a continuation of the earlier list…
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Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times (audiobook)
by George Crile
• A great book (now a movie, which I hear is also excellent) recounting how Congressman Charlie Wilson got swept away in funding and fighting the Afghan war against the Soviets. An excellent book; it reads like a novel but really gives you a thorough history of the Afghan / Soviet war and the covert American role. Very highly recommended.
West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story (audiobook)
by Tamim Ansary
• Tamim’s mother was American and father was Afghan, so he grew up somewhat divided between the two cultures. The book retells his childhood in Afghanistan, which he remembers very fondly, and then he moved with his mother back to the states when the Soviets invaded. Finally, he traveled through Northern Africa and the Middle East in a sort of journey to reconnect with his roots. I enjoyed the parts of the book about his childhood; they offered some insight about growing up in Afghanistan. From there it was downhill, detailing American hippie culture and his somewhat aimless travels. This one gets a pass.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
• A rare novel slips into the list! Another one about Afghanistan. In this book Hosseini follows three generations of Afghan women who struggle to survive through decades of violence, both inside and outside their homes. It was good – a page-turner – but I thought it was overly dramatic. For me, the history of Afghanistan is plenty dramatic and there’s no reason to sensationalize. On the other hand, it’s probably a pretty accurate portrayal of the culture and history (but what would I really know?). Recommendation? People who like novels will like it.
Baghdad without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia
by Tony Horwitz
• These next two are fun “escapist” travel reads. “Baghdad without a Map” actually doesn’t spend much time talking about Iraq; rather Horwitz spent two years based in Egypt and traveling all around the Middle East. The essays from all the different countries are hilarious and offer strange glimpses into each place he visits. Very highly recommended.
Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
by J. Maarten Troost
• Another quick, fun read. This is actually sort of a sequel to “The Sex Lives of Cannibals,” which I haven’t yet read. The author decides that he needs to escape the monotony of the office and return to a more adventurous and laid-back life in the South Pacific. The book is humorous entertaining and give glimpses into the culture and society of the islands, including an extended (too extended?) investigation into whether and why the tribes actually engaged in cannibalism. Highly recommended.
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
by A. J. Jacobs
• A. J. Jacobs sets out to fulfill all the rules in the Bible over the course of a year. He discovers that some are impossible (he’d have to kill a lot of people) and many are just bizarre; he also does have some spiritual transformation. He makes a point to speak to many different “literalist” groups, from Pat Robinson to the Amish, who vary widely in their interpretations of the literal Word of God. It’s written in daily journal style, so you tend to get a daily snippet on a subject before he moves on to something else the next day – I might have liked deeper investigation into some of the groups or topics. Still, it was an interesting and entertaining book. Highly recommended.
