In this straightforward and authoritative collection of fifteen essays -- each by a different; specialized expert in the field -- readers will encounter all the major elements of Islam; including its history; its beliefs; its practices; and its interactions; notably with Christianity; Judaism; and the modern world. Islam: A Short Guide to the Faith will inform and enlighten all who wish to better understand this increasingly influential world religion.
#731967 in Books Walker Company 2012-09-04 2012-09-04Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .33 x .6 x 5.60l; 1.07 #File Name: 080277881X512 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The atrocities of war are told through the eyes of the individuals in this very well documented book.By Marguerite DucsayEach individual in the book recorded their very different experiences in letters; diaries; and even verbal memories. The stories were interwoven in sequence by a very skilled author who brought the reader into the beautiful city of Leningrad and let the reader "experience" the decline. Both the German and Russian militaries suffered greatly but no more than the helpless children and their families who stayed and then were trapped in Leningrad. The death toll is a number; reading this book will show the reader who those individuals were.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Leningrad's attempt at suicide thanks to StalinBy Charles J. Barnes MDFor many only the Russian version of the siege is known. Even in Russia. However after visits to St. Petersburg; visits with faculty of the University; this complete history of the brutal handling of its own citizens by the ruthless Stalin sheds clarity on the plight of the Russian people; especially in the northwestern Russian cities. St. Petersburg especially was allowed to die with absolutely no help from Moscow (and they could have many times). Author Anna Reid writes well and the book reads like a novel; but with factual data that sometimes makes you take a brake due to its horror. Good work and hopefully it will be read inside Russia (not currently available there).35 of 37 people found the following review helpful. The current gold standardBy Henry F. HewittAnna Reid's new history of what may be the most horrific chapter of the bloodiest theater of World War Two is a welcome addition to a body of literature that up to 1969 had been terra incognita West of the Iron Curtain. Near the height of the Cold War; New York Times journalist Harrison Salisbury presented readers with a monumental study of the Nazi blockade of the USSR's second largest city: the longest siege since biblical times. From the autumn of 1941 into 1944; Czar Peter the Great's "Paris of the North" was routinely bombed and shelled by the Germans. From 1941 to 1943 thousands of inhabitants perished from starvation thanks to a combination of German policy and Communist corruption and incompetence.Since Russia in 1969 was still a totalitarian state where the ruling Communists had a vested interest in perpetuating the myth of their heroic leadership in the struggle against the cruel invader; Salisbury deserves enormous credit for getting out the basics of the story. His narration is as compelling as that of any great novel and he makes an excellent case of how close The USSR came to losing the war thanks to the incompetence of Kremlin military leadership.His biggest failure; and Reid's biggest strength; is the starvation winter phase of the struggle. From 1941 to 1943; Leningrad had neither road nor rail contact with the rest of unoccupied Russia except for the tenuous links provided by Lake Ladoga. Between 750;000 and two million people perished over that period. Salisbury suggested that this tragedy was at least semi inevitable. Reid makes a convincing; and damning; case that a combination of monumental incompetence and the corruption of the city's Communist leaders made a bad situation far worse than it had to be.The difficulties that face a would be historian of this tragic period are underlined by the ongoing debate over precisely how many people died over the course of the siege. Official; Communist; claims of between 600;000 and 700;000 almost certainly understate the toll. Salisbury's guesstimate of a million and a half souls is probably closer to the truth although critics of the supposed road to life over Lake Ladoga suggest that the wildly inflated claims of successful civilian evacuations over the ice make a toll of two million (or two thirds of the city's refugee swollen population) not beyond the realm of possibility.Anyone who has a compelling interest in the period would do well to read both Salisbury and Reid (although the food distribution issue is by no means Salisbury's only error).Someone who's looking for a readable and accurate account of Saint Petersburg's greatest ordeal can safely stick to the current work; however.
