{"product_id":"a-physician-on-the-nile-a-description-of-egypt-and-journal-of-the-famine-years-9781479820078","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\u003e The 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\u003eAn English-only 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\u003eMansoura Ez-Eldin (Foreword by) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eMansoura Ez-Eldin \u003c\/b\u003eis an Egyptian novelist and short story writer whose works have been translated into more than ten languages. She is the deputy editor of the Egyptian weekly cultural magazine \u003ci\u003eAkhbār al-Adab\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eTim Mackintosh-Smith (Translator) \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":50521294045458,"sku":"9781479820078","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6b212f71-9942-4386-8d1d-e3d75e3b879d.jpg?v=1737226409","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-physician-on-the-nile-a-description-of-egypt-and-journal-of-the-famine-years-9781479820078","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}