"To Davy Jones Below" is the eighth book in the highly enjoyable Daisy Dalrymple mystery series, and it is as entertaining and as engaging as the previous novels in the series. This time around, Daisy's latest adventure takes place abroad the luxury ship, the S.S. Talavera, during her honeymoon.

Daisy and her policeman fiance, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, have barely tied the knot, when Alec is informed that he will be sailing to America as soon as their brief honeymmon is over, in order to advise the Americans on how to organise and clean up their Invesgation Bureau of the Justice Department. Of course Alec will have to take Daisy with him -- it is the very prospect of six weeks without Daisy getting herself involved with any police investigations, that sells the Assisstant Commissionor on the idea of doing without him for a while! It has even been arranged for Daisy to do a series of articles on her trip to America. It all seems a little too good to be true -- a trip to America abroad the S.S. Talavera, accompanied by their good friends Philip and Gloria Petrie, and Gloria's millionaire father, Caleb P. Arbuckle! And that's what it proves to be. The first sign that things will not be smooth sailing is the news that Arbuckle's friend, Jethro Gotobed (another millionaire), has married his chorus-girl girlfriend. Arbuckle had hoped to wean Gotobed of the glorious Wanda's charms by inviting him to America. However Gotobed confounds Arbuckle's good intentions by rushing Wanda off her feet and marrying her. Everyone is appalled with this marriage, and even Daisy's rather proletariat leanings are challenged by Wanda's vulgarity.

Daisy and Alec however are firmly resolved to enjoy their extended honeymoon, but their plans suffer a setback as well when a passenger falls overboard, and another passenger, the giddy Lady Brenda, swears that she saw someone push the unfortunate Mr. Denton, into the sea. Upon learning that Alec is a police officer, the harassed ship captain, inveigles him to look into the matter. However Alec is by now suffering from a bout of sea sickness. This leaves Daisy to act as his deputy, and to discreetly interrogate the witnesses. The investigation seems to be going nowhere when another passenger (Mr. Pertwee) falls overboard. This time however Mr. Gotobed cries foul by claiming that Pertwee was shot before he fell overboard. Is there a maniac aboard, bent on throwing unsuspecting passengers into the sea? Or are the two 'accidents' connected? And if so how? Daisy and Alec are determined to get to the bottom of things before another passenger falls into the sea.

This entire series makes for highly enjoyable and entertaining light reading. The violence is minimal in the sense that Dunn does not go in for graphic and horrific detail, and her prose style is crisp and witty, ably capturing the spirit of the 1920s. Indeed there was quite a P. G. Woodehouse air about this particular mystery! And Carola Dunn has created a wonderfully engaging and charming investigative heroine in Daisy: it is Daisy's zest and keeness to help others, a tendency that frequently lands her in the middle of Alec's cases, that is the central force of this series and what makes it so compelling and engaging. "To Davy Jones Below" is a wonderfully cozy read, and great fun.

The day finally arrives when Scotland Yard's Detective Constable Alec Fletcher marries the Honorable Daisy Dalyrymple. As the reception goes on much later than expected, the newlyweds anxiously await leaving for their two-week honeymoon. Before they can escape, Alec's boss informs him that upon his return, he will go to America with Daisy to teach J. Edgar Hoover how to run a clean federal law enforcement organization.

When the newlyweds board the Talevera, they expect an extension of their glorious honeymoon. However, that dream changes when someone is swept overboard and Lady Brenda insists he was pushed. The man is rescued, but two more individuals are pushed into the sea in what are deliberate murder attempts. Reluctantly, Alec leads the investigation with Daisy "assisting" him in her unorthodox manner.

TO DAVY JONES BELOW is an exciting mystery with enough romance so that the novel contains cross-genre appeal. All the key characters seem three- dimensional and the ship's population serves as a floating contained neighborhood. Carola Dunn paints a charming picture of life between the World Wars. It also provides the audience with a detailed glimpse into a bygone era that even then was slowly fading.

Harriet Klausner

I first heard a reference to the book in a sermon, so I went looking for it. David Dunn writes delightfully of the various ways he has brought joy to the lives of others by simply thinking of and acting upon ways to serve others. If we would follow the principles set forth in this little volume, the world would be a much happier place.

I have kept this book as a favorite in my library for the last 10 years. It offers ways we can give more of ourselves without dipping into a piggy-bank or feeling taken advantage of. I highly recommend reading this little book! It is a quick read with humor, joy and love springing from each page. The book was written in the 1940s and the principles still apply to today's society. That alone tells of the truths offered within its pages. Marcella@PositiveResults.com

I have been an avid reader of James Dunn ever since I first picked up his classic work on the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. This commentary, however, which focuses on St. Paul's relationship to the Law, is possibly his least rewarding publication. In it Dunn asserts that Paul did not reject "legalism" or "works righteousness" (a view first suggested by Augustine and perfected in Luther) but a narrow view of "covenantal nomism" (W.D. Davies). For Dunn, Paul objects not to Judaism per se but to one type of Judaism (THEIRS) based on another type (HIS). Dunn's position is a modification of E. P. Sanders, who is probably the finest Pauline scholar of the last fifty years.

At times, the insights are compelling, but at other times, disappointing. Dunn reduces the implied conflicts of Paul in Romans by denying the grounds upon which the conflicts are based. A conflict presupposes a common basis on which to fight and a common point of departure. Dunn has given a common basis as "covenantal nomism" (a phrase he dislikes but uses indiscriminately and inconsistently), but fails to explain what the point of departure is supposed to be.

The greatest flaw in this massive commentary is its unnecessary length. In my view, it would have been a far better idea for Dunn to cut out some of his verbosity and to make this a one-volume work. Having said that, the strength of the commentary lies in the "comment" sections where Dunn provides plenty gold nuggets for preachers.

Commentaries are written with a variety of audiences in mind. Some are pitched at a "popular" level; they are accessible to Christians who do not have a degree in theology (and they may not be very helpful, since they tend to rehearse familiar ideas). Some are a little meatier, intended to aid preachers in sermon preparation. And some are written at an academic level; they debate the positions of other scholars.

The Word Biblical Commentary series tries to address both of the latter two audiences. The commentaries provide assistance to scholars, preachers, and other serious students of the Bible.

Word imposes a rigid format. Authors must begin each passage with a bibliography, followed by a translation with notes on the Greek manuscripts. Next there is a "form and structure" section which discusses grammatical and thematic links with other passages and calls attention to the literary techniques employed by the biblical author. Next there is a "comment" section which is quite detailed, allowing some room for interaction with other scholars. Finally there is an "explanation" section, which summarizes the message of the text without repeating all the technical details.

Word's format inevitably introduces some repetition. For busy preachers, the trick is to zero in on the explanation section. Preachers will value the other sections of the commentary when there is a theological or textual problem which merits closer examination.

Dunn's commentary succeeds brilliantly at both levels. Dunn is a leading authority in Pauline studies. His "new perspective on Paul" builds on the work of E. P. Sanders and has attracted the attention of scholars including N. T. Wright. He is bound to have his academic audience in mind at points in a commentary on Romans.

But Dunn also put a great deal of thought into the explanation section of this work. He describes his approach in the author's preface. When he began to write, he concentrated on the explanation section of chapters 1-11 for two years. During that time, he restricted himself to only a few technical aids, in order to maintain a focus on the broad message of Romans rather than the technical details primarily of interest to scholars.

The result is a reference book that any serious student of the New Testament will find helpful. Many readers will read only the explanation section most of the time. But the Word commentaries are relatively inexpensive, so Dunn's two volumes on Romans are still good value for the money.

How surprised was I to hear some book called Geek Love(?) come so highly recommended, and who'd of ever thought I'd read it?... Then find me thinking, "I'm not finding this as disturbing or shocking as it seems set up to be," enthralled though I am... Apart from it's subject matter GL seemed familiar, similar to other works in several ways: writing style, theme, writer's trickery. Comparisons come easy and are valid. Yet this work stands, for me, very much on it's own, and the reading experience suggests it's greater than the sum of it's parts. Maybe it was a philosophy that hooked me (and then came Fight Club... ), or just some magic that I'm not sharp enough to identify. Eventually I discovered my jaw extended, telling me I could be surprised, that I wasn't immune. Oftentimes it was the complete, complex psychologies that impressed me most, and the work suffered when such details were half-baked. In Geek Love's world we may need to suspend much disbelief, but overall I found Dunn's logic surprisingly intricate. Her storytelling I found very effective, ever captivating, pulling me forward, forward, forward, while her "lyric" prose was there entertaining me throughout. Though I wanted at times to take a break (just to breathe, shake off the obsession,and assess: do I really like this book so incredibly much? do I LOVE this book??), I honestly felt rather powerless to slow down. I was also feeling uncharacteristically co-dependent: wanting everybody to read this book, at least talk to me about it, or ask questions, just please be interested too! please? I'll keep my criticisms from contaminating others' experience, but even halfway through, when I was able too pull myself away and relax, I found myself thinking about the book often and eager to spend time reading. Closing the book I may have lost some of my earlier enthusiasm, yet... find me turning back to that most marvelous of beginnings... I am satisfied, and for a time, however brief, I've awakened a bit more love, certainly compassion, for all you individual strangers that I pass out there on the streets of the real (flesh and blood) world. somethings persist: I hope everybody reads this book.

After finally putting this book down, I found myself trying to analyze why it left me cold. It was definitely compelling to read about the alternate reality of the Binewski family, and about the love that held them together. I appreciated the way Katherine Dunn transforms what to the "normal" world would be hideous into something fanciful and beautiful. However, my fascination with her surreal, magical world soon tapered off into boredom as the book dragged on and on with Arturo and his cult. Yes, the characters are unforgettable, but I thought they were one-dimensional, and ultimately I didn't really care about them (even Oly got tiresome with her blind devotion to Arty). A much better book with a somewhat similar theme is Stones From the River--it also has a physically deformed narrator on the fringes of society, but she is a fully fleshed-out character and makes us truly empathize with her. With Dunn's freaks, we find ourselves watching them with morbid fascination and sometimes affection, but we are always on the other side of the glass. In the end, Geek Love was an engrossing read but it did not move me.

Nominated for the National Book Award, Geek Love is the mesmerizing, twisted tale of the beauty and pitfalls of being different. A cult classic, this novel is filled with dark humor and positively stunning prose. An original by one of the most gifted writers of our time.

This book does an excellent job in the first several chapters covering basic Vector and Matrix topics, and does an admirable job and making them simple to understand. For a beginner in Matrix Algebra or 3D game/graphic programmer, this book can really get you started on the right foot.

HOWEVER...Too many of the later chapters do not cover the topics in the detail they deserve, and instead full listings of code are shown. Whilst the code is important to be able to see how things work, the entire listing could have been put on a CD in on the GameMath website (which is also quite poor), and just the function or two being focused on be displayed in the text.

Some explanations were also a little iffy -- In one example, the authors attempt to describe converting from Object to World space -- and give an example of how to do so and what needs to be done. The example is given with a series of graphics and short descriptions. (Rotate to the axis, the translate...) This method of describing the conversion is really more confusion than it needs to be. They may have been attempting to oversimplify, because the straight forward description is really not difficult -- multiply the Object's vertices by the Translation and Rotation matrix.

Overall, a good book to get started in certain topics, and coupled with Real Time Rendering (2nd Ed.) to cover more information and fill in holes, understanding the material is fairly straight forward.

When I first heard of this book I was skeptical because of the math because most books take for granted that you are a math wiz. But this book not only explains the theory but also the concepts behind the math and code.

For any one wanting to get into game graphics and game development I HIGHELY recommend this book Fletch and Ian knows how to teach and hope they continue to teach young padawan learners like me by making thoroughly well made books like this.

EVERYONE MUST GET IT!!!!!!!

I bought Mathematics for 3D Game Programming & Computer Graphics and this book hoping to learn the basics of 3D for game development. I wanted a book to really help me to understand -not only know- the principles behind 3D development.

I found that Mathematics for 3D Game Programming & Computer Graphics was a "copy and paste" of parts of a linear algebra textbook. It had the interesting parts for graphics developers, but it did nothing in terms of reaching / teaching the reader, explaining things and helping to smooth the learning curve. It was pure math.

Well, 3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development it's just the opposite. It's clear, concise and mathematical rigorous, but at the same time it tries to reach the reader, explains the math of 3D graphics AND the reasons behind that math. Whenever possible it always gives you a graphic interpretation of what you are reading and if that's not possible, it gives you extra explanations. The authors know where the hard parts are and excel at helping you to understand them. Where most books give you a theorem and left you in your own (face it: most books) this one tries to help you to get a step beyond and understand the math and the workings of it.

There is a clear feeling in all the book: usefulness.

This book -in terms of smoothing the learning curve- is to current basic 3D math what Realtime Rendering is to current 3D algorithms and techniques.

The bad:

1.It's very basic. Don't expect to go from 0 to 100 with this book. It will give you the basics, but you will need to continue.
2.It's not mean to give you full working code. The code examples are to illustrate how the concepts can be implemented in software, not to provide a full working library.

To sum it up: a book to understand, not just "know" the math behind 3D math written in a clear and non-pretentious way.

As Director of the Great Pyramid of Giza Research Association, I am
familiar with most of the major theories regarding the Great Pyramid.
Since my background is in physics and biophysics, I have always
favored a scientific explanation with facts that can be
substantiated. Mr. Dunn's new book is a very scientific approach to
discovering the purpose of the Great Pyramid of Giza. His theory is
based on sound scientific principles which include acoustics,
vibrations, piezoelectric effect, and others. He has synthesized a
scientific theory that is consistent with the history of ancient
Egypt. Of all the new theories published to date, I find his theory
to be one of the most promising. Further work needs to be done but
Mr. Dunn has set the stage for a new approach to the Great
Pyramid.

Also the first part of his book is a real encyclopedia of
the history and discoveries of the Great Pyramid. This book is a must
for any serious student of the Great Pyramid and also for any layman
interested in it. It makes fascinating and enjoyable reading.

If I
was going to recommend three books to someone regarding the Great
Pyramid, Mr. Dunn's book would be one of the three that I would
choose.

Christopher Dunn has written a tremendous book--far and away the best work about the Great Pyramid in the last 25 years. Using his background as a master machinist and engineer, Chris has seen the Great Pyramid as it really was and is, a magnificient structure built by master craftspeople (scientists and engineers) to be a practical device, a power plant. Chris explains why it was built so precisely, why the particular materials were used and how advanced machining and techniques had to be employed to accomplish the task. Anyone interested in the recovery of ancient wisdom, understanding how the Great Pyramid could not possibly have been originally designed and built as a tomb for a king, and interested in concepts of sacred geometry, acoustical harmonic resonance theories and the great knowledge of the Ancient Khemitians (Egyptians) must read this book!

You don't have to listen to silly arguments that the Great Pyramid is a tomb, built with copper tools and ramps and other nonsense any longer. As a trained Master Engineer with extensive knowledge of his discipline, the perseverance of a detective, and showing the imagination of a first rate mind, Chris Dunn has given all of us a plausible explanation of what the Great Pyramid really was - a power plant. I believe that it probably served other functions as well - initiatic site, broadcast center, geodetic marker, and mathematical indicator but it was as power plant that the Great Pyramid was primarily built for. In a consistent and analytical way, Chris Dunn shows us the meaning of the granite plug, the Well Shaft, the Antechamber, the Relieving Chambers, the "Air" Shafts, the Notch in the Queen's Chamber and many other features of the Great Pyramid which have never before been explained in a coherent fashion. For any student of Ancient Egypt this book is a must and ranks with Peter Tompkins' classic "Secrets of the Great Pyramid" as necessary for any thinking person who wishes to know the meaning of the Great Pyramid.

Jack Huddleston was a homicide detective for the Los Angeles Police Department from the 20's to the 50's. He collected his photos in a scrapbook now published by Feral House, and it makes for grim reading.

His career started with Prohibition (and the wonderful crimes that it caused) and continued with investigations of all kinds: murders, suicides, car accidents, and even babies killed by poor desperate mothers. In LA there were no good old days.

These pictures are not for the squeamish. They do, however, reflect the values of the society in LA at the time. Immigrants from all over were rushing to seek their fortunes (and misfortunes) in a society that worships success and scorns failure. The criminal gangs and the suicides were two sides of the same coin.

Already an underground favorite, this "monument to death, depravity and human foible" is a startling book. Jack Huddleston was a Los Angeles police officer between the 1920's and 1950's and collected these graphic pictures in order to "show the work of the peace officer and his problems." And thanks to wonderful restoration, The Detective's Homicide Scrapbook can now be purchased and placed on your coffee table, hehe.......Jack Huddleston accompanies the pics with blunt observations illustrating the detachment someone has to have when working with slashed and stabbed, crushed and brutalized bodies. And the thing is, this lovely little book get's worse and worse with each passing page until you reach the end. Have fun, kids.

Great pictorial book, great shots even but then they were shot in b & w being they were homicide shots done in the early 20s and 30s. Imagine if the shots were enhanced with color. There are two ways of looking at this book. One way is to look at it at the era in which these shots were taken, how they were taken, and the situation it was taken in. Book was divided into several sections on how people died: auto accident, crime, suicide, and sickness. Its a good collection of homicide shots. The other way to look at this book is simply to just go thru the pages and scan each picture out of curiosity. No need to have a strong gut to view these pictures. They're not that gory. If you are looking for gore, this is not the book you want to see. Lots of blown off heads, decaptitated bodies, open and slashed up bodies, decomposed bodies, things you will normally see on gore movies. The only thing which separates it is the knowledge that these are REAL LIFE pictures. I enjoyed reading/looking at this book. Nothing really eye-catching here. Pictures are all b & w. Shots made in the early to late 30s. Mostly are homicide shots. That's it. I admire the guy who made this collection. Quite a collection too. But to say it's going to make you lose sleep, nope not this one; I've seen worse.

In "The Sun Also Rises," Hemingway, through his alter-ego, Jake Barnes, tells us that the true meaning of "aficionad' is passion. In Spain, there is a more restrictive meaning. 'Aficianado' only means one who is passionate about the bulls. In fact, the concept is so restrictive that some bull fighters are considered to be just 'commercial' bull fighters and are not passionate enough about their chosen profession to be considered 'aficionados.' This is so according to Hemingway.

In the broader sense of the word, Hemingway, in this book, reveals himself (as Jake Barnes) to be an aficionado when it comes to boxing, drinking, fishing, and bull-fighting.

I had a problem with one aspect of "The Sun Also Rises." I found Hemingway's excessive use of negative ethnic stereotyping to be troublesome. For starters, he has created in Robert Cohn, a character who is emotionally unstable and thoroughly unlikeable because of his 'Jewishness.' Following are a few examples of this portrayal:

In reference to Cohn (observations of Barnes and his friends):

"He had a hard, Jewish streak."

Brett's gone off with (other) men, but they weren't ever Jews."

"That Cohn gets to me. He's got that Jewish superiority."

"That kike."

In reference to Jews in general: "She gets five hundred quid a year and pays three hundred and fifty of it in interest to the Jews. They're not really Jews. We just call them Jews. They're Scotsmen, I believe."

There are numerous other instances, but these already cited should suffice as examples of Hemingway's Jewish stereotyping.

He went after other groups too. To wit:

On Blacks: "The n , , , , drummer waved at Brett. He was all lips and teeth."

On gays: "I wanted to swing on one . . . . to shatter that superior, simpering composure."

He didn't quit there either. He went after the French and, on numerous occasions, showed his disdain for all casual tourists.

There is so much of this sort of prejudicial stereotyping throughout the book that it was ruined for me. It's too bad, because his bull-fight descriptions obviously came from an aficionado but were, for me, tainted by his attitudes.

I was fascinated with the characters and settings of this book. I looked forward to seeing what the "lost generation" was doing every time I picked the book up. It's a romantic (dysfunctional romantic), tough, insightful book which shows how a specific generation lived in Paris during this time. Hemingway has such a way of painting a picture, that I could vividly picture them at the cafes in Paris, fishing in the mountains, and watching the bull fights in Spain. On top of the pictures he paints, I had insights/emotions into the characters. If there was anxiety between them, I felt it; if there was love and jealousy between them, those emotions were conveyed. It was amazing and I definitely want to read the book again, because I don't think I even began to grasp everything possible in this novel. And the amazing part is that the writing is so simplistic and minimal. Obviously I recommend this book.

"The Sun also Rises" made a huge impression on me when I read it as a college student a number of years ago. It is true that one must look beyond the surface to get a clear understanding of any book by Hemingway. It is also true that the language that he used was not flowery, nor overly eloquent but the meaning revealed within the lines. It is also true that the characters are often expatriates; living on the fringe of society and hedonistic to the max. All of those elements are visible here, yet sometimes it might require a magnifying glass to see it. However, these are the qualities which make Ernest Hemingway, the seminal writer for a generation and certainly one of the best.

I propose one hint when reading "the Sun also Rises." Pay close attention to the relationship between Barnes and Robert Cohn. Barnes laothes Cohn for being everything that he is not. What drives him over the edge (in the inner sanctum of his own mind and demons) is the success Cohn has insofar as his relationship with Lady Brett. Barnes is impotent and this is a crushing blow to his manhood. The tragedy here is his inability to consummate a sexual relationship with her. It destroys him--yet he is still accepting of his predicament. This is what allows this character to maintain "grace under pressure"-- as Hemingway once coined the term or the ability to stand or hold ones ground when all odds are against you. Certainly this can be a tragic flaw for any of Hemingway's male characters--the total loss of his virility. Yet he stands his ground and never loses it. He just hates Cohn from a distance and rationalizes that he (Cohn) is one who cannot do anything just for the sake of doing it---whether it be drinking, winning the Princeton boxing title, or being in love with Brett. It is complicated but one can come away with these qualities after finishing the novel rather than while reading it.

I think his friend and sometimes rival, F. Scott Fitzgerald, summed him up best when he said of Hemingway: "He's the real thing."

A challenging book that raises a lot of serious questions. what if you could go back in time and alter one of the greatest atrocities of our history? It's a unique novel, and certainly a notch above most current sience fiction. But after developing some wonderful concepts and characters, I feel Dunn lets his characters (and readers) down in the last third of the novel. The conclusion is ultimately unsatisfying.

The universe Dunn creates in _Days of Cain_ is wonderfully rendered and its denizens well crafted, but the novel is anti-climatic. James Gaspar, Moiety agent, must travel back in time to prevent a renegade time traveler and his former student, Alma Lewin, from liberating inmates of Auschwitz. Dunn's training as a military historian shows as he gives the reader slices of time from the Roman sack of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 to the far future. He peoples those eras with finely-crafted characters, from Gaspar and Lewin, to Rebekah, a Jewish inmate, and Reber, a Nazi clerk at Auschwitz. Unfortunately, these characters don't seem to do much in Dunn's settings. He seems more concerend with the morality of the Moiety's operatives than with action. He certainly puts the ideas in what is a genre of ideas, but considering an unaswerable question is difficult for an author of even Dunn's obvious talent, and the novel's philosphical considerations overshadow, unfortunately, a wonderful premise. _Days of Cain_ is good read, and it both entertains and enlightens, but its conclusion remains unsatisfying.

Deeply moving, highly involving and tense, this book is far more complex than it might appear at first glance. While appearing to be merely a science fiction novel, it deals with the impact of an obscene period of history on the souls of those who participated, as well as those whom time travel has gifted with the ability prevent it from ever happening. Despite the SF trappings, this is a very human novel, illustrating the terrible madness that overcame Germany during the war, as well as its lasting effect on humanity.

One reviewer has claimed Dunn "insults" through his use of "Christian trappings", betraying a lack of familiarity with the subject matter. Dunn makes use of Frank Tipler's "Omega Theory" to provide a platform for forgiveness and divinity that fits with the technological aspect of the future in the novel.

Dunn displays an astonishing grasp of emotion in "Days of Cain", moving the reader to tears at one moment, then despair, then rage, and finally joy and wonder. I've bought several copies of this book for friends (two of them Jewish), all of whom have later enthused about it.

A remarkable work by a truly gifted author.

Even though Ibn Battuta over the course of his lifetime (and this book) travelled all over the muslim world, it seems as if he didn't do too much. Regardless of that, this book is a well written account of the muslim world at this time; making Battuta not so much a character but a tour guide in one of the best travel books ever. If you're looking for an exciting adventure story, this is not the book for you; but if you're looking for a relatively painless way of learning some ancient muslim history and sociology this is the book for you.

Ibn Battuta may have been the single greatest traveler of premodern times. In this book, Dunn is able to not only illustrate the qualities of Battuta, but also the complex intricacies of the inertcommunicating zone of the Islamic empire. It also effectively highlites the threads and interwoven cultural changes that are superceded by the Islamic faith, which allowed a traveler such as Battuta to accomplish his great feats. This may be the most detailed and creatively displayed work in existence which describes the 13th century Islamic world, and is a synoptic introduction to the post-Crusade period.

Centuries-old travelogues tend to have this archaic, dusty sort of air about them. We can't identify with the people who wrote them because the language in no way resembles ours. This is of course the fault of those who translate those documents. Then too, travellers of medieval times or earlier tended to write about things not so much of interest today. In THE ADVENTURES OF IBN BATTUTA, Ross E. Dunn has successfully avoided these problems by writing ABOUT the 14th century North African traveller, Ibn Battuta, not just translating his book. Ibn Battuta (1304-1368) travelled around the civilized world of his day. Surprisingly enough for Eurocentric folks, the term "civilized" only included Spain at that time. It did, however, include most of the Islamic regions on earth, plus India and China. Dunn includes chapters on Tangier, North Africa, Egypt-Syria-Palestine, Mecca, Persia and Iraq, Yemen, Oman, and East Africa, Constantinople, Anatolia, Central Asia, India and the Maldives, China, Spain, and Mali---across the Sahara in West Africa. In each, he gives a picture of the times in that particular place, what Ibn Battuta said he saw and what he must have seen or experienced but didn't mention. Dunn recounts many of the Moroccan's interesting adventures, from being jailed in Delhi to trying as a judge to forbid Maldivian women going topless in public. Dunn also places Ibn Battuta in a framework of a hemisphere-wide Islamic civilization and as an ambitious semi-scholar who was perhaps not so well studied as he wanted people to believe. So, not only is this book a record of Ibn Battuta's life and voyages, it is a very interesting commentary on a large part of the world in the 14th century and the life story of a particular individual. If you like history, if you are interested in what was happening in the world beyond Europe in the days when "knights were bold" [and illiterate], read this book. It comes with good maps and some black and white photographs of places that might still look a bit like what they did in Ibn Battuta's time.