Though Arabic fiction has been typically characterized as "realist" this novel extends fair beyond the borders of traditional narratives (both Western and Mid. Eastern) and into the realm of poetics, metafiction, folklore, and abstraction. A solid achievement on every level. Though even the author has expressed doubts about the validity of translated texts, I found the book, despite whatever has been lost by its transition into English, to be astoundingly poignant and surprisingly surreal. My only complaint, in fact, is that Nasrallah has virtually no other works that have been translated into a language that I can actually read. Not yet at least...

The book, though not directly political, can do nothing to prevent itself from depicting the disillusionment and frustration of an entire generation of Palestinians living in exile- the theme of identity loss, IMO, is intricately connected with this reality. Nasrallah is also more of a poet than a fiction writer (this is actually one of his only novels, he's famous mostly for his poetry) but I think this serves to give his narrative a fresh voice and structural style that most traditional novelists lack.

A must read, especially for those with even the remotest interest in the Middle-East.

This book is very factual and easy reading. As, I read the book it was like the author was telling a story. It was written with great style and respect for all countries of the world. I recommend the use of this book in history classes and as a coffee table item or to go on a collectors bookshelf. Enjoy this fully packed factual book. The book is indexed in a great user-friendly fashion.

I'm student and I have very intrese for the ottoman art for islamic. the miniature of this kultur ýs very nice.

Theoretical Nursing is not only well written and researched - it's also very readable. Its significance goes well beyond epistemological issues related to nursing. The author does a great job of balancing breadth and depth of the very appropriately chosen topics. Concepts are readily applicable to other disciplines and leave enough room for critical evaluation. The bibliography is excellent.

"The Wedding of Zein" actually includes three separate stories, all set in pleasant, rural, Muslim villages of the Sudan, in Africa. The book is named after one of the stories. The other two are called "The Doum Tree of Wad Hamid," and "A Handful of Dates." Each tale has the universal feel of a fable -- the wisdom they encode in their simple language can speak to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The Muslim characters have a few traits which could seem odd to Western readers, but basically they are just like small town folks all over the world. They walk with dignity, they live in peace amidst old friends and loved ones, and they cherish their own dreams of love and happiness.

The title story is my favorite. Zein is sort of a "holy fool" in his little village. He is not exactly retarded, or crazy, but is clearly eccentric. He seems to promote laughter and good feelings wherever he goes, although sometimes this is at his own expense. Many of the villagers laugh at him. All of the villagers laugh with him. Zein seems unaware that there could be a distinction between these groups of people, and, perhaps, therein lies his potential for healing... He is betrothed to the beautiful, solemn, almond-eyed Ni'ma, before whom he has NEVER made a fool of himself. She, and she alone, holds this honor... Their courtship, and the impact it has upon the village, comprises a highly provocative, and ultimately warm, view into human nature. You won't forget this comedic, yet highly serious, love story.

Taken together, these stories really got me thinking about what it's like to live in an average Muslim village. It makes me want to know these people better, they're nice people, just like anyone else.

This is a good reading but it lacks reference to all the sources from which the ideological foundation of Islamic Economic System has been derived. If you are interested in a rational ideological background of Islamic Economics the following two books are also a must read:

1. Society and Economics in Islam :Writings and Declarations of Sayyid Mahmud Taleghani by Sayyid Mahmud Taleghani, Prof. Hamid Algar (Editor) (available on amazon)

2. Our Economy by Muhammad Baqir As-Sadr

this an excellent book, very comprehensive and clearly written, which could be read by both beginners and specialists. i recommend it highly.

After the frustration of looking for a good book on the subject of Islamic banking and finance, I was glad I found 'Islamic finance in the global economy'. It is by far the best, most comprehensive and most readable book on the subject. The author has an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject in all its ramifications (religion, finance, economics, politics, history, etc.), yet his erudition does not stand in the way of clarity. Indeed, Warde is a superb writer, and the book can be read and enjoyed by a wide range of readers - bankers and other professionals, academics and researchers, students, etc. While the book's lucid and fluid style makes it accessible to those who are new to the subject, it will be equally valuable to those well versed in the subject: academics, experts, Shari'ah advisers (who will not doubt use it as a handy reference book). Indeed it is heavily footnoted and has a comprehensive index. As the title indicates, it is a book about Islamic finance 'in the global economy'. As such it provides a welcome departure from most books on the subject, which are really about theology, and not about the 'real world' of Islamic finance. One criticism of the book is its rather steep price. Although it is in my opinion worth every penny, the book will be out of the reach of most of its potential audience. The publisher may assume that bankers can afford it, but I feel that its potential audience is much larger: certainly all students of Islamic economics and finance will want to read it. (I assume however that there will be at some point a paperback edition.) M. Osman, London

jawad has attempted to keep the book small in volume and concise.barring initial chapters which are on ultrasound physics and acquisition of images, rest of text is devoted to diseases or clinical cardiac problems.there are copious illustrations. the book is all about basics and could be starting point for beginners .

As the Instructor and Clinical Coordinator of the Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Technology Program at Gwynedd Mercy College, located in Pennsylvania, I have used this text as part of my curriculum for the past three years. It provides not only an excellent introduction into the practice of echocardiography for the students, but also a comprehensive review of the cardiovascular disease states. The numerous 2-Dimensional, M-Mode, Pulsed Wave, Continuous Wave, and Color Flow Doppler images presented in each chapter provide excellent visual examples of normal and abnormal cardiac function. The accompanying text is easy to read, yet thorough. And as a Registered Cardiovascular Technologist working in the clinical setting, I am able to refer to this book for its practical hints as well as its valuable ultrasound information.

This is a very well written book and the first of its kind
on Bayesian survival analysis. The authors have a very keen
sense of the important issues and models in this area, and they
do a wonderful job of presenting the various topics. The book
discusses state-of-the-art methods for fitting Bayesian survival
models. The content on the power prior and its uses in survival
analysis was very exciting. The motivating examples in Chapter 1
were novel and very appealing. The authors have a great deal
of experience in this area and in the applications they present.
I definitely recommend buying this book. It serves as an
exceptional reference or textbook.

This is a great book on Bayesian survival analysis. It presents
a very comprehensive account of modern Bayesian methods in
survival analysis. The applications that are addressed in the
book are excellent and present major modeling and computational
challenges that would be impossible to implement in the
frequentist paradigm. The book has some outstanding chapters
on model selection, cure rate models, joint models for
longitudinal and survival data, and Bayesian methods for
clinical trials. This book would serve as a great textbook
for a Ph.D. level course in Bayesian survival analysis. The
book contains a number of useful and challenging exercises
and it contains a very exhaustive bibliography. I definitely
recommend this book.

This is truly a marvelous book on Bayesian survival analysis.
The authors, who are true experts in the field, have written
a gem that covers modern Bayesian methods in survival analysis.
They have a nice blend between modeling, theory, and applications
that truly makes this book the first of its kind. It has some
very nicely written chapters on semiparametric models based on
prior processes and frailty models. The book is very extensive
in its coverage and has a very long bibliography. This book is
going to be a best seller for a long time.

This is truly an oustanding book on MCMC methods for Bayesian
computation. The authors present a nice balance between technical
developments and applications. It covers several topics not covered by other MCMC books, such as HPD regions, model selection, and density estimation. This book is world class.

This is an outstanding book on MCMC methods. The book presents
novel and sophisticated methods for carrying out posterior
computations and summarizing posterior quantities of interest using novel MCMC techniques. The authors present a lot of their
groundbreaking work as well as summarizing the work of many others. The book presents a number of complex models used in real and interesting applications in the biomedical sciences. Two of the authors also have wirtten another outstanding book titled Bayesian Survival Analysis (Ibrahim et al., 2001), which presents modern methods for Bayesian survival analysis and provides a comprehensive and thorough treatment of the subject. The authors are to be congratulated on writing two very fine books. Both books get 5 stars from me.

This is a great book by the authors, covering a wide range of
topics in MCMC. The coverage of the material is deep and novel.
Two of the authors also have published another outstanding book
titled Bayesian Survival Analyis, by Ibrahim et al., which presents
cutting edge and novel methods in the analysis of survival data.
Both books get 5 stars from me. A splendid job by the authors
in writing two very fine books.

Wendy Buonaventura obviously loves raks baladi ("country" or folkloric belly dance) with a passion. As sometimes happens with authors passionate about a subject, she unfortunately treats her opinions as facts upon occasion. As a dancer, I love the glorious Orientalist pictures, early 20th-century photos and fascinatingly slanted accounts from Western travellers, and I love her feelings for the dance. It's a beautiful book to peruse, and you can get some marvelous ideas for theatrical costuming from it. But like the Orientalists she reviews, Buonaventura presents an exotic and monolithic Middle East, where Egypt represents this entire diverse region and where nothing changes over time. She also perpetuates the popular myth that this is a *women's* dance, whereas in truth both sexes dance at private functions, and in both Egypt and Turkey, men historically performed as well. (Western tourists just weren't interested!) Read this for its lovely artwork and, if you're a dancer, for a feel-good spiritual connection with earlier dancers--but if you're interested in the subject of dance history, do some further research. And if you are involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism, PLEASE don't use this book for costume documentation. Egyptian clothing pre-1600 was very, very different.

"Serpent of the Nile" is a wonderful book for anyone with an interest in Middle Eastern Dance, which is currently gaining tremendous popularity in the West. The author traces the art of 'Beladi,' what we now refer to as 'belly-dancing' from its origin to how it has changed over time. There is a lot of very interesting information in here, written concisely and accessibly, even for those of us who are not overly concerned with history; such as the need for male dancers to entertain the public when women were forbidden to do so, how the patriarchal nature of Arabic society affected Beladi, and how the Westerners exoticised and perhaps even corrupted the original form of dance. But the beauty of this book lies in its stunning pictures, a treat for the eyes! Photographs of sculptures, paintings and engravings of dancers and musicians fill the pages and make it an ideal coffee table book. A wonderful resource.

I can't speak to the accuracy of Wendy Buonaventura's history of belly dancing, though I found no evidence of the most controversial complaint, that she fails to note the role of European Orientalists in fabricating our notions of Middle-Eastern dance. In fact, she discusses this very thing at length.

The treasure in the book is the collection of paintings. Where else can you see Dinet's gorgeous watercolors? I had never even heard of him. Are the pictures accurate? I suspect they are. Are they representative? Of course not. Like Gauguin in Tahiti, the Orientalists saw what they wanted to see.