An annotated bibliography of Islamic science

S. H. NASR, An annotated bibliography of Islamic science, with the collaboration of W. C. Chittick, Teheran, Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy (publication no. 1), 1975, vol. 1, pp. lxiv, 432, 1-9 in Persian [no price stated]. Dr. Nasr is the author of many original books and papers on medieval Islamic science. This comprehensive annotated bibliography is the first of five projected volumes which are intended to list the best part of printed material in this field. Volume one is devoted to publications in Western (non-Islamic) languages from the eighteenth century to 1970. Works printed in other languages used in the world of Islam (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Bengali, etc.) will appear in subsequent volumes. This bibliography covers "a period of a millennium of human history and within a geographical area extending from Spain to eastern Asia". Its scope is the published works related to "the sciences of nature and mathematics" in the so-called "intellectual sciences of Islam". Nasr devised a successful system of classification, one which does "justice to the structure of Islamic science as well as the needs of such an extensive bibliography", thus enabling the reader to have easy access to articles in his field of specialization from the vast amount of material presented in this bibliography. Further, Nasr provides brief annotations, in English and Persian, describing the contents of some major works listed. Section one includes references to general bibliographical works; manuscriptcatalogues and papers on works in manuscript form: general encyclopaedic works; dictionaries and glossaries, etc.; papers dealing with assessment of the state of Islamic sciences; material on the general history, culture, scientific, intellectual and social backgrounds of Islam; and theological education at the Madrasah. Section two lists bibliographical and biographical notes on famous men of the Islamic world, arranged alphabetically, with adequate references to selected standard works under each name. This is followed by another short list of Muslim sages and works published on each. The bibliography ends with a detailed 'Index of writers', followed by a Persian version of the author's introduction. The lists of sources are so varied that this bibliography will remain an essential tool of research in the diverse fields of the intellectual sciences in Islam.