The present book is not limited to the study of Cantemir's treatise on Ottoman music. It first gives us the complete story of his eventful and dramatic life including his Russian stage and an account of his multifarious activities. In the same chapter the writer goes through not only his history of the Ottoman empire but other Cantemir books and other Romanian sources about the Prince and familiarises us with the content of these works. Her quotations from and references to various non-standard sources make this part of the book more useful and appealing. I believe this introduction will become a standard source for anybody who is to consider Cantemir's life, his story and other works.