and French historians, as well as a selection from other disciplines, that focus on North African and other Arab areas and countries. David C. Gordon is remembered for his groundbreaking Women of Algeria (1968), a book that pioneered the discussion of gender issues in the region.

The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra, A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E. is Gordon's study of the Turkish military of Samarra, the capital of the 'Abbasid empire in both the third and ninth centuries. The emphasis is on the Samarran guard's social and political history, rather than its military history. Michal Biran wrote in International History Review that "the main importance of the book is that it provides a case study of the Mamluk institution in its early stages, which is sometimes strikingly different from the better-documented—and often quoted—model of the Mamluk sultanate in Egypt and Syria (1250-1517)."

Gordon's Islam: Origins, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Persons, Sacred Places includes short chapters that cover the rise of Islam, its sacred text, the Qur'an, the prophet Muhammad, Sunni and Shi'i Islam and the sects within both, the Five Pillars of Islam, Mecca and other sacred sites, the Islamic lunar calendar, the mosque, and Islamic beliefs about death and what lies thereafter. Each of the chapters ends with a quote and a commentary by Gordon. A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that the book "provides an accessible, well-written and evenhanded introduction to Islam, one of the world's fastest-growing religions."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, August, 1988, Linda Ward Callaghan, review of The Gemayels, pp. 1924-1925; September 1, 1989, review of The Gemayels, p. 59; April, 1992, Ilene Cooper, review of Islam, pp. 1520-1521.

Book Report, January-February, 1990, Mary Vos, review of Hafez al-Assad, p. 51; March-April, 1992, Edna Boardman, review of Islam, p. 54; September-October, 1994, Edna Boardman, review of Islam, p. 59.

International History Review, March, 1998, Kenneth J. Perkins, review of Franco-Arab Encounters: Studies in Memory of David C. Gordon, pp. 187-189; June, 2002, Michal Biran, review of The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra, A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E., pp. 389-391.

Library Journal, June 1, 2002, Naomi Hafter, review of Islam: Origins, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Persons, Sacred Places, p. 158.

Middle East Journal, summer, 2001, review of TheBreaking of a Thousand Swords, p. 528.

Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2002, review of Islam:Origins, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Persons, Sacred Places, p. 59.

School Library Journal, May, 1987, Judith L. Olson, review of Ayatolla Khomeini, p. 111; January, 1992, Jane Gardner Connor, review of Islam, p. 138.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1989, Lola H. Tabard, review of The Gemayels, p. 301; February, 1990, Colleen Macklin, review of Hafez al-Assad, p. 355.