This book takes a fascinating look at the role of the Arab-Islamic world in the rise of the West. It examines the cultural transmission of ideas and institutions in a number of key areas, including science, philosophy, humanism, law, finance, commerce, as well as the Arab-Islamic world's overall impact on the Reformation and the Renaissance. Through this survey of cultural exchange and borrowing, the book challenges received Euro-centric narratives of the rise of the West. It also offers a timely and important discussion of the implications of this shared history for contemporary trans-cultural relations.