The history of the "Fihrist al-'Ulum" ("The Index of the Sciences"), the first comprehensive and detailed Arabic bibliography, is traced from the work's completion in A.D. 987/988 to the discovery and translation of surviving manuscripts in modern times. The bibliography's content, classification scheme, and author are discussed, as well as the environment in which the "Fihrist" was written and its transmission. Discussion of the bibliography's contents includes a summary of each of its 10 chapters, which were devoted to the topics of (1) languages and scripts; (2) grammarian and language scholars; (3) historians; (4) biographers and genealogists; (5) poetry and poets; (6) theology and Islamic law; (7) philosophy and the sciences; (8) stories, fables, and magic; (9) schools of thought and doctrines of non-Muslims; and (10) alchemy. The "Fihrist" is also discussed in the context of the tradition of bio-bibliography. In addition, the life and character of Al-Nadim, the author of the "Fihrist," are discussed, along with his accomplishments as a literary critic and a bibliographer. References are provided. (KM)