The Creative Act: A Way of Being: The Sunday Times bestseller

In the public mind, Islam is a religion of extremes: it is the worldÆs fastest growing faith: more than three-quarters of the worldÆs refugees are Islamic: it has produced government by authoritarian monarchies in Saudi Arabia and ultra- republicans in Iran. Whether we are reading about civil war in Algeria or Afghanistan, the struggle for the soul of Turkey, or political turmoil in Pakistan or Malaysia, the Islamic context permeates all these situations. Yet who really understands the central tenets of this faith, or why so many people around the world have turned to æfundamentalismÆ? Karen ArmstrongÆs elegant and concise book traces how Islam grew from the other religions of the book, Judaism and Christianity: introduces us to the character of Muhammed: and demonstrates that for much of its history, the religion has been a force for enlightenment that promoted liberties for women and allowed the arts and sciences to flourish. Islam shows how this progressive legacy is today often set aside as the faith struggles to come to terms with the economic and political weakness of most of its believers and with the forces of modernity itself.

Beautiful edition with a new introduction to the rich diversity of myth and legends across the many peoples of Africa, highlighting the origins of modern fiction in myth and fable.Gorgeous Collector's Edition. With its powerful tradition of storytelling, the myths of the continent of Africa have survived colonialism and slavery, bringing together a rich diversity of cultures from Ethiopia to Tanzania, from the Xhosa people to the Yoruba. This collection offers tales of the gods, creation stories, trickster adventures, animal fables and stories which amuse and teach from 'The Tortoise and the Elephant', from the Akamba of Kenya, to 'Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes', from Southern Nigeria, providing an insight into the boundless and vibrant world of African myth.Flame Tree Collector's Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction, authors, myths and tales without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new introduction and a Glossary of Terms.