For this study, Cowles meticulously collected and analyzed the results from the purveyors of investment advice between 1928 and 1932.

FORBES: Gurus are Still Wrong After 80 Years

The strength of the study is that it examines meticulously Shariah as law as it is defined and interpreted by Shariah authorities themselves.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Shariah��s Black Box

Mr Lieven's impressively broad sweep is well complemented by a more tightly focused study of Russian imperialism at work: an excellent, meticulously researched biography of Prince Gregory Potemkin, who in the late 18th century was the most powerful man in Russia.

ECONOMIST: Russian history