The Art of Death

  “How can we write plausibly from the point of view of the dying, when we have not died ourselves, and have no one around to ask what is it like to die? But we do ask. We ask writers.” In The Art of Death – Writing the Final Story Edwidge Danticat writes...

In an Antique Land & The Imam and the Indian

Two early books by a most intriguing and lyrical author, Amitav Ghosh: In an Antique Land (Penguin, 2009) is a spellbinding narrative that combines historical research with personal observations of skeptics and holy men, merchants and sorcerers. It transcends genres...

East West Street

Given the situation in the Middle East and other war-torn areas, East West Street, by Philippe Sands (Knopf) is poignant. It is an account of the origins of crimes against humanity and genocide. It is a well-written book, which I highly recommend because it relates...

The Fall of the Ottomans

The Fall of the Ottomans by Eugene Rogan (Basic Books) provides a vivid account as to the origins of the current turmoil in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire was established in the Sixteenth Century and extended from south of Vienna to include the Balkans, Turkey,...

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