The Little Book of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Little Books) [Abridged] [Hardcover]

Omar Khayyam (Author), Edward Fitzgerald (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Persian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Element Books Ltd; Abridged edition (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852307188
• ISBN-13: 978-1852307189
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 3.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,198,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It took a millennium for the Rubaiyat to be unveiled, August 2, 2000

By 

Viraga "viraga" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Little Book of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Little Books) (Hardcover)

Omar Khayyam was a multifaceted man who lived at around the time the second millennium of the Christian era was beginning. He was not only a scientist but also a Sufi mystic, and his Rubaiyat (book of verses in quatrains) has evoked much interest and endless debate. The best known English translation is that of Edward FitzGerald. Here is a sample verse:

"Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough / A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse---and Thou / Beside me singing in the Wilderness --- /

And Wilderness is Paradise enow."/

Whose imagination can fail to be stirred? But most people see this as a glorification of wine, women and song -- a handbook of hedonism. Could such an earthy and earthly book be in keeping with Khayyam's reputation as a Sufi mystic and a saint? Now towards the end of the millennium, the Indian saint, mystic and spiritual leader Paramahansa Yogananda has commented on the Rubaiyat in his book "Wine of the Mystic." Omar was indeed a mystic. The divine intoxication of the love and joy of God could only be conveyed to the people of his age through metaphors and allegory that described the pleasures they could understand. One must read the Rubaiyat in conjunction with "Wine of the Mystic" to really get to the heart and soul of one of the world's classic books.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SIMPLY WONDERFUL, April 5, 2000

By 

bill croisdale (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Little Book of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Little Books) (Hardcover)

i have just recently read this book.it trancends east to west..has a more spiritual value tham most books of this kind ...of couse we all know that Khayyam was a scientist well.. and he shows some of that in his writings... yet these writings come as pleasure ..i would like to extend all of you a invitation to enjoy this book ...it.s a pleasure