With a New Afterword As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Geraldine Brooks spent six years covering the Middle East through wars, insurrections, and the volcanic upheaval of resurgent fundamentalism. Yet for her, headline events were only the backdrop to a less obvious but more enduring drama: the daily life of Muslim women. Nine Parts of Desire_ _is the story of Brooks' intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives. Defying our stereotypes about the Muslim world, Brooks' acute analysis of the world's fastest growing religion deftly illustrates how Islam's holiest texts have been misused to justify repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of a once liberating faith. From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 19
A Sparkling collection of short stories, dealing with love, loss and the tiny happenings that make up our everyday experience. Views: 19
It was an emblematic crime: on a November day in Amsterdam, an angry young Muslim man shot and killed the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, iconic European provocateur, for making a movie with the anti-Islam politician Ayaan Hersi Ali. After shooting van Gogh, Mohammed Bouyeri calmly stood over the body and cut his throat with a curved machete. The murder horrified quiet, complacent Holland - a country that prides itself on being a bastion of tolerance - and sent shock waves around the world. In Murder in Amsterdam, Ian Buruma describes what he found when he returned to his native country to try and make sense of van Gogh's death. The result is Buruma's masterpiece: a brave and rigorous study of conflict in our time, with the intimacy and control of a true-crime page-turner. Views: 19
SUMMARY: Kathy Reichs#1New York Timesbestselling author and producer of the FOX television hitBonesreturns with the thirteenth riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. John Lowery was declared dead in 1968the victim of a Huey crash in Vietnam, his body buried long ago in North Carolina. Four decades later, Temperance Brennan is called to the scene of a drowning in Hemmingford, Quebec. The victim appears to have died while in the midst of a bizarre sexual practice. The corpse is later identified as John Lowery. But how could Lowery have died twice, and how did an American soldier end up in Canada? Tempe sets off for the answer, exhuming Lowery's grave in North Carolina and taking the remains to Hawaii for reanalysisto the headquarters of JPAC, the U.S. military's Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command, which strives to recover Americans who have died in past conflicts. In Hawaii, Tempe is joined by her colleague and ex-lover Detective Andrew Ryan (how "ex" is he?) and by her daughter, who is recovering from her own tragic loss. Soon another set of remains is located, with Lowery's dog tags tangled among them. Three bodiesall identified as Lowery. And then Tempe is contacted by Hadley Perry, Honolulu's flamboyant medical examiner, who needs help identifying the remains of an adolescent boy found offshore. Was he the victim of a shark attack? Or something much more sinister? A complex and riveting tale of deceit and murder unfolds in this, the thirteenth thrilling novel in Reichs's "cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series" (The New York Times Book Review). With the smash hitBonesnow in its fifth season and in full syndicationand her most recent novel,206 Bones,an instantNew York TimesbestsellerKathy Reichs is at the top of her game. Views: 19
Imperium . . . Conspirata . . . and now Dictator--the long-awaited final volume of Robert Harris's magnificent Ancient Rome Trilogy At the age of forty-eight, Cicero--the greatest orator of his time--is in exile, separated from his wife and children, tormented by his sense of failure, his great power sacrificed on the altar of his principles. And yet, in the words of one of his most famous aphorisms, "While there is life, there is hope."By promising to support Caesar--his political enemy--he is granted return to Rome. There, he fights his way back to prominence: first in the law courts, then in the Senate, and finally by the power of his pen, until at last, for one brief and glorious period, he is again the preeminent statesman in the city. Even so, no public figure, however brilliant and cunning, is completely safeguarded against the unscrupulous ambition and corruption of others. Riveting and tumultuous, Dictator... Views: 19
Lauren is a curator at the NAG - the National Aboriginal Gallery in Canberra. She's good at her job, passionate about the Arts, and focused on her work - that is, when she's not focusing on Adam, half-back for the Canberra Cockatoos. But Adam is a player, on and off the field. Lauren knows he's the one, but he doesn't seem to feel the same way about her. If she just waits long enough, though, surely he'll realise how much he needs her? Then her boss offers her the chance of a lifetime - a fellowship at the Smithsonian in New York. Lauren has to make some big decisions: The Man or Manhattan? By the best-selling author of Not Meeting Mr Right and Avoiding Mr Right Views: 19
Paul Knox, secret agent for the U.S. Government, had been around. But never had he seen anything as vicious as this new twist in the blackmail racket. Wealthy and prominent people were being exposed to international scandal, the kind that could give not merely themselves but their nation a black eye, and it had to be stopped. Further, it was known that the criminal ring was about to expand.But when Paul found his only contact had been stabbed through the eye with an icepick, he realized several things: first, his own life was in immediate peril; second, he could trust no one on either side of the law; and third, with no more leads to follow, his only hope was a Stab in the Dark. Views: 19
Josh and Jessica are having the BEST time staying with their cool Japanese gran in Tokyo. They've been practising their fighting skills with a top-secret team of ninja spies, and now they're acting as bodyguards for Shini Hanzo, the hottest footballer around - which means celeb parties and free stadium tours! But hanging out with Shini is dangerous work, as Josh and Jessica have to protect him from surprise attacks and sabotage. And if they can't work out who's playing dirty, the big match could be a BIG disaster! Views: 18
