Many books these days claim to give readers "a true depiction," of Islam, but most of them fail to live up to their promise. "Islam:The Straight Path," is an exception to that rule.

Esposito's book is the most objective overview on Islamic beliefs published, and is required reading for any one who wants to understand prevalent beliefs and virtues held in esteem, embraced and practiced by Islamic societies in countries across the world - not only where Islam is the dominant religion, but also in countries such as the US and UK where Islam is a religion of a minority. Esposito highlights how the interpretation and articulation of values may differ depending on cultural settings.

This book is often a standard core text for survey courses on Islamic societies, Islamic history and basic relgion courses for good reason. It is comprehesive in its analysis and provides a great wealth of information in very accessible form. No serious student of world affairs or religious dialogue can afford to ignore this book.