Middle Eastern History
A Interview with Steve Kemper About A Labyrinth of Kingdoms
Sometimes a book grabs you by the throat and won’t let you put it down. I recently experienced that with Steve Kemper’s A Labyrinth of KIngdoms: 10,000 Miles Through Islamic Africa. I got so wrapped up in the story that I broke my long-standing rule about traveling with hardcover books because I wanted to finish…
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Genghis Khan Revisited
First a little bit of business. Last week I announced that I was giving away a copy of this book: . As promised, this morning My Own True Love drew a name out of my favorite summer hat. The winner is Jessica, who blogs about books at Quirky Bookworm. Send me an e-mail with…
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Stranger Magic
I’m fascinated by the Arabian Nights. By the stories themselves and the way they fit together into their complicated frame story. By their transformation from Arabic street tales to a established position in the Western canon. By their echoes in Western culture, from the Romantic poets to Disney. So I was delighted to get a…
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