Amin Maalouf (Beirut, 1949) is a French writer of Lebanese origin. He found inspiration for his work on identities and the relationship between the Christian and Islamic worlds in his origins and experience of emigrating from his homeland. He achieved international success with his essays, especially the books The Crusades in the Eyes of the Arabs , Murderous Identities and The Shipwreck of Civilization , and the novels Leon the African , Samarkand , Baldassare's Journey and Our Unexpected Brothers . He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Prix Goncourt. By being elected to the French Academy in 2011, as the first Arab among the "40 Immortals", he succeeded Claude Lévi-Strauss. His works have been translated into more than fifty languages.