As an active missionary to China from a family of missionaries, Broomhall wrote with an authoritative familiarity of his subject. The concern he addressed in this treatise was the presence of Islam in China. Beginning with the history of Islam in China, Broomhall explores the interactions between aspects of Chinese culture and Islamic religion with an eye towards the effect on evangelization.

The charm of Seiss’ thesis saw this intriguing book through five editions in the author’s lifetime. Exploring potential Christian imagery in the constellations, Seiss finds the message of redemption writ large in the nighttime sky. A truly original work, this book has held the interest of many readers over the decades.

A nineteenth-century travelogue in a class by itself, Osborn’s account of his travels through the Holy Land is sprinkled with literary, biblical, and scientific observations. This work on the physical geography of the Holy Land remains undiminished despite the years since its publication.

Peyron’s lexicon is the classic Coptic-Latin dictionary of the early twentieth century. It is of special historical importance because of the association of Peyron with Champollion, Napoleon’s epigrapher on his Egyptian voyage. Placed so early in the dawn of Egyptian studies, Peyron sheds light from an eye undimmed by the subsequent decades of scholarship.

The remarkable narrative of the Medieval traveler Pero Tafur comes from a single manuscript written before the printing press was invented. Letts presents the journeys of Tafur through Europe and the Holy Land during the years 1435-1439 when the voyager was in his mid-twenties. A wealth of information about pre-modern Europe and Palestine await the reader of this account.

Now a fixture in Sumerian studies, Nesbit’s initial publication of thirty tablets from Drehem is deceptively pedestrian at first glance. As the author demonstrates, a close look at these texts reveals invaluable information on the religious and social life of everyday Sumerians.