This book collects five essays by scholars on different aspects of slavery in the Muslim Middle East. Contrary to the title, it is not a comprehensive review of the phenomenon -- vast in time, space, and social, political, and economic features -- but snapshots of slavery in a few limited contexts. Perhaps the essay that will appeal most to non-specialists is John Hunwick's discussion of the role race played in enslavement in northern and western Africa; he teases out the various conflicting strands of legal-religious theory and practice on the ground to bring to life a relationship between slavery and race with tantalizing differences from and similarities to the system Americans are most familiar with. Also good are the editor's (Shaun Marmon) discussion of domestic slavery among the Mamluks and Yvonne Seng's on slavery in Istanbul. Michel Le Gall contributes a translation of an account by a French doctor of the slave trade in late eighteenth-century Cairo; it contains some useful data and has been judiciously annotated, but anyone who wants to use it seriously will no doubt consult the original French. The volume ends with a posthumous essay ranging broadly over time and space by the great scholar David Ayalon. While there is probably nothing much new here, it is fun to watch a great mind playing with history on the broad scale. It is a pity that the editor did not feel the need to supply the references that a scholar like Ayalon would surely have included in a final revision had he lived to complete it.

Compiled and edited by Shaun E. Marmon, Slavery In The Islamic Middle East is an impressive and informative selection of scholarly essays examining the institution of slavery as recognized and regulated by Islamic law, and as incorporated into Muslim societies well into the modern day. Looking at military slavery in Islam in the pre-modern period, the connection between skin color and slavery, a memoir portraying a raw and real look at victims of the African slave trade, and more, Slavery In The Islamic Middle East is a welcome and invaluable addition to Middle Eastern History and Islamic Studies reference shelves and reading lists.

This is a very good guide to the hikes that it covers. All 50 hikes are rated and include a range of difficulties from easy to strenuous. Many are in some of the most beautiful parts of the North Carolina mountains. And topographic maps help show the routes well and clarify what one shoule expect. A chief drawback (only hinted at in the low-key extended part of the title after the colon), is that it is less than a comprehensive guide to North Carolina mountain trails. It covers nothing west of the central part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park or west of the Cashiers area to the south thereof. North Carolina extends more than a hundred miles west of those areas, and there are plenty more mountains that way. So if that western extremity of the state is where you're wanting to explore, this is not the guide for that. But for mountains to the east thereof, this book should serve you well. One irony is that, although omitting that vast area of westernmost North Carolina, it does have a
"Foothills" section that includes at least three hikes properly described as in the Piedmont, hardly foothills at all. Those are at Reed Gold Mine and Duke Power State Park (as the book still calls it). They can be pleasant and rewarding hikes, but if you go there expecting mountain or foothill vistas, you could be disappointed. By the way, Duke Power State Park has since been renamed Lake Norman State Park. You'll need to know that if you look for signs directing you there (like from Interstate 77).

This is the classic work on Arizona Flora identification. Revised in 1970, it covers nearly 4000 species of higher plants native to Arizona. This is a highly technical work of based on descriptive taxonomy. I expect that recent advances in genetic typing will soon make works of this sort obsolete, but until such advanced techniques are widely available, this remains an invaluable handbook for the specialist working with Arizona flora. This book is difficult for the amateur to use for two reasons. First, there are essentialy no illustrations, relying instead on subtle distinctions of scientific descriptions. Lacking the necessary technical vocabulary, most amateurs will be quickly frustrated. However, the book does contain an excellent glossary (excepting the lack of illustrations) so with patience, advanced amateurs can make use of the keys. The second problem is less easily solved. Many of the key distinctions are made from plant characteristics observed at widely different times of the plant's life cycle. For example, reference to the petioles or lack thereof of the seedling's cotyledons may be made followed by references to the shape or character of the seeds or seed pods. This limits the usefulness of the key in many cases where the plant is only observed at a single point in time, generally while flowering. As an amateur wildflower observer, I generally use this as a reference to confirm or refine an identification made in the field or from photographs. My initial identification, usually to at least the family and usually the genus, is generally made with the aid of other works, such as the Peterson Field Guides, various other works specializing in desert or Arizona flowers and Ricketts 3 volumes covering the Southwest. But for all that, if you're serious about wildflower identification, then this is a book that must be part of your reference library. The included ranges and flowering times will often be enough to distinguish two similar appearing species.

I found the book to be helpful on both a professional and personal level. I am able to utilize some recommended treatment techniques in psychotherapy with my patients. I found particularly helpful the chapter by A. Schwartz and K. Crits-Christoph.

I am an Aussie living in Georgia and have found this book to be a valuable tool when finding the Australian way of eating. The recipes are Quite easy to understand and the ingredients are American friendly, unfortunately there are no pictures which takes a bit of the fun out of it. But all in all YUM YUM.

This text provides a quick, concise review of the pimary topics covered on emergency medicine exams. I found it to be a good way to prepare for inservice exams and the written boards.

Happy Moscow is a wonderful, though difficult, book. A cross between satire and the picaresque, it's loaded with symbolism. To get the most out of it, I think one must have at least a rudimentary knowledge of Stalinist Russia.

Happy Moscow, through its heroine, Moscow Chestnova, sets aside blithe idealism and explores the gulf that, in reality, existed between Stalin's "triumphant" socialism and the low living standards and bleak expectations of the people.

Moscow Chestnova, the heroine of Happy Moscow, was never meant to be seen as an individual. She's Every Citizen, the idea and the ideal of Stalinist Collectivity. More than anything, Moscow Chestnova cares; she embraces fully Dostoyevsky's mandate that "All are responsible for all." She cares about cleanliness, the proper heating of water, the driving of piles into the Moscow River. Following Stalinist ideology, she's the ideal every man desires and she gives of herself freely to anyone who asks. In Moscow Chestnova's world, as in Stalin's Moscow, there will always be room for "one more."

Just as Moscow Chestnova seeks to transcend the limits of individuality in favor of collectivity, so do the other characters in this book. One, in particular, buys a new passport and thus changes his identity. He goes on to acquire a new job, a new wife and a new family...all in the name of communist idealism.

Moscow Chestnova, of course, is eventually repelled by what she had, at first, embraced. She feels the isolation of the people, the lack of peace in their homes and in their lives and the oppressive sadness that covers the city like a blanket. Moscow finally comes to realize that even as individuals have been ignored, collectivity has gone to hell.

The language used in Happy Moscow ranges from the hilarious to the grotesque. Stylistically, the book is often absurd in its juxtapositions. Puns are rarely used for comic effect alone; they often contain important ideological or philosophical commentary. Platonov also has a unique ability of recontextualizing Stalin's rhetoric (drawn from his own speeches) in ludicrous parody and metaphor.

Happy Moscow is a gem of a book. It is a book, that, like the city of Moscow, herself, is, by turns, comic, creative, grotesque, and bizarre, yet ultimately crippled. It's a shame this book is not more widely read and better known.

This little book is easy reading, but is packed with beautiful examples of how we can give and receive these special acts of kindness. This book was given to me as a Random Act of Kindness by two wonderful people, Perry A~ and David, whom I have never met in person. These short stories cover all walks of life, including stories about those imprisoned. The only thing that I would have preferred about the book was to know who wrote each story. I plan to reference and recommend this book to my participants in my "Success Skills Seminars" that I present to corporate clients, as well as to inmates...to help lower recidivism, and reduce the number of victims of crime. Imagine how much more wonderful this world would be if we all practiced more Random Acts of Kindness.

Four stars because it's been a few years since I read this book, but I remember that I liked it!

What I enjoyed about this book was that the author twisted what we do know to create a great "what if" story. What if Anne Boleyn did this or that? What if Elizabeth I had to do something drastic to protect her position as queen?

Who knows what really happened? Will we ever understand what motivated peoples' behaviour? The fun of it is that we probably ever will!

There are items in this book that a historian could use to make a good argument for as being true, but of course, because the events took place so long ago, there is no way to test their veracity. But supposition is something we historians love to do. Hey, people may not read our journal articles about the truth, but they will read the historical fiction!

This book presents a wide-ranging description of Nubian culture by juxtaposing reprints of 3 different works by the authors. The first section, representing a woman's observations of Nubian village life before relocation, consists of excerpts from Elizabeth Warnock Fernea's "A View of the Nile". Following that are excerpts from Robert Fernea's work from the same time period, "Nubians in Egypt: A Peaceful People." The book concludes with an update on Nubian culture in the 1980s from a paper given by Robert Fernea and Aleya Rouchdy and published in "Nubian Culture: Past and Present". If you have the original works, you naturally don't need this book. But for others, this book is a very convenient and succinct summary of several viewpoints on Nubian culture.