U. of Pennsylvania Pr.

A common justice; the legal allegiances of Christians and Jews under early Islam.

This book examines the legislative response of Christian and Jewish religious elites in the Islamic world to the perceived problem of their co-religionists taking their legal cases outside their communities to extra-confessional judicial institutions, mainly Islamic courts, in the late seventh to early eleventh centuries in the region bounded by Mesopotamia and North Africa. The analysis by Simonsohn (Hebrew U. of Jerusalem, Israel) explores the way that the fluidity of legal behavior that existed across communal boundaries threatened the social position of traditional elites and therefore was resisted by these elites, who sought to draw their co-religionists back into the fold of their communal judicial institutions. The reasons that Jews and Christians went to Islamic courts and the responses of their respective elites are examined in order to shed light on shifting structures of authority and autonomy in the broad context of Christian and Jewish public life. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Demonic desires; yetzer hara and the problem of evil in late antiquity.

The rabbinic concept of yetzer hara has been incorrectly contextualized as part of the ancient discourse of self-control, contends Rosen-Zvi (Hebrew culture, Tel Aviv U.), and should be understood instead as part of the biblical and post-biblical search for the sources of human sinfulness. He argues that yetzer should be read not in the tradition of the Hellenistic quest for control over the lower parts of the psyche, but in the tradition of ancient Jewish and Christian demonology. His topics include yetzer and other demons, whether yetzer at Qumran was proto-rabbinic, sexualizing the yetzer, and yetzer and gender. Earlier versions of some chapters have appeared elsewhere. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Hebrew book in early modern Italy.

Hacker (emeritus, Jewish History, Hebrew U. of Jerusalem) and Shear (religious studies, U. of Pittsburgh) introduce this valuable contribution to Jewish studies with an overview of the impact of print on European Jewish communities and the central role of Italy in early modern Hebrew book production. Scholars associated with the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, U. of Pennsylvania, present case studies on Jewish books from the 15th through 18th centuries. Topics include: development of the Hebrew printing industry; changes in Jewish reading habits; state and Church censorship of Jewish books; and the influence of Hebrew literature on Jewish-Christian relations. The volume includes prayer book page facsimiles, excerpts from primary documents, and comparative production statistics on Hebrew editions. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Peoples and crafts in period IVB at Hasanlu, Iran. (CD-ROM included)

Archaeologists describe and interpret their finds from a large occupation, covering the entire top of High Mound at Hasanlu, that was destroyed by fire during battle about 800 BC. Among their topics are furniture remains and furniture ornaments, the analysis and conservation of textiles, glass and glaze analysis and technology, blade-type weapons, and an ancient DNA pilot project. Distributed in the US by University of Pennsylvania Press. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Women's health and the world's cities.

With health as the central issue, this collection of scholarly essays brings attention to strategies for urban development and design that focus on women's issues of safety and health in a world that too often leaves them vulnerable to danger, disease and inequality. The purpose of this book is to increase awareness of the problems women face around the world, promote action through grass roots initiatives and partnerships, identify efforts that produce change for the better, and provide examples of work that has been done. Contributors discuss possible solutions to increasing problems with sanitation, clean air, and decent health care as the population grows. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)