Middle East Books

This hardback is Vol. XVII of the "Israel Oriental Studies" with this 256-page book subtitled: "Dhimmis and Others: Jews and Christians and the World of Classical Islam." It is edited by Uri Rubin and David Wasserstein; and copyright by the Tel-Aviv University in Israel. Its chapters are: "On the words for 'Jew(s)' in Arabic" by Simon Hopkins (18 pgs); "Did Muhammad Conclude Treaties with the Jewish Tribes Nadir, Qurayza and Qaynuqa?" by Michael Lecker (9 pgs); "Les Trois Mensognes d'Abraham Dans la Tradition Interpretante Musulmane" by Claude Gillot (52 pgs, alas--this chapter is in the French language); "Apes, Pigs, and the Islamic Identity" by Uri Rubin (18 pgs); "Sirk and 'Idolatry' in Monotheist Polemic" by Gerald Hawting (20 pgs); "Sahrastani on the Magariyya" by Steven Wasserstrom (30 pgs); "Christian Success and Muslim Fear in Andalusi Writings during the Almoravid and Almohad Periods" by Maribel Fierro (24 pgs); "The Muslims and the Golden Age of the Jews in al-Andalus" by David Wasserstein (18 pgs); "Excerpts from the Abridgment of al-Kitab al-Kati by Abu al-Farag Harun in Arabic Script" by Nasir Basal (20 pgs; in Arabic, Hebrew & English); "Jewish Converts to Islam in the Muslim West" by Mercedes Garcia-Arenal (24 pgs); and two book reviews: "Igor Diakonoff: Archaic Myths of the Orient and the Occident" by Daniel Gershenson (4 pgs); and "J.C.E. Watson: Sbahtu! A Course in San'ani Arabic" by Moshe Piamenta (3 pgs). Hey, lots of scholarly stuff here. {Another reviewer wrote about "Adapa and the South Wind" which apparently is really in Vol. 10 of some other unrelated series, because it isn't in this book.}

Every once in a while, a book comes along that surprises me with its excellence, and this is one of those books. An ancient Mesopotamian story is that of the sage Adapa, who with a curse broke the wing of the South Wind, and missed an opportunity at eternal life offered to him by the great god Anu. This book is an in-depth look at the story, what we know of it, and what its significance is.

The first chapter looks at the five surviving fragments of the tale; with a copy in the original language, the text translated into English, and then a list of line-by-line comments. The second chapter looks at the dating of the myth, while the third chapter looks at the myth as poetry. The final, and to my mind best, chapter looks at the myth itself and its meaning.

Overall, I found this to be a great resource. Though it was written for a scholarly audience, the book is still eminently readable, and quite fascinating, even to the general reader. So, if you are at all interested in Mesopotamian myths in general, and about the Adapa myth in particular, then you will find this to be a great book. I know I did! I highly recommend this book.

I agree with the previous review that this book was similar to the Magic Treehouse series, but I think this book was even better than those. My six year old daughter and I loved this book. We planned on splitting it up over two nights of reading, but got so involved in the story that we read the whole book in one sitting! Super imformative and the story was woven well into the Ancient Egypt facts!! We read this as part of a homeschool lesson, but any kid who is interested in Ancient Egypt would be thrilled with this story!

I got this book along with several others for my first grader. We homeschool and are studying Ancient Egypt. We loved this book! This was by far my son's favorite. It is easy to find "photos and facts" types of book on Egypt, but this one adds a bit of fiction and adventure to the mix. It is kind of like the Magic Tree House books, but in a picture book format. The book is an adventure story with factual information listed at the bottom of each page (I guess sort of like Magic School Bus type books too). I will definitely be checking out the others in this series.

This is an excellent review of the many wars suffered by Afghanistan and the reasons these wars occurred. An excellent review for someone spending time in Afghanistan or sudying the country or region.

This is a tour de force; a comprehensive, lucid, and insightful account that makes a tangle of events over 20 years almost understandable. Scrupulously documented, full of sage judgments, cogently written, and eminently well organized, it is one of the best books on contemporary history I have read. Highly recommended along with Fundamentalism Reborn, an exceptional compilation of articles about Taliban Afghanistan.

reuters is a great source for worldwide media coverage. this book contains fabulous photos taken of afghanistan as well as small reports from a variety of reporters between the groups of photos. nothing is better than being able to see what is being mentioned or what you have heard or read about afghanistan so far. large and gripping images of all kinds of people, and differnt areas of land, the book is a great compilation of images and words to give you a nice idea of what things are like in afghanistan.

"Afghanistan: Lifting the Veil" is well-titled, as it helps educate what and why the people, the Taliban, bin Laden, al Qaeda could be what they are in Afghanistan.

Reuters is one of the best positions possible to see what is going on. As the top int'l news agency, they know the lay of the land, and the issues surrounding things.

It is not overly academic, and is accessible by the intelligent reader. It brings more to the table than simple American anger, or sadness for the loss of the WTC. Instead, Reuters shows the whole of the matter, demonstrating the grays and well as the black and whites of the circumstance.

I fully recommend "Afghanistan: Lifting the Veil" by Reuters.

Anthony Trendl

We lived in the country for 14 years back in the 50s and 60s and love to remember the people and places there.
The photographer has captured the mystery, beauty and character of both. We own a copy and have bought
it for our children to also enjoy as they remember our life and travels in Afghanistan. Although much has
changed poliltically, much remains the same. We discovered that on a recent visit. So this beautiful book
still has a message for the world.

The photographs say it all! After acknowledging the poverty that does exist they lay open the richness of spirit of people who have withstood the test of time and found their way. They have not been born-again. They were here at the beginning. What entrepreneural way of life could offer them anything, anything but the gift of being left alone. Look into their eyes.

This is not a detailed biography with ins and outs of Ahmadi-nejad's entire personal life story up to now, if you want to read a biography of Ahmadi-nejad you may have to wait until something like that is written some time in the future. However, if you want to be updated with a factual account of what is going on in Iran now and who runs the Islamic Republic, reading this book is a must!

It is one of the best explanations I have read in English on what Islamic Republic elections are about ....
http://azarmehr.blogspot.com/2008/09/ahmadinejad-by-kasra-naji.html

This work was a great introduction into the known life of Iran's Ahmadinejad. This was my first book on the subject and once I finished the reading I felt that I knew that much more about Iran's leader that is under much scrutiny from other world powers. If anyone wants to gain insight into present day Iran and Ahmadinejad, this book is a must. The book was well written and presented clearly. You'll not only learn about Ahmadinejad, but also of those that helped shape his political ideas. The title is relatively cheap compared to some of the other books available on the subject and is a very interesting read.

The shocking thing about this work is that it is publically available. It provides a remarkable look into the process and forces that are driving United States air operations (for good or ill) in the Joint arena. It should be required reading for every military aviator. Its only essential flaw is that it began as commissioned study, and its customer is obvious.

The shocking thing about this work is that it is publically available. It provides a remarkable look into the process and forces that are driving United States air operations (for good or ill) in the Joint arena. It should be required reading for every military aviator. Its only essential flaw is that it began as commissioned study, and its customer is obvious.

Al-Muwatta is a collection of ahadith or orally transmitted anecdotes about Prophet Muhammed and his contemproaries (sahaba).

Islamic law is divided into Sunni schools based on Shariat and hadith, and Shia schools based on opinions of Imams (Sunnis place an empahsis on canons, while Shias consider the position and views of Imams important - in Aristotlean terms, Sunnis empahsize rule of law and Shias emphazize rule of enlightened individuals).

The Maliki school of law is one of the dominant and widespread schools and governs or inspires much contemporary law in North Africa. The other ones are Shafie, Hanbali (dominant in Saudi Arabia) and Hanifi (dominant in Asia).

Islamic law books like Al-Muwatta differ from Fatwas issued by bodies which are of a more transient imporntance. And they discuss not just law and punishment but also ethics, codes of conduct, customs, mores etc. In this respect, they share the more encompassing nature of all ancient canons from Talmud to Dharmashastras.

Al-Muwatta covers anecdotes on topics like Hajj (pilgrimage), property laws, inheritance laws, criminal laws, dietary regulations, social relations, upkeep of places of worship, rites of sacrifice, code of conduct for war and a lot more.

It also gives a glimpse of the liberal spirit of Islam and especially of Prophet Muhammed like the Prophets ideas on compassion to animals, simple-minded folk etc.

More than that it gives an idea of customs and mores of Muhammed's time. The anecdotes also show the tolerance preached by Muhammed in contrast with zealotry of some of his followers.

This is an authenticated collection of the traditions of the prophet Mohammed. It's collected by (al-Imam) Malik Ibn Anas, one of the main four Islamic scholars in the history of Islam.

Rush's painstaking research and intimate knowledge of Kuwait and its ruling family have combined to create a classic reference.

I am trying to find this book, I am very interested in reading it. Please let me know when more copies are made. thanks

Called the best guidebook ever written, Forster's homage to Alexandria is at once informative, evocative, and nostalgic. The first half of the book is a series of vignettes on various moments and characters in the city's history. Forster immersed himself in the literature of ancient Alexandria and Greece, and it is this intimate acquaintance with the thought of the old city that gives the historical section its depth. Using a style that, though terse, always has time for a story or interesting quote, he covers the ancient library and mouseion, the Alexandrian contributions to science, the Christian and Arab periods. In the celebrated section "The Spiritual City," he outlines the religious heritage of Alexandria, demonstrating how Christianity as we know it today was largely formed in this city. Durrell drew heavily on this section for the gnostic theme that runs through the Quartet. The historical section concludes with a translation of Cavafy's "The God Abandons Antony," the first Cavafy poem to appear in print in English, and Forster considered the primary achievement of his guidebook to be the introduction of Cavafy to the English-speaking world.
Each historical section is linked to sections in the guide, and Forster claimed that "the 'sights' of Alexandria are in themselves not interesting, but they fascinate when we approach them through the past." Forster spent much time on trams in Alexandria, and the great love of his life, Mohammed el Adl, was a tram conductor on the Bacos route. It is fitting, then, that the tramlines should provide the web holding the guidebook together. Forster takes us through the city by tram, pointing out interesting buildings and sites to left and right. The guide also contains maps of the ancient and modern city, and plans of the Greco-Roman Museum and the Wadi Natrun monasteries.
The book had a difficult birth: Forster's Alexandrian publisher suffered a fire in which they thought the books had been burned. After recouping insurance compensation, they discovered that they had in fact survived. They then decided to burn the books deliberately. In 1935, members of the Royal Archaeological Society of Alexandria decided to reprint the book. Forster put some work into revisions, but this second edition did not sell well, and it was only after the book was published in the US that it achieved moderate sales.
More than any other guidebook, Forster's comes across as a labor of love. Lawrence Durrell wrote of the guidebook that Forster "must have been deeply happy, perhaps deeply in love . . . Paradoxically, if that is the word, the book is also saturated with the feeling of loneliness, that of a cultivated man talking to himself, walking by himself."

Recently read and used this book while in Alexandria. There is essential information, beautifully organized, presented and written that should be available. Introduction by Lawrence Durrell is wonderful too.