The shade and the heat

About the book "I loved autobiographies, and nothing from them was connected to it; like memoirs, memories, confessions, and diaries. My reasons for this connection date back about ten years; during which I collected over a thousand titles or more. I lived with some of them days of sweetness and bitterness: laughter like crying, sadness mixed with joy, and pleasure tainted by something the eye encounters; from blatant sinfulness, promotion of falsehood, and corruption in morals. Despite all this; in their entirety, they contain lessons that lead to consideration. Therefore, I wanted to select for the reader summaries of the most famous autobiographies, Arabic and Western, and to present to him the most beautiful, most exciting, most beneficial, and most enjoyable parts, from anecdotes that delight and please. I have purified them from most of what discredits them, and I hope they will be a close harvest, fresh and vibrant. And this collection in your hands represents the 'First Group' of those selected, which included thematic chapters organized from the lives of one hundred and fifty autobiographies. I place it in your hands, and I hope you find in it a gentle, pleasant pleasure, a reminder that admonishes, and a talk that entertains."