This is a concise and easily accessible introduction to early Islamic political history. While not the most nuanced or up-to-date work, it's a good general survey for the layperson. It may serve as a springboard for more complex and in-depth works. I must say, however, that the title is unfortunate.

This survey is a model of fine scholarship and brevity. In less than 200 pages Gibb provides an appreciation of Islam and describes the major sects and movements.

The survey suffers only from its age (otherwise 5 stars). It was written in 1947 and revised a few times, lastly in 1970. The author died shortly thereafter. Some terms are outdated, not the least of which is the title "Mohammedanism". Some Muslims may regard the title offensive since it implies primacy of Mohammed rather than God. Gibb is aware of this and speaks to it. Perhaps owing to the less charged environment of his day he stuck with this western term on the basis that some muslim sects described themselves as followers of Mohammed.

Today's reader should not infer from the title that the book is an oafish, chauvinistic view. Gibb communicates the compelling message of early Islam and illuminates the remarkable development of Islamic law and culture. The Shi'ia split and Sufism are explained in clear but nuanced treatments.

I have read more recent and lengthier texts on Islam and the Arab world. Few have demonstrated the admirable qualities of Islam as effectively as this short book.

The vision of the muslim past is a source of enormous power and inspiration in the Arab world today. The vast majority harness it to positive ends to shape their everyday conduct. But it clearly can be husbanded for evil purposes - just read bin Laden's fatwas.

This book needs to be reprinted and short of that copies need to circulate so that it very valuable information is in every would be top or bottom or switch. The health information could also use an update too but by and large it is still an good guide toward all sorts of safety concerns ranging from disease, to physical stresses, to emotional vulnerability. I can't say that the community the authors refer to over and over is one I've ever really seen or that I agree with all of the philosophical comments they make, but it is a book I recommend that people read if they are interested in basic health issues involving BDSM.

Very thorough in its scope in terms of medical and health issues, Trevor Jacques' books lacks details about how to do certain things in "BDSM" which a reader might expect. No, this is not a how-to book, this a calm and serious approach to questions about the human body and its reactions to different activities encompassed in "BDSM". However, this subject in and of itself is so large that Jacques' work can only be an introduction. Use it as a starting point then research specific interests in greater detail. A "must have" for all beginners in my opinion.

First - it's tough to argue with any book with a foreword by Sean Connery, the best 007 ever. Still, David Hamilton's summations of Scotland's better courses are spot on. There are lots of websites out there these days and lots of "coffee table" tomes that are mediocre at best, but Hamilton's reviews and opinions are born of experience. And that's what's important.

Short capsule descriptions of the golf courses in Scotland, including comments on the courses, directions and booking information. A very personal guide with all of the obvious selections, plus some very personal favorites....lovely.

"The Story Girl Earns Her Name" is the second volume in "The Road to Avonlea" series, which are novelizations of episodes from the television series "Avonlead," which, in turn, is adapted from a quartet of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Unlike the novel "The Story Girl," Sara Stanley does not arrive in Avonlea with her name and reputation already established. The town had sold tickets to a magic lantern show to help raise money for new books for the Avonlea school library, but it turns out Mr. Beatty is a con man who runs away with the money. Even worse, Sara makes the mistake of helping him get away. Feeling guilty Sara will not stop until she has redeemed herself and helped raise the money. When she happens to stumble upon Jasper Dale, known as the "Awkward Man," taking photographs in a meadow, she comes up with grand plans for her own magic lantern show. However, there are those who still think that Sara Stanley is putting on airs and needs to be taken down a peg.

Unlike Montgomery's novels "The Story Girl" and "The Golden Road," the Sara Stanley of these stories is not a welcomed cousin who visits Prince Edward Island each summer. This Sara is trying to find her place in Avonlea, with both her King family relatives and the locals, who certainly do not consider the young visitor from Montreal to be a true Islander. However, it is not because this is the episode in which "The Story Girl Earns Her Name," that this becomes a memorable story, and not just because this Sarah does not tell as many stories as her literary counterpart. The minor character of Jasper Dale turns out to become more important as we travel along the road to Avonlea and it is quite interesting to see that the only one who has a kind word for the stuttering recluse besides Sara is her Aunt Olivia. Young readers who enjoy these stories will find Montgomery's original works to be equally enjoyable.

This is based on the second episode of the ROAD TO AVONLEA television series that spanned seven years and 91 episodes. This story begins with Sara Stanley adjusting to life in Avonlea and being tormented by her cousins. She meets Jasper Dale, the Avonlea recluse and persuades him to hold the Avonlea Magic-Lantern Show! But when Sally Potts and Jane Spry set a fire off at the town hall and blame it on poor Jasper, what can Sara Stanley---the Story Girl do now? I loved this story because it makes you think and laugh and it's good soul food because of it's heartwarming theme. These stories are very heartwarming and set at the turn of the century in the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

This is an enchanting book about the ubiquitous misreadings between West and East. Here the twain is met, with both comic and tragic results.

Satirizing the eclectic "industry" of religions and cults in the impoverished town of Malomba, the author effectively parodies the spiritual/physical healing quest of Mrs. Hemony, towing along her daughter, Zoe, and son, James. Zoe, in particular, is an appealing character (raised chiefly in an Italian commune, she is told by a representative of their entrepreneurial guru, "you'd be a sensation in California!") who drifts from her mother's well-intentioned control to the more secular/sexual appeals of Malomba.

The book takes a few too many cheap shots at the Westerners, and Laki, the hotel's poorly-paid concierge, is written somewhat too broadly. Laki is eventually punished after his successful courting of the Hemodys, and this denouement seems contrived, as if to make up for the oh-so-loveable portrait previously drawn. However, enjoy it for the farce, and the sensual descriptions of the author's holy-city fantasy!

Once again, the well-heeled deluded Americans make fools of themselves in the Third World, which in turn does its best to delude and fleece them. But the neatly crafted charm of the writing slips the message down painlessly, and the goofy innocence of the Americans and the jolly, cynical resilience of the downtrodden cast a peculiarly merry light over this dark comedy.

It was a great book because I like science fiction. I recomend this book to people in grades 5-8.

Willie Bea is a spunky character, also called 'Will Bea" by Bay Brother. Willie Bea extremly dislikes her bratty cousin, Little. All she wants is to be liked by her rich aunt Lucy. But in the end she gets a lot more than she expected.

In reality, this volume is a collection of three separate but related Hamilton novels from the late twenties-early thirties: The Midnight Bell, The Siege of Pleasure, and The Plains of Cement.

The first relates the story of a barman's obsession with a scheming prostitute, the second is a tale of a "nice girl"'s downfall through drink, and the final novel tells of a plain-looking barmaid's emotional turmoil when pursued by a much older man.

These themes, and the dialogue used by the characters, are inevitably dated. However, Hamilton's wonderfully compassionate writing make simple themes appear to be universal and timeless.

Indeed, loneliness, unrequited love, fear of rejection, unfulfilled dreams etc are components of the universal human experience. However, in Hamilton's hands, these components never result in full-blown despair. The characters are so resilient that there is always, even after the most appalling experience, a note of optimism.

Few British writers have written so eloquently about the simple dreams, modest personal ambitions and cultural limitations of ordinary people in what was then a rigid class society.

In particular, his insight into working class "pub culture" (in these novels and later works such as "Hangover Square" and "Slaves of Solitude") is extraordinary. Its a pity his "research" led to such heavy alcohol dependence, with its resultant impact upon his literary achievement!.

The three novels in "20,000 streets" are a great introduction to Hamilton, and along with his later more sophisticated work, make a case for a much belated re-appraisal of his place in 20th century British literature.

This is a very well written book with some informative data about African history. He makes a very good case to support his theory. One criticism I have is that Mr. Hamilton seems somewhat paranoid about what he calls the "Euro-centric" view of the path 2-3 centuries. I just find it hard to believe that all (or most) Egyptologists, Historians, and Scientists of the past 300 years are deliberately lying about Egyptian history to give it a deliberately European slant. Unfortunately I am not an Egyptologist and cannot comment on the veracity of the information he gives. Other than that I think this a good book for history buffs or those with a desire to learn more about Afrocentric views

The Course of True Love

Thea Stevens had just started her job as Dodd Memorial Hospital's media coordinator, and she knew she had to prove herself by making the best nurse training films ever. It didn't help that Luke Adams, the supposedly unknown actor she'd hired turned out to be a movie star, or that he was handsome enough to take her breath away. And, worse yet, he was intent on demolishing the defenses she'd been building for years.

Luke knew that Thea didn't want a man in her life, especially not a celebrity whose every action was public property. But he was determined to show her that actors had a life offscreen and that happy endings weren't only in the movies.

Alexander H. Stephens was a prototypical, antebellum Southern Whig: scholarly, principled, and moral. Yet in many ways his life was compromised as he, along with other Southern politicians, was "compelled to defend the indefensible."

Stephens despite the disadvantages of humble beginnings and a sickly, frail constitution was able, through some fortuitous and generous assistance on the part of others, to climb into the lower ranks of Southern society, first as a lawyer and then as a U. S. Congressman. There, Stephens found himself in entangled in such antebellum controversies as the Mexican Cession, the Wilmot Proviso, the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and the Lecompton controversy.

Stephens as a Whig was a staunch defender of the Constitution, the Union, and the rule of law. He opposed the Texas annexation and the Mexican War as infringing on those cherished beliefs. However, Stephens was constantly walking a tightrope between his Whiggish principles and the political realities of the South over the issue of slavery. He supported Kansas-Nebraska, but by that time he had been forced to jump ship to the Democracy. Later he committed the apostasy of siding with the northern Democrat Douglas in the Lecompton controversy and then supported him for president in 1860. For this reader the author's coverage of these controversies gets a little confused by his focusing on the various tortured rationalizations of the various parties, including Stephens'.

The author devotes much time to the state of Stephens health in this period (often sick), his mood swings (often in despair), and his need for recognition which is seen in his oratory, his obsessiveness in defending his personal honor (even resorting to challenges for duels), and his somewhat exaggerated views of his own importance. Stephens was a prolific writer of letters, especially to his younger brother Linton, throughout his life, and these are used well by the author to capture Stephens' thinking.

Stephens was one of the leading Southern politicians who opposed the Southern secession. During the War, from his position as Vice-President of the Confederacy, he was a constant thorn in the side of Jefferson Davis, the President. Of course, Stephens construed his opposition as principled. But his opposition to such policies as conscription and the suspension of habeas corpus in the context of Southern survival seems wrong-headed. After the War, Stephens was returned to the House of Representatives and then served as governor of Georgia for four months before his death in 1883 at the age of seventy-one.

At times this book becomes tedious in its detailing of the endless rationalizations and defensiveness of Stephens in his various political dealings through the years. His self-assignment of being more moral, pure, and principled than others wears thin. In addition, for such a lengthy book, it seems that only a glimpse of the broader world shows through and then through Stephens' views and machinations. The reader can become only moderately informed of the events of the day and of Southern society. The book definitely focuses on Stephens, the insatiable and recognition-starved politician, which probably narrows its appeal.