World Made by Hand

“Far from a typical post-apocalyptic novel. It caters neither to a pseudo-morbid nor faddishly slick vision of the future. Though grim with portent, it is ultimately, as Camus’s novel The…

Victory 1918

“Victory 1918 covers all the theaters of war, not only the muck and mire of France. . . . [It] provides food for thought and reflection on the futility of…

Paradise Lust

“Paradise Lust is a pleasure. Wilensky-Lanford tackles her subject with an appealing mix of serious research and tongue-in-cheek humor. Neither too academic nor too whimsical, the storytelling in Paradise Lust…

Levi’s Children

Global Village Idiot

“Very funny.” –The Guardian…

The Fire Gospel

“The satire is so entertaining, the pace so sharp, the writing so witty . . . The Fire Gospel can be read easily in one sitting. It’s effortless to consume,…

Into Tibet

“A scrupulously documented account of Cold War intrigue. . . . [Provides] a detailed view into the CIA’s shadowy world and the havoc it wreaks on individual lives. . ….

A Diamond in the Desert

Part history, part memoir, part travel guide, this search for the mysteries behind one of the world’s richest cities is “the best book . . . on the Gulf coast…

Grove at Home: April 25-May 1

…Nazik al-Mala’ika The Iraqi Nazik al-Mala’ika has long been revered as one of the key modernist figures in Arabic poetry. When she died in 2011, a New York Times obituary…

Grove at Home: February 7-13

…the late seventies (having spent more than a decade before that in exile in Iraq). Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the victory of the Iranian Revolution, after the nation’s…