The second volume of Husain Haddawy's magnificent new translation of the Arabian Nights follows on the success of the first volume which we have just reprinted. These stories have exerted a profound influence on Western literature, and continue to do so in the work of writers such as Borges and Calvino.

They have also enchanted ordinary readers - children and adults - for generations, and anyone who does not know them can see why if they read two of the most famous tales included in the new volume: Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Hussain Haddawy's translation offers the text in clear, vigorous modern English while preserving the distinctive character and colour of the originals.