1996 International Tax Summaries: A Guide for Planning and Decisions (Worldwide Summaries 2 Volume Set)

Rick O'Shay and Hipshot: The Price of Fame (New Adventures of Rick O'Shay & Hipshot)
Average customer rating:

A highly recommended graphic Western novel

Rick O'Shay and Hipshot: The Price of Fame (New Adventures of Rick O'Shay & Hipshot)
Stan Lynde
Manufacturer: Cottonwood Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0962699969

Customer Reviews:

A highly recommended graphic Western novel.......1999-02-18

Stan Lynde's often humorous daily-and-Sunday strip from 1959-77 goes serious with a two-volume graphic novel focusing on the long friendship of Conniption City Marshal Rick O'Shay and gunfighter Hipshot Percussion. When Hipshot is forced to shoot three wanted outlaws, he attracts the attention of a dime-novel publisher whose resulting paperback brings in the reputation-seekers for months thereafter. Rick must find a way to protect his friend and his town. Lynde's art has matured wonderfully, his characters are distinctive and skilfully drawn, and there's a real flavor of the Wild West about the story and art. Any Western-lover should definitely buy this set.

The Cat That Changed My Life: 50 Cats Talk Candidly About How They Became Who They Are
Average customer rating:

8 Paw Salute!!!

A flawed perspective

Brilliance Personified

Loving it - meaning it!

a great treat for insiders

The Cat That Changed My Life: 50 Cats Talk Candidly About How They Became Who They Are
Bruce Eric Kaplan
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cartooning | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Cats, Dogs & Animals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Satire, General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Every Person on the Planet: An Only Somewhat Anxiety-Filled Tale for the Holidays

NO ONE YOU KNOW: A Collection of Cartoons

This Is A Bad Time: A Collection of Cartoons

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ASIN: 0743257855

Book Description

Q: What would happen if an intrepid person went around the country asking cats of all personality types and persuasions one simple question -- Who was the cat that had the most significant effect on your life and why?

A: This book. And what you will find in it is amusing, shocking, touching, and altogether unlike anything else you have ever experienced.

Customer Reviews:

8 Paw Salute!!!.......2006-01-03

My cats persuaded me to write this review, after I read this fine fine book to them. They admit that yes, they ARE "vain, decadant and self absorbed with few redeeming qualities, and many quirks", and they are quite happy to reside in this mode. One likes to lie flat on her belly and chew on my exercise bench when she is not sitting spellbound, listening to my female country music singer CD's. The other, a long haired foundling, likes to fill the hallways with her self-pitying wails. I have sometimes found my keys and my charge cards under their food mats..... They do delight in their personal perversions. And then again, am I, their human, considered by them to be any less bizarre?

Anyway, they allowed me to read this book to them, and after the last page, they stopped what they were doing long enough to lie on their backs and wiggle their paws in the air, giving this book an unprecedented 8 Paw Salute. Then they went back to their usual routines.

They insisted that they have KNOWN some of the book's characters personally, and tell me that BEK did a fine job -- for a human, that is -- in portraying the many twisted and not-so-twisted personalites of these feline individuals. They also want to know how much these cats were paid to be interviewed.

Was their enjoyment of this book a one-time phenomenon? I doubt it -- As I started to re-shelve this wonderful little book the other night, one of my cats, who lay fully stretched out on my side of the bed said in her breathy catnip-tinged voice "Read it again, Sam." I was so shocked when I heard her say that -- now, I want to know who this Sam is......

Buy this book, even if you DON'T have any cats to read it to. Buy it for your friends, even if THEY don't have any cats to read it to.

A flawed perspective.......2004-01-31

I think the author has a flawed perspective with cats. While some of the entries in this collection were slightly amusing, most portray kitties as vain, decadant and self absorbed, with few redeeming qualities. This was not the fun read I had hoped it would be.

Brilliance Personified.......2002-09-19

This book is a literary masterpiece. If I could have one wish, it would be to meet Bruce Eric Kaplan and shake his hand. He has taken the art of animals "speaking" and really made them say "something." A lot of times I'll look at my cat and think she's trying to tell me stuff, like that she loves me or that it's time to change her litter. (But I can't understand her, because she's a cat.) Bruce, however, has used these piercingly perceptive creatures to voice the inner truths, anxieties, neuroses and longings of all cognitive creatures - great and small. Delightful!

Loving it - meaning it!.......2002-09-19

This is my new favorite book...it really is. BEK is a genius...he might just be my favorite part of the New Yorker. I actually don't like cats, but I loved it -- it's hysterical for cat lovers and haters. His sublime and witty observations are brilliant. Is this guy straight? Single? Sign me up!!

a great treat for insiders.......2002-08-22

This is a great book for people who truly love cats -- in other words, it's a series of marvelous sketches that reveal the rich, interior lives that these intelligent creatures may possibly have ... no, it's not for children, but for adults who like their humor with a touch of wry, this is grand fun.

Customer Reviews:

Classic Foreign Films: From 1960 to Today.......2000-07-04

This is an invaluable book for the classic foreign film enthusiast or curious. The author carefully describes each film in terms of all the technical information one would need to make a choice. It is a comprehensive listing with photos of all the great films of the period. We hope the author will come out with another film book soon.

Book Description

The renowned cultural theorist reveals the deeper meanings of popular cultural phenomena in post 9/11 life in America.

The intellectual atmosphere in America following the event known as 9/11 was such that opinion deviating from the officially sanctioned narrative of good vs. evil was actively discouraged, the majority of the media toeing President Bush's war-mongering line. Thus it was left largely to European philosophers such as Jean Baudrillard, Paul Virilio, and Slavoj Zizek to think through the international consequences of this era-defining moment. However, behind the official smoke screen, certain American intellectuals maintained a critical distance from the propaganda and sought to understand the forces at work within US society.

In this perceptive work, Susan Willis examines a series of phenomena peculiar to post-9/11 America, including the Washington DC snipers, the Stars 'n' Stripes fever, and the anthrax hoaxes, arguing that even minor or seemingly aberrant cultural manifestations bear interpretation and reveal meaning which is inherently inimical to officially promulgated versions of the current climate of fear. As a "primer," this is an ambitious project that seeks to lay the ground for a renaissance of critical thought in America.

Customer Reviews:

Dark, but funny vision of post-9/11 America.......2006-02-13

Willis stitches together such disparate phenomena as the obsession with the flag, sexual fantasies about Osama Bin Laden, anthrax, and Kirk Jones' daredevil leap into Niagra Falls to uncover the psychological underbelly of the US immediately after 9-11. She demonstrates how much of US culture needs to be looked at sideways to be properly understood. For example, the sniper John Allen Muhammad, in his relation to John Lee Malvo, strangely epitomizes the black father figure whose supposed absence is constantly lamented in the media. The book feels so subversive that you understand why so many establishment types declared 'irony is dead' after 9/11. On the other hand, this doesn't mean that Willis understands any better than the rest of us how to get out of this ditch US culture has driven into.

how America is dealing with its fears.......2005-07-06

Willis has an exceptionally sharp eye for how the fears of Americans churned up by 9/11 are glossed over or disguised and thus mollified by elaborate symbolisms, specious hopes and optimism, and other exercises in delusion and denial. She not only has a sharp eye, but also ranges widely over popular culture for examples of this. Any reader will run across new instances of errant patriotism, infantile trust, political ignorance, and rational concerns mutated into mythic horrors. And for the generally familiar instances such as the Washington D. C. sniper murders and the anthrax scares, the author brings out new facets of these. Willis discloses what the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse reveals about aspects of American society; and sees the values (e. g., the exclusionary social ideal of the white Protestant male) and activities of the Ku Klux Klan mirrored in the posturing, mores, and policies of the Bush White House. Surely controversial, but Willis's critique raises issues the country will have to deal with positively if it is to have a role of world leadership and stop the disintegration of the domestic social fabric.

Great book!.......2005-07-06

Portents of the Real is a wonderful cultural analysis of events and phenomena that took place after 9/11. I don't find cultural studies to be a particularly exciting field in general, but Willis' book is clever, well-written, and kept me interested all the way through. It gave me a new perspective on what's going on in our country, and I think it's a must.

Dragon Keep/Dle3 (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dragonlance Module)
Average customer rating:

Dragonlance Dragon Keep

Dragon Keep/Dle3 (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dragonlance Module)
Rich Swan
Manufacturer: TSR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Role Playing & Fantasy | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0880387645

Customer Reviews:

Dragonlance Dragon Keep.......2000-06-13

Like all other books of this classic RPG world, Dragon Keep is an excelent Dragonlance Acessory, with a very good complementary information for a better understanding of these powerfull beings: the dragons.

Book Description

Millions of women around the world are meeting men on the Internet, or they've met in person and are corresponding by e-mail. But though e-mail and Net-based dating services have revolutionized the dating landscape, they've created their own pitfalls and challenges. Women need new strategies that will improve their chances of capturing Mr. Right.

Boasting the same time-tested formula and romantic spirit that made The Rules an international bestseller and launched thousands of women down the path to committed relationships, The Rules for Online Dating shows all women -- regardless of age, status, or computer savvy -- how to use electronic communication to relate to men in a way that maintains self-esteem and leads to a healthy relationship.

Here is a comprehensive list of dos and don'ts that will help every woman conduct an e-courtship safely and successfully; find and keep the interest of suitable mates; and save time, energy, and potential heartache by weeding out dead wood. The Rules for Online Dating takes women through the process -- step by step, Rule by Rule -- to the ultimate goal: a relationship based on mutual attraction, interest, and respect.

Download Description

What the international phenomenon of The Rules did for conventional dating, The Rules for Online Dating does for the search for love on the Internet. You'll never hit the "reply" button the same way again. Millions of women around the world are meeting men on the Internet, or they've met in person and are corresponding by e-mail. But though e-mail and Net-based dating services have revolutionized the dating landscape, they've created their own pitfalls and challenges. Women need new strategies that will improve their chances of capturing Mr. Right. Boasting the same time-tested formula and romantic spirit that made The Rules an international bestseller and launched thousands of women down the path to committed relationships, The Rules for Online Dating shows all women - regardless of age, status, or computer savvy - how to use electronic communication to relate to men in a way that maintains self-esteem and leads to a healthy relationship. Here is a comprehensive list of dos and don'ts that will help every woman conduct an e-courtship safely and successfully; find and keep the interest of suitable mates; and save time, energy, and potential heartache by weeding out dead wood. The Rules for Online Dating takes women through the process - step by step, Rule by Rule - to the ultimate goal: a relationship based on mutual attraction, interest, and respect.

Customer Reviews:

Capturing Their Heart?.......2006-09-27

After being out of the dating scene for ages, I've been trying to work my way back in, and find The Rules aren't necessarily about capturing the heart of "Mr. Right," as they are weeding out "Mr. Wrongs" and not kicking yourself over a failed relationship or a relationship that's not getting off the ground. If he hasn't asked you on a date after four emails, it's because he simply doesn't want to, at least not badly enough to ask. The Rules help you give a guy enough room to decide, and communicate, what he wants -- the opposite of manipulation.

excellent advice.......2006-07-17

I am a fan of the first book and subsequent "Rules" books by these authors. While these authors are criticized for being manipulative and non-feminist, one only has to try out their methods and look for results (or, conversely, violate the rules and see that doing so ends in disaster). Every time I have violated a rule of theirs, the man has immediately lost interest. What's great about this book is that it tells you exactly how to handle certain situations that arise when you are engaging in the online search for a significant other. This book is just what I needed to save myself time and heartache!

You will either hate or love this book.......2006-05-18

By reading other reviews you most likely have an opinion right now if this book is for you or not. Is it old-fashioned? Sexist? Stupid? Playing Games? Honestly, that's your call. There were several points I liked in this book, I think it has some valid content.

Profiles, the authors state that men basically look at the pretty pictures of the women, and glance at their profiles. Is this true? Men are visual. So pick a nice smiling photo. Don't write too much. I like this, not because it creates mystery, because your leaving out emotional baggage. Your selling yourself, not the fact your ex cheated on you with your neighbor, wouldn't commit, or he was mean.

I liked the after 4 emails, and he didn't give you his phone number, or ask for yours move on. Really, your on a dating website to date. If you are looking for chat buddies, go to a chat room. The author also asks you to wait 24 hours before you respond. There is a lot of pressure to respond right away, do you need to wait a full 24 hours?

There are a lot of tips like this that I think help weed out the real potential canidates. Online dating isn't for the faint-hearted. It is work finding the right person. I like that this book sets boundaries initially. I haven't read their other book, but I felt this book does a good job of helping you to sort through people. If you liked 'He's just not that into you', you will like this book as well.

Making Money Off Of Desperate Women: A Guide.......2006-03-16

As someone who has never seriously considered joining an online dating service (working with patrons in a public library computer center is enough to dissuade even more open-minded, shy, and luckless single people from doing this) it was just by chance I happened to stumble on The Rules for Online Dating, written by the cynical and cloying sexists Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider. I hear their Rules for Dating series is quite popular; if I really wanted to go after them, I suppose I should've read the original book. However, having read full portions of this one, I imagine I've gotten enough of an idea that reading any further would be act of senseless masochism. Fortunately, I do have an intrepid reporter updating me on the other books, saving me that displeasure.

The first thing that most readers who are not, as the authors put it, "Rules girls" (meaning those who do not slavishly accept the divine and unerring wisdom of Ms. Fein and Schneider) will notice is that the authors have an attitude towards gender that could be fairly described as bigoted; I'll get to that in a bit, as there's quite a lot to be said.

The second thing they might notice is a creepy implicit desire for control over their readers, not-so-subtly scolding those who disagree with their pronouncements as "Rules breakers". In this vein, it should be noted that the Rules books once contained a chapter entitled "Don't discuss the Rules books with your therapists," which, we should thank our lucky stars, has been removed in later editions of the book.

The third thing the reader might notice is that book is, put simply, annoying, written in a cloying and condescending tone of voice. Finally, the reader will be forced to conclude that the book, in addition to being unpleasant and sexist, simply doesn't achieve its goal. Or at least, I'm not familiar with the type of men the authors claim to be discussing (probably through self-selection of friends), and try to avoid the type of women they're targeting.

First, let's address the rather nauseating sexism. In the fourth chapter the authors have already used the classic sexist trope, encouraging Rules girls to "smile a lot and not speak too much." I hope most men today believe that being fun, exciting, and even (gasp!) intellectually stimulating might at times involve the act of speech. The sexism, of course cuts both ways. The Rules books are brimming over with implicit insults to men. Remember, ladies... Men, being shallow oxen, don't care for smarties. The book warns women that "men are not looking for Shakespeare or Hemingway when they search Matchmaker.com." And god forbid you ever mention to a man that you're having a bad day... The poor dears are simply not equipped for that level of emotional baggage.

The authors work hard to distill a sense of entitlement and self-satisfaction in the reader. They want ladies to think of themselves, in their sickly terminology, as "CUAO"s... "Creatures Unlike Any Other." Ladies ought to walk into a room "as if they just stepped out of a limo," as someone who would never dream of going Dutch. The thought that a woman may actually be making more than the man and doesn't need his beneficence does not occur to the writers... or at least they assume such a self-supportive woman is not in their target demographic. (Don't make an exception for students or guys on a tight budget, they explicitly caution in the first book.)

The book sometimes takes a break from sexism for simple incompetence. Their suggestions for screen names are dazzlingly banal, seemingly designed to demonstrate that a woman has no personality whatsoever. For example: BlondBeauty50, PetiteBrunette34, TrulyCute22, GorgeousGreenEyez44. They encourage self-conscious rudeness, which I can only imagine would be wildly counterproductive in many cases, for example never answering messages on weekends or in a timely manner... Don't ask why, I still don't understand it. They also assume that men, by and large, will only be truly interested in a woman if she makes a point of pretending to not be particularly interested in them. Obviously, this is going to scare off the shyer men, who are just going to assume the woman is not interested. And considering that, man-wise, online dating is the province of the shy and the creepy, that pretty much just leaves the creepy.

(Scratch that... I've just been informed by the original Rules screed that shy men do not exist. And in a puff of smoke I disappear.)

The fact that not all the advice included in this book is bad is not a sign of its usefulness so much as a demonstration that the authors are not afraid of the obvious. The fact that they have an entire chapter, not even an especially short chapter, on why you should avoid dating a married man ("even online"!) gives you an idea of what the authors really think of the intelligence and character of their readers.

There's a somewhat ugly aura of exploitation hanging over the whole enterprise. The writers assume pretty obviously that their readers are desperate. Instead of counseling them against this state, they encourage women to mask their desperation behind deliberate and rigorously maintained fakery. If they genuinely wanted to make women feel good about themselves, as they claim in the early chapters, they might wonder whether there might be more to doing so than finding a man and "closing the deal," (as they refer to marriage in an articulation of cynicism that truly takes the breath away.) Even more disturbing, the monomaniacal final chapter sternly warns readers "Don't Bend or Break The Rules Online-Even a Little Bit, accompanied by horrible accounts of what can happen when some foolhardy Rules-breaker steps out of line. In addition to this lockstep conformity being self-evidently bad advice, this is the type of language more befitting a cult than a self-help book. But of course we need a steady supply of Rules-girls to buy the next book. One wonders... is the bad advice I've mentioned really unintentional?

Rating: 0 out of 10. (Not merely bad, but evil.)

Excellent! .......2006-02-26

I am a fan of "The Rules" and have all of the books except for the one about marriage. I loved this book so much that I really wish I had this book a long time ago, particularly when I had started dating my ex-boyfriend online.

This book made me realize that my pursuing men via cyperspace has eventually led to my downfalls in my online relationships. Because I had broken all The Rules, I ended up with men who either just wanted sex, wanted something "on the side," or men who weren't into me as I was into them.

From my own personal experiences and from their other books, I am convinced that romantic relationships work best when a MAN pursues a woman and the woman stays "elusive."

This book has great practical advice, as well as encouraging success stories of women who've found love by following The Rules online.

If you are only looking for fun, sex, or a pen-pal through online dating sites, this book is not for you. This book is only for women who is serious about finding the love of their lives online.

Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad
Average customer rating:

A detailed exposition of the source of Wahhabism, slightly misleading title

Unveiling a Work of Pseudo-scholarship

Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad
Natana J. Delong-Bas
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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General | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith

Wahhabism: A Critical Essay

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ASIN: 0195169913

Book Description

Before 9/11, few Westerners had heard of Wahhabism. Today, it is a household word. Frequently mentioned in association with Osama bin Laden, Wahhabism is portrayed by the media and public officials as an intolerant, puritanical, militant interpretation of Islam that calls for the wholesale destruction of the West in a jihad of global proportions. In the first study ever undertaken of the writings of Wahhabism's founder, Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1702-1791), Natana DeLong-Bas shatters these stereotypes and misconceptions. Her reading of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's works produces a revisionist thesis: Ibn Abd al-Wahhab was not the godfather of contemporary terrorist movements. Rather, he was a voice of reform, reflecting mainstream 18th-century Islamic thought. His vision of Islamic society was based upon a monotheism in which Muslims, Christians and Jews were to enjoy peaceful co-existence and cooperative commercial and treaty relations. Eschewing medieval interpretations of the Quran and hadith (sayings and deeds of the prophet Muhammad), Ibn Abd al-Wahhab called for direct, historically contextualized interpretation of scripture by both women and men. His understanding of theology and Islamic law was rooted in Quranic values, rather than literal interpretations. A strong proponent of women's rights, he called for a balance of rights between women and men both within marriage and in access to education and public space. In the most comprehensive study of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's interpretation of jihad ever written, DeLong-Bas details a vision in which jihad is strictly limited to the self-defense of the Muslim community against military aggression. Contemporary extremists like Osama bin Laden do not have their origins in Wahhabism, she shows. The hallmark jihadi focus on a cult of martyrdom, the strict division of the world into two necessarily opposing spheres, the wholescale destruction of both civilian life and property, and the call for global jihad are entirely absent from Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's writings. Instead, the militant stance of contemporary jihadism lies in adherence to the writings of the medieval scholar, Ibn Taymiyya, and the 20th century Egyptian radical, Sayyid Qutb. This pathbreaking book fills an enormous gap in the literature about Wahhabism by returning to the original writings of its founder. Bound to be controversial, it will be impossible to ignore.

Customer Reviews:

A detailed exposition of the source of Wahhabism, slightly misleading title.......2006-08-31

First, this book is not about modern politics of terrorism or jihadi war or whatever, but it is about Ibn al-Wahhab and his writings.

Although the previous reviewer makes some very important points that call into doubt some of the author's choices of sources, I still feel that this is a very dynamic and thorough brush on this topic.

First, the book does not pretend to discuss the merits of those extremists who think they are or are labeled "Wahhabists" in the modern world, nor does it discuss what others currently view or percieve "Wahhabism" to be. Thankfully, such topics are not considered as they are highly political.

What is considered is the views, rulings, and opinions of the man who founded what is today, in my opinion, not "Wahhabism", but simply a more unifying and simplistic view of Islamic belief. The books demonstrates that the term "Wahhabism" is a complex term, and that the ideas of Ibn al-Wahhab were quite well developed. He was not an extremist or fundamentalists or zealot, but simply a religious interpreter who's views are often misunderstood. The books also shows, through its in-depth discussion of Wahhab's views, that the extremist and militant movements of today often labeled or known as "Wahhabism" should be called, and the author has firmly convinced me of this, Tamiyaism, who was a medieval islamic scholar that is cited by extremists as much as Wahhab.

I do not pretend to be a scholar on Islamic theology and thought, but this book is a great source for understanding the foundation beliefs of Islam and the interpreting view of Ibn al-Wahhab. He was a man that was principly concerned with "shirk", which was considered falsely believing in something. This was a concern similar to the iconoclast in Eastern Byzantine Orthodox in the middle ages. Here an example that concerned Wahhab was muslims praying to a certain tree, which he regarded as praying to something other than god.

The author writes very fluidly and does cite from Wahhab's works extensively and also does an analysis of Wahhab's own citations of preceeding islamic scholars in his original works, highlighting who he most often agreed/disagreed with.

I highly recommend this book for people with at least a basic understanding of Islamic thought such as Hadiths, Surahs, Fiqh, and the doctrine of Tawhid and even Sufiism and its veils.

I encourage the other reviewer to at least suggest some more books on the topic that can further clarify this topic.

Unveiling a Work of Pseudo-scholarship.......2004-11-05

Natana J. Delong-Bas's book, "Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad," which purportedly explains Wahhabism "accurately" and dispels "myths" propagated by "polemics" of all colors, media pundits and all, is a rather welcome contribution - or so it seems, at first glance. The three-page Introduction portrayed several people - including Stephen Schwartz (footnote 1,7,9,11), Khaled Abou El Fadl (footnote 3), and myself (footnote 6) -- as examples of misinformed individuals, in the least, who portrayed Wahhabism inaccurately in their works. To the author, their anti-Wahhabi rhetoric, like many others, flew in the face of the facts that she allegedly gathered in her more than 300 pages of research, much of it translated into English for the first time. Delong-Bas's point: Wahhabism just isn't the scary monster it is said to be. Maybe it really was a "pathbreaking" (Oxford Press), "groundbreaking" (John L. Esposito), endeavor, I thought.

Could the portrayal of Wahhabism as intolerant and fanatical by hundreds, maybe thousands, of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, authors, activists, students, etc. in 200+ years past be flawed? Should their positions be construed merely as a load of sophisticated/polemical gobbledygook? Does the author really open "the way for historians to reconsider and revise the standard, perhaps mistaken, notions about it" (David Commins)? One need not go to far into the book to answer such questions. Because of the author's main sources, the book fails miserably as a work of diligent scholarship.

In the Preface,Delong-Bas says: "Thanks are due to Faisal bin Salman, Abd Allah S. al-Uthaymin, and Dr. Fahd al-Semmari, Director of the King Abd al-Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for making the full corpus of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's works available to me [...]." This same research foundation was also one of three sources that provided "financial support" for her book. What follows is a brief description of who the author is thanking.

The Foundation is named after King Abd al-Aziz (1902-1953), the Wahhabi founder of Saudi Arabia who slaughtered non-Wahhabi Muslims (and even Wahhabi Muslims of the Ikhwan) in his path to "victory".

Abd Allah S. al-Uthaymin, a Wahhabi, is the author of "History of Saudi Arabia: From the Movement Reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab to King Abd al-Aziz."

Faisal bin Salman, known as "H.R.H. (His Royal Highness)" in Saudi Arabia, is one of the princes of the Wahhabi Al-Sa'ud monarchy. Somehow, Delong-Bas (Oxford Press?) did not add the "H.R.H." acronym before the prince's name in the Preface -obviously a part of the book read by many. However, she remembered to add the acronym in a tiny-lettered footnote #8 (Introduction) hidden well in the back of the book that few readers would perhaps bother to read. Why did Delong-Bas/Oxford Press do this? Were they trying to hide something?

Dr. Fahd al-Semmari, a Wahhabi, was deputy secretary of the kingdom's 100th Anniversary Committee, in addition to his current role as general director of the King Abd al-Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives. The foundation's mandate is to glorify the heritage of Saudi Arabia, including Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab who is a part of the heritage.

On page 14, Delong-Bas states the four main sources of biographical information of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab:

(1) contemporary chronicles written by his supporters, the most important of whom were Husayn Ibn Ghannam and Uthman Ibn Bishr; (2) polemical works written by his opponents, the most important of whom was Ahmad bin Zayni Dahlan; (3) accounts written by Western travelers to Arabia; and (4) Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's own written works.

She then says, "Of all of these accounts, the chronicles contain the most biographical information and are considered to be the most accurate in terms of biographical information because of the proximity of the writers to their subjects."

Does close proximity to Ibn Abd al-Wahhab/"subjects" necessarily mean the sources will be the "most accurate in terms of biographical information"? Common sense says no because Ibn Ghannam and Ibn Bishr are clearly stated to be Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's "supporters". It's like contacting a pro-Nazi foundation for a biography of Adolph Hitler, and portraying sources by Hitler's admirers as the "most accurate" because they were among the closest in "proximity" to him. Is there not a high possibility that Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's "supporters" mainly focused on his peaceful biographical aspects, and concealed his more extremist/jihadist aspects? Is it not possible that they, like any other supporter, would care to cast the biography of a man they like in a positive manner than in a negative manner? Common sense, again, says: In all likelihood.

There is, in fact, a high probability of inaccuracy from those sources, though this somehow escapes Delong-Bas's mind. Moreover, according to my count, the author has footnoted Ibn Ghannam only 4 times, but Ibn Bishr no less than 45 times, meaning that the bulk of "most accurate" biographical information of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab comes almost entirely from one source - again, from a pro-Wahhabi. How, then, can Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's biography, as presented in Delong Bas's book, be taken seriously by any objective scholar? It cannot.

While pro-Wahhabis are used as "most accurate" sources, information from Wahhabi opponents "has not been used extensively" because they (1) are "extremely polemical in style rather than factual or straightforward"; (2) they address "later developments" of the Wahhabi movement; and (3) "because of their polemical nature, these accounts tend to be more useful in reconstructing impressions of the movement than in recounting events or teachings." And that's why "polemical works have been largely discarded" in giving the biography of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the "early teachings of the movement."

But what makes the sources of two Wahhabi supporters more accurate than the works of Wahhabi opponents? While the former are closer in time to Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, they are his biased supporters. The latter, however, though further away in time from the Wahhabi founder's period of existence, may - and indeed, do - have accurate information, especially on how Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's teachings contradicted the teachings that orthodox Sunni Muslims had been following for over 1,000 years.

For example, Delong-Bas provides Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's interpretations of intercession (tawassul) in his "Kitab al-Tawhid" without stating that he contradicted many verses of the Qur'an, hadeeth, and interpretations provided by Sunni orthodox scholars (ulema) throughout the history of Islam (except Ibn Taymiyah and his followers who were the first to deviate from mainstream Sunni Islam on the issue). With an unorthodox interpretation of a genuinely valid Islamic practice, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab accuses the vast lot of Muslims who do 'tawassul' of committing polytheism (shirk) -- the only unforgivable sin in Islam. He then allows his followers to massacre them, believing that they are doing a very noble deed and following the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad when, in fact, they are doing exactly the opposite.

From a source perspective, how, to any basic researcher, can this book be called a "pathbreaking" and "groundbreaking" work when sources for a book on Wahhabism are provided by Wahhabis, when the sources themselves are written by Wahhabis, and when the research endeavor is partially financed by Wahhabis? I'm sure you see how "objective" and "balanced" Delong-Bas's research is.

Contact me by e-mail for a more detailed unveiling of Delong-Bas's pseudo-scholarship and insult to the moderate/orthodox Muslims. (...)

Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad.(Book review) : An article from: Middle East Policy

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Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad.(Book review) : An article from: Middle East Policy
Gamze Cavdar
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000F7CICQ
Release Date: 2006-03-28

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This digital document is an article from Middle East Policy, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 1710 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad.(Book review)
Author: Gamze Cavdar
Publication: Middle East Policy (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Page: 153(3)

Article Type: Book review

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Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad.(Book review): An article from: The Historian

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Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad.(Book review): An article from: The Historian
Lawrence Rosen
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000MX6XW4
Release Date: 2007-01-24

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This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 523 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad.(Book review)
Author: Lawrence Rosen
Publication: The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 68 Issue: 1 Page: 123(2)

Article Type: Book review

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Know Your Magnetic Field
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Great book!

Know Your Magnetic Field
William E. Gray
Manufacturer: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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