An interesting anthology, made up of essays and anthologies drawn from Arabic literature. Mr. Schroeder chose carefully, and the impression created is insightful, in my opinion. It is a useful starting place for the student of the crusading period. ( )

An anthology of writings from Islamic culture, essentially Arabic rather than Persian or Turkish, arranged roughly chronologically from the pre-Islamic "age of Ignorance" through Muhammad, the rightly guided caliphs, the OMayyads, the Abbasids down to about 1000 when the caliphs were reduced to puppets of warlords. Useful for including extracts )mostly short) from many different sources. chiefly though not purely religious. ( )

A compendium of passages quoted from a wide variety of sources from the historical Muslim world.