{"product_id":"a-physician-on-the-nile-a-description-of-egypt-and-journal-of-the-famine-years-9781479806249","title":"A Physician on the Nile: A Description of Egypt and Journal of the Famine Years","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFlora, fauna, and famine in thirteenth-century Egypt\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Physician on the Nile \u003c\/i\u003ebegins as a description of everyday life in Egypt at the turn of the seventh\/thirteenth century, before becoming a harrowing account of famine and pestilence. Written by the polymath and physician ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī, and intended for the Abbasid caliph al-Nāṣir, the first part of the book offers detailed descriptions of Egypt's geography, plants, animals, and local cuisine, including a recipe for a giant picnic pie made with three entire roast lambs and dozens of chickens. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf's text is also a pioneering work of ancient Egyptology, with detailed observations of Pharaonic monuments, sculptures, and mummies. An early and ardent champion of archaeological conservation, ʿAbd al-Laṭīf condemns the vandalism wrought by tomb-robbers and notes with distaste that Egyptian grocers price their goods with labels written on recycled mummy-wrappings. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book's second half relates his horrific eyewitness account of the great famine that afflicted Egypt in the years 597-598\/1200-1202. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf was a keen observer of humanity, and he offers vivid first-hand depictions of starvation, cannibalism, and a society in moral free-fall. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Physician on the Nile\u003c\/i\u003e contains great diversity in a small compass, distinguished by the acute, humane, and ever-curious mind of its author. It is rare to be able to hear the voice of such a man responding so directly to novelty, beauty, and tragedy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA bilingual Arabic-English edition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī (Author) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī\u003c\/b\u003e (557-629\/1162-1231) was a Baghdad-born physician and scientist who wrote books on a wide range of topics, including medicine, philology, mathematics, and philosophy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eTim Mackintosh-Smith (Edited and Translated by) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTim Mackintosh-Smith\u003c\/b\u003e is a noted British travel author, best known for his trilogy on the renowned Moroccan world-traveler Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, which earned him a spot among \u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e's top twelve travel writers of the past hundred years. Since 1982, he has lived in Sanaa, Yemen. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50922633724178,"sku":"9781479806249","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9bdda778-eec8-4fa7-ad1d-af33b9ceccb9.jpg?v=1738935462","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-physician-on-the-nile-a-description-of-egypt-and-journal-of-the-famine-years-9781479806249","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}