I was told by a reliable source, that this text may not be an actual rendering of Ibn Ata'ullah. Either way, it is a fine book to go through if you would like to know how to read a sufi book. I was fortunate enough to go over this text with a leading Sufi Scholar, and Shaykh. My sincere advice is this: The book is definatly worth purchasing, as well as the price is right!

But really, really use the wisdoms that are in this book! It is imperative to your life that you actually have this fine work translated into English, only USE IT! Ex: Having presence of Allah during prayer! This texts gives stories, andedotes, and medicine to actually get your prayer going in the right direction. But remember my friends, You can't be a sufi by reading a book, you need a qualified Shaykh, Sharia, and spiritual aspiration (himma) May Allah be with you!

This book is actually a true rendering of the great Shadhali Master! The Key to Salvation was the "iffy" book as to if it was really the work of Ibn Ata'ullah.

If you do not know who this great Muslim Scholar is, get this book. Apply it, read it, use it , share it, learn it!

I highly recommend you to go over this text with a Shaykh who has ijaza to interpet it, and teach it, since the great gift of ijaza (permission) is a long lost Islamic tradition. Because the sayings are so deep, and profound you want to get the whole being of every word, syllable, and wisdom!

This is not for those who mearly want it in their ever so great Islamic book collection! This is for those who love to perfect their state to those of the great masters! If you can read one hikam, and apply it to your life, you will have much success God Willing!

Whomever the Duke of Wellington had in mind when he fulminated that his soldiers were "the very scum of the earth," he could not have been thinking of Private William Wheeler. Steady, good-natured and unaffected, Wheeler was rather the sort of man who formed the backbone of the Peninsular Army- as indeed he would have in any army in any age.

Wheeler served with the 51st Foot- a storied regiment in its time, as it had once been led by Sir John Moore, the hero of Corunna- from early in the Peninsular War to well after Waterloo. After he retired from active service, he collected and edited many of his letters home into an engaging and highly readable volume. Together, they offer insights into a British soldier's life that are indispensible to anyone interested in the Napoleonic Wars.

Tellingly, few bullets fly in Wheeler's letters. Devotees of Waterloo memoirs may be disappointed that he has little to say about the campaign. The 51st was not at Quatre Bras and stood mostly away from the main action at Waterloo, and Wheeler attests to little beyond his immediate angle of vision. Instead, he gives us much about what went on behind the lines- barracks life, mustering for overseas duty, palling around with friends of the moment, military and civilian alike.

One of the most affecting narrative threads from these letter begins late in the Peninsular War, when Wheeler befriends a French POW while recuperating from a nasty wound to his foot. No fanatical Bonapartiste, the Frenchman is actually the son of an Anglophile father and an English mother, and joined the army only to efface the anguish of an unhappy love affair. Two years later, Wheeler looks up his old friend when English troops occupy Paris after Waterloo, and they have a fine old time trolling about the city. This is a revealing look at war in fine detail, a useful reminder that even the greatest historical events are woven from threads of individual experiences.

As a stylist, Wheeler has his moments of plainspoken eloquence, and both Elizabeth Longford and Jac Weller have quoted him to fine effect in their books on Wellington. My own favorite moment is his definitive judgement on his old Commander-in-Chief, and stands, I think, as the last word in the debate over the merits of the greatest of the generals who labored in Napoleon's shadow: "If England should require the service of her army again, and I should be with it, let me have 'Old Nosey' to command.... There are two things we should be certain of. First, we should always be as well supplied with rations as the nature of the service would admit. The second is that we should be sure to give the enemy a d----d good thrashing. What can a soldier desire more."

As accounts of the Peninsular War and Waterloo go, this is one of the most personal and immediate. It is a collection of letters which Private Wheeler sent to his family. They are goodnatured and peppered with incidents and moving references to life in the Peninsular.

There has clearly been a great deal of editing to these letters before the first publication in 1828 on which later volumes were based, for the letters are solely about life on the Peninsular and all family references have been removed. I point this out because they stand in stark contrast to Major George Simmons book on the Peninsular War, "A British Rifleman" - in which his letters are reproduced in their entirety, including all his questions and somewhat moralistic advice to his family.

Perhaps the descriptions of the Peninsular lose nothing from the removal of this information, but they would have been a lovely addition in order to get a better look at the character of Private Wheeler - as a more fully rounded person rather than an observer - but I digress.

His account is a vivid depiction of the nature of Napoleonic Warfare. He is not too keen on long descriptions of battles - a bit like Peninsular War veteran Harry Smith in that way - but his descriptions of life and detail leading up to events is lovely. I particularly like his account of walking down the road to Waterloo. For some reason I always imagine orderly rows of soldiers but he talks of 'roads literally choked with baggage' - and his regiment becoming so intermixed with cavalry, guns and sores as they marched on. That night it rained, "being close to the enemy we could not use our blankets, the ground was too wet to lie down, we sat on our knapsakcs until daylight without fires, there was no shelter against the weather; The water ran in streams from the cuffs of our Jackets..."

It is not surprising to know that Wheeler is used by many novellists writing about the Peninsular War and Waterloo - Wheelers his eye for detail is good and his writing is pleasant and sympathetic.

It's undoubtely a very good guide, with lots of informations, but it only covers the southern part of Nepal, and contains no informartion about the Himalayan region (for example, cities such as Namche Bazaar and Lo Manthang are not covered).

Before traveling alone to Nepal, Tibet and Thailand in the summer of 1998, one of the first things I did was purchase travel books. My main purpose was to find a book which would serve as my travel guide. This was a very important factor since I wasn't even going on a tour. The right or wrong book could make or break my trip. I spent many hours at local bookstores as well as online bookstores looking for the perfect travel guide. Space was a factor for me since I wanted to travel unencumbered by a lot of luggage so I decided to buy an appropriate all encompassing book for each of the three countries. The Lonely Planet's Travel Survival Kit for Nepal was a comfort to have on my travels AND it was also an indispensable source of information for planning the trip, before I even booked my flight! If I had a question, I could usually find the answer in the book. Some particularly helpful information covered vaccines I would need prior to the trip, suggested items I should think about taking with me, highlighted many, many places of interest and included their background and history, covered visas, passports and the necessary documents along with entrance and exit fees charged upon arrival and departure and much more. Also, there are specific sections on women traveling alone, recreational activites, photos and maps, places to stay and even a section of Nepali phrases and words. If I felt uncomfortable or wasn't sure about something, all I had to do was open up my Lonely Planet and find the answer! Above all, I would definitely recommend that you find the right book for you since travelers have different needs. Peruse the books inside and out at your local library or bookstore. You can ask for recommendations and read reviews like mine, but ultimately, you're probably going to be far from home, and you want to make certain you have the essentials. This book, for me, was one of those essentials!

"Chasing Rickshaws" documents the long and colorful history of the rickshaw. From the early rickshaws to the more recent pedicabs, Wheeler remarks on the humble beginnings and changes surrounding this most common form of transportation. The surprising variations and ingenuity of the rickshaw designs combined with the hard work and hardship endured by the drivers or pullers makes for an interesting mixture of culture and history. The photos are vivid and portray more than an image of a somewhat outmoded vehicle, they show a unique insight into what makes this very common people-hauler, grocery-getter such an integral part of many countries daily routines. With rising interest in tourist pedicabs, this book is a must read for anyone about to embark on a rickshaw adventure.

As one who is devoted to seeing pedicabs everywhere, this book was a great inspiration. This study of pedicab businesses in many major Asian cities gives insights into the vital economic niche that this enterprise fills. Great reading for those interested in sustainable enterprises and economies.

This book is the only one of its kind for anyone who wants to learn about Persian poetry in the original language. The selection of poets is generous, including practically all of the great names but also many lesser known authors. Most helpfully, there is a very complete vocabulary at the end of the book. This spares you the need for the monumental Steinglass dictionary which is hard to find, expensive and heavy and gives a good dozen contradictory meanings for most words. In short, Thackston's collection is self-sufficient and saves you hours of dictionary work.

It's also an easy book to dip into, and you are likely to find something to your taste; there are the early (10th century)lyrics and odes from Central Asia; two extracts from the Shahnameh; some portions from Anvari, Khaqani and Nizami, the great names of didactic mysticism leading up to Rumi who is very well covered; several ghazals by Hafez; Jami, and a host of minor ghazal writers, including some from Moghul India. The anthology ends with the start of the 20th century.

There are still some things which I think could be improved on. The notes are to few rather than too many, and seem to get thinner as the book progresses. That means they dwindle exactly when they are needed most, with the enigmatic exponents of the "Indian style." This is especially true for Bedil, for whom two ghazals are given; Thackston writes that Bedil "requires a good deal of thought on the reader's part" and yet there is hardly even a note or the slightest indication of the poet's beliefs. These pieces, which are dense convoluted but tantalising, were just out of reach for me. And while the period up to the 15th century has very often been discussed in introductory books, puzzled readers will find virtually no other books to help them out here.

In a general way, my feeling is that Thackston spends too long explaining metrics and not long enough providing a backdrop for the poems presented; granted that the poems should speak for themselves, it is useful to have guidelines as to the content, especially for narratives.

As for the selection of poets, I found that the ghazal genre was over-represented later in the book, with too many minor figures who are only an anticlimax once the inimitable Hafiz has been encountered. But there is a powerful ode by Muhtasham on the death of the Imam Husayn, and a hilarious piece of satire by Ubayd, and more pieces like these would have given a much needed change of tone.

Personally - though this is a matter of opinion - I would have liked to see more quatrains. short and snappy, they would be useful for people who are new to Persian poetry; but there are only three here, all by Umar Khayyam. I would have liked more by this poet, and perhaps others by poets who are famous for them, such as Baba Taher (who is not represented), Rumi and Jami. It's And since the anthology includes the Indian subcontinent and the 20th century, where is Muhammad Iqbal?

Despite all of that, this is an immensely useful book, and the only one of its kind. It does, however, assume a fairly solid knowledge of Persian. I found that Indian Style poets, and also Firdawsi, were best saved till last (and even then, they stump me). Otherwise, start were you like - as good a place as any is the first poet, Rudaki, who's simple and direct. Otherwise, I particularly enjoyed the sections by Kasa'i, Hujjat, Sa'd-i Salman, Amir Khusro, Iraqi and of course Rumi and Hafiz.

This man Thackston is a genius. If you have any interest at all in Persian poetry (Hafez, Saadi, Khayyam, Rumi, and so on), this is the place your journey must start.

The first three pages of his introduction are worth the entire price of the volume!

At last you will understand what the dickens Hafez means by a "sugar-eating parrot!" As Thackson explains, Persian poetry went on for a long, long time, and quite early on people were tired of repeating "ruby lips" -- so lips simply became "rubies." And so on, with other comparisons.

On top of that, there arose a convention that if object A had some attribute in common with object B, and object B in turn had some attribute in common with object C, then A = C!

Thus the down on the lips is "khabz" (which also means green), and parrots are green, so the down has an attribute in common with parrots. Lips are sweet, and so is sugar. Parrots have a sweet voice, and therefore are "sugar-eating." As Thackston points out, you collect the grand prize here when the parrot of the down bends down to eat the sugar of the lips!

There is a complete discussion of Persian meter (without which the poems cannot be understood, quite seriously!), a very nice selection of the original Persian verse, guides to meter for the samples, and a complete (small) Persian vocabulary is included.

Obviously, this would make an ideal book for an introductory course on Persian poetry, and that's what it is.

Of course, it won't be of much use to people who have no interest in learning Persian. :-P

Highest recommendation!

Absolutely fascinating account of the solution to the meaning of the "te'amin" occurring in the Masoretic or traditional text of the Hebrew Bible. For centuries they have been thought to be vowels or punctuations (which purpose they may have served as they DO govern the chant),yet without clear meaning, this having been lost in the dispersions and persecutions of the Hebrew Temple hierarchy. I have heard Haik-Vantoura's decipherment/arrangement of the 'Song of Solomon' and it is a beautiful composition very clearly meant for male-female duet. Whether this is the ACTUAL system as originally used, it DOES produce beautiful music that is probably upwards of 2,500 years old.

The original French edition of this book, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE REVELEE, was published in 1976, along with a recording of the same title (likewise sold by Amazon.com as "The Music of the Bible Revealed"). The second edition (of which this book is a translation) appeared in 1978. I didn't encounter Mme. Haik-Vantoura's work, however, until 1982, when the Associates for Biblical Research Newsletter announced it. Since then, I have been the Corresponding Agent in the U.S. for Haik-Vantoura's Institution Roi David. (I was the editor and co-publisher of this English edition.)

What makes Haik-Vantoura's work so seminal -- and still so controversial? Let me explain. When the Masoretes of Tiberias (fl. 9th-10th centuries) disclosed the musical accents (TE`AMIM) now found in the Hebrew Bible (Masoretic Text), they analyzed the notation from the assumption that the Temple music (which they knew and said the accents represented) and the synagogue music of their own time had essentially the same structure and function. Thus they analyzed the notation on the premise that (like the "primitive" synagogue chant) it was primarily exegetical, secondarily musical; and they used the Hebrew verbal syntax as the "virtual bilingual" (in effect, the "Rosetta Stone") necessary to assign an exegetical function to each accent. The synagogue chants of the Ashkenazim especially have developed in accordance with this analysis.

All the other books you will find sold here on synagogue cantillation assume that the Masoretes' premise was correct. What they won't tell you is that the Masoretic paradigm doesn't explain most of the physical features of the notation or of its relationship to the words. Nor will they tell you that this paradigm was developed from tentative beginnings over several centuries, and that only after the notation itself appeared fully developed and "out of nowhere". How then can the Masoretic paradigm represent the original meaning of the accentuation?

Suzanne Haik-Vantoura's approach was the mirror-image of that of the Masoretes. Like them, she used the Hebrew verbal syntax as the "virtual bilingual" necessary to assign a function to each accent. Unlike the Masoretes, she actually believed what both Jewish tradition and musicological consensus indicate: the accents are primarily musical, secondarily exegetical. The resulting "deciphering key" is the only one possible based on that premise, and it explains all the features the Masoretic paradigm explains plus all the features it does not. (I owe to Masoretic scholar James D. Price the needed clue to correct the interpretation of one rare accent by her key. The correction is not in this book, however, but on my King David's Harp, Inc. Web site.)

The music that results does correlate with some of the oldest synagogue melodies, but unlike them it actually interweaves with the words syntactically. In effect, the Hebrew Bible was created and transmitted as "art song" (compare Psalm 119:54), and every biblical author "from Moses to Malachi (or Chronicles)" was a "poet-composer". The music theory behind the reconstructed music correlates on many levels with what we know of ancient music (including harp tuning and playing techniques), and has similarities with Gregorian chant on the one hand and Indian ragas on the other; yet it has a harmonic structure (especially in Psalms) which was not rediscovered in Western music until at least the Renaissance. Thus, thanks to Haik-Vantoura's work, we have the staggering privilege of being able to hear and perform music that sounds surprisingly modern, yet (according to Scripture) is up to 3,400 years old.

The notation itself is a transcription of a method of conducting music by means of hand- and finger-gestures (chironomy). An entire chapter of the book is devoted to the subject. After the book's publication, I set myself to reconstructing the chironomy behind the written accentuation, beginning with historical indications cited in the book. (Again, the system of chironomy is only documented online to date.)

The above results do not sit well with all rabbis, cantors, musicologists and Masoretic scholars. Yet everyone who has followed the late Haik-Vantoura's logic correctly (and there have been many) have supported her conclusions. You will find a long list of such people (and even some praise by "hostile reviewers") at the end of her book.

Haik-Vantoura herself died on Simchat Torah, October 22, 2002, after publishing or overseeing a total of eight recordings and numerous musical scores comprising some 5,000 verses (about one-fourth) of the Hebrew Bible. Most of this material is listed in the back of the book. Much of it is only available overseas (some via online sites) or is out of print. (Please note too that the contact information for King David's Harp, Inc. given in the book is outdated.)

My partner being 45yo male and I 34yo female, I bought this to educate myself on, what to expect in the future for both of us. Well, out of the blue he developed erectile problems, so I poured through this book and! lo and behold, His newly prescibed stomache medicine was on the list given in the book of potential problem causers......he stopped the pills and the problem was gone! Thank Mr. Rosenthal! Kudos!

This book really hit home. Instead of continuing to feel inadequate, my husband and I realized we are pretty normal! It addresses issues that are hard to talk about.

I read this on a recent holiday - ideal for reading on the beach and dreaming of a woman who could cook you gourmet italian meals every day of your life! Do such people really exist or is this why the genre is fiction. I learnt a lot about food and New York style neurosis. Got a bit slow towards the end but overall a good light read

If you liked Marilyn French's Her Mother's Daughter you'll love this book. Judith Rossner does a wonderful job developing her characters. You'll feel like you really know all of them when you're done reading the book. I really can't recommend this book highly enough!

Oxford is the standard. There is no better Russian-English dictionary available. Grammar forms are provided; examples and idioms are given. Appendices include abbreviations and geographical placenames.

The Oxford Russian-English Dictionary was my first real dictionary as a Russian Language student. Taking advice from a personal hunch I bought the book before I ever stepped into a university lesson in Russian about three and a half years ago. This dictionary has served me extremely well particularly in terms of translations excercises. I personally consider this dictionary to be a fabulous reference tool for anyone student or professor serious about the study of Russian with a focus on finding the most authoritative and accurate translation of over 80,000 words and/or phrases from Russian to English. Please consider purchasing this dictionary if you speak English as a native language and truly are serious about your studies of Russian. The only drawback to this dictionary comes from the fact that it forces the user to have a good sense of the meaning that he or she is after since it provides such a huge variety on certain translations from Russian to English which is quite understandable considering the difficulty in what many term {comparitive linguistics} i.e. (word to word) translation. I hope that anyone who wants to add to his or her vocabularly will consider purchasing this dictionary for I believe that it will help tremendously with this endeavor.

This book reminded me of the 60's and 70's and wonmen's struglles in the world. It also opened a window how some things ahve changed for women. But overall I enjoyed the relationships and the story

Reading this book, a lot of important messages came across. It demonstrates the stuggles that women went through and go through today in the really world. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy romance books with happy endings. This was truly one of my favorite books. It tells of hardships, as well as joyvial momements. A great book indeed, five stars!