Anyone who cares about Arabian horses, especially the Egyptian type, just has to read this book. It tells a lot about how the breed came to be and is illustrated beautifully. It is not leasurely reading because it does take you back in time and into a complete different world than ours is today. Add too that that it is a complete different culture altogether and you'll enjoy every bit of the book. I truely recommend this book to all of you Arabian horse lovers. Maybe it is helpfull to learn a bit about Islam culture before reading this book so you can understand the culture even better.

This book presents the basics of the historical background of the modern arabian horse. It is slanted a bit towards the Egyptian Arabian but that is ok, as it does mention other sources. It has some excellent photos and is a stepping stone to hte next Forbis book, Authentic Arabian Bloodstock.

This book contains a rich background on the imports brought to America by Ansata Arabians. Wonderful pictures of desert-bred horses and their progeny in the United States. Very informative, I enjoyed reading it, and especially studying the pictures and pedigrees of past generations of Arabians.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I own Egyptian Arabians which are very closely realted to many of the ones mentioned in this book. However, even if I didn't, the book contains many historical facts, is written in a wonderful, easy-to-read style, and is interesting. This book comes very close to the ultimate book of Arabian history. I did not find all the Arabian lines researched in this book (which was not its sole purpose), and that is the only thing keeping it from "the best" in my library. Great book! I loved every moment.