You’ll never feel intimidated and awkward about the customs and etiquette of another country again. With the insights provided in this CULTURE SHOCK! Guide, you’ll learn to see beyond the stereotypes and misinformation that often precede a visit to a foreign land. Whether you plan to stay for a week or for a year, you’ll benefit from such topics as understanding the rules of driving and monetary systems, religious practices and making friends. There are tips on political traditions, building business relationships, and the particular intricacies of setting up a home or office. Great for the business traveler, the foreign exchange student, or the tourist who makes a sincere attempt to cross the bridge into a new and exciting culture.

Book review from: Amazon

This book is the author’s third great work showing the character and personality of Prince Salim who ruled India after the death of Akbar. The present study based on authentic primary sources attempts to present the artistic heritage of his ancestors followed by his own innovations known as Muraqqas in miniature painting which stand out as rare specimens of Mughal painting in the entire range of art history.

Review from:Liberty books

The cultural heritage of the Ottoman Empire has traditionally been presented to us through its monuments and high arts. Our understanding of its culture has thus come from a world created by and for sultans, viziers and the elite of the Empire. But what of the world of the craftsmen and tradesmen who produced the monuments and artefacts? Or the townspeople who prayed in the mosques, drank water from the sebils or passed by the mausolea in the ordinary course of their lives? How did they live and die? To date no book has adequately explored the day-to-day life of the common people during the centuries of Ottoman rule. In this new edition Faroqhi explores the urban world of the Ottoman lands from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, describing the social significance of the popular arts and crafts of the period and examining the interaction among the diverse populations and classes of the Empire.

Review from:Liberty books

RECONCILIATION is her compelling and convincing prescription for the country at the heart of the so-called Clash of civilizations. It argues that democracy, economic development, moderation and modernity are the greatest threats to international terrorism, and pledges its author to work with the United States and the West to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be the petri dish of international radicals, and re-establishes its bona fides as a realistic and effective moderate alternative for one billion Muslims around the world.

Review from:Liberty books

The last Nizam is the story of an extraordinary dynasty, the Nizams of Hyderabad, and how the heir to India’s richest princely state gave up a kingdom and retired to the dusty paddocks of outback Australia. With vivid detail and anecdote John Zubrzycki charts the rise of the Nizams to fabulous Wealth and prominence under the Mughal emperors of India, giving a rich and vibrant portrait of a realm soaked in blood and intrigue. Above all he describes the strange – sometimes comic. Sometimes tragic – life of Mukarram Jah, his exalted Highness, the Rustam of the Age, the Aristotle of the Times, Wal Mamaluk, Asaf Jah III, the conqueror of Dominions, the Regulator of the Realm, Nawab Mir Barakat Ali Bahadur, The Victor in Battles, the diamonds of Golconda and the palaces of the Hyderabad to drive Bull-dozers in the Australian bush.
A Delicate and detailed work, The Last Nizam adds a crucial chapter to the history of India, capturing the very scent of wine, women and wealth whose appetites kept the Nizam in news ad scandal while simultaneously deepening their legend.

Blending wit, fantasy, comedy, and romance, these tales reflect the Pashtun code of honor and way of life.

Aisha Ahmad researched Pashtun women in the tribal areas and worked as a consultant for the World Health Organization.

Roger Boase is the author of The Origin and Meaning of Courtly Love and The Troubadour Revival.

In these troubled and extremist times, when the religion and culture of Islam are under seemingly perpetual attack, it is salutary to consider how much we, in the Christian West, have in common with, and how much we owe to, the spiritual insights of that great culture. Religious tolerance, respect for learning, the concepts of chivalry and brotherhood – these principles were brought by the Islamic Moors when, in medieval Spain, they acted as “Beacons of Light” in the Dark Ages of European religious arrogance, intolerance and persecution. The Moors gave Europe an architectural and artistic heritage that is still a source of wonder to the modern world. It was in translation from Arabic, not the original Greek, that knowledge of Greek philosophy became prominent in Christian thought. Western mathematics are based on Arabic numerals and calculations, and the first effective medical school in Europe was founded by Jewish doctors who had been trained in Moorish Spain and North Africa. Tim Wallace-Murphy shows how over the last century it was European Western powers who laid the foundations for the chaos that reigns in the Middle East. We need to find a just and equitable solution to these problems and we should begin by acknowledging our common spiritual heritage and the profound debt that Western civilization owes to Islamic culture.

Book review from Liberty Books

He’s a spit-and-polish Marine, a competitive boxer, a classics scholar, and an assistant DA in Manhattan. New York tabloids call him “pit bull” for his relentless prosecution of high-profile defendants like Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and the “baby-faced butchers” of Central Park. When Baghdad fell, Colonel Matthew Bogdanos was in southern Iraq, tracking down terrorist networks through their financing and weapons smuggling—until he heard about the looting of the museum. Immediately setting out across the desert with an elite group chosen from his multiagency task force, he risked his career and his life in pursuit of Iraq’s most priceless treasures. Thieves of Baghdad takes you from his family’s flight to safety at Ground Zero on 9/11, to his mission to hunt down al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan, and into the war-torn streets of Baghdad on the trail of antiquities. Colorful characters and double-dealing are the norm as Bogdanos tries to sort out what really happened during the chaos of war. We see his team going on raids and negotiating recoveries, blowing open safes and mingling in the marketplaces, and tracking down leads from Zurich and Amman to Lyons, London, and New York. In an investigation that led to the recovery of more than 5,000 priceless objects, complex threads intertwine, and the suspense mounts as the team works to locate the most sensational treasure of all, the treasure of Nimrud, a collection of gold jewelry and precious stones often called “Iraq’s Crown Jewels.” A mixture of police procedural, treasure hunt, wartime thriller, and cold-eyed assessment of the connection between the antiquities trade and weapons smuggling, Thieves of Baghdad exposes sordid truths about the international art and antiquities market. It also explores the soul of a man who is equal parts hardened Marine, dedicated father, and passionate scholar. Most of all, it demonstrates that, in a culture as old as that of the Middle East, nothing is ever quite what it seems.

Books review by: Liberty Books

In an era when the relationship between Islam and the West seems mainly defined by mistrust and misunderstanding, we often forget that for centuries Muslim civilization was the envy of the world. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the major role played by the early Muslim world in influencing modern society, Lost History fills an important void. Written by an award-winning author and former diplomat with extensive experience in the Muslim world, it provides new insight not only into Islam’s historic achievements but also the ancient resentments that fuel today’s bitter conflicts.
Michael Hamilton Morgan reveals how early Muslim advancements in science and culture lay the cornerstones of the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and modern Western society. As he chronicles the Golden Ages of Islam, beginning in 570 a.d. with the birth of Muhammad, and resonating today, he introduces scholars like Ibn Al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, Al-Tusi, Al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam, towering figures who revolutionized the mathematics, astronomy, and medicine of their time and paved the way for Newton, Copernicus, and many others. And he reminds us that inspired leaders from Muhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent and beyond championed religious tolerance, encouraged intellectual inquiry, and sponsored artistic, architectural, and literary works that still dazzle us with their brilliance. Lost History finally affords pioneering leaders with the proper credit and respect they so richly deserve.

Book review from Liberty Books