An English-language collection of the sayings and lessons of an important Muslim teacher.
Ali bin Abu Talib was the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the first male convert to Islam. In this book, Akhtar organizes Ali’s writings and teaching into subjects ranging from God, the world, the afterlife, justice and politics, among others. Given the scattered nature of Ali’s writings, this book may certainly serve as a handy sourcebook for those looking to his words for comfort and guidance. However, it is unclear who the intended audience is—it seems that Akhtar wants to introduce the well-known teacher to those unfamiliar with him, in which case such a reader would be better served by more encompassing context of Ali, his time period and his role in Islamic theology to supplement the existing short chapter introductions and numerous appendices with brief information about Ali’s life, sources and various references. There are lists of Ali’s quotes for ready reference, as well as the sayings of well-known figures about Ali, helping even the most unfamiliar reader at least piece together his importance. The wisdom offered in the book is valuable and inspiring, and Akhtar has obviously taken care to cultivate the sections and, according to the acknowledgements, consult with experts in the field. On the other hand, he seems to have paraphrased his book from an existing English translation, further muddying the book’s ultimate purpose and audience and calling into question the fidelity of his translation. Nevertheless, the content of the book—the theology and spirit of Ali—shines through in a clear, sincere way that is sure to inspire the reader even if it lends nothing new to their understanding. A helpful reference for those familiar with the topic; a compelling but confusing jumping-off point for those who wish to know more.
Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-1461014539
Page Count: 254
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
If the authors are serious, this is a silly, distasteful book. If they are not, it’s a brilliant satire.
The authors have created a sort of anti-Book of Virtues in this encyclopedic compendium of the ways and means of power.
Everyone wants power and everyone is in a constant duplicitous game to gain more power at the expense of others, according to Greene, a screenwriter and former editor at Esquire (Elffers, a book packager, designed the volume, with its attractive marginalia). We live today as courtiers once did in royal courts: we must appear civil while attempting to crush all those around us. This power game can be played well or poorly, and in these 48 laws culled from the history and wisdom of the world’s greatest power players are the rules that must be followed to win. These laws boil down to being as ruthless, selfish, manipulative, and deceitful as possible. Each law, however, gets its own chapter: “Conceal Your Intentions,” “Always Say Less Than Necessary,” “Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy,” and so on. Each chapter is conveniently broken down into sections on what happened to those who transgressed or observed the particular law, the key elements in this law, and ways to defensively reverse this law when it’s used against you. Quotations in the margins amplify the lesson being taught. While compelling in the way an auto accident might be, the book is simply nonsense. Rules often contradict each other. We are told, for instance, to “be conspicuous at all cost,” then told to “behave like others.” More seriously, Greene never really defines “power,” and he merely asserts, rather than offers evidence for, the Hobbesian world of all against all in which he insists we live. The world may be like this at times, but often it isn’t. To ask why this is so would be a far more useful project.
If the authors are serious, this is a silly, distasteful book. If they are not, it’s a brilliant satire.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-670-88146-5
Page Count: 430
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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