Coming to the Nights from the
TV version?
Now try reading the real story. Remember books?
Currently available Versions of the Nights:
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
translated from Calcutta II by N.J. Dawood (London 1973)
published by Penguin Classics - ISBN 0-14-044289-8
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here for a list of the stories contained within this volume or
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versions or buy this book!
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The Arabian Nights translated from Mahdi by
Husain Haddawy - a must for Nights scholars despite the
frequent typos (London and New York, 1990)
published by Everyman - ISBN 1-85715-087-2
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list of the stories contained within this volume or
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The Arabian Nights 2 four extra stories
translated from the best sources by Husain Haddawy (London 1998)
published by Everyman - ISBN 1-85715-142-9
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list of the stories contained within this volume or
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Richard Burton - The Arabian Nights is a
good one volume edition of Burton's translation and is good value for money,
running to 931 pages. The text is that of the 1932 Modern Library edition, for
which Bennet A. Cerf chose the "most famous and representative" of
the stories, printed "complete and unabridged with many of Burton's
notes". Despite the fact that this statement is clearly printed, it is not
in fact true in that case of one story that I have examined, and it does not
contain many of the notorious notes - in fact none of the notorious
ones. However, an essential item for Burton scholars who do not wish to buy a
second hand full set (16 vols).
published by the New York Modern Library - ISBN 0-679-60235-6
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list of the stories contained within this volume or
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Arabian Nights' Entertainments, the complete
Grub Street translation of Galland
published by Oxford World's Classics - ISBN 0-19-283479-7
I thoroughly recommend this version for adults and intelligent, inquisitive
children who are good readers (capable of reading Dickens, for example).
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here for a list of the stories contained within this volume or
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versions or buy this book!
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Penguin Popular Classics - Arabian Nights -
Burton's translation adapted by Jack Zipes. As well as updating the language of
Burton's translation, Zipes also manages to remove much of the magic. He cuts
down many of the stories, but the explicit passages are still there. I cannot
recommend it to Nights connoisseurs, but for the price - it's only
£1 - a giveaway.
published by Penguin - ISBN 0-14-062268-3
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for a list of the stories contained within this volume or buy this book!
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Click here for a list of the stories contained in certain editions of the Nights or Compare available versions
NB. With the exception of Galland's "Arabian Nights' Entertainments", these versions are all strictly UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. The Galland, however, I would heartily recommend for gifted children.
The Arabian Nights - A
Companion by Robert Irwin (London and New York, 1995)
This is the essential Nights companion. Little else needs to be said about this classic of Nights scholarship, other than a big thankyou to Tauris Parke who have recently re-released it. ISBN 1860649831
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Harun al-Rashid and the World of the Thousand and One Nights is André Clot's biography of the 8th century king. It also includes generous details about life in the Middle East in the 8th and 9th centuries. Although not overtly "academic", this is a wonderful book for the interested enthusiast. It is published by New Amsterdam Books (New York, 1989) ISBN 0-941533-65-4
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The Thousand and One Nights by Muhsin Mahdi (former Professor of Arabic at Harvard University) is a thoroughly academic study of the translation of Galland and the Arabic editions which appeared from 1814 - 1843. Highly recommended to those likely to be interested in this very specialist area - worth every penny for the bibliography and notes alone! ISBN 90-04-10204-3
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The Rubáyáit of Omar Khayyám of
Naishápúr is an example of Persian poetry raised to the
level of a very high art. The famous English version is by Edward
Fitzgerald who as a great poet himself (and every bit the equal of his precursor) remoulded the original into his own version. Penguin Classics publish a more literal translation - ISBN
0-14-044384-3
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The Koran is available in cheap English
editions, published by Penguin Classics and Everyman. Knowledge of the Koran is
an invaluable assistance in discovering what makes the Islamic mind tick. ISBN
0-460-87438-1
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The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
is a lot more than a purely historical textbook on how the Arab revolt against
Turkish rule in 1917 was achieved with the help of Lawrence of Arabia;
it provides deep psychological insights into the minds and customs of the
Middle Eastern peoples of that time. Published by Wordsworth Classics (1997)
ISBN 1-85326-469-5
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Living Islam - From Samarkand to Stornaway by Akbar S. Ahmed (London, New York, Ringwood, Toronto, 1995) published by BBC Books and Penguin Books - ISBN 0-14-025020-4
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah by Sir Richard F. Burton. The translator of the most famous version of the Arabian Nights was also a notable adventurer. In 1852 he combined all his skills to trek, in the disguise of a dervish to Alexandria, Cairo and Suez and on to the Islamic holy cities of Medina and Mecca. The notes he made reveal as much about the colonialist view of the people of the Middle East as they do about Islam. Published by Dover Publications (New York) in two volumes. ISBN 0-486-21217-3 and ISBN 0-486-21218-1. Click here for an excerpt from this work or buy volume 1 (UK) / (US) or buy volume 2 (UK) / (US).
Lonely Planet - Middle East on a Shoestring - A marvellous contemporary guide to the middle east which makes fascinating reading even if you've no plans to go there. ISBN 0-86442-407-8