“I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where’s the self-help section?' She said if she told me it would defeat the purpose.” - Steven Wright

The Travels of Ibn Battutah by Ibn Battutah Ibn Battutah was just 21 when he set out in 1325 from his native Tangier on a pilgramage to Mecca. He did not return to Morocco for another 29 years, traveling instead through more than 40 countries...read more

Yemen - The Unknown Arabia by Tim Mackintosh-Smith Yemen is arguably the most fascinating and least known country in the Arab world. Classical geographers described it as a fabulous land where flying serpents guarded sacred incense groves...read more

Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader by Kasra Naji As Iran's nuclear program accelerates, all eyes are on the blacksmith's son who could have his finger on the trigger. Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? What drives him? To whom, if anyone, does he answer...read more

The Flea Palace by Elif Shafak Depending on ones perspective, the Flea Palace can be the story of a once stately - now dilapidated and flea infested - palace built by a Russian émigré for his wife. Or it can be the story of...read more

Ataturk by Andrew Mango Although there is no shortage of information on Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Turkish, no comprehensive biography has appeared recently in English. Mango's new book fills that gap in superlative fashion...read more

Yemen - The Unknown Arabia by Tim Mackintosh-Smith Yemen is arguably the most fascinating and least known country in the Arab world. Classical geographers described it as a fabulous land where flying serpents guarded sacred incense groves...read more

South to Alaska by Nancy Owens Barnes South to Alaska relates the story of ten-year-old Melvin Owens who, born in the dusty heart of Oklahoma in 1916, dreams of living in Alaska. Nearly fifty years later, he single-handedly constructs...read more

My Life in the Kingdom by Carmen Bin Laden A sister-in-law of Osama Bin Laden who fled her marriage in 1988, Carmen Bin Ladin describes what it was like to live in the gilded cage of her wealthy Saudi Arabian family. "It was only after September 11...read more

The Ruins by Constantin Francois de Volney My whole attention bent on whatever concerns the happiness of man in a social state, I visited cities, and studied the manners of their inhabitants; entered palaces, and observed the conduct...read more

Flatland by Edwin Abbott In the time when circles ruled the earth, one little square dared to dream. This square, an inhabitant of Flatland named A Square, receives a portentous visit from a sphere who takes him on trips...read more

Daisy Miller by Henry James The general vibe I often get is that we either have to do what society tells us to and die, or refuse to do what society tells us to - and die. Yes, we must do two things: pay taxes and die... read more

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini On Christmas Day in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, securing Kabul within two days and remaining for a nine-year war with anti-government insurgents. During the time of the...read more

Crescent and Star by Stephen Kinzer Kinzer vividly describes Turkey's captivating delights as he smokes a water pipe, searches for the ruins of lost civilizations, watches a camel fight, and discovers its greatest poet. But he is also attuned...read more

Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville A Story of Wall Street by Herman Melville. Imagine a new guy showing up for a job at your office, excelling at his work and generally keeping to himself. One day you ask him to lend you his stapler and he replies...read more

In Celebration Of All That Burdens Us by Ségun Ògúntólá Ségun Ògúntólá believes Literature yearns to sing to us anew on Existence, our unsettling personal and societal concerns, soothe our aches, celebrate our life in all its manifold complexities...read more

Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk Istanbul is haunted by another Istanbul, a shadowy presence in the shadows. Orhan Pamuk sees the city in black and white, mirrored in the ancient engravings and old photographs that illustrate...read more

Silk by Alessandro Baricco I slipped out of the office at lunch and picked up "Silk" at the bookstore downstairs, and I read it in less than two hours—including a 30-minute telephone break with my dad and ample time for daydreaming...read more

Hard Times by Studs Terkel Studs Terkel may not have been the first person to put personal interviews at the center of his work. But he is, as far as I know, the first one who through his editing skill, through his intuitive ability...read more

Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot Today nearly everyone is familiar with holograms, three-dimensional images projected into space with the aid of a laser. Now, two of the world's most eminent thinkers at the University of London...read more

The Dead by James Joyce The last work in "Dubliners," "The Dead" explores a priggish man's attitude toward the world around him as he parties with his friends and family. In college I knew an English professor who told me...read more

Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann Corporations rule the world, claims Thom Hartmann, and they are despoiling it for profit. He traces the historical friction between individual rights and the corporation, culminating in a...read more

Illuminations by Mark Tompkins Mark Tompkins is an award-winning photographer and writer whose work has appeared in publications worldwide including Parabola, Light of Consciousness, Photovision and Grain Magazine...read more

The Turks Today by Andrew Mango Most people who have rubbed elbows with Turks might suggest that they are experiencing an identity crisis, torn between the East and the West. In contrast, Mango, who was born in Istanbul says...read more

The Fall of the House of Bush by Craig Unger A seasoned, award-winning investigative reporter connected to many back-channel political and intelligence sources, Craig Unger knows how to get the big story -- and this one is his most explosive...read more

Coming Out of the Ice by Victor Herman How can I begin to tell you of Victor. I read his book in the late 70's when Victor was still alive. His story was so profoundly moving that when at the end of the book it gave his location in America...read more

The Bush Tragedy by Jacob Weisberg In The Bush Tragedy, Jacob Weisberg does what most of President Bush's critics have never tried to do: Take him seriously. In doing so, Jacob paints a devastating portrait of a man haunted by...read more