[Aleph] OT?: book - _Arabic Script_

[William F. Adams]

Found this in the local library:

Arabic Script: Styles, Variant and Calligraphic Adaptations by Gabriel 
Mandel Kahn, translated from the Italian by Rosanna M. Giammanco 
Frongia, Ph.D.

A quick search didn't turn up any real discussion of it --- is this a 
good book (in terms of content, historical accuracy and aesthetic 
evaluations of Arabic calligraphy? The reviews on www.amazon.com were 
conflicting, w/ the most reasonably argued / stated one being kind of 
negative. It seems nicely set and done, but some of the sample texts 
don't seem to convey what I'd expect, and I'm kind of bumfuzzled by the 
use of a Letraset sheet (#1256, Berthold's Naskhi) as a frontispiece. 
(Which correlates with the negative review on Amazon.)

It includes a
``Note: The illustrations without legend are calli-
   graphic examples excerpted from Hakkazade (with the latter two ``a''s 
having a macron)
   Mustafa Hilmi Efendi, _Mizanü'l Hat_ (1849)'' (The ``a'' in Mizanü'l 
has a macron as well)

Is there some better text people would suggest?

If this is considered off-topic, please reply directly to me, and I'll 
provide a summary to anyone who requests (if that's okay w/ the people 
who take time to send me stuff --- let me know if not)

William

-- 
William Adams, publishing specialist
voice - 717-731-6707 | Fax - 717-731-6708
www.atlis.com