The Essence of Rumi Book

The one improvement I would make to this book would simply be more poems, full-length, as opposed to illustrative selections. Otherwise, this is a great book.

I like very much that the author gives autobiographical information about Rumi, tells about the history of Islam and Sufism's relation to mainstream Islam, and then goes on to discuss Rumi's works specifically in greater detail. Baldock has chapters talking about Rumi's characters, symbolism, and themes, and ends with chapters containing discourses from "Fihi mafihi," tales from the "Mathnawi," and odes from the "Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi."

Highly recommended.