From rubbing elbows with Ho Chih Minh to knitting for warmth in a Chinese prison, the author’s life story parallels the highs and lows of Communist China-with all its warts. As a neat coincidence that fits with her tale, Anhua Gao was... Read More

When social commentators and politicians talk about what’s wrong with contemporary American society, they rarely blame a lack of cynicism. If anything, most would condemn a perceived excess of American cynicism. This author, however,... Read More

Following the trail of Lewis and Clark while researching this novel, the author came upon a white rock near Decision Point, the spot where a group of white explorers took the humble advice of Sacajawea, one of their interpreters and the... Read More

“It has been our experience that reading is … itself a creative act-mysterious and fluctuating, alternately baffled and rapt, questioned and questioning: like writing.” So the editors introduce this collection of essays on reading... Read More

Reading this book is like stumbling into a dark theater where an indie film that barely slipped by with an R rating is playing, half over, on the screen. Think David Lynch meets Joe Esterhaus, only they’re women and they’re shooting... Read More

Reading this book is like taking a long car ride with a literate, funny, insightful, and clinically depressed companion—who just won’t stop talking. Not that he should stop talking, but, whether the book passes as a joy ride or an... Read More