The ”Persian Book of Kings” is sometimes described as the Persian Iliad which, after reading it, I think is a terrible description. Shahnameh is far less narrative, and it is as much a history book as it is an epic.
How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England Review
Slice-of-life history books have a particular appeal, since they include the sorts of details that escape larger “history” texts, but that are exactly what can enrich a story and make its world immersive for the reader.
Until Death Do Us Part Release and Author’s Note
I sat down and wrote, for the "Monsters and Madness" prompt, a...romance?
Nuts and Bolts Review
Simple machines offer a way of thinking about engineering at a more fundamental level, rather than a systems engineering approach, and Agrawal’s book is an insightful, modern iteration of that idea.
The Valley of Horses Review
The fact that I read The Valley of Horses at all is a testament to how much I enjoyed the first book in Auel’s Earth’s Children series, and I enjoyed the second book almost as much as the first.
Critique of Pure Reason Review
Written and published in the context of the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason reads, to me, like the philosophical predecessor to Einstein’s Relativity.
Sacks’ Haggadah Review
Written approachably, so that even someone (like me) who has only a limited background in Judaism can follow the arguments and assertions he makes, many of the essays offer unique insights that are applicable regardless of your religious faith.
Missing Hunger
The idea that experiencing challenges and hardships improves us in some way is deeply woven into our modern culture, and not just in the form of the oversaturated superhero genre.
Dialogues of Seneca (The Younger) Review
Presented in the fashion of the earlier Greek dialogues (like Plato’s), most of them revolve around the notion of “the wise man,” a kind of ultimate goal for which all human beings ought, according to Seneca, be striving.
The Memory of Earth Review
He presents a unique culture, which we can know exists as a transient blip in that enormous history, and he gives us the Oversoul, one of the most philosophically challenging science fiction elements I’ve ever encountered.
