What do we picture when we’re asked to think about refugees? Most of us, I’d wager, see exactly what the author of one of the stories in this book, The Dancer’s Tale, pictures: “Harrowing images of women and babies on sinking boats … a tattered, angry mass at the Jungle in Calais; children behind barbed …
My Past is a Foreign Country, while being at once an affecting and intimate story of growth, change, and self-discovery, also does with utmost success what any good memoir should: it educates. Through this book, Zeba Talkhani reveals herself to be an impassioned and clear teacher of the multidimensionality of Islam across multiple nations and …
Literary travel is a huge part of our life and what we do here. Visiting the real-life locations of fictional worlds or the homes of the authors whose works we love so much is one of the most exciting parts of travel for us and any other proud literary traveler. Luckily, there are books out …
It can be a tall order to expect, or even demand, of someone respect for the past. For example, telling a modern-day British woman that she must vote, must understand parliamentary procedure, must make her voice heard, because her foremothers fought and died for the right to vote a century ago is a rough task. …
In this moving collection of essays on living with schizophrenia, Esmé Weijun Wang looks back at her own life; examines the cultural zeitgeist surrounding mental health, and explores the science and stories surrounding schizophrenia in the 21st century. Mental health has become less and less of a stigma in the West over the past several …
It is very easy for people to believe that their way of thinking is the right way. This can stretch from something as simple as a husband and wife debating the best time to eat dinner all the way to debating the existence of a god or gods, and to every subtle and complex concept …
‘All roads used to lead to Rome. Today, they lead to Beijing.’ The subject of history is one that concerns politics, economics, and philosophy. Lessons from the past teach us how to proceed into the future. And yet, for so long, books on history have been simply that. Recently, however, a trend has emerged amongst …
For any curious lover of history, searching for an enlightening but comprehensive history of Japan, like what’s found here in Japan Story, there are many places to look. Just last year, Jonathan Clements published his excellent A Brief History of Japan, which does exactly as it says on the tin. Another book to capture the …
One thing that is globally known about China, and is undeniably true, is its strict censorship laws and the control which the government has over its media, stretching as far as its social networks. Censorship in China I remember being in Shanghai in 2015 when a tragic accident occurred in Tianjin as an explosion took …
Wherever you were born and raised, you know that World War II changed everything. You may not have been alive before WWII to know this first hand, but you studied history and you spoke to your grandparents who likely lived through a recession, and possibly a subsequent economic boom depending on where you are from. …