First Paragraph: The subtitle of the book, A Compendium of Muslim Jurists, is deceptive, suggesting that this edited volume is a reference work on jurists of Islamic law. However, this volume is much more. It is a comprehensive account of the development of Islamic law from its inception to the present through the biographies and contributions of some of its most important jurists, with the caveat that some Islamic legal luminaries were left out. While each of the 23 chapters stands on its own, this reviewer highly recommends anyone truly interested in the history of Islamic law to read the book as a whole, not just individual chapters or sections. Although the book is a hefty 590 pages long, it is worth the time and effort.