From the summer chatter

Author's name: Taha Hussein

If the summer heat makes people indulge in idleness and laziness, spending the nights with distractions and flocking to summer resorts, then winter, with its cold and gloom, is a season of work and postponed pleasures. The cycle of life continues from the idleness of summer to the seriousness of winter, as we read in this book stories of seriousness mixed with humor at times, imagination at other times, and benefit most of the time. Taha Hussein—through diverse titles and topics that are as far removed from idleness and amusement as can be—takes us on a journey where we examine the strengths and weaknesses of Omar ibn al-Khattab's character. We stand on the ruins of Troy, and gain insight into the secret of a sane imagination and the mysteries of love and art. We contemplate our social reality and devise possible solutions to improve it. We see ourselves in the mirror of the present at times and in the mirrors of the past at other times to discover our true face and live in harmony with what we have achieved and what we aspire to.