pickI loved this little book of travellers tales by Arabic (specifically, a Baghdadi of the Abbasid Empire from what is now Iraq, written while he was living in Egypt in 947CE) writer, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Mas'udi.
His accounts of Persian, Greek, Egyptian, East African,Indian, Central Asian, Chinese, Malaysian, Cambodian, etc. life and cultural practices are fascinating, and there are hints of knowledge of the Americas and Japan, all 👇
pickAlmost the entire Irish village of Baltimore was taken captive by pirates in the early 1600s and sold as slaves in #Algeria. With little records about their lives as slaves, the author relies on a number of accounts by other slaves to try to describe what their lives could have been like. The author also posits a hypothesis that the taking was an elaborate plan of an evil mastermind who wanted to rid the coastal town of its inhabitants for his ⬇️
pickWhile by no means a comprehensive history, Stryker‘s book is a good place to start.
I chose this because I was skeptical of my own feelings about transgender issues.
To be clear, I was never skeptical of their rights; I believe everyone has a right to live how they want & I am also of the view that one doesn‘t belong at the table if one doesn‘t know anything about what‘s on it.
So now I know a little & I understand better & that‘s good.
pickThis is exactly why the title says it is. Now what I was not expecting is that this is an account more so on how the author herself searched for Marty, the actual creator of the rape kit. The book was written from her point of view, so that took some getting used to. Otherwise, the education was well put, with reference at the end. The second half was nice to look through on how the future of the tape kit continues. That it‘s still relevant
I went to a local library book sale this morning to find some books for my book nerd hospice patient (I found 7!!!), and picked this one up for me. The series on Hulu was pretty dark, I can‘t wait to dive in to learn all the details. There were a couple of copies and I was tempted to place one of them by The Book of Mormon.
Let the reading begin! This is my haul of publisher freebies for the Young Hoosier Book Award committee! 📚
p. 232: 'The fact that all were at rest after the working week in a spiritual and social environment may ... have been a source of comfort.'
al-Mus'ādī is describing some of the wonders of Egypt, including the excavation of a temple lost beneath the desert sands. Uncovering stairs leading to the entrance, a rash man sets foot on the fourth step, triggering two swords to spring out of the walls & slice him to pieces, one of which rolls onto another trigger-step, causing the whole edifice to collapse, burying 2000 people!
I love that Indy's Tomb Raiding has such a venerable lineage! 😃
Mas'üdī mentions his Islamic faith and culture, while respecting the faith and cultures of the peoples he meets. He reports hearsay at times, clarifying where he has no evidence, and occasionally commenting on things that seem probable exaggerations or fiction.
I particularly enjoyed his accounts of treasure hunting and excavation of the antiquities of Egypt, and his story of the foolish king of 👇 59m