Most writing in Persian and Urdu since the fifteenth century from Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia has been in a style known as nasta`liq and its derivative, shekasta. In rapidly written, informal hands these types of writing present serious obstacles to scholars who need to use primary sources in their research. Although calligraphy forms of writing have been fully reviewed and explained, no aids are available to help scholars learn to read these hands. This volume is designed to fill this gap and as an aid to historians, literary scholars, and others who need to read manuscript documents in these two styles of script. It presents seventy six examples, representing literary, bureaucratic, and personal texts. The examples are arranged in a graded sequence according to difficulty. Each is accompanied by a printed transcription and a commentary on difficult or unusual features. An index of ligatures and logographic forms is included, along with a brief annotated bibliography of relevant literature.