A short history of the early American microscopes

number of errors, especially relating to Greek medical theory, indicating that Professor Nasr is not familiar with all of the recent literature. Thus on p. 161 the faulty diagram of Galen's cardio-vascular system, first used by Charles Singer, is reproduced. Also in this section, and elsewhere, although the illustrations are numerous and dramatic, they are not described adequately nor keyed into the text. Perhaps a better plan would have been to adopt multiple rather than single authorship for such a large and complex field. Professor Nasr is contrasting the Golden Age of Islanm with modern technological civilization, which can be a hazardous and unhistorical approach. He also credits the Arabs with more inventions than they actually made. However, there is a great deal of valuable data presented with full documentation. There is also a useful 'Glossary' of Arabic terms, a 'Select bibliography in European languages', and an excellent index.