Review
Who You’re Reading When You’re Reading Arab Women
Everything from our expectations and background, to social mediators like teachers, critics, and influencers, and even the book's cover design can subtly change how we read a book in translation.
Turks in America
The 1940s and ’50s were a golden age for Turkish travel writing. A growing number of Turkish visitors came to the United States, often sent by Ankara for technical training or invited by Washington for cultural exchange. These were boom years for the Turkish publishing industry, and visitors invariably wrote up their experiences in books and newspaper columns with titles like “Letters from America,” satisfying a hungry audience.
A Castle in the Air: Trekking the Secret Mountain Paths of Yemen
Nearly 30 years had passed since Tim Mackintosh-Smith made a trip to a mountain by the Yemeni coast. Sitting in Sanaa, with the war raging around him, he tried to put into words a mirage that seemed so real at the time.
The Hidden Face of Nawal El Saadawi
The Egyptian writer was marginalized and misunderstood at home and abroad. In Egypt, she was labeled anti-religion and secular. But in the West, too, she was put in boxes: Arab, feminist, revolutionary. She was more than all those things: a universal writer who transcended boundaries and wrote of the human condition.
The Day the World Stood Still
On August 21, 2013 the Syrian regime launched the biggest chemical attack of the 21st century. It was a seismic event whose repercussions are still being felt. This is an account of what happened that day and how the decisions made in its aftermath sealed Syria’s fate.
Inglourious Basterds of Mosul
It took five hours to watch the 101-minute Netflix film on Mosul and process the emotions that resulted from the realistic portrayal of brutal warfare in my hometown.
The Long and Troubled History of the French Republic and Islam
Ever since Napoleon disembarked at Alexandria, France has had a complicated relationship with North Africa and Islam. Over the centuries it has been marked by politics, power, betrayal and misunderstandings.