John V. Tolan was educated at Yale and Chicago. He has taught at universities in North America and Europe and is currently Professor of Medieval History at the University of Nantes. He has published widely in both French and English, including most recently Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination (2002).

"[A] richly documented and attractively illustrated study." --Catholic News Service

"A brilliant study on a timely topic... The entire book shows impeccable scholarship, precise writing, and keen cultural insights that speak with unparalleled authoirty and ecumenical diplomacy. ...Highly recommended for all academic libraries." --Catholic Library World

"A welcome and useful survey of the changing European perspectives on Francis and al-Kamil, and will be a welcome addition for scholars and readers interested in Francis, his changing image, and European perspective on Islam."--The Catholic Historical Review

"John Tolan has produced a richly detailed metahistory of an intriguing encounter between East and West, Islam and Christianity. The modest lesson we can draw from it, it seems, is that every encounter is pregnant with multiple meanings and interpretations. This, in turn, should move us to consider the best possible meaning and interpretation so as to better allow for mutual learning and understanding."--The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences

"No single individual would have the scholarly competence to cover this much material, and its authors list reads like a who's who of contemporary ecumenical critically orthodox theology...How well does the book accomplish its task? It is written and organized well, and the articles are uniformly of high quality. The writers are some of the best orthodox theologians today...It is an excellent starting point for further research and, to the best of my knowledge, there is nothing else like it. Some of the articles are gems, and all are worth reading."--The Living Church