Selections from The Art of Party Crashing in Medieval Iraq

He’s fond of anyone who throws a party; he’s always at a party in his dreams, for party-crashing’s blazoned on his heart . . . a prisoner to the path of fi ne cuisine. With this statement, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, a Muslim preacher and scholar, introduces The Art of Party-Crashing , a book that represents a sharp departure from the religious scholarship for which he is known. Compiled in the eleventh century, this collection of irreverent and playful anecdotes celebrates eating, drinking, and gene