In this autobiography the atmosphere of an Iraq in transition is brought to life with all its sights, sounds and political realities. But the author's personal concern and quest has always been spiritual rather than political, so the national and cultural upheavals are used as a backdrop for his own journey of self discovery and search for truth. For everyone interested in the events that created modern Iraq, in how Muslims view their own history and in how the message of Islam meets both individual needs and that of the world today, this is a timely and thought-provoking book.

A new dawn has also appeared in spiritual travelogues with the publication of Son of Karbala. It deserves a place among the great spiritual odysseys of our time, right next to Gurdjieff's Meetings with Remarkable Men, which is at once resembles and exceeds in its honesty and clarity.

-- Professor Bruce B. Lawrence, Duke University, Durham NC