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Five of My Favorite Books

‘Idál (Justice), 2 ‘Ilm (Knowledge) 175 B.E. - Wednesday, October 17, 2018

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Share a list of your top 5 favorite books and give us a short blurb on each.

Five of My Favorite Books

          The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
          The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil's Narrative of the Early Years of the Baha'i Revelation Translated from the Original Persian and Edited by Shoghi Effendi
          The Dragon Book Edited by Jack Dann and Gardener Dozois
          The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys by Baha'u'llah Translated by Marzieh Gail In Consultation with Ali-Kuli Khan
          99 New Poems: A Contemporary Anthology Collector's Edition Edited by Eric Moberg, M.F.A. PH.D.

The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien

I've read The Hobbit, at least, twice. And the Lord of the Rings Trilogy a couple of times. I can't decide which book I like best. The thing I like about Mr. Tolkien's books is that I can read them, without worrying about anything except escaping into the plot and the characters. The translation is by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith and, the grandson of 'Abd'ul-Baha; therefore, it is a perfect a translation as can be achieved.

The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil's Narrative of the Early Years of the Baha'i Revelation
Translated from the Original Persian and Edited by Shoghi Effendi

First, I'm not normally a person who reads history books; however, The Dawn-Breakers because it is written by someone who was a witness to the events. When Nabil writes about things he didn't personally witness, he transcribes the memories of those who witnessed the events.

"I stand, life in hand, ready; that perchance, through God's loving-kindness and grace, this revealed and manifest Letter may lay his life as a sacrifice in the path of the Primal Point, the Most Exalted Word."

Baha'u'lllah1

The Dragon Book
Edited by Jack Dann and Gardener Dozois

This book is composed of short stories about dragons. I've read through the entire book once. I'm keeping it because I'm in the process of reading some of my favorite stories over again, because I haven't decided on which story I like best.

The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys
by Baha'u'llah Translated by Marzieh Gail In Consultation with Ali-Kuli Khan

"Seven Valleys and Four Valleys should be regarded as independent Tablets, as they were revealed to different persons.."
Shoghi Effendi2

The Seven Valleys is a mystical composition, and was revealed to answer the questions of Shaykh Muhyi'd-Din of Khaniqin, who was a student of Sufi philosophy. The Seven Valleys was revealed before The Four Valleys. Baha'u'llah addressed The Four Valleys to Shaykh "Abdu'r-Rahman of Karkuk. I feel, each Table covers a different aspect of the mystical way, which eventually leads to God.

99 New Poems: A Contemporary Anthology Collector's Edition
Edited by Eric Moberg, M.F.A. PH.D.

The poems in this book were written by several different authors. One of the authors is my brother, M. Frank Darbe.

Footnotes
1  Dawn-Breakers,iii.
2  The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, vi.