A short novel here presents the dilemma of Asouf, the main character, whose bedouin sensibility (if one can say that) gives him not only great reverence for the life of the Libyan desert but also occult knowledge of it. Asouf is sought for knowledge of the secret wealth of the desert and he must decide whom to trust and how to react to these irrationaly gesticulating men who seek something they show evident disdain for, or at least a lack of respect for. The novel resembles in length and profundity certain of Ismail Kadare's novels. Al-Koni creates a stirring story with an almost-credible protagonist (though this does not seem entirely important here) whose dilemma is heavy and real, though unusually intimate. The solution is mythically dazzling and almost allows one to continue in good cheer despite the ubiquitous current of a slightly victorious greed.

Set in southwestern Libya near Ghat, "The Bleeding of the Stone" is the life story of an isolated Bedouin herdsman. Faced with the absurdities of modern life, herdsman Asouf is forced to examine every aspect of his life and beliefs in deciding how to respond. Testimony to a lifestye rapidly disappearing in Libya and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, the protagonist prizes the purity and simplicy of bedouin life and identifies closely with the creatures found in the desert. The first of Ibrahim al-Koni's novels to be translated into English, it is hoped this novel will be followed by many more.

Ibrahim, a professor of sociology and director of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, both in Cairo, offers one of the freshest, bravest, and most interesting analytical voices coming from the Middle East. He repeatedly stirs controversies and gets into trouble by stating what may seem to Westerners obvious, but is highly contentious in the Arab countries: for example, he holds that the Coptic minority in Egypt suffers from discrimination, that female genital mutilation should be stopped, that Anwar as-Sadat's peacemaking was a success, and that Arab states spend too much on arms and not enough on social programs. Unlike so many Arab analysts, Ibrahim is preoccupied not with the sterile Arab-Israeli conflict but with bringing political participation and economic development to his region. Given his sensible outlook, it is therefore dismaying to see how often Ibrahim gets elementary facts wrong. In a single chapter dealing with ethnic diversity in the Arab countries, he makes numerical mistakes (236 million Arabs do not constitute 8 percent of the world's population but half that number), chronological mistakes (misdating both the both the Lebanese civil war and the cold war), historical mistakes ('ethnic groups in the Arab world remained long reluctant and skeptical' of European offers of patronage in the nineteenth century?), geographical mistakes (including Israel in a table about the Arab world?), and political mistakes (foreign powers currently enjoy a 'hegemony' over the Middle East?). If the author slowed down a bit and provided a more reliable analysis, his important conclusions would have yet more value.

Middle East Quarterly, June 1997

Saad Eddin Ibrahim writes about a wide range of topics concerning Egypt. Of particular interest are his essays on Islamists which contain the results of one of the very few empirical works in this area. You will also find articels about the state of civil society in Egypt and a particular interesting essay on Egypts landed bourgeoisie which helps to understand the implications of Egypts latest land reform.

With its extensive illustrative examples, schematic diagrams and wide covereage ,this book provides an excellent understanding of the various food cooling technologies. Latest technologies are covered on a firm fundamental foundation. Highly recommeneded acquisition. (For a detailed review, see Drying Technology-An International Journal, Vol 18, No. 7, 2000 pp 1629-1631

Prof. A S Mujumdar Mech Eng Dept National University of Singapore Singapore

Darwish is first and foremost an eloquent poet. He uses a very surreal language in this book as a way to define a chaotic time. The time cannot be defined though, and this is the reason for the ambiguous writing. Darwish uses several allusions to coffee, water, and soccer to keep his readers grounded and also to take their minds off of the bombings in Beirut. Ultimately the book is a meditation on death, and has several thought provoking sections. Darwish is an excellent writer, as evidenced in the array of scenes he paints in the book. You will laugh, become depressed, think very very deeply, and be completely enthralled with the text. If you like poetry, surreal atmosphere, or middle eastern literature, this book is a must. It is also a valuable first hand experience of the situation in Beirut in 1982.

A combination sermon and historical text, this translation provides the English speaking world with a Shi'ite theologian's view of one of history's defining moments.

This volume is an excellent introduction to the breadth of Shaker experience, the diversity of writings, and the depth of thought. Shakers are often unfairly associated with an idealized view of a lifestyle or fine furniture rather than their groundbreaking theology, vital interaction with society at large, and unprecedented ability to take themselves both lightly and seriously. This volume respects "the Believers" and kindly reveals them to ecumenically minded folks. Students who can appreciate a tradition with a fluid nature will enjoy this book.

I am presently taking a graduate class, which deals with orientalism, and we are using this book as a reference. I found the introduction to be a wonderful insight into the Arabian mind. The stories are short, well written, and whimsical. I enjoy each story, in itself and also its symbolism with other stories in the book. There are also "Afterwords" that explain the complexities of the stories and the Arabian culture.

This book is extremely outdated. It was a required text for one of my classes, and I just sold it back because there is almost no useful information that is still valid. Many, many pages of this text are wasted on technology that is no longer used.

This book covers geometry theory for modeling lines, curves, surfaces and solids.

The book does not cover the programming theory.

This book has a good theory and some examples to begin in the knowledge of CAD & CAM systems construction and understand. At least, a student interested in CAD/CAM system will find the basis of geometric representation, and how to construct some graphics routines to CAD/CAM System

This book highlights the typical extremes that are found in the host of English language Islamic publications that have cropped up in recent years from Saudi Arabia. Nicely produced books (the best money can buy!), but written by people who have little idea of Western culture and mindset. This title is no exception, it is written clearly "for the average American to understand Islam" and we will review it from that angle.

This is really a book of two parts, the first half (40 pages) presents the miraculous scientific phenomenon mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. This first half about the Quran is EXCELLENT, a great great presentation, beautifully illustrated and explained.

The second half is a disaster to say the least. It starts off with some statistics showing Islam as the fastest growing religion, and then the authors write "This phenomenon indicates that Islam is truly a religion from God."!!!! So what does it mean that Chrisitans are the largest religious community in the world?? Does that make Chrisitanity the true religion also? Clearly, there is some mishap here in reasoning.

The rest of the 30 pages in this second half detail what Muslim's believe, and here are some major goof-ups. "What Does Islam Say About Terrorism?" is a section among the various other Muslim beliefs!!!! Clearly, there is no need for us Muslims to get so defensive about Western pop media potrayals that we start including them in our Religious Beliefs sections.

The myopic Muslim viewpoint of this work is again apparent as things that Americans really care about are glossed over in half-page paragraphs. Family and Women Studies is covered in one page whereas there should be atleast 4 pages detailing this aspect of Islam, as Americans could learn from Islam here. Racism is discussed adequately but there is no chapter called Racism, one finds it under "Human Rights & Justice in Islam." This is just poor editorial work. And lo! there is NO mention whatsoever of the daily Islamic morals and manners, another aspect Americans could learn a lot from Muslims. Nor is there any mention of Alcohol, Abortion, Interest, the Mosque as the Community Center, and finally JIHAD (against evil)!!! Of course, insofar as Jihad is concerned, i can sympathize with the Saudi publishers, as they hire the Americans to do the fighting for them, so technically absence of Jihad from such a book would not be considered an omission.

Right at the end, there is a paragraph entitled ISLAM IN THE UNITED STATES, and I will reproduce it entirety here. "It is difficult to generalize about American Muslims. They are converts, immigrants, factory workers, and doctors. This varied community is unified by a common faith, unerprinned by a nationwide network of mosques. Muslims arrived early in North America. By the eighteenth century, there were many Muslims in North America. Great Numbers of Americans have entered the fold of Islam. They are from different classes: the rich, the poor, the educated, and the illiterate. Today there are about five and a half million Muslims in the United States." Thats it! I am not sure what more I can add to this thoughtful description.

Then there is a page on important Islamic contacts in America, and as usual most of the major Muslims organizations are missing, (including the mythical "network of mosques" mentioned the page before). What one finds are a bunch of small obscure Saudi offices listed with P.O. Box addresses.

All in all a totally shoddy work on the back half of this book. The ironic thing about this title is that there are 5 "General Editors" listed inside the cover, all with Western names, and in paranthesis the publishers have tartly added their Muslim names, to give us the impression that they have done their homework and hired American-Muslim homeboys to produce this book!!! Which I suppose is the biggest tragedy of it all.

In conclusion, I would simply tear off the book at the 40th page, paste the back cover back on, and lo! I have an excellent book that should more accurately be titled A BRIEF ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE QURAN. I would NOT give the last 30 pages to an American friend!!

This is a brief, concise, but rich summary of the essence of Islam. I recommend the book for Muslims or non-Muslims, casual or serious reader, layman or scholar. A challenge tonon-Muslims who want to examine Islam objectively without prejudices of Islamic misrepresentations and to professed Muslims who do not know much about the message of Islam.

I agree with the reader from Chicago that Islam must be shown from a scientific point of view. Afterall, there is no conflict between religion and science in Islam. On the contrary, the Qur'an invokes believers to observe, and reflect, for understanding. That is also the scientific method.

I disagree with the "Khalifornia" reviewer on two points: One, as brief as this book is, it is not the place for explanations of beliefs and practices. Two, it is a misconception that this book modernizes Islam. The Qur'an, which has been preserved in the way it was revealed and no revisions allowed or done, has always been modern. It is the professed practitioners who let their cultural influences intrude into their "Islamic practices" to return Muslims to the era of ignorance that prevailed before the advent of Islam. This book is just a revival of the true spirit of Islam.

The book is a rich, healthy, mouth-watering appetizer. It is up to the curious reader to follow up with other more in-depth books written by authors who know what Islam really is, such as 'Abd al 'Ati, Badawi, Esposito, Lings, Haneef, Hofmann and others.

To the authors, God bless the "pen" you write with.

As an American Muslim, I am always asked by non-muslims to explain to them about Islam. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and there are billions of Muslims world-wide. This book brought tears to my eyes when it clearly explained the words of God as written in the Quran. I had once recommended Suzanne Haneef's book, "What every Christian should know about Islam and Muslims." It is also a good read that is more in depth. But this one was brief and more inspiring. It is clearly written, illustrated and has an excellent reference section. I feel it to be the most excellent Dawah gift to those seeking to know about Islam. Or even an excellent Eid gift for those who do.

I disagree with the earlier response to not show Islam in its scientific view. I say why not? This view was presented for a reason to show evidence that Islam is truly inspired by God. Other views were presented as well; such as the benefits of Islam and general information on Islam. I can guarantee that any Muslim that reads this book will be more than impressed and any non-Muslim will be inspired. All praise is truly due to God!!!