Few writers, Thomas W. Lippman wrote in the Washington Post, have explained so lucidly the complex developments of Muslim history.

It is difficult to address the questions of Islam, the Arabs and their relations with Israel and remain nonpartisan. But Business Week's Ronald Taggiasco called Pipes' scholarly explanation of events and faith in that little-known, volatile, and important part of the world well worth reading.

Pipes' reasoned, literate explanation of what generated the Islamic resurgence goes a long way to explaining recent events. Written in 1983, this book provided the first comprehensive political study of Islam's extraordinary role in modern world. We are fortunate indeed that Transaction has rescued the political and global implications of the Islamic revival, revealed here, from the out-of-print category, complete with a new preface for 2002.

The book is divided into three sections. The first covers the premodern legacy of Islam's sacred laws and its failure to implement the public ideal represented by those laws--as existed in the single state for Muslims (Dar al-Islam) from 622 to 753 A.D. According to Pipes, for most of Muslim history, traditional Muslims were willing to accept the gap between the ideal and the actual, to live with a less-than-complete implementation of Shari'a, although the Muslim approach to politics derived from the "invariant premises of the religion" established more than 1,500 years ago.

The second section covers Islam's encounters with the West, beginning with the matched powers of Crusaders against the Ayyubids, and proceeding quickly to Napoleon's 1789 invasion of Egypt. (This prompted the Ottoman Sultan Selim III to declare Jihad against the French and join the infidel British and Russian empires to keep his own in tact).

Muslims had ruled millions of Christians in Europe for 450 years before being displaced by Turkey. Then the western cultural onslaught began in the first half of the 18th century, and ran from Umma's eastern end (China and Indonesia) to its west (Crimea). By the end of 1919, only Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Arabia and Yemen retained political independence, the first three by balancing the claims of Britain against those of Russia and the latter two simply by being remote and completely barren. Meanwhile, the Muslim Empire had also lost battles of scientific, technical, mechanical, geographic and historical knowledge. Even daily Western life differed markedly from that of the Islamic east. Thus fundamentalists began lobbying for strict Shari'a everywhere in the Umma.

In contrast, reformist Muslims argue that traditional Shari'a is hopelessly illiberal and conflicts with the true Qur'anic values. They reject Shari'a traditions emanating from Hadith, consensus of the 'ulama and reasoning by analogy as inauthentic and outdated, respectively. Similarly, they approve of parliamentary systems of government, but view hold their record in Islamic society in contempt. On some fronts, liberal views conflict with themselves. While they admire pan-Islamic solidarity they are not committed to it; and they recognize national interests but disapprove of Muslim states fighting one another. And as for non-Muslims, according to Pipes, reformists are caught by ambiguity, between their desire for equal status for all and the wish for Dhimmi laws that traditional Islamic states use to bestow a special place on Muslims, while relegating all non-Muslims to inferior, even slavish conditions. The fact that Westernization did not markedly improve the Muslim world in the 1970s led to increasing fundamentalism.

Pipes devotes the third section to Islam in current affairs, detailing the effects of the fundamentalist surge on 22 Muslim-dominated nations from Indonesia, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Central Asia and Asia to Algeria, Morocco and Egypt in Africa and Syria, Iran and Iraq, in the Middle East. In at least 8 other nations, from Malaysia to Nigeria, Muslims vie with non-Muslims for power. In one of these--the Sudan--the conflict has grown bloody since this book was written, forcing millions into subjugation and slavery. Pipes also reviews 20 areas, including the former Soviet Union, where Muslims account for less than a quarter of the population but are asserting themselves. Pipes includes an extensive 50-plus page look at the means that the oil boom provided to promote Islam. Oil is behind the political importance of Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian Revolution, for example.

But Pipes also concludes that an Islamic revival dependant on oil constitutes a mirage, for the cash that oil provides cannot last forever. This, Pipes predicts, will leave the Islamic world with a choice that has become increasingly urgent--to adapt and come to terms with global Westernization, or to accept apologetics, introversion and poverty.

This broad treatment remains as helpful in understanding current events as when it was written nearly 20 years ago. Alyssa A. Lappen

"The privilege of a lifetime" is what the author thought about the opportunity to minister to American prisoners of war. Chaplain Eugene L. Daniel Jr. began his 27 month odyssey as a German prisoner in a manner that was, perhaps, unique in the annals of WWII. While his comrades in the 34th Division evacuated a doomed hilltop position by stealth of night, the Chaplain stayed behind, waiting for dawn. He stayed behind so he could get medical assistance for two wounded German prisoners. The prisoners would never have made it back to an Allied field hospital, and they surely would have perished had they been left behind. Their one hope was delivery to the nearest German medical station. Chaplain Daniel's "surrender" saved the lives of the wounded soldiers, and this singular act of humanity was a fitting beginning to Daniel's years of ministry to his fellow POWs. "In The Presence of Mine Enemies" is a story of a heroic captivity. From the rugged mountains of Tunisia, to the frozen Silesian Plain, Chaplain Daniel buoyed the spirits of his comrades by sharing the scriptures and holding fast to his faith. In his first message to fellow inmates at Stalag Luft III, Daniel wrote: "It is my dominant prayer that together, we may learn more of the grace and love of our heavenly Father." Of the tens of thousands of American servicemen captured during World War II, not one was prepared for captivity. Some thought about death, many imagined being wounded, and most all dreamed about returning to their loved ones unhurt. But no man was prepared for the abject humiliation of becoming a prisoner of war. Many Americans were already wounded at the time of their capture, and there were little or no medical resources to attend to their wounds. For all, hunger and malnutrition were a grim fact of life. Allied officers fared slightly better than enlisted men, in their segregated camps. For that reason, Lieutenant Daniel requested his German captors to transfer him to an enlisted men's prison camp, so that he could minister to those in the greatest need. And so, Eugene Daniel shared the same starvation diet as the enlisted prisoners. Near the war's end, when the Germans desperately marched their captives over a frozen Europe, trying to dodge the advancing Russians, Daniel was reduced 115 pounds. But throughout his ordeal, he continued to serve to his fellow prisoners a steadfast diet of hope and grace. Even some of his captors fell under the influence of Daniel's spiritual light, and more than one German prison guard formed a bond of lifelong Christian fellowship with the American Chaplain. This extraordinary story is told with humor, humility, and elegantly simple prose. "In The Presence of Mine Enemies" deserves special honors in our inspirational literature. It will surely lead the reader to better understand the mysterious promise of the 23rd Psalm.

This is an excellent book on inclusion! It touches on restructuring of schools, relationships, curriculum modification, behavior management, and an appendix full of additional resources. Good for any regular or special educator.

I absolutely need to contact Mr. George Fronval to ask him the autorisation to reprint some pages of his book "Contes et récits du Canada français. Can you help me?

One of the most important books of the American 20th century. Set in the class conflict of the Akron, Ohio, strike of 1936 against the rubber industry. "Sit down" and give it a read!

This book is a great introduction to the rapidly growing field of information privacy law. Although it is a casebook designed for classroom instruction, it also serves as a terrific reference tool for lawyers in the field, especially given the field's lack of reference books. The text has broad coverage, including privacy issues about the media, law enforcement, health and genetic data, computers, the Internet, email, anonymity, and the workplace. It also has a chapter on international privacy law. It covers the privacy torts, constitutional protections, FTC enforcement, federal statutes, HIPAA regulations, EU Data Protection Directive, and more. The book is tightly edited; and it provides copious background and explanatory notes. All of the major privacy statutes are explained thoroughly and clearly -- for this alone, the book is worth purchasing! The book is the best synthesis of the field I have yet encountered. If you deal with information privacy law issues, this book is an indispensable reference tool!

The eleven chapters in this 199-page book gives a roadmap for aligning business and IT, and for effectively delivering value. As such this book should be on the book shelf or reading list for anyone who is involved in IT management or consulting.

Chapter 1 opens with IT as it relates to the global business environment. Much has been said about the global nature of the connected world, but views provided by two essays, reinforced with a case study and capped off with an action checklist sums up the key issues.

The book uses the same discussion-reinforcing case study-action checklist structure in every chapter. I like this approach because it has enabled the author to provide the key issues in succinct terms, demonstrate those issues in action, then give a structure from which you can develop your own plans. I also like the fact that management views written by other writers who are experts in their fields are included in many of the chapters.

Each chapter addresses a specific and important aspect of IT management, and each builds upon the preceding chapter. The sequence is: frameworks for thinking about business and IT (especially solid chapter because it gives a point of reference for the rest of the book), delivering information, IT for competitive advantage (another excellent chapter!) and managing the development of an IT strategy. Although the book is not divided into sections, the preceding chapters is a foundation for what's to come. The next two chapters cover analyzing IT investments and impact of IT on an organization. These set the stage for the two that follow: implementing the IT strategy and the business manager's role in development. The book concludes with two chapters that cover major trends in IT (this chapter is still valid despite the fact that the book was written in 1999) and management concerns for the future.

The book is well written and thought-provoking. I got through it in a weekend, then spent weeks thinking about much of what was presented, and frequently referred back to key chapters. The action checklists are probably the most valuable parts of the book and are carefully crafted to make you think about key issues as they relate to your organization.

This is by far the best book about lime and it's applications that I have ever had the pleasure to read. Thomas Hardy is a genius!

These field guides for the younger scientist are great. the pictures are so vivid and close up. The insects are larger than life and the details are clear and easy to see. The text is written in an easy to read style with words a child can easily understand. My children, ages 7, 6, and 4, and I love to sit with these and discuss the pictures and text. I would recommend these for any young adventurer.

I found this book to be more user friendly than the manuals that accompany the software. It certianly advanced my ArcView skills.