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Alamut (Hardcover)

by Vladimir Bartol (Author)
Key Phrases: grand dais, reverend dai, preme commander, Abu Ali, Abu Soraka, Buzurg Ummid (more...)

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
"...[a] superb masterpiece. An absolute must-have for East European literature shelves...a thoroughly compelling novel cover to cover." -- Midwest Book Review, January, 2005

"...a shifting collage of passions, adventure and sacrifice. The settings are sumptuously described...characters are charismatic and complex." -- Barbara Lloyd McMichael

"For all of its provocative ideas and sometimes eerily prescient incidents, Alamut is also successful simply as an entertaining yarn." -- The Seattle Times

Alamut is an adventure story from 1938 which transforms itself...into a nightmare novel of the new century. -- Olivier Maison, Journal de la Culture

If Osama bin Laden did not exist, Vladimir Bartol would have invented him. -- L'Express

Like Borges, [Bartol] raises questions but offers few answers...and will leave you with an inexhaustible restlessness and uncertainty. -- Ricardo Arturo Ríos Torres, La Prensa

Review
“If Osama bin Laden did not exist, Vladimir Bartol would have invented him.”
—L’Express

“...an epic novel of conspiracies, love stories, and subtle religious and philosophical subtexts that bravely confronts the issue of political extremism.”
—Ricardo Arturo Ríos Torres, La Prensa

“...an adventure story from 1938 which transforms itself ... into a nightmare novel of the new century.”
—Oliver Maison, Journal de la Culture

"This new edition of Alamut is gorgeous...a fascinating historical drama that triumphs in its exploration of modern themes."
—The Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 390 pages
Publisher: Scala House Publishers (January 15, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0972028730
ISBN-13: 978-0972028738
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #500,375 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
grand dais, reverend dai, preme commander

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Abu Ali, Abu Soraka, Buzurg Ummid, Abdul Malik, Our Master, Husein Alkeini, Shah Rud, Abul Fazel, Arslan Tash, Abu Jafar, Captain Manuchehr, Omar Khayyam, Abdur Ahman, Little Fatima, Kizil Sarik, Sultan Malik Shah, Abu Bakr, Sergeant Abuna, Does Sayyiduna, Captain Ali, The Moor, All-merciful Allah, Abu All, Khosrow Parviz, Turkan Khatun

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	76% buy the item featured on this page: Alamut 4.1 out of 5 stars (14)
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	6% buy The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma'ilis 4.9 out of 5 stars (7) $26.05
	4% buy The Secret Order of Assassins: The Struggle of the Early Nizari Ismai'lis Against the Islamic World 4.0 out of 5 stars (2) $23.85

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A deftly researched and presented historical novel , January 9, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

First published sixty years ago, Alamut is a literary classic by Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, a deftly researched and presented historical novel about one of the world's first political terrorists, 11th century Ismaili leader Hasan ibn Sabbah, whose machinations with drugs and carnal pleasures deceived his followers into believing that he would deliver them to a paradise in the afterlife, so that they would destroy themselves in suicide missions for him. Flawless translated into English (and also published in eighteen other languages), Alamut portrays even the most Machiavellian individuals as human - ruthless or murderous, but also subject to human virtues, vices, and tragedies. An afterword by Michael Biggins offering context on the author's life, the juxtaposition of his writing to the rise of dictatorial conquest that would erupt into World War II, and the medly of reactions to its publication, both in the author's native Slovenia and worldwide, round out this superb masterpiece. An absolute must-have for East European literature shelves, and quite simply a thoroughly compelling novel cover to cover.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommded - Coming of Age Terrorist Religious Philosophical Classic, December 2, 2005

By	Evanston Scott (Illinois) - See all my reviews

My prediction is that this book will be read widely someday. A friend who turned me on to "Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree" by Tariq Ali (3-stars -- I'll add my Amazon review soon) lent me her copy at Thanksgiving. After the first couple of chapters of "set up," I devoured it.

The easy comparison would be to Osama bin Laden and terrorists and Iraq and so forth. But I read "Alamut" as a heart-breaking coming of age novel. A girl and boy, barely in puberty, are taken in by a "movement" (cult/army/regligion?) that they quickly become attached to. But when their eyes are lifted to the truth, they are changed forever. Alamut's leader -- a mix of madness and genius -- offers a couple of longwinded, but fascinating, monologues on the meaning of life, but the real meaning in the book is found in the fates of the girl and boy.

This book isn't perfect. It has a strange outdated "puritan" feel to it at times, especially with the sexual (lesbian/hetero) scenes, but it also has the feel of a classic. Meaning, that in 20 years it will still be in print and will be much more widely known than today. This book will be relevant for many, many years regardless of the political situation. From Illinois, a 5 stars.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic and lyrical , July 13, 2005

By	A. D. DiRenzo (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

I can not deny that Alamut is a fascinating historical novel but it is also so much more. It is a hauntingly eloquent work that combines poetry and prose in perfect harmony without being heavy handed or prolix. Enrapt by the story, I was transported by the language. Alamut was easily one of the most beautifully written and articulately translated books I have ever read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Greek Tragedy in Persian/Arab/Islamic context (Spoiler Alert!)
This story is first and foremost a Greek tragedy, in the same vein as Oedipus Rex. Forget about the terrorism subtext, or even the rise of nationalistic fascism, when the novel... Read more

Published 6 months ago by cybergel78

1.0 out of 5 stars Fabricated myth, passing as fact
The book is largely based on polemics, and Marco Polos sensuous tales of the Assassins.

Modern scholarship has largely debunked the myths of pleasure gardens and... Read more

Published 8 months ago by S. Hussein

3.0 out of 5 stars Simple style, confusing message.
Alamut, by Vladimir Bartol, is apparently one of the great works in the Slovenian language. It has, according to Wikipedia, been translated into many other languages and is even... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Neutiquam Erro

5.0 out of 5 stars A fable for our current times
There are certain novels, such as George Orwell's 1984 or Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, which merges philosophy, religion, social commentary, and parable in fairytale-like narrative... Read more

Published 13 months ago by C. B Collins Jr.

5.0 out of 5 stars Most interesting work of literature
Hasan ibn Sabbah an intellectual, Islamist, and teacher and keeper of the fortress of Alamut, is carrying out his plan to influence the region in 11th century Persia. Read more

Published 16 months ago by armchairinterviews.com

3.0 out of 5 stars Grandly Unoriginal
This book is an engrossing narrative. That's about it. The problem I have with Alamut is that all Hasan's (or, call him what you may) ideas that impel the reader forward are so... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Daniel Myers

1.0 out of 5 stars Unhistorical does not present the real beliefs of the Nizari's
This is a fictional account of the founding of the fidai by Hassan ibn Sabbah in the early Alamut period. Read more

Published on December 30, 2006 by J. R. Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun book to get lost in.
I wasn't sure what I expected when I ordered this, but I heard that it was good, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad that I did, although I wish it were in softcover. Read more

Published on July 30, 2006 by Michael Nomad

5.0 out of 5 stars compelling and apt
although originally written many years ago, this book gives a whole new glimpse of present day realities. Read more

Published on October 24, 2005 by caroline

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiction or History ?!
He is mistaken who is searching in this book for a historical (reality), and is mistaken who reads it as a research or a dogmatic study. Read more

Published on August 19, 2005 by Fateh A. Bazerbashi

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Alamut

ALAMUT was first published in 1938 and has become the most widely read and translated, and perhaps most influential, Slovenian novel of all time. It has been translated into 19 languages, is currently being staged by the National Theater of Slovenia, ...

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Created on Nov 25, 2005, last edited on Nov 25, 2005.