The Arabian Nights Entertainments selected and edited by Andrew Lang

This is an English version of  Monsieur Galland's French translation of the tales, collectively called One Thousand and One Nights. Andrew Lang selected only thirteen stories. The poetry and the passages that didn't seem to make sense but the original authors thought funny were dropped. The stories were collected over centuries from different parts of what is now the Middle East and South Asia. In this version, the events supposedly occurred during the reign of Caliph Haroun al Raschid in Bagdad [Note: I retained the spelling of the names found in the book].

At the beginning of the story King Schariar of Persia was introduced as a ruler who took many wives, each of whom is executed after marriage because he thinks that all women are like his brother's unfaithful wife. Finally when Schariar's grand-vizir could no longer find a suitable bride, the vizir's daughter Scheherazade offered herself. She claimed she knows how to stop the king from ordering more women to be executed. She and her sister Dinarzade devised a plan so that Scheherazade can tell stories every night. The curious king postpones the execution every night to hear more of the stories. This lasted for 1,001 nights. Included in this version of One Thousand and One Nights are the following stories:

The Story of the Merchant and the Genius

The Story of the Fisherman

Story of the Three Calenders, Sons of Kings, and of Five Ladies of Bagdad

The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor

The Little Hunchback

The Adventures of Prince Camaralzaman and the Princess Badoura

Noureddin and the Fair Persian

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad

Story of Ali Colia, Merchant of Bagdad

The Enchanted Horse

The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of their Younger Sister

Most of the stories have shorter stories in them told by some characters. This might be a bit confusing but overall it's fun to read. Expect differences in content from other versions of One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights. There are also omissions in the stories as stated in the introduction of the book. I find the basis for omissions amateurish so I recommend this only for light reading and as one of many reference books. Readers who are not used to classic works might find the repetitions of statements unnecessary but overall the book is reader-friendly.

Rating: 7 out of 10