A rare book can hardly compare in beauty and fascination with the tales of «One Thousand and One Nights», whose intricate text resembles the clever patterns of Persian carpets. Touching stories of romantic lovers, captivating tales of heroic journeys, amusing narratives about the tricks of treacherous wives and the revenge of deceived husbands, tales of genies, flying carpets, and magical lamps — these amazing, thrilling, mysterious works, often devoid of any modesty, embody all the charm and beauty of the medieval East! The translation into Russian of the tales of «One Thousand and One Nights», done by Mikhail Salye, conveying all the uniqueness and color of the original, has long been considered a classic. However, there has never been a complete edition of this outstanding work. It's time to rectify this regrettable omission! We offer readers a collection of tales, carefully aligned with the classical eight-volume edition of 1929–1939, as well as other rare publications, restoring all the censored cuts.
The publication is accompanied by illustrations from the remarkable St. Petersburg artist Nikolai Alexeyevich Ushin, for which he received a Gold Medal at the World Exhibition of 1937, held in Paris. The second book includes tales told by Scheherazade during nights 271–719.
