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Summary: Classic for all ages
Review: I have been searching for an Arabian Nights book for months. The only books I found were rewrites for children. Then I came across this masterpiece. While it was alittle hard to read at first (because of the old english used), I was soon drawn into the enchanting stories held within. This has all the classic "Nights" tales that we grew up with (Alladin, Ali Babba, Sinbad) plus many, many more! They will undoubtably grab you and draw you in. I highly recommend this to anyone! You won't be dissapointed!
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Summary: most of these reviews are not for this book
Review: I just wanted to point out that most of these reviews refer to the previous version of this book that is no longer available from .... I gave this book its average grade, because as of yet I've not read this SEQUEL. Please note that this book does not contain Sinbad, Aladin, or many of the other classic stories (though it does seem to expand on the shortened earlier edition). Check the chapters to make sure you're getting the right book. Given the original however (which I have read) I'm sure this is an excellent edition of the tales.Encourage ... to not only carry this book, but its predecessor too.
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Summary: A magic carpet ride like no other
Review: Richard Burton's translation of "The Arabian Nights" is one of the oldest in existence and some people have a problem with this version; it's too old, antiquated, etc.; but for this reviewer, the very fact that it's an early translation lends the tales much of their charm; it underscores the fact that "The Arabian Nights" go back for hundreds of years, all the way back to "once upon a time". Richard Burton introduces us to Sharazad, that seductive storyteller who took the bull by the horns and dared to marry the sultan Shariyar who had been driven mad by the infidelity of his former wife and tried to exorcise the demons of her adultery by marrying a new wife every morning and slaying her that same night. Sharazad knows that a good tale can tame the savage beast much in the way music can, and she keeps the Sultan enchanted night after night with the tales that still enchant us in our own time. We all know about Aladdin and his magic lamp, and Ali Baba and the forty thieves, but there are loads of other treasures in this collection; my personal favorites, aside from Ali Baba, are the story of Ali the Persian (short, succinct, and very funny), and The Lady and Her Five Suitors, a hilarious tale of a woman who lures five men into a trap and then runs off with her boyfriend. And Sharazad, smart lady that she is, took care to insure her own future; not only does she regale her sultan with a thousand and one tales in as many nights, she also presents him with three children during that time, wins the heart of the sultan, and, we suppose, lives happily ever after. No one knows where the tales originated. Burton suggests that the earliest may date from they 8th century A.D., and the latest may have been as recent as the 16th century, only 200 years before Antoine de Galland translated the tales into French and unfolded them like a magic carpet before the astonished and delighted eyes of his European readers. Burton translated them into English into English in 1885 and they have been weaving their own spell of enchantment for us ever since. When we open "The Arabian Nights" we step onto our own magic carpet and we're off on a ride of fun and fantasy that lasts until the last page when we close the book and come back down, reluctantly, to earth.
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Summary: Burton, the Scholar and Adventurer, & The Arabian Nights
Review: This is a phenomenal selection of the intricate web of fantasy commonly known as the "Arabian Nights." Captain Burton's translation remains contested amongst scholars for its subjective indulgement and commentary (among other things). Nevertheless, his was a critical and monumental 16-volume endeavor that brought to the English world the legendary tales Shahrazad told King Shahryar--who exectued his mistresses after one night so as to preserve fidelity--in order to remain alive. It proved the most comprhensive and entertaining, and stands as the definitive translation for many. But why should you bother with Burton, when you could go with Lane or Galland? As a reader, if your desire is to fully experience these tales as closely as possible in capturing that sense of adventure, excitement, of magic and morality that has fascinated imaginations for centuries, Burton's "plain literal translation" certainly dazzles and entertains, vividly, powerfully, without disappointment. You shall be drawn into the world of the thousand nights and a night, of Islam and Jinns, through Burton's archaic though eloquent diction--a part of the veil of fantasy--and his ample knowledge of Middle Eastern culture.
The present edition offers a vital, "representative" selection of these neatly woven and intertwining tales in one volume. * Note: This can be fun, very enjoyable reading with patience, but the lack of paragraph breaks and the language may prove challenging for some.
Also: the hardcover is definitely a better choice, as it has placed the selected footnotes on the bottom of the page they appear on rather than the back of the book - like the paperback.
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Summary: A good book of some of our favorite stories.
Review: This is an adult version of the Arabian Nights tales that most kids grow up with. By adult I do not mean that it contains a lot of sexual material, however there is some, so this book is probably not appropriate for children. Stories like "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" and "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" are included in here, along with some more obscure stories like "The Hunchback's Tale". If you're interested in learning about stories from the middle east, this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Some Nights Are Missing
Review: This is not the Complete Arabian Nights, some nights are missing, I bought this E-Book for a particular night- "Ma'aruf The Cobbler And His Wife Fatimah", but it was not there. I think it's better to buy the Paperback edition to get all 1001 nights, or what we Arabs call it "Alf Laila wa Laila".
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Summary: Some Nights Are Missing
Review: This is not the Complete Arabian Nights, some nights are missing, I bought this E-Book for a particular night- "Ma'aruf The Cobbler And His Wife Fatimah", but it was not there. I think it's better to buy the Paperback edition to get all 1001 nights, or what we Arabs call it "Alf Laila wa Laila".
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Summary: Powerful story of a woman who tells tales to save her life
Review: This is the story of Shahrazad, the wife of a king,who tells tales well
enough to save her life. Her husband, King Shahryar, has been
following the edict that he must kill his wives after their first night
together. For a thousand and one nights Shahrazad tells tales that
capures the king's attention causing him to let her live in order to hear the end of each tale and finally to fall in love with her. The tales themselves are prose in action. The lessons are
plentiful and still relevant today. This is a book that will enrich a reader's life, one that a family could read aloud to each other
and have fun. A great classic not to be missed.
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Summary: Eastern Gem
Review: To write or even begin to write a book review on a classic, whose fascination has captivated generations, is a task not light. This is especially so for The Arabian Nights (or more affectionately called The Stories of A Thousand Nights and A Night), a compilation of stories, of stories within stories, told and untold (in the form of interpolations and ommisions) by various authors and finally translated by the Western Arabic Scholar Sir Richard Burton. Well known by now, the main story-teller is Princess Shahrazad, who, well-polished in the arts of the learned and versed in manners of telling anecdotes, tells the King Shariyar tales after tales for a thousand and one nights. This saves Princess Shahrazad from the wrath of the King, a victim of a treacherous, adulterous wife, who was wont to kill, on the very next day after the wedding night, every girl whom he marries, as revenge for the dishonour suffered at the hand of his unfaithful wife. Princess Shahrazad told stories of love, of adultery; of Kings and Princesses; of animals; of Jinns and Ifrits; of merchants and of porters; of heroes and their travels; of villains and their nefarious devices. Some are very famous such as Alaedin, Sinbad and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves while others are less known like The Ebony Horse (a story about a magical horse that the hero rode to travel far and wide) and The Porter and The Three Ladies of Baghdad. The latter is a wonderful story made up of stories told by one-eyed merchants and by beautiful ladies who were in one another's company. An especially captivating aspect of the book was the weaving of stories within stories and even further within stories. I read with childlike delight the stories, even if I did not understand the beautiful old English used by the translator. At times, it can be quite confusing to understand who is telling the story (Princess Shahrazad or her anecdotal characters) but the heading at the beginning of every story is helpful to reflect the raconteur behind it. The tales told are mainly of light lore, fantasy and love. It is different from classics say from China that are very didactic. The tales within the Arabian Nights are light-hearted and amusing yet only some are moral stories (that of a rich man who was too proud too die and eventually did and others of triumphing heroes displaying goodness). More than half of the stories are of charming Princes whose wits are captivated by the beauty of Princesses and such tales end in happy ways. But the story-teller (whoever that may be, Princess Shahrazad or others within her stories) does not lack humility and ample reverence by way of encomium is given to God Almighty, a characteristic feature of Arabian literature I suppose.
Given my lack of historical insight into the background of the compilation and the inability to distinguish between what is purely Arabic as opposed to Persian, this review lacks a better critique of the book. But history is the best critique of all and the fact that the magic and marvel of the tales have endured for centuries bears testament to this book as a gem among of the Near East.
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Summary: This bugs me...........
Review: We are all familiar with the stories of Ali Baba, Aladdin, and Sinbad. But where did these tales come from? The answer lies in this wonderful (condensed) volume known as the 'Arabian Nights.'
The story is of a woman, Scheherazade, who marries a king. The king's custom is to spend one night with a woman and execute her in the morning. To avoid this, Scheherazade tells him a tale, but leaves part of it unfinished, thus gaining the king's interest and insuring her survival for another day so she can finish the tale. Being clever, she never finishes it, but keeps it continuously going, until the king finally spares her life.
The stories presented here, though often somewhat crude, have great moral lessons to be learned. The serve as a sort of moral reminder as to how a good person should act.
When Richard Burton translated the Nights, he collected as many manuscripts as possible and pieced together the tales. Many had been created centuries earlier, and were often told during gatherings among friends. Burton, through his unparalelled knack for translation, managed to capture all the magic and mystery that are the Arabian Nights.
Besides the delightful stories and good lessons to be learned, the Nights serve another purpose--they provide an intimate look at the culture of the time. By examining their legends, one can gain a basic understanding of how Arabic culture functions. There is as much to be learned about the people who tell these stories as there is from the stories themselves.
I read this book for historical and cultural value, and found it to be abundant in both. Besides that, though, I encountered a mesmerizing set of tales which will be entertaining to any audience, even (after some revision and editing) children.
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