Free books on the Internet – two rather oddball services

For some months now I have been subscribed to a couple of mailing lists that puzzle me even as I take advantage of them. One of them is Forgotten Books, which every day offers an old book that might well be of interest to readers today. Other books besides the daily selection are available at a price, or with advertising interpolated into the text. The selection of books...

More Rumi

Someone who does not know the Tigris River exists Brings the Caliph who lives near the river A jar of fresh water. The Caliph accepts, thanks him, And gives in return a jar filled with gold coins. Since this man has come through the desert, He should return by water. Taken out by another door, The man steps into a waiting boat and sees The wide freshwater of the Tigris. He...

A snippet of Rumi

Imagine a man selling his donkey to be with Jesus.Now imagine selling Jesus to get a ride on a donkey. This does happen.Jesus can transform drunk into gold. If the drunk is already golden, he can be changed to pure diamond. If already that, he can become the circling planets, Jupiter,...

The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades, by Paul M. Cobb

Cobb, Paul M. The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Pp. 335. $31.95. ISBN: 978-0-19-935811-3.Reviewed by Steven MuhlbergerNipissing University (retired)steve.muhlberger@gmail.comI approached reviewing this book not as a...

Reading list for next year?

Much more substantial than my own collection of good posts for the past year is Phil Paine's annotated list of books that inspired him this year. There is no point in duplicating his post; instead I will just include one fairly long excerpt and hope that you will look for the rest...