Idries Shah

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Idries Shah's Latest Book

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  • Bibliography:
    24 Books
  • First Book:
    January 1982
  • Latest Book:
    May 2023
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Book List in Order: 24 titles

  • Observations

    According to the Sufis, human faculties, although perceptive, are limited: like a radio set, which can receive only certain electromagnetic waves and not other parts of this band. The inability to transcend the barrier of limited senses explains huma...

  • World Tales

    How can it be that the same story is found in Scotland and also in Pre-Columbian America? What can account for the durability and persistence of tales? Was the tale of Aladdin and his wondrous lamp really taken from Wales (where it has been found) to...

  • Middle East Bedside Book

    The Middle East Bedside Book brings the full color and spirit of this region to life through the eyes of past and present writers, observers, poets, and travelers. Dress, medicine, backgammon, psychology, politics, chess, attitudes about women, honor...

  • The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin

    The appeal of Nasrudin is as universal and timeless as the truths he illustrates. This delightful collection of teaching stories in which Mulla Nasrudin is the main actor is both an outstanding anthology of humor and a book of Sufi wisdom.
     

  • The Farmer's Wife

    The story of The Farmer's Wife tells how a woman first loses an apple into a hole in the ground, and then attempts a series of efforts to get it back. Children enjoy learning to repeat the sequence from memory, and when the story takes a sudden tu...

  • The Magic Horse

    "

    The Magic Horse is the story of two brothers, one skilled in the practical arts, and the other, Prince Tambal, considered by most people to be only a dreamer. Their father, the King, announces a competition to produce ""interesting and useful dev...

  • Neem the Half-boy

    Because she does not faithfully follow the instructions of Arif the Wise Man, the Queen of Hich-Hich gives birth to a half-boy, who grows up to be very clever and confronts a dragon in an effort to become whole....

  • The Boy Without a Name

    "

    On the day a boy is born, his parents are visited by a wise man who says, ""This is a very, very important boy, and I'm going to give him something marvelous one day, but I will have to give him his name first. So please don't give him a name yet...

  • Clever Boy and the Terrible, Dangerous Animal

    When a boy visits another village, he is surprised to find people terrified of something that - just because they have not seen it before - they mistake for a terrible, dangerous animal. With his own knowledge and by demonstration, the boy helps them...



  • The Silly Chicken

    The Silly Chicken is a delightful and humorous tale about a chicken who learns to speak as we do - with surprising and unexpected consequences. The events that follow intrigue young children and, and at the same time, alert them in a very amusing ...

  • The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water

    When the good-natured Share the Lion, King of all the animals, sees his reflection in a pool of water, he gasps at the fierce creature staring back at him and is too frightened to drink - until finally, he learns to overcome his fear. Children lea...

  • The Old Woman and the Eagle

    In this amusing story, an old woman encounters an eagle for the first time. Perplexed by its unfamiliar appearance, she decides to change it to suit her own ideas of what a bird should look like. Her efforts mirror a common pattern of human though...

  • The Man with Bad Manners

    This story is about a badly behaved man and how a young boy initiates a plan to change his behavior and, with the help of all the villagers, succeeds. It will bring laughter to young children and, at the same time, teach them valuable lessons abou...

  • Fatima the Spinner and the Tent

    Fatima is a young woman whose life seems beset by one disaster after another. Setting forth on a journey from her home in the West, she is shipwrecked and cast ashore alone near Alexandria. Adopted by a family of weavers, and beginning to prosper ...

  • The Man and the Fox

    A man tricks a young fox into believing that he will give him a chicken. The fox is trapped, but through ingenuity and perseverance, he escapes. Reading this story inspires children to face challenges directly, and even to use the obstacles in the...

  • The Man and the Fox -- El Hombre y el Zorro

    A man tricks a young fox into believing that he will give him a chicken. The man traps him, but the fox, through his ingenuity and perseverance, manages to escape. This story can inspire children to face challenges and even to make use of obstacles i...

  • The Clever Boy and the Terrible Dangerous Animal

    When a boy visits another village, he is amazed to find the townspeople terrified of something that -- just because they have not seen it before -- they mistake for a terrible, dangerous animal. With his own knowledge and by demonstration, the bo...

  • Neem the Half Boy

    The Queen of Hich-Hich fails to follow the instructions given to her by Arif the Wise Man, and, as a result, gives birth to a half-boy. Neem makes himself complete by an act of cleverness, negotiation and compromise. This story helps children learn f...

  • The Clever Boy and a Terrible, Dangerous Animal

    When a boy visits another village, he is amazed to find the townspeople terrified of something that -- just because they have not seen it before -- they mistake for a terrible, dangerous animal. With his own knowledge and by demonstration, the bo...



  • Oinkink

    In this very humorous tale, a man greedily hopes to have the skills and senses of a different animal but is so impatient to have his wish granted that he finds himself limiting his abilities, rather than enhancing them. This is one of a series of ill...

  • The Spoiled Boy With the Terribly Dry Throat

    When a little boy wakes up with a dry throat, those around him run about trying to work out what caused the condition. One by one, servants, doctors, and medical students try remedies that only complicate the situation and make the condition worse, i...

  • The King without a Trade

    A king, who wants for nothing, learns that a life of plenty doesn't make up for a lack of skills or common sense. Once he has learned his lesson, the king is careful to make sure that his daughter marries a man who can earn his own living. Rather tha...

  • Peaches

    In a land where families pride themselves on knowing the best way to prepare peaches, neighbors compete furiously to outdo one another to find the true essence of the fruit. Their ever-more-complicated extraction processes are so competitive and conv...

  • Kara Kush

    • / Historical
    • Buy Buy

    Adam, convinced that a resistance movement is imperative, rallies his followers, the ill-equipped patriots, to fight back. Idries Shah, the author of this gripping story, is the best-known Afghan writer of our time. His books on Sufism, philosophy, h...

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Idries Shah has published 24 books.

Idries Shah does not have a new book coming out soon. The latest book, Peaches, was published in May 2023.

The first book by Idries Shah, Observations, was published in January 1982.

No. Idries Shah does not write books in series.
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