Thanks to the Iranian revolution and related events in other Islamic countries, experts everywhere are busy explaining the nature of Islam, its resurgence, and the implications for the rest of the world. The Esposito volume is especially rewarding for its broad coverage, both historical and geographical, for its biographical studies on leading Muslim "voices" (including Ali Shariati, Khomeini, Iqbal, Qaddafi and others), and for the keys it provides to greater understanding of relations between the Middle East and the West. The book by Don Peretz and his two colleagues offers similar fare but in much briefer form, consisting of three separate essays on political, economic and legal aspects.
