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Rating: 
Summary: Funny and Profound
Review: I'm just back from a trip to Turkey, where I discovered that Mulla Nasrudin is almost as popular as PEANUTS is in the United States. In addition to providing amusement, however, the Nasrudin stories are also used there as exercises for spiritual development with children and adults alike, since they externalize in joke form common patterns of human thought and behavior that need to be identified and understood in order for a human being to make progress. Thus, the Turks, and interested Western readers as well, can laugh
and learn, both at once, from these ancient Middle Eastern anecdotes.
Rating: 
Summary: Nasrudin ain't what he used to be...
Review: Idries Shah is the most articulate of those writing about the tradition and work of the Sufis. Should you read other of his books, you will learn that Nasrudin is much more than the town clown or the butt of the ordinary man's humor. In the Sufi sense that "wisdom is hidden" from those who lead somewhat superficial lives, Nasrudin's form of wisdom is especially obscure. You see, according to Shah, Nasrudin IS a joke! He is not the object of jokes nor the teller of jokes. Rather, as the Court Jester of another era, the FOOL is the only one in many situations who is able to see the "truth." By understanding Nasrudin, the seeker adds a deeper grasp of reality, the way things really are, to his or her own perception. Failing that, the reader simply has a ball reading these wonderful anecdotes. It is not Nasrudin who is revealed in this book. It is the reader. Because there are even better stories in other of Shah's books, I rate this collection "Four Stars" rather than five. Who knows, the laugh may be on me?
Rating: 
Summary: Ancient Wisdom Disguised
Review: Idries Shah is the most articulate of those writing about the tradition and work of the Sufis. Should you read other of his books, you will learn that Nasrudin is much more than the town clown or the butt of the ordinary man's humor. In the Sufi sense that "wisdom is hidden" from those who lead somewhat superficial lives, Nasrudin's form of wisdom is especially obscure. You see, according to Shah, Nasrudin IS a joke! He is not the object of jokes nor the teller of jokes. Rather, as the Court Jester of another era, the FOOL is the only one in many situations who is able to see the "truth." By understanding Nasrudin, the seeker adds a deeper grasp of reality, the way things really are, to his or her own perception. Failing that, the reader simply has a ball reading these wonderful anecdotes. It is not Nasrudin who is revealed in this book. It is the reader. Because there are even better stories in other of Shah's books, I rate this collection "Four Stars" rather than five. Who knows, the laugh may be on me?
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Antidote
Review: Mulla Nasrudin entertains and keeps the spirits light while his actions and inactions, sayings and things left unsaid work on your mind and your views. Reading this book is an exercise that feels like indulgence. Each trip through the book brings different impacts and meanings to you. Enlightening, while inconspicuous.
Rating:
Summary: Asian Peanuts
Review: Mulla Nasrudin is akin to a Central Asian Charlie Brown or Dilbert. If you like humor that's funny, relevant and meaningful, this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Nasrudin ain't what he used to be...
Review: Shah's renderings of the stories of the folk character, Nasrudin (aka Nasruddin) were much more charming in the early editions when they were illuminated by the clever pen-and-ink illustrations of the animator Richard Williams. Without those illustrations, these editions are dry and pedantic.
Rating:
Summary: A blast of a read!
Review: The trend during the last few years towards stories about stupid people brought us such non-classics (but entertaining reads) as "The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said", "The Darwin Awards", and others. But what few people know is that such stories were circulating 1000 years ago in the Sufi storytelling tradition.
These stories are the equivalent of our "Urban Legends". Oddly enough, as I read this, I wish that I could view the world in such simple ways as the Mulla Nasrudin, who is the character in all these stories. His views, often twisted, very often completely at odds with his surroundings, are also very pragmatic, and make perfect sense in his mind. These stories are tremendous fun, and rather thought-provoking.
Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A blast of a read!
Review: The trend during the last few years towards stories about stupid people brought us such non-classics (but entertaining reads) as "The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said", "The Darwin Awards", and others. But what few people know is that such stories were circulating 1000 years ago in the Sufi storytelling tradition.
These stories are the equivalent of our "Urban Legends". Oddly enough, as I read this, I wish that I could view the world in such simple ways as the Mulla Nasrudin, who is the character in all these stories. His views, often twisted, very often completely at odds with his surroundings, are also very pragmatic, and make perfect sense in his mind. These stories are tremendous fun, and rather thought-provoking.
Enjoy!
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