B. Reviews: general

REGIERUNG UND VERWALTUNG DES VORDEREN ORIENTS IN ISLAMISCHER ZEIT. TEIL 2. Mit Beiträgen von D. SOURDEL und J. BOSCH VILÁ. (Handbuch der Orientalistik, Band VI: Geschichte der islamischen Länder, Abschnitt 5.) Leiden, Brill, 1988. vi, 152pp. Hfl.68.‐ (58.‐ to Series subscribers).

BRITAIN AND THE MIDDLE EAST: AN ECONOMIC HISTORY 1945–87. By FRANK BRENCHLEY. (Middle East Studies.) London, Lester Crook, 1989. 391pp.

AN IMPERIAL TWILIGHT. By SIR GAWAIN BELL. London, Lester Crook Academic Publishing, 1989. 266 pp. £15.95

JERUSALEM IN HISTORY. Edited by K.J. ASALI. London, Scorpion Publishing, 1989.

KING ABDULLAH, BRITAIN AND THE MAKING OF JORDAN. By MARY C. WILSON. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1987. 289pp. £25.00.

A HOUSE OF MANY MANSIONS: THE HISTORY OF LEBANON RECONSIDERED. By KAMAL SALIBI. London, I.B. Tauris, 1988. 234pp. £17.95

THE UNMAKING OF PALESTINE. By W.F. ABBOUSHI. Wisbech, Menas Press, 1985. xi, 250pp. £21.50.

CHILDREN OF BETHANY: THE STORY OF A PALESTINIAN FAMILY. By SAID K. ABURISH. London, Tauris, 1988. 243pp. £14.95.

TOWARDS A PALESTINIAN ENTITY. By PAUL LALOR. London, Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1989. 35pp.

ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS AND THE INTIFADA: CREATING FACTS ON THE WEST BANK. By GEOFFREY ARONSON. Lonon, Kegan Paul International, 2nd ed., 1990. 376 pp.

SUDAN 1898–1989: THE UNSTABLE STATE. By PETER WOODWARD. London, Lester Crook, 1990. 273pp.

REVOLUTION AND FOREIGN POLICY: THE CASE OF SOUTH YEMEN 1967–1987. By FRED HALLIDAY. (Cambridge Middle East Library, 21.) Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990. 316 pp.

THE MAKING OF CONTEMPORARY ALGERIA, 1830–1987: COLONIAL UPHEAVALS AND POST‐INDEPENDENCE DEVELOPMENT. By MAHFOUD BENNOUNE. (Cambridge Middle East Library series.) Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988.

THE GULF WAR: ITS ORIGINS, HISTORY AND CONSEQUENCES. By JOHN BULLOCH and HARVEY MORRIS. London, Methuen 1989. 309 pp. £14.99.

THE GULF WAR. By EDGAR O'BALLANCE. London, Brasseys's Defence Publishers (Pergamon), 1988. 231pp. £17.95.

THE GULF AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: THE 1980S AND BEYOND. Edited by M.E. AHRARI. London, Macmillan, 1989. 210pp. £35.00.

THE GULF WAR. By MAJID KHADDURI. New York, Oxford University Press, 1988. 236pp. $24.95.

THE GULF WAR. Edited by HANS MAULL and OTTO PICK. New York, St. Martin's Press, 1989. ix, 203pp. £30.00.

THE FUTURE OF THE GULF. By PHILIP ROBINS. Aldershot, Royal Institute of International Affairs/Dartmouth Publishing Co., 1989. xvii, 145pp.

THE ISLAMIC IMPULSE. Edited by BARBARA FREYER STOWASSER. London and Sydney, Croom Helm, 1987. 329pp. £25.00.

ISLAM: STATE AND SOCIETY. Edited by KLAUS FERDINAND and MEHDI MOZAFFARI. London, Coarsen Press, 1988. 219pp. £6.50.

THE ISLAMIC POLITY AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP; FUNDAMENTALISM, SECTARIANISM, AND PRAGMATISM. By MEHRAN TAMADONFAR. Boulder, San Francisco & London, Westview Press, 1989. 152pp.

RELIGION AND POLITICAL POWER. Edited by GUSTAVO BENAVIDES and M.W. DALY. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1989. 240pp.

FIRST YEAR ARABIC COURSE. 1: ANA AKTUB: PHONOLOGY AND SCRIPT. 2: MIN FADLAK: LISTENING AND SPEAKING. 3: MABRUK: READING AND WRITING GRAMMAR. By DIONISIUS A. AGIUS. [Leeds], University of Leeds, Department of Modern Arabic Studies, 1989. 3 parts (in 4 vols.), 4 cassettes. £25.00.

DAS KAPITEL INNA WA‐AHAWATUHA AUS DEM ‘MANHAG AS‐SALIK’ DES GRAMMATIKERS ABU HAYYAN AL‐GARNATI (1256–1344). BY ANNETTE BERGTER. (Arabische Texte und Studien, 2.) Hildesheim, Zürich, New York, Georg O1ms, 1988. 201pp. DM35.80.

SAUDI ARABIAN DIALECTS. By THEODORE PROCHAZKA. (Library of Arabic Linguistics, monograph 8.) London and New York, Kegan Paul International, 1988. xix, 240pp. + 13pp. (Arabic text).

LANGUAGE VARIATION AND CHANGE IN A MODERNISING ARAB STATE: THE CASE OF BAHRAIN. By CLIVE HOLES. (Library of Arabic Linguistics, 7.) London/New York, Kegan Paul International, 1987. xii, 210 pp. £45.00.

DER NEUARAMÄISCHE DIALEKT VON HERTEVIN (PROVINZ S??RT). By OTTO JASTROW. (Semitica Viva, 3.) Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz, 1988. XXV, 234pp. 1 map. DM132.

SÜDOGHUSISCHE MATERIALIEN AUS AFGHANISTAN UND IRAN. By GERHARD DOERFER & WOLFRAM HESCHE. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 1989. 548pp. Maps, illustrations. DM236.‐

AL‐GHAZALI THE REMEMBRANCE OF DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE: KITAB DHIKR AL‐MAWT WA‐MA BA'DAHU: BOOK XL OF THE REVIVAL OF THE RELIGIOUS SCIENCES IHYA’ ‘ULUM AL‐DIN. Translated with an introduction and notes by T.J. WINTER. Cambridge, Islamic Texts Society, 1989. 347pp. £12.95 (p/b), £35 (h/b).

BAHA’ AL‐DAN AL‐'AMILI AND HIS LITERARY ANTHOLOGIES. By CLIFFORD EDMUND BOSWORTH. (Journal of Semitic Studies, monograph 10.) Manchester, University of Manchester, 1989. vii, [3], 128pp.

SAND AND OTHER POEMS. By MAHMOUD DARWEESH. Selected and translated by RANA KABBANI. London, KPI, 1986. 77pp. £9.95.

MAWSU'AT AL‐ADAB AL‐DAHIK = AN ANTHOLOGY OF HUMOUR IN ARAB LITERATURE. By ‘ALI MURUWWA. London, Riad El‐Rayyes Books, 1987. 8 vols., 1293pp. £80.00

LE PATRIMOINE JOURNALISTIQUE DE TUNISIE. By MUSTAPHA CHELBI. Tunis, Editions Bouslama, 1986. 296pp. $6 or TD 3.500.

ADVICE ON THE ART OF GOVERNANCE: MAU'IZAH‐JAHANGIRI OF MUHAMMAD BAQIR NAJM‐I SANI: AN INDO‐ISLAMIC MIRROR FOR PRINCES. Persian Text with introduction, translation and notes by SAJIDA SULTANA ALVI. (SUNY series in Near Eastern studies.) Albany, State University of New York Press, 1989. x, 215pp.

THICKHEAD AND OTHER STORIES. By HALDUN TANER. Translated by GEOFFREY LEWIS. (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.) London, Forest Books, 1988. 160pp. £8.95

AVERROES’ DE SUBSTANTIA ORBIS: A CRITICAL EDITION OF THE HEBREW TEXT WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY. By ARTHUR HYMAN. (Corpus Philosophorum Medii Aevi Academiarum Consociatarum Auspiciis et Consilio Editum, Opera Averrois, Medieval Academy Books, 96.) Cambridge, Mass., Medieval Academy of America and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1986. 156 pp. (English), 68 pp. (Hebrew).

FIVE ESSAYS ON ISLAMIC ART. By TERRY ALLEN. Sebastopol, Cal, Solipsist Press, 1988. x, 189pp. 113 black‐and‐white illustrations. $46.‐     

Being Ms B: B, autonomy and the nature of legal regulation

In this article, we question the apparent simplicity of medical law's construction of 'life and death' cases as a clash between the sanctity of life principle and patient autonomy. Our main purpose in doing so is to try to understand more fully the nature of law's regulation of the existence and non-existence of life. Specifically, we argue that, by broadening the understanding of autonomy in this area beyond a simple concern for patients' rights and self-determination, to include a focus on the individual generally, it becomes possible to identify some of the legal practices that are central to the manner in which law regulates the threshold between life and death. Through an analysis of a recent case in English law--Re B (an adult: refusal of medical treatment)--(although Australian jurisdictions presently disclose no similar, authoritative case, ours presently is almost an arbitrary choice)--we demonstrate the central role played in this regulation by tests for mental capacity, questions of character, explanation, and imagination. We conclude that medical law, at least in this context, can be theorised as a normalising practice--one in which the determination of norms often occurs through patients.     

Economic issues in access to medications: schizophrenia treatment in England

Mental health problems and the services to address them are currently receiving more attention in the UK than ever. Mental health care in England--indeed, across the UK--is experiencing a much needed transformation. It is therefore highly pertinent to examine the patterns of psychotropic medication use, given their intended links to recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration, as well as to explore the economic and other factors that appear to influence those patterns. These are the aims of this paper. Our attention will be primarily focused on England. What this analysis shows is that given a higher profile by government, including additional funding (although not really benefiting differentially compared to other parts of the health service) and the first national service framework, it is possible to see changes in service patterns, access and (to a degree) outcomes. These changes are occurring at a time when new classes of psychotropic medication are being introduced in a range of therapeutic areas, contributing to the relatively rapid growth of take-up but also raising questions about appropriateness, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and equity.     

Edward Gough Whitlam, 1916–2014: An Assessment of His Political Significance

Gough Whitlam’s political significance lies in the first instance in his leading the Australian Labor Party into office at federal level in December 1972 after 23 years in opposition. As prime minister he instituted wide-ranging domestic reforms expanding the involvement of the Commonwealth government into many areas affecting the lives of ordinary Australians. He faced a declining economic situation and a parliamentary opposition determined to impede his reforms; the blocking of supply in the Senate culminated in Whitlam’s dismissal by the governor-general on 11 November 1975. In foreign policy, Whitlam repositioned Australia as an active middle power. His opening to China coincided with the Sino-American normalisation, leading to a new direction in Australian foreign policy that gained momentum in subsequent years; the fundamentals of the Australian relationship with the United States remained intact. Whitlam was motivated by a vision of ‘positive equality’ in government services as the basis of social democracy. From a contemporary perspective there is less faith in the efficacy of government action than was the case with Whitlam. His government bears comparison with the great reform governments in the Australian Labor tradition, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, and even the United States.