The classic study by Bernard Lewis, one of the world's leading orientalist historians, examines the very concept of "Arab" and the place of the Arab people in world history from pre-Islamic times to the victory of the movement for independence and sovereignty in the mid-20th century. The author traces the birth of Islam and the accompanying political, religious and social events that transformed disparate Arab tribes into an Islamic empire, and analyzes the internal and external factors that shaped the modern Arab world. Lewis shows how Western innovations and institutions destroyed the old structures and traditional ways of life of the Arabs, without satisfying their need for social, political and cultural renewal.