THE ARABS

Harry B. Ellis, the Middle East correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, has compiled in this book, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher, an objective and comprehensive history of the Arab people. Fully appreciative of the cultural contribution made by the Arabs -- their binding together in the middle ages the vast culture of the Persians, Indians, Greeks and Hebrews -- Mr. Ellis allows the historical facts to speak for themselves. Embracing as it does approximately one thousand years of Arab development, the journalistic style of the narrative allows for the presentation of a great deal of material. Nevertheless, despite the intrinsic interest of the subject and the author's obvious capability, the young reader without an a priori interest in the Moslem world may find this history somewhat arid in spots.