Islam: The Straight Path
Esposito, a well-respected scholar and prolific writer on things Islamic, is the founding director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University and, most recently, general editor of the four-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (LJ 3/15/95). Here we have the third edition of a book first published in 1988 (LJ 9/15/88) outlining Muslim origins, history, doctrine, and culture?generally in a Middle Eastern context. This edition, which contains a useful bibliography and thorough index, incorporates recent developments in the Middle East and adds material on Pakistan and on the growth of Islam in America. Free of any evident anti-Muslim or anti-Christian bias, Esposito's scholarly prose is both straightforward and highly readable, with technical terms always clearly defined. Nevertheless, this is a work for serious students. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with substantial collections in religion.?James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.