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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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