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This is an important book about a Person Westerners need to know more about. The author has set an example of balanced scholarship and sensitivity that all religious scholars would be well served to emulate. In the book, the author not only chronicles the life of the Founder of Islam, but also documents the many false statements promulgated in the West for centuries about Muhammad and Islam. The author courageously explains such difficult subjects for Westerners such as the station of women in Muhammad's day (along with what He did to elevate their status) as well as the concept of jihad (which is revealed to the reader to be much more that just "holy war"). I found the author's insights into Muhammad's politics fascinating and these insights did not quell the great respect I have for this Divine Revelator, but rather increased my astonishment at His social creativity in the hostile environment He found himself in. Finally, the book is written with sensitivity to Muslims and helped me understand some of the special challenges Muslims living in the West have. As a delightful bonus, the book is quite readable for a religious scholar's work.