The Philosophy of Illumination

Rating:
Summary: Islamic Thought
Review: Briefly: as the assistant editor for this edition of The Philosophy of Illumination, I can honestly say that the book is valuable for anyone who is hoping (with an open mind) to discover some gems from the Islamic Empire. You'll be refreshingly surprized to find so many keen insights from so long ago. While the text does become a bit dense at time, the "illumination" is well worth the effort in the end. Were it not for authors like Suhrawardi in the 11th century, much of what we know of Greek thought would have been tragically lost.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Effort
Review: This is a really fascinating book, albeit a difficult one, from a very unusual thinker. I'm absolutely delighted -- and more than a bit surprised -- that Brigham Young University Press has launched this series of translations, because we in the West know so very little about Islam and Islamic civilization. I recommend this volume to anybody interested in Islam, Islamic philosophy, mysticism, medieval history, or even Platonism.