Over the centuries, religion has inspired some of civilization's most beautiful poetry, and certain Persian Muslims, the Sufi, have created intricately wrought poems celebrating peace and harmony. The world is a beautiful garden of mystery when viewed through the eyes of the Sufi. Each poem, most from the 1200's, is clearly and fully explained in its historical, religious, political, and spiritual context. Written to propagate tranquility and harmony through a better understanding of an important religion and its impact on literature, Garden of the Sufi is a lavishly thorough exploration of Sufi poetry and philosophy.

Told in exquisite prose befitting one of the world's loveliest art forms, Brian Murphy eloquently chronicles how carpets embody humanity's endless striving for unattainable perfection. Every Persian carpet has a story to tell—from the remote villages of Afghanistan and Iran, down the ancient trade routes traveled for centuries, to the bazaars of Tehran and the markets of the Western world. Carpet-making is one of this tumultuous region's few constants, an art form that transcends religious and political turmoil. Part travelogue and part exploration into the meaning and worth of these mystical artifacts, The Root of Wild Madder presents practical information about carpets while exploring the artistic, religious, and cultural complexities of these enigmatic lands.

Here are the early Sufis themselves. Here are their ascetic practices; their attitudes toward women and marriage, toward food and drink, and toward music and poetry; and here is their ecstatic experience. This is a study in holiness and the love of God, but it is even more a study of men and women overcome by that holiness and love, and locked in the paradox of loving a God who makes vast demands on them. The early Sufis were not seeking consolation. Who they were and what they were after, the reader will discover here. Topics discussed include the historical background of early Muslim mysticism and the relations between Muslim and Christian ascetics. Andrae suggests parallels drawn from his vast reading in the literature of religious experience, both East and West.

The Key to Unlocking Your Writing Success This ultimate writer's reference connects you to who's who in the publishing industry. Inside, you'll find the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail and Web addresses for hundreds of top editors and agents, plus essays from industry insiders who reveal the secrets to big-time success. With the most up-to-date information on an industry that's constantly changing, this new edition offers everything you need to get past the slush piles and into the hands of the real players in the publishing field, including how to write attention-grabbing book proposals and thrive off rejection. Now, you hold the keys to getting published.

"Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents gets you past the slush piles and into the hands of the right people. This one-of-a-kind reference gives you the names, addresses, and phone numbers of hundreds of top editors and agents and includes essays by savvy "insiders" who reveal the secrets to winning them over. More comprehensive than ever before, this year's edition gives you everything you need to know to get published, from writing the knockout book proposal to turning initial rejection into ultimate success. This deluxe edition includes a CD-ROM that contains the entire database of agents and publishers along with systems for tracking submissions, expenses, titles, and copyrights. In addition, direct links to Web sites mentioned in the book and an additional 50 links to writing-related sites give writers immediate access to the people they need to know. Includes over 15 utilities for writers such as Grammar Slammer, the Thinking Man's Thesaurus, and WriteExpress Rhymer! About the Author Jeff Herman is the owner of the Jeff Herman Literary Agency, one of New York's leading agencies for writers. Among his clients are the bestselling authors of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul series. He frequently speaks to writer's groups and conferences on the topic of getting published and can be reached at /www.jeffherman.com.

This one-of-a-kind reference provides critical information on securing publishing contracts.

Over the years, "Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents has helped thousands of writers just like you get their books published. With the best and most up-to-date listings of key book publishing insiders, "Writer's Guide gets you past the reject piles and into the hands of the right people. Nowhere else will you find the detail, the insight, the depth. Nowhere else will you find the solid inside information. "Writer's Guide is your key to book publishing success. It gets you inside. It gets you noticed. Your talent will do the rest. "Beats the pants off "Writer's Market." --Michael Werner, coauthor of "Databases for Businesses and "Using Lotus 1-2-3 "This guide started my book publishing career." --Marcos McPeek Villatoro, author of "A Fire in the Earth, They Say That I Am Two, and "Walking to La Milpa "The finest lead source that I've ever seen. A must buy for every writer, published or not!" --Derek Savage, author of "The Second Coming and "The Dancer "Invaluable information, from query letter to book proposal. This book has made my dreams come true." --Eileen Oster, author of "The Healing Mind "This book got my foot in the door." --Wynn Goldsmith, writer "A masterpiece. I have never found so much practical information in this type of book before." --Walter Lambert, author of "Healing the Trauma of Divorce "As a writer and literary agent, this book has been invaluable." --Mary N. Oluonye, O-Squared Literary Agency "Jeff Herman has crammed a generous helping of information and advice into this invaluable book." --Paul Nathan, "Publishers Weekly ""Writer's Guide haseclipsed both "Literary Market Place and "Writer's Market as a source of projects for our agency. At least a third of our sales last year came as a result of this book." --Michael Snell, Michael Snell Literary Agency About the Author /Jeff Herman is founder of The Jeff Herman Literary Agency, one of New York's leading agencies for writers. He has sold hundreds of titles and represents dozens of top authors.

"How the words 'love', 'harmony' and 'beauty' delight the heart of everyone who hears them" is the opening sentence of this volume. The author, Hazrat Sufi Inayat Khan, has labelled his message as the Sufi message of Love, Harmony and Beauty, because in the present world these qualities seem to be underrated if not neglected altogether. Moreover, spirituality cannot exist without these. The first prerequisite, however, even to experience the delight he mentions above, is an open heart. This book aims at awakening and developing this heart quality, and preparing the reader to be able to face the world's hardships, yet fostering a sympathizing warmth for our fellowmen. It covers a marvellous variety of subjects which turn out to be strongly interrelated. In a smooth and unassuming manner, the author creates an integrated view of life within and without. He has created a beautiful system of thought and feeling without running into the risks of straightforwardness, simplicity and rigour. Yet his views tend to strike you for their very simplicity, inspired and inspiring as they are.

This book combines scholarly research into certain aspect of Sufi doctrines and history with a penetrating account of the spiritual and metaphysical message and significance of Sufism as a living spiritual tradition. In an original discussion, unlike anything that has appeared before in studies of Sufism, the author places special accent on the pertinence of Sufi teachings to the most acute contemporary problems. The book addresses itself to both the ever-increasing Western public interested in Sufism and to the Western-educated Muslim interested in his own spiritual heritage. Dr. Nasr draws on his intimate knowledge of the Sufi literature in Arabic and Persian as well as his first-hand knowledge of Sufi tradition itself to produce this further volume in his numerous studies on the different facets of Islam.