As an American Catholic living and working in Istanbul, I experienced many shocks of recognition while reading this book, even here in secular Turkey. For example, any crticism, no matter how small, of any aspect of Turkish culture, no matter how insignificant-seeming, is perceived as blasphemy, if not of Islam, then of the great Turkish culture. I read the history books at school and am appalled not so much by the many inconsistencies therein, but more by fellow foreigners' propensity to espouse them, verbatim no less, as well. After all none of us wants to be perceived as intolerant, even if it means being tolerant of intolerance. With the situation like this in Turkey, I can only imagine how much worse it is the farther east, and deeper into the 'heart' of 'Islamiyet', one moves. This book gives me a very good idea, and it is none too appealing.