This is the second of three volumes reprinting the collected papers on Islamic subjects by Richard M. Frank. The studies here represent an original attempt to make philosophical sense, and in particular understand the theoretical underpinnings, of what is in essence the great theological tradition in early Islam, the Mu`tazilite school of Basra. 'Like the first volume, this new collection makes available a number of very valuable articles, some of which were originally published in hard-to-find proceedings or journals. Professor Gutas has done a fine job of selecting the nine articles; one cannot imagine a better-fitting group of articles for a Variorum book. Gutas is also to be commended for overseeing the production of the three exhaustive indexes (one for names and subjects, one for Arabic terms, and one for Greek and Syriac terms), which make the articles searchable and enhance their usability for scholars of Islamic studies.' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies