Friday's New York Times Book Review: Medina

Of all the books I read on Islam, Mohammad and the Muslim religion, Reza Aslan's No God but God provided the most readable and concrete information. Aslan a young, bright, well educated man takes the history of Islam step by quiet step, looking objectively at both purported truth, and implied distortions prior to and after the Prophet's death.

It would have been interesting to read about Mohammad's youngest and last wife, A'isha, but apparently the reviews are not flattering.

But with so much politics involved in the depiction of Islam, and in particular, the Prophet, it may be difficult to sort through the merits of Jones' book and not seek historical accuracy in a novel.

It is the marriage of the Prophet to A'isha and her family's later role after the death of Mohammend that serves as a back drop to the schism between the Sunni and Shia. Abu Bakr, A'isha father was the first Caliph, albeit, short-lived. But that moment in history nearly 1400 years ago is played out day after day.