Adapted from a series of lectures delivered at the University of London in 1913; this is a strikingly clearheaded and articulate discussion of one of the great faiths of the world from a historical and sociological perspective. Discover. . the Koran as the basis of Islam . the Koran as legal code . the status cults in the Islamic faith . the development of Islamic ethics . asceticism and pantheism in Islam . Islamic philosophy . and more. DAVID S. MARGOLIOUTH (1858-1940) was professor of Arabic at Oxford University. He is also the author of Muhammad and the Rise of Islam (1905).
#13576 in Books Riverhead Books 2013-04-02 2013-04-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.25 x .91 x 5.46l; .75 #File Name: 1594486549432 pagesRiverhead Books
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Super read for those of us in health careBy ChrisThis book hit all aspects of health care. All of us who work in long term care and of special needs and have the day to day government mandated crap made by those that aren't even working on the floors to be real. Our frustrations..We went into health care for people not paper. The time for the 1:1 patient contact is so much more. ...Those of us who still care do the extra from time to picking up clothes; snacks they love etc...this doctor who told the story of the way the New Health Care system hit it on the head. Us old time care givers are into the people not computers and worrying about covering our tails....A must read. I wish those that are making our new rules in health care really had to work for months in the rules they are making us follow. Get a clue.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A profoundly human bookBy Dr Ali BinazirA book that can delight you through its entertainments or instruct you with useful knowledge is a good book; one that does both is a great book. Rarely; a book comes along that not only instructs and delights but also deepens your humanity; carving out extra space inside us to carry even more compassion. 'God's Hotel' is such a book. [A hat-tip to Jesse Kornbluth of Head Butler for introducing me to it.]There were many reasons I enjoyed the book; which is really many books at once:-- The author; Dr Victoria Sweet; who has a PhD in medieval history as well as an MD; shares the ancient Latin and Greek etymologies of many terms used in patient care today. Hospitality; community; charity - what do they really mean? Through her stories about her time taking care of patients; Dr Sweet shows how those formed the three foundational principles of Laguna Honda Hospital.-- Dr Sweet interweaves the account of her doctoral research on Hildegard von Bingen in the story. Von Bingen was the original 11th century superwoman: head cleric; builder; farmer; physician; author *and* composer at a time when women weren't allowed much power at all. Dr Sweet applies some of the premodern principles from von Bingen's healing framework to her patients; with encouraging results.-- Dr Sweet describes in great detail and without spite the encroachment of modern medicine with its "efficiencies" into the cozy; personable and strangely effective ways of Laguna Honda; even though there is much to provoke the reader's dismay. The personal; health and financial consequences of cost-cutting; both on patients and staff; turn out to be much higher than the dollars that those measures purport to save. It's a cautionary tale about what medicine can be vs. what it has become; and should be required reading for every medical student.-- And most of all; the stories of the patients. Laguna Honda being a hospital for the care of the indigent - the last almshouse in the US - its patients are people that the good life left behind. The poor; the mentally ill; the unlucky; those with nowhere else to go: these are the patients that Laguna Honda treats equally and without prejudice. Sometimes the patient goes to the brink of death; the 'anima' already halfway in ascent; and turns back. Other times; the patients make miraculous recoveries only to succumb to alcohol or neglect once discharged. These case histories are at once invigorating; enlightening; infuriating and heartbreaking. They are the human heart of the book.One of the side effects of reading any book is to become partially imbued with the spirit of its author. Reading 'God's Hotel'; you get a sense that Dr Victoria Sweet is a deeply thoughtful and compassionate person; and one of the very best kind of caregivers one could hope to have. As a result; this book will not only delight and instruct you; but is also likely to leave you a better human being.-- Ali Binazir; M.D.; M.Phil.; author of [...]; the highest-rated dating self-help book on 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A new (old) way of doing medicineBy Brie ParkerThis was a lovely; well-written story about what the practice of medicine can look like given time to percolate. The patients of Laguna Honda had nothing but time; and their doctors and nurses did as well. They had time to think about what they were seeing; think about what might be the problem; think of what might be the solution. They had time to try those treatment ideas with the patients they'd built relationships with. The end of the book seems to mark a moving-away from what was; but the lessons taught via slow medicine are useful for any time and place.
