Images of Muhammad: The Evolution of Portrayals of the Prophet in Islam Across the Centuries Book

The title of this work is a bit misleading. There are few actual images of the Prophet offered. This is a highly specialized book and if you are a person conducting an in depth exploration of Muhammad or of Islam, this book might rate 5 stars. For virtually everyone else, this book is likely to disappoint. Dr. Khalidi does a fairly comprehensive survey of primary sources for the life of Muhammad, provides a very skeletal outline of the Prophet's life, and then provides the theoretical framework of Sunni, Shia, Sufi, Mu'tazilite, early modern and modern interpretations / reinterpretations of the Prophet and his significance in each of these sectarian or historical contexts. He provides some discussion for virtually every major Islamic treatment of the Prophet. However, the book does not provide much of a biography of Muhammad nor does it pose many questions about his life. I would think if you were doing a Master's or PhD in Islamic studies, this work would be extremely helpful. (Oddly, there is no bibliography, but there are abundant endnotes with references for the major sources.)