Book reviews and more!

Posts tagged with ‘Politics’

LAWRENCE IN ARABIA, by Scott Anderson

January 1, 2014

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and his fabled exploits, placed in a broad, rich context of WWI Middle Eastern turmoil. SOLID B

Grade: SOLID B

LAWRENCE IN ARABIA: WAR, DECEIT, IMPERIAL FOLLY AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST
Knopf Doubleday
2013

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HOW TO SLOWLY KILL YOURSELF AND OTHERS IN AMERICA, by Kiese Laymon

December 31, 2013

RAW, BRILLIANT ESSAYS by Kiese Laymon (with notes from family and friends) unfold a black American experience. B PLUS

Grade: B PLUS

HOW TO SLOWLY KILL YOURSELF AND OTHERS IN AMERICA
Agate Bolden
2013

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SEX AND THE CITADEL by Shereen El Feki

December 23, 2013

SEXUAL POLITICS IN the Arab world, presented in depth (via years of interviews), with compassion, with wit. B PLUS

SEX AND THE CITADEL
Pantheon
2013

Grade: B PLUS

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FROM BANGKOK WITH DESPAIR, by Tichakorn Khroopan Hill

October 13, 2013

A FRESH THAI TWIST on the chick-lit thriller! Charming novel stars a Bangkok reporter new to Washington, DC.

Grade: SOLID B

FROM BANGKOK WITH DESPAIR: (MIS)ADVENTURES IN D. C.
Tichakorn Khroopan Hill
2013

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FAREWELL, FRED VOODOO, by Amy Wilentz

May 5, 2013

IMAGES OF HAITI after the 2010 earthquake, from a US journalist trying to see past her outsider’s perspective.

Grade: B PLUS

FAREWELL, FRED VOODOO: A LETTER FROM HAITI
Simon & Schuster
2013

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UNCLE SWAMI, by Vijay Prashad

April 1, 2013

INCISIVE, IRREVERENT EXPLORATION of the challenges South Asian Americans have faced since the 9/11 attacks.

Grade: B PLUS

UNCLE SWAMI: SOUTH ASIANS IN AMERICA TODAY
New Press
2012

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THE SILENCE AND THE ROAR, by Nihad Sirees

March 30, 2013

BLEAK, GORGEOUS, TENSE novel by a leading Syrian author in exile: snapshot of life in an oppressive regime.

Grade: B PLUS

THE SILENCE AND THE ROAR
Other Press
2013

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FORMER PEOPLE, by Douglas Smith

February 21, 2013

FASCINATING STORIES OF the lives of the Russian aristocracy, from the eve of revolution to later reprisals.

Grade: SOLID B

FORMER PEOPLE: THE FINAL DAYS OF THE RUSSIAN ARISTOCRACY
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2012

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MY FIRST COUP D’ETAT, by John Dramani Mahama

February 7, 2013

GHANA’S PRESIDENT DELIGHTS, educates with a charming, insightful memoir about his country and its changes.

Grade: B PLUS

MY FIRST COUP D'ETAT: AND OTHER TRUE STORIES FROM THE LOST DECADES OF AFRICA
Bloomsbury USA
2012

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SMOKE SIGNALS, by Martin A. Lee

January 11, 2013

ADMIRABLY COMPREHENSIVE, ENTERTAINING social history of marijuana makes some solid points about public policy.

Grade: SOLID B

SMOKE SIGNALS: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF MARIJUANA
Scribner
2012

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