"Few years are as pivotal as 1492 is for Spain. Christopher Columbus sailed to find a new route to India but landed in America, and Sultan Abu Abdallah Muhammad (known as Boabdil) surrendered to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, effectively ending seven centuries of Muslim rule in Spain. Drayson (University of Cambridge) explores the life and reign of Boabdil, starting with a background on the Nasrid Dynasty in Granada, then outlining what we know of Boabdil's early life, the factions and treachery within the Nasrid family, the court intrigues, his capture, Granada as a tributary state, then Boabdil's surrender and exile. Drayson also explores how Boabdil has been both romanticized and reviled in literature. The last chapter is more personal, persuading the readers to view Boabdil as a hero; Drayson compares his surrender to the Greeks' battle at Thermopylae and to General Custer's stand at Little Bighorn. Although the text does not include footnotes, additional references are described in an appendix. The book's strength is that it seeks to correct the record for a specific part of Moorish history. The Moor's Last Stand presents historical events in a compelling narrative and thus is well suited for the general reader."