A guy named Weinberger writing on Mo? Hmm, not too many Muslims out there with that name! At 64 pages it probably took all of ten minutes to write.

As for Armstrong, her drivel was a waste of good trees to produce the paper to print her crap on.

Fear not Mr. Spencer- your giant among books shall easily stomp these midgets out of existence and into obscurity.

Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at October 29, 2006 9:18 PM

Muhammad by Eliot Weinberger, Amazon.com Sales Rank at the hour of this writing: #752,092. The publisher calls it "a luminous portrait of the Prophet, in the Islamic tradition....Muhammad is a shimmering, lyrical biography of the Prophet, composed from the words of Muslims throughout the centuries."

Will the book come with sunglasses to protect the reader from all this bright light?

No doubt those words will be uplifting too.

Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at October 29, 2006 9:32 PM

Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong, Amazon.com sales rank this hour: #6,480. Booklist says of it: "It puts the best face possible on its subject. The Muhammad it projects gave his followers 'a mission: to create a just and decent society, in which all members were treated with respect.'"

Yes, justice and decency for Mo's society-death and destruction for the rest of us. Armstrong probably was wearing her shroud when writing this love note to Mo.

Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at October 29, 2006 9:35 PM

Apparently there is a market niche for Muhammed hagiography. I would not worry too much about those "biographies" Robert. The kinds of people who would read them and rave about them are not the kind of people who would appreciate a more scholarly approach. The major booksellers obviously have an agenda, but twenty years from now whose book is going to have the most impact? Yours, or theirs? I rest my case.

Posted by: FredIsinglass at October 29, 2006 9:39 PM

...We believe that all religions are basically the same-
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of creation,
sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation...

...We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth
that there is no absolute truth...

-excerpts from Steve Turner's satirical poem "Creed"

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"

-the Wizard of Oz

Sheesh. It would be merely pathetic if it weren't for the legions of people still buying these rags.

Posted by: Clive at October 29, 2006 9:40 PM

Ilan Stavans, best known for his autobiographical or quasi-autobioographical works on being Jewish south of the border, may have been assigned the books for review, or may have asked to review them. There are strange remarks throughout, and not the strangest is the one at the end that instructs us, correctly, to read the Qur'an, but says nothing of abrogation as a key interpretive principle for reconciling seeming contradictions (and the dating of the individual suras, so that the most malevolent and significant of all, Sura 9, is either the last or second-to-last). Nor does he mention the hadith, nor, in a review of two books on Muhammad, the central role of Muhammad in Islam (close to 90%of the canonical texts are about Muhammad Messenger of Allah and not about Allah directly). Finally, he nowhere instructs us that we must know the most important facts of Muhammad's life becaue Muhammad is the Perfect Man, uswa hasana, al-insan al-kamil, and so to know Muhammad, to know what he did and what he said, is important for understanding the behavior of most Muslims whose belief-system does not distinguish between the religious and the political (no Matthew 22:21) or for that matter any other spheres. Islam offers or rather insists upon a Total Regulation of Life, and Complete Explanation of the Universe. Furthermore, those born into Islam, or who become "reverts" (demurely called, but only for Infidel ears, "New Muslims"), find that they are soldiers in the Army of Islam who are not permitted to leave, for if they do they are regarded, and punished as, traitors.

Ilans may know all this. He may know all about the political murders of Abu Akaf and Asma bint Marwan and the Jewish poet who mocked Muhammad in verse, he may know about the mass execution of the bound prisoners of the Banu Qurayza, about the seizure of women whose menfolk he killed, about his marriage to little Aisha at 6 (or 7), and his consummation of that marriage when she reached the age of 9, and why that remains significant today (virtually the first act of the Ayatollah Khomeini was to reduce the marriageable age of girls to 9). He may indeed know all about Muhammad as well as have studied, as he urges others to do so, the Qur'an. But if he has, then why did he mention none of this, or show the ways in which Weinberger and Armstrong both fail to discuss any of this? And if he did not know it, why did he not study up before volunteering to review these books, or before accepting from Gail Caldwell or someone else, the assignment?

Meanwhile, this review should not be held against him, or his books on Latin America, especially if one's tastes run to the Andre-Acimanish theme of Growing Up Jewish in all kinds of exotic places (i.e., anywhere but the United States and Western Europe), and if Albert Memmi and Edmond Jabes and even Canetti haven't covered that particular waterfront -- and it's a fairly interesting place, with lots of people who coulda been, or actually were, contenders -- then you can always move on to Being Jewish in Mexico City, in Sao Paolo (oops, did I forget Clarice Lispector?), and of course Ciudad Trujillo (let's not forget, let's honor, the Trujillos for their admission of Jews fleeing Europe, at a time when no one else would, even if that act of mercy was justified as a way to to "help the economy" of the Dominican Republic), and even to Bolivia and the Escuela Israelita in La Paz or possibly Cochabamba, with cute little Ruthie Salomon in her pigtails, and pinafore, and her father who was taken in by the Bolivians (and thus escaped Europe early in the 1930s, when the mene-mene-tekel-upharsin was on the wall for some) by volunteering to serve as a military doctor during the Gran Chaco War.

Posted by: Hugh at October 29, 2006 9:51 PM

How in the hell can some one say this in the same piece? "The immediate response in the Muslim world was one of outrage. In the end, the pontiff was forced to apologize, and maybe revisit his ideas about Islam.

Such episodes aren't new. They emphasize the ignorance about the life of Muhammad ( 570-632 ) that is rampant in Western civilization. To what extent is the average educated person familiar with the Koran? The Torah and the New Testament, in contrast, and even the Talmud are far more familiar. At the core of the so-called war on terror, and in general the tension concentrated on the Middle East and exacerbated by the crisis in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the misconception, suggested by the pope in Germany, that Islam is a religion of fanaticism and not a theology based on justice and decency"

The immediate response in the muslim world was the diametric opposite of the idea that he is trying to get across? Does he even think about what he's putting down on paper? If you'll excuse me I think that I have to go kill somebody to show my outrage.

Posted by: Mike H. at October 29, 2006 9:53 PM

They are scared, take it as a compliment.

Posted by: DrWolffenstein at October 29, 2006 9:54 PM

I live north of Boston and years ago, when I was a Jesuit seminarian I took a few courses at Weston School of Theology, adjunct to Harvard Divinity School. The professors there are about as lilely to be impressed by that book review or those works as they would be a knat on a piece of fruit in August. Trust me, Robert's book is so much better in every way that would matter to any one who knows how a theme or a topic is supposed to be researched. Armstrong would never pass a graduate seminar at Weston or Harvard Div. Robert would ace most biblical study courses.

Posted by: FredIsinglass at October 29, 2006 10:27 PM

"Armstrong would never pass a graduate seminar at Weston or Harvard Div...."
-- from a posting above

Really? What if these were her seminars:

1. Feminism and Islam: The Search for Common Ground (Prof. Leila Ahmed)
2. Beyond the Church, Beyond the Synagogue: America and the Pluralism Project (Prof. Diana Eck)
3. Sufism as Ritual, Sufism as Worship (Prof. William A. Graham)
4. Islam For A New World (Prof. Tariq Ramadan, Visiting Professor of European Islam Studies)
5. Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira (not given in 2006-2010; may possibly be given in 2011, if budget permits)
6. What the Occupation Does to the Soul of Israel (Bishop Thomas Shaw) -- cross-registration with the Weston School of Theology

I suspect Karen Armstrong would do quite well in seminars #1, 2, 3, 4, and especially 6. About #5, I doubt that it will ever be on offer. But if those budgetary constraints ever loosen , and seminar #6 ever materializes, don't expect the teacher or the students to focus on the Qur'anic passages, and Hadith stories, and details of Muhammad's life, that are helping make news headlines, and disrupting entire societies in the lands of the Infidels, all around this giddy globe. No, such a course will either be taught by a Muslim apologist who is a Muslim, or a non-Muslim apologist such as Esposito or, if one really must have a non-Muslim teaching the course, it will be someone who will offer only the narrowest, most forbidding, most Germanic, most philological, least lively and relevant of approaches, and the course will attract a total enrollment of three ((two of them Muslim and native speakers of Arabic, the third an enthusiastic Japanese exchange-student for whom the course might as well be taught in Sorbian or Mayalam), save for the year when Karen Armstrong, that enthusiast, signs up -- not a moment too soon -- to find out what this Qur'an that one hears so much about really contains.

Posted by: Hugh at October 29, 2006 10:37 PM

Unbelievable! Typical MSM. Well, I'm sure Robert's book is ranked far higher than those other authors I've never heard of, and he'll outsell them all too!!! Carry on..............

Posted by: Bonniea at October 29, 2006 11:00 PM

Wow, Hugh, things have devolved quite a bit since I took courses there in the early eighties! Not one of those courses would interest me. Plus, they would not be available to me in any event, since the M.Div. for the New England Province of the Society of Jesus would have imposed very few electives outside of systematic theology or biblical studies. Plus, there was not this multi-culti atmosphere there years ago. There was a certain femminist presence, and I had no objections to it at all. However, how any rational femminist could acquiesce to some melding of Islamic theology and femminist ethics is beyond my understanding. BTW, I have read two of Armstrong's books years ago. Thank God I've moved on...

Posted by: FredIsinglass at October 29, 2006 11:40 PM

Ah, of course, the Jews and Christians did bad things in the past so we should ignore the global Muslim jihad today. Only professors think that argument is profound, or even makes sense. I especially love the part about people not reading the Qur'an. Well, I have, and it's a scheme for global domination with very little spiritual content whatsoever.

Posted by: Beagle at October 29, 2006 11:47 PM

Beagle, those twits are not in favor of we unwashed reading the Qur'an. After all, they consider it something that Muslims would find blasphemous: irrelevant.

Posted by: FredIsinglass at October 29, 2006 11:49 PM

It is really unfortunate and shocking to see how Robert's book is being ignored by media, yet we are fortunate to have US constitution in place that it is not banned. But still, it shows how democracy is reduced to mediacracy, or mediocracy.

Posted by: pagan at October 29, 2006 11:50 PM

I would like to ask, has anyone here read these two others? I have not heard if any here have a opinion on if what they write would be considered overall, correct. I have as yet to read Roberts's latest, and wish to do this first.

I hate the fact I have to read anything about islam, I really do not care what they want to believe, until it starts to infringe on my life, rights, and that of family and friends. Then, it gets personal. I know I have to understand islam, but want the truth, not a whitewash.

As far as others I know, nobody reads this stuff, or studys it, I have to go elsewhere to get honest info. So, if any can offer a "review", I would like to know.

Posted by: Islofob IS-1 at October 30, 2006 12:41 AM

But still, it shows how democracy is reduced to mediacracy, or mediocracy.
Posted by: pagan

Did you mean to say "mediocrity" perhaps?

Posted by: germaninamerica at October 30, 2006 12:46 AM

Really? What if these were her seminars:

1. Feminism and Islam: The Search for Common Ground (Prof. Leila Ahmed)
2. Beyond the Church, Beyond the Synagogue: America and the Pluralism Project (Prof. Diana Eck)
3. Sufism as Ritual, Sufism as Worship (Prof. William A. Graham)
4. Islam For A New World (Prof. Tariq Ramadan, Visiting Professor of European Islam Studies)
5. Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira (not given in 2006-2010; may possibly be given in 2011, if budget permits)
6. What the Occupation Does to the Soul of Israel (Bishop Thomas Shaw) -- cross-registration with the Weston School of Theology

Posted by: Hugh

I'm almost afraid to ask.. are those *actual* courses they teach?

We're going to lose our technological edge if our schools engage in this kind of masturbation.

If I were Bill Gates or someone with significant funds I'd start a University of my own. A University that teaches Western History and Culture as well as Science and Technology. And I'd have very strict admission policies - which I am sure I myself would not be able to muster :-)

Posted by: germaninamerica at October 30, 2006 12:51 AM

Hugh cant be wrong. In india, my dad studied in Aligarh Muslim University, where this prof lectured the class about how Muslims taught architecture, art and basically everything great about India to Hindus. Apparently, before the muslims arrived, we Hindus were a bunch of cow worshipping ignoramuses in mud huts.

Posted by: Tushar Saxena at October 30, 2006 1:09 AM

This review is a fine example of the liberal bias of the corporate media. I sent him a critical email.

Here is the reviewer's email address:
ISTAVANS@amherst.edu
I got it from this website: http://www.webdelsol.com/istavans/is-3.htm

Posted by: dennisw at October 30, 2006 1:30 AM

Ilan Stavans
Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture
Five College 40th Anniversary Professor

Degrees
Ph.D., Columbia University (1990)
M.A., Columbia University (1988)
M.A., The Jewish Theological Seminary (1987)
B.A., Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (1984)
A.M. (honorary), Amherst College (1998)

Research Interests
Ilan Stavans is an internationally known, award-winning cultural critic, linguist, translator, public speaker, editor, short-story writer, and TV host, whose best-selling work focuses on language, identity, politics, and history. Born in Mexico in 1961 into a Jewish family with roots in Eastern Europe, he was raised in a multilingual environment. His autobiography, On Borrowed Words, appeared in 2001, followed four years later by Dictionary Days. He is best known for his research on Yiddish, Ladino, and, in particular, Spanglish. In 2003, he published Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language, which includes a lexicon of approximately 6,000 terms and a Spanglish translation of the first chapter of Don Quixote. He is completing a translation of the entire novel by Miguel de Cervantes. He is the author of a couple of award-winning short-story collections, including The Disappearance. An internationally released feature film co-produced by John Sayles was based on his story "Morirse está en hebreo." He is currently finishing a meditation on the Hebrew alphabet, a book on love, and a biography of Gabriel García Márquez. His work has been translated into a dozen languages. A reader of his work was published by Routledge.

Professor Stavans is the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships, and other honors, including an Emmy nomination, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Jewish Book Award, the Latino Hall of Fame Award, Chile's Presidential Medal, and several grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. His essays are published in periodicals such as the Washington Post, El País, Le Monde, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Forward, the Times Literary Supplement, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Nation, and the New Republic.

Professor Stavans has collaborated with musicians, opera librettists, cartoonists, actors, filmmakers, educators, and politicians in a variety of projects. He has been involved in museum exhibitions on art, photography, and folklore. Between 2001 and 2006, he hosted the syndicated PBS show "Conversations with Ilan Stavans," which included a companion book. He is widely known as an anthologist and is responsible for, among other volumes, The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories, the centennial edition of The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, the three-volume Library of America edition of Isaac Bashevis Singer's Collected Stories, and The Shocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature. Professor Stavans is also editor-in-chief of the multivolume Encyclopedia Latina, a reference book about every aspect of Latino life in the United States. He is currently editing The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature, a selection of César Chávez's writings, the poetry of César Vallejo, and a volume on immigrant literature in the United States.

Ilan Stavans joined the faculty at Amherst in 1993. He has also taught at Columbia, Oberlin, Mount Holyoke, Bennington, and Smith, among other institutions. An editor of the quarterly Hopscotch, he is also co-founder of the Great Books Summer Program at Amherst and Stanford, which is dedicated to introducing canonical works of world literature to middle- and high-school students. Professor Stavans has lectured extensively in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and all across the United States.
Teaching Interests
Ilan Stavans has taught courses on a wide array of topics such as Spanglish, Jorge Luis Borges, modern American poetry, Latin music, Don Quixote, Gabriel García Márquez, Modernismo, popular culture in Hispanic America, world Jewish writers, the cultural history of the Spanish language, Pablo Neruda, the history of the Spanish language, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Yiddish literature, Jewish-Hispanic relations, cinema, Latin American art, and U.S.-Latino culture.

Posted by: dennisw at October 30, 2006 1:46 AM

Robert,

I ordered my copy of "The Truth about Mohamed" today from Amazon as it doesn't appear to be available in Australia as yet. I hope it gets to number 1 for you and for everyone.

Posted by: payingattention at October 30, 2006 1:55 AM

I have a different view. The newspaper draws attention to the topic without becoming a target. Good job, I think.

This is why:

How would you search for the book after reading a review?

1 - You go to Amazon and search for "Muhammad"
Spencer's book comes as Nr 1

2 - You check the reviews.

After the reviews, I would buy Spencer's book for information and Armstrong's book to find out why the reviewers recommed it so warmly to chrstians and westerners.

Amazon reviews reveal a lot about the reviewers' bias. That definitely is helpful.

Posted by: FreeSpeech at October 30, 2006 2:07 AM

According to IslamOnline Karen Armstrong is a liar.....

http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/spot_full_story.asp?service_id=786

Islam adopts an attitude of mercy and caring for the captured enemy, it prohibits any form of abuse or
torture whether physical or sexual against the enemy.
Previously, it was the custom for the captive to work for his food or get it through private means then
the Qur’an made it a charity to feed the prisoners and the Prophet (PBUH) urged his Companions to
be good to the captives.
When the Jewish tribe of Bani Qurayzah was in the seizure of the Muslims, loads of dates were regularly
carried to them, with the Prophet's instructions to shelter them from the summer sun and to provide them
with water to drink.

http://www.globalwebpost.com/farooqm/study_res/karen_arm/qurayzah.html

so when the Jewish tribe of Qurayzah sided with Mecca during the Battle of the Trench, when for a
time it seemed that the Muslims faced certain defeat, Muhammad showed no mercy.
The seven hundred men of the Qurayzah were killed, and their women and children sold as slaves.
The massacre of the Qurayzah was a horrible incident, but it would be a mistake to judge it by the
standards of our own time.

Posted by: aladdinsane57 at October 30, 2006 4:57 AM

"I'm almost afraid to ask.. are those *actual* courses they teach?"
-- from a posting above

Ask, and ye shall be told.

No.

But they might as well be.

Posted by: Hugh at October 30, 2006 6:47 AM

Ilan Stavans needs no defense. He was not responsible for the assignment and he did not, in any case, give these books good reviews, and his criticisms were of the right things. But the review might have given more by offering more on the central role of Muhammad as the Perfect Man, not only as the Prophet to whom the Qur'an was revealed, but as the Perfect Man whose every word and deed, in the stories known as the Hadith, have been collected, analyzed, ranked after study of the isnad-chain according to likely authenticity by various muhaddithin who are themselves ranked by Islamic scholars which is why Believers turn to Bukhari and Musilm (and to four other collections) as being the true, the authoritative ones.

One never knows about reviews. Perhaps he included some of this in an earlier version, and was told to cut it out. Perhaps he wanted to review still other recent biographies of Muhammad, but the one by Robert was excluded by the Book Editor. Or perhaps he himself did not want to review it, having been told by someone that Robert's book was "right-wing" or his site was "right-wing" or something about him was "right-wing."

I suspect the problem is more general. Why, for example, has The Wall Street Journal not reviewed this or any of RS's previous books? And look at the National Review Book Club -- do you see this biography on its list? Why, do you think, not?

Posted by: Hugh at October 30, 2006 7:06 AM

ISLAMSFORLOSERS:

Sadly, there are plenty of Jews, particularly Ashkenazic Jews, who are every bit as ready to be useful idiots as former nun and practicing moonbat Karen Armstrong. Many of them buy the old canard about the supposedly kind treatment Sephardic and Yemenite Jews experienced in Muslim countries that was used in the 19th century by the Ashkenazim of Europe to remonstrate Christians for the organized persecution Jews were suffering back then.

Recently, I even heard a Jewish woman spouting praise for Hezbollah for the way they won the support of the southern Lebanese by doing charitable work, blythly unaware that all of this generosity was in aid of building those famous "special rooms" in residential areas that turned the locals into strategic defense targets for the IDF, who had been carefully tracking all these good works, knowing full well what was being concealed.

Posted by: waterdragon52 at October 30, 2006 7:54 AM

I've also noticed the widespread media bias of which Robert speaks...from the recent BBC revelations to my local paper.Why can't the enemy be defined?Why does the truth frighten them so?

If a story, book review, or anything critical of Islam ever makes it to the editors' desk, it will be buried, minimized, or ignored altogether.The MSM has been cowed!

By not challenging the Islamic texts the jihadis quote as they kill hundreds of thousands of infidels worldwide, the media actually propogate and prolong our inevitable struggle with this violent religion.

If the MSM weren't such pussies, we could quickly step up the war against violent Islamic jihad in many more arenas at once. Through intimidation, many lives could be saved.

Should we hold our breath waiting?If the MSM-loving cut-and-run appeasement crowd get voted into power next week, we'll all be blue-in-the-face ;)

Posted by: HawkWatcher at October 30, 2006 8:38 AM

WONDER IF THEY HAD THESE PARTS IN THEIR BOOKS??

Ishaq:464 “The Jews were made to come down, and Allah’s Messenger imprisoned them. Then the Prophet went out into the marketplace of Medina, and he had trenches dug in it. He sent for the Jewish men and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were brought out to him in batches. They numbered 800 to 900 boys and men.” Tabari VIII:40 “The Messenger commanded that furrows should be dug in the ground for the Qurayza. Then he sat down. Ali and Zubayr began cutting off their heads in his presence.”

Tabari VIII:38 “The Messenger of Allah commanded that all of the Jewish men and boys who had reached puberty should be beheaded. Then the Prophet divided the wealth, wives, and children of the Banu Qurayza Jews among the Muslims.”

WELL AFETR ALL WE SEE HIS FOLLOWERS DOING THE SAME TODAY

Qur’an 5:33 “The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and make mischief in the land, is to murder them, crucify them, or cut off a hand and foot on opposite sides...their doom is dreadful. They will not escape the fire, suffering constantly.”

WONDER IF THEY WROTE ABOUT THIS??

Qur’an 9:5 “When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, torture them, and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.”

NOW THIS I WONDER IF THEY TOLD THE TRUTH??

Qur’an 8:12 “Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: ‘I will terrorize the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.”

SO THAT GUY IN THE 14TH CENTRY WAS RIGHT!!

Qur’an 8:1 “They ask you about the benefits of capturing the spoils of war. Tell them: ‘The benefits belong to Allah and to His Messenger.’”

SO IT IS ALL ABOUT CONTROL AND MONEY

Tabari IX:74 “Indeed, Allah has guided you with His guidance. If you wish to do well [capture booty], obey Allah and His Messenger. You must perform the prayers, pay the zakat tax, and give a fifth share of Allah’s booty to His Messenger. The required zakat is: from the land one tenth of that watered by springs and rain, and one twentieth of that watered by the leathern bucket. From camels, a milch camel for every forty camels, and a young male camel for every thirty camels. From sheep, one for every five camels; and from cows, one from every fourth… If anyone pays more, it is to his credit. He who professes this, bears witness to his Islam and helps the faithful [fight] against the polytheists, he has the protection of Allah and His Messenger.”
Tabari IX:75 “He who holds fast to his religion, Judaism or Christianity, is not to be tempted from it. It is incumbent on them to pay the jizyah protection tax. For every adult, male or female, free or slave, one full denarius, or its value in al-ma’afir [fine cloth]. He who pays that to the Messenger has the protection of Allah and His Messenger, and he who holds back from it is the enemy of Allah and His Messenger.”

SO IS THE WORLD SO STUPID TO PAY A JIZZI TAX TO A BUNCH OF THUGS???

Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WIDOM, SIGHT, AND COURAGE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM LET NOT THE WORLD BE DECIEVED BY THEM AMEN

PS
Just wonder if these books told the ruth or more mulsum lies because they were to coward to tell the truth??

http://humor.beecy.net/videos/karaoke/

Posted by: Catherine at October 30, 2006 9:41 AM

Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong, Amazon.com sales rank this hour: #6,480. Booklist says of it: "It puts the best face possible on its subject. The Muhammad it projects gave his followers 'a mission: to create a just and decent society, in which all members were treated with respect.'"

Someone should write a satirical biography of Hitler, using Karen Armstrong's method.

Posted by: remote_control at October 30, 2006 1:17 PM

Yay! Up to #51 right now from #56 at the beginning of the post.

Posted by: Stabmaster G at October 30, 2006 11:56 PM

1. The New York Times has a famous "Best Sellers" list every week.

2. The New York Times rarely reviews books on their list that doesn't fit their own ideology.

3. In the rare case that a book as such is reviewed, the Times uses a partisan hired gun to slam it.

4. The Boston Globe is owned by The New York Times Company.

Is anyone surprised that the Globe doesn't review Robert's book?

Posted by: Don Miguel at October 31, 2006 3:00 AM