Abg Hijab Vcs Indo

Massaging Himmler

Set in Nazi Germany, Massaging Himmler tells in verse the remarkable story of a little-known humanitarian, Dr Felix Kersten. Kersten was a Finnish-born therapeutic masseur who found himself at the centre of the Nazi web, treating Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler (head of the SS and the Gestapo) for stomach cramps, which sometimes rendered him unconscious, and which no other practitioner could relieve. Dr Kersten massaged Himmler daily during the war, sometimes in multiple treatments. He took no fee for his services to the Reichsführer, but used his influence to secure the release of tens of thousands of prisoners. Accused of collaboration at the end of the war, he worked tirelessly to clear his name, and received high honours from several European countries. Told in compelling language, from multiple points of view, this is an important addition to Holocaust literature. Dr Kersten's story shows how one man, flawed like the rest of us, was able to make a difference. "...Carson's poems race ahead of the reader, like stampeding horses, the furious pace mirroring the horror of their context. Art Spiegelman's graphic novel, Maus, pushed the boundaries of Holocaust literature, and I believe Massaging Himmler: A Poetic Biography of Dr Felix Kersten, is in that class." - Adele Hulse, Coordinator, Write Your Story program, Makor Publishing, Lamm Jewish Library of Australia.

Islamic Mysticism Contested

Islamic mysticism was contested from the formative period of Islam till the present. Criticism of and opposition to mystical conceptions of Islam and their adherents constitute an integral part of an ongoing debate inside the Islamic tradition. Controversies and polemics concerning Islamic mysticism often shaped and coincided with socio-political configurations. This volume results from a collective effort by a group of Islamicists and area specialists with a variety of disciplinary orientations to arrive at a comprehensive view of these controversies and polemics wherever and whenever found. The thirty-five contributions and the introduction are united in their historicising approach, while taking into account the wider socio-political context. Detailed indexes facilitate consultation of the work and give it an added value as work of reference and research tool.

France 1991