Get Lost Books

2666 Roberto Bolaño ( Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30.00) "Every single thing in this country is an homage to everything in the world, including things that haven’t happened yet." The line, spoken by one of the hundreds of characters in Bolaño's wild, exuberant, unruly final novel, refers to Mexico. But he might as well be speaking of the book itself (and probably is). Not since Joyce has any writer attempted to cram so much of the known world, and the barely known dream world, into the covers of a book. Every page bears witness to his unique genius, though it is impossible to convey his combination of dry vernacular observation and surreal lyricism. Stories endlessly spin out of other stories, and all the narrative strands converge on the US/Mexican border (as do all the currents of the global economy) and the unsolved, unavenged murders of hundreds of women. This may sound grim, and in places it is; but ultimately the experience of the book is one of wonder and exhilaration as Bolaño pushes the boundaries of literature in a quest to understand and memorialize all the seekers and victims whose lives (as well as whose deaths) are unsolved mysteries. - ADD TO CART	An Atlas of Radical Cartography Lize Mogel and Alexis Bhagat, editors ( Journal of Aesthetic & Protest Press, $35.00) Published maps carry with them the imprimatur of authority and truth. But that begs the question, 'who wields the authority and what truth is being represented?' In An Atlas of Radical Cartography, maps are representations of power as well as plotting of objects. Here, maps plot closed circuit cameras in Manhattan and route maps to avoid them; they represent migrant detention and deportation centers. The Ten fold-out maps and accompanying essays imagine spacial and social relations in ways that (re)activate thought, ways of seeing, and, possibly, action. - ADD TO CART
Antigua & Barbuda Island Guide Christopher Beale ( Other Places, paperback, $14.95) It is a rare guidebook that charts the corruption of the ruling family on one page, points out the country's most recognized, though illegal, brothel on another, before discussing a turtle habitat restoration project. Author Christopher Beale worked for two years in the Peace Corps on Antigua before writing Antigua & Barbuda Island Guide. Maybe not the cleverest title for a book, but clearly written by someone who knows of which he writes. En route to pointing out his favorite beaches, Beale manages to include a private beach owned by a member of parliament; Liberta, the first town of free blacks; or Oprah Winfrey's little part of paradise. It's like sharing a ride with a local who gives some context and history to pretty much everything you see. It is what guidebook writing should aspire to. - ADD TO CART	Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World Peter Chapman ( Canongate, $14.00) Of the more than 300 varieties of bananas, the Cavendish variety is the one constant on supermarket shelves. Large and thick skinned, it was the banana of choice on the United Fruit Company's plantations throughout Central America. Unlike salt or cod, subjects covered by Mark Kurlansky, banana distribution and consumption is very much the story of modern global capitalism and empire. Beginning in Costa Rica, the United Fruit Company built the railroads, bribed the politicians and acquired the lands that gave it control over the banana market in the 20th century. Author Peter Chapman's book shows how the banana, once enjoyed only by America's elite, became the world's most popular fruit. He follows the many tentacles of the company in this brutal history. Its native and imported labor from China, Italy and the West Indies was paid in scrip, redeemable at company stores. It encouraged the coup against the Arbenz government in Guatemala and participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. It did business with Somoza and the powerful families of El Salvador. Now known as Chiquita Brands International, the Company was most recently in the news for successfully suing the European Union over protectionism at the World Trade Organization. The book's title in England, Jungle Capitalists is a fitting description of the bare-knuckled story of the once notorious company. - ADD TO CART
Banksy: Locations and Tours Martin Bull, paperback ( PM Press, $20.00) This pocket sized guide compiles a selection of graffiti orientated tours around London, focusing on Banksy, but including other renowned international graffiti and stencil artists from FAILE, to Shepard Fairey of OBEY fame. It's an interesting way to uncover the secret undercurrents of a city; true representations of the cliche 'off the beaten path,'perhaps? The distinct characters of the different neighborhoods of London are one of its most enduring charms, and maybe some of the neighborhoods that you will walk through do not come recommended by Lonely Planet, but you'll get much more of a sense of place, and of how people live in the city. One of the more notable aspects of the book is that the work that has been buffed, or covered over is also shown, which gives a sense of the transient nature of graffiti art. Ironically, as Banksy's profile has risen some of his pieces have had perspex coatings placed on them to preserve them. - ADD TO CART	Burma: The Alternative Guide Elena Jotow & Nicholas Ganz ( Thames & Hudson Publishers, $19.95) At first glance this book seems to be a see-no-evil, speak-no-evil guide to Burma. Glossy pictures of pagodas, palm trees, and smiling people abound. Province by province, the cities and sites are described in ways similar to other guidebooks. Just when you might conclude that the authors have their heads stuck in the sand, the chapter headings change to "The Hidden Reality," "The Struggle for Freedom," and "Burma in Exile." Pictures of soldiers and demonstrators replace the smiles and temples. This book works as a political primer as well as a guidebook. Frankly, I don't know how the Burmese government would permit someone to bring it into their country. - ADD TO CART
Camps: A Guide to 21st Century Space Charlie Hailey ( MIT Press, $29.95) Summer Camp. RV Camp. Refugee Camp. Camps are an increasingly prominent part of the contemporary landscape. Their common feature is impermanence, or seeming impermanence, since they can last longer than their inhabitants. Bible Camp. Concentration Camp. They can represent freedom and autonomy, an escape from too much stability; they can represent the direst necessity, the loss of stability through natural disaster or warfare. Camp David. Homeless Camp. This guidebook, rich, imaginative and thorough beyond belief, contains discussions of over a hundred different types of camp, complete with photos, diagrams, thumbnail histories and geopolitical analysis. Peace Camp. POW Camp. Ultimately, it offers a new and profound view of how we inhabit our built environment. - ADD TO CART	Chickens With Plums Marjane Satrapi ( Pantheon, paperback, $12.95) Persepolis is, for good reason, one of the best selling and most well-known graphic novels. Marjane Satrapiâ€™s stark yet charming drawings eloquently depicted life in post-revolutionary Iran. Her vital voice, and ability to convey with simple clarity, complex political situations and family life alongside a non clichÃ© coming of age tale resonated with many readers. Her latest work, Chicken With Plums is biographical rather than autobiographical, covering the last eight days of her great uncleâ€™s life. Nasser Ali Kahn, one of the finest Tar players in Iran, decides to die after the loss of his beloved and irreplaceable instrument, destroyed by his wife. Satrapi moves between flashbacks and flash-forwards, interspersing classical Persian poetry, history, folk stories, and a Sophia Loren reverie into the narrative. The question of what makes a life worth living has rarely been posed with as much poignancy. - ADD TO CART
Evil Paradises: Dreamworlds of Neoliberalism Mike Davis, Daniel Bertrand Monk, editors ( The New Press, paperback, $18.95) The “evil paradises” depicted in this anthology are free market utopias built on the unspoken reality of slave labor and robber baron slash-and-burn capitalism. In Davis’ hellish vision of Dubai the divide between the Haves and the Have-Nots seems almost medieval in its brutality and immorality. Huge cartoonish buildings and man-made mega islands built with oil money and the aforementioned slave labor shield the ultra rich from the indignities of having to pay taxes or in some cases serve time in the countries from which they came. Rebecca Shoenkopf’s Orange County is a little less feudal, and makes for a much lighter read though she still, albeit mockingly, covers the disparities between the inland barrios of Santa Ana and the coastal gated communities of Laguna Canyon. The Gated McMansion-residing ladies buy their over-saturated offspring Mercedes convertibles to stave off their baby-bird-like insatiable hunger and empty rage; It reads like an even more soulless Less Than Zero. There are other chapters about faux California-style gated communities in Hong Kong and Cairo and even in Iran’s desert, so perhaps that will be America’s legacy rather than Bush’s promised democracy in the Middle East. - ADD TO CART	Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife Sam Savage ( Dell, paperback, $12.00) We all know that books are a wonderful way to learn about the world; but where would we be if our knowledge of the world was derived entirely from literature? Such is the situation of Firmin, a rat born in the basement of an independent bookstore, in a nest of shredded pages from Finnegans Wake. As he gnaws his way through the classics, the literature he consumes comes to consume him. Those of you with a low tolerance for whimsy need not fear; this is as tough-minded as a fable about an anthropomorphic rodent can be. His yearning curiosity and melancholy will be familiar to book-rats everywhere. When a wrecking ball threatens his beloved bookstore home (the story is set in 1960 and anticipates the virtual wrecking-balls to come) Firmin is forced to come to grips, as we all must, with the limits of the life of the mind. - ADD TO CART
I Do Not Come to You by Chance Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani ( Hyperion, paperback, $15.99) This bright, boisterous and engaging novel deals with a subject we are all excessively familiar with, and yet know nearly nothing about: the world of Nigerian e-mail scammers. Whereas most African authors on the world literary scene now teach in western capitals, Nwaubani lives and publishes in Nigeria. Accordingly, her work is more boisterous and upbeat than most African fiction that comes our way, reminiscent in its way of afro-pop music. Still, she is alert to the moral and political complexities of Africans who â€œexploitâ€ the gullible west, within the broad context of global economic scamming. Through her protagonists, we come to see e-mail scams as an art form, drawing its power and effectiveness from the human desire for connection. - ADD TO CART	In Other Rooms, Other Wonders Daniyal Mueenuddin ( W.W. Norton, hardback, $23.95) We will soon need to be learning more about Pakistan, whether we like it or not. One relatively painless way to begin is with this collection of elegantly crafted, interweaving short stories, all connected to the household of a feudal landowner, whose estate is being whittled away by the tides of history and his family's dissipation. The prose is delicate and precise, like the ceremonial patterns of courtesy that govern even the most intimate exchanges; while under the surface the narratives seethe with emotional violence, as the characters (ranging from jet-setters to servants to impoverished villagers) scheme and maneuver to gain or retain a precarious foothold on the social ladder. It is a dark canvas, illuminated by the author's generous empathy with his characters' struggle for some measure of security and emotional fulfillment within the increasingly chaotic social landscape of contemporary Pakistan. - ADD TO CART
Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone Eduardo Galeano ( Nation Books, hardback, $26.95) World history is distilled into aphorisms in Eduardo Galeano's lyrical and witty new book. History's footnotes, Galeano shows us, are as important as overarching historical narratives. There is the militant Olympe de Gouges, guillotined during the French revolution for proposing a "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen." A 51-word entry tells of the first slave rebellion at the sugar mill owned by the son of Christopher Columbus in Santo Domingo. Galeano's mirrors reflect histories of the dispossessed while casting shadows over fixed histories of the powerful. - ADD TO CART	One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost Peter K. Austin, Editor ( University of California Press, hardback, $29.95) Language is a continual process of evolution; languages merge with others, shift forms, evolve and also die. This exhaustive work covers major, minor and extinct world languages, detailing how they were formed and, in some cases, how they shaped the world. The book is separated into geographical sections with a segment on each region and its myriad language groups. In the case of Africa and its imposed borders, unnatural demarcations were forced onto many African languages and dialects that did not accurately reflect the nature of cultural exchange, flux and commonality that was inherent. The piece about the now-extinct Ubyk language is particularly illuminating: with 83 consonants it is assumed to be the language with the most complex sound system, containing many single words that worked like sentences. The last known speaker died on October 7, 1992; if that's not true signification of the end of an era I don't know what is. - ADD TO CART
Stairway Walks in San Francisco 6th Ed Adah Bakalinsky ( Wilderness Press, $16.95) Over 350 stairways traverse San Francisco's 42 hills, linking diverse neighborhoods and offering inspiring vistas. Absorb the sights, scents, and sounds of San Francisco on 27 stairway walks. In this sixth edition of Stairway Walks in San Francisco, you'll find up-to-date architectural, historical, and horticultural information for each walk. Easy-to-follow maps correspond to lucid directions, including public transportation. - ADD TO CART	The Bottom of the Harbor Joseph Mitchell ( Pantheon, hardback, $24.00) These days, virtually all travel literature has an underlying current of what might be called anticipatory nostalgia: the nagging awareness that whatever the author describes is about to be blown away by the gale winds of cultural globalization. This was not the case 50 years ago when Joseph Mitchell wrote these pieces about the New York harbor. The harbor seemed immutable; after all wasn't the city built around it? Yet Mitchell wrote as if he was trying to hold and preserve something precious, and now that the way of life he recorded has vanished, it is clear that he succeeded. He was particularly attracted to the people who worked the harbor, their skills, their tools, their superstitions, and especially their talk. Mitchell was a world-class listener. In one essay, he walks through the cemetery of a community of freed slaves who settled as oystermen on Staten Island, along with one of the last survivors, whose memories of the people under the headstones stretch back to the 19th century. This collection is a must-read for any lover of New York, of great writing, or both. - ADD TO CART
The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found Mary Beard ( Harvard University Press, hardback, $26.95) Mary Beard leaves no pumice unturned and no ash unsifted as she explores what the ruins of Pompeii can teach us about everyday life in the Roman Empire. Beard, one of the foremost living classical scholars, is also a gifted storyteller, with a fine sense of humor and a wonderful instinct for the telling detail. The pleasure of this book lies not only in what she tells us about politics, religion, work and, yes, sex in the first century, but in the way she extrapolates from the evidence; for example, deducing the dietary and hygienic regimens of the inhabitants from the fossilized remains of tapeworms. She also entertainingly demolishes misguided assumption that has become "common knowledge." The book works on three levels: as a guidebook that profoundly enriches the experience of the site; as a casebook in archaeological method; and as a triumph of the historical imagination. It is the best single book that has ever been written on Pompeii. - ADD TO CART	The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In Hugh Kennedy ( DaCapo Press, paperback, $17.00) As a history of the rapid spread of Islam and its transformation of local cultures, The Great Arab Conquests, with its blow-by-blow accounts of battles and warriors is first rate. In little more than 100 years, Arab/Muslims spread out from Arabia through the Near East, North Africa and Central Asia. The conquest is best symbolized by the fall of Damascus, which, by various accounts, was taken by force by the Arab/Muslim warrior, Khalid b. al-Walid from Damascus' East Gate, while a negotiated surrender with Muslim troops in exchange for tribute was taking place on the west side of the city. While there were indeed epic battles against the Byzantine and Sassanian Dynasties, many towns simply paid tribute to the new rulers while their citizens continued to practice their own beliefs. The conquests were followed by the founding of new cities like Basra and Baghdad, the settling of Arab tribes throughout the region and the gradual conversion of most of the regions' inhabitants. The Great Arab Conquests makes clear that diplomacy, tolerance and financial reward as well as faith and the sword contributed to the Arab/Muslims' successful conquests. - ADD TO CART
The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed Michael Meyer ( Walker & Co., $16.00) As China prepares for the Olympics, stories abound about the transformation of the Chinese capital into a modern, efficient city. High rises, shopping centers and eight lane boulevards are rising out of a fictive nowhere. In Michael Meyer’s wonderful new book, this transformation by bureaucratic fiat has very real consequences on the residents of the old hutong (narrow lane) neighborhoods that are the traditional core of Beijing. Meyer, who lives in a crumbling hutong southwest of Tiananmen Square, is a witness to the encroaching destruction of his surrounding neighborhoods. Literally overnight, chai (“to be razed”) notices put up by a nameless/faceless system work their way through the old districts like an out of control oil spill. This is not a carefully planned Haussmannian makeover, but a hodge-podge scramble for development rights and quick profits. Meyer doesn’t romanticize the hutong housing; four pit toilets for over 1000 residents, no hot water and coal braziers for heating. Even the residents complain. It is the “…intangible social patterns” that make the hutong unique and so different from the high rise apartment blocks. “They did not…witness how even small fissures – a new road; the eviction of a few families – led to irreparable fractures.” By introducing us to his neighbors and daily encounters Meyer humanizes this enormous upheaval that has already displaced more than 500,000 people in Beijing. - ADD TO CART	The Lost Art of Walking Geoff Nicholson ( Riverhead Books, hardback, $24.95) There have been a rather large selection in recent years of books on the so called art of walking. This one is written by an Englishman, and covers the cultural, historical and philosophical nature of walking. From Errol Flynn's use of an almost choreographed walk to navigate the dense streets of New York City in Gentleman Jim through to the way Tom Waits constructs songs around a good amble, this is an easy yet provocative read. The Islamic ritual walk, the hadj, and the patented teenage slouch are covered with equal depth. So too are the numerous dances that incorporate the word or act of walking. Sometimes books that are essentially ruminations on a cultural phenomenon and seeming (ahem) pedestrian activities such as walking can seem a little droll or even smug. Nicholson has a sharp wit and a sarcastic tone that keeps this fascinating volume both incisive and compelling. - ADD TO CART
The Other Ryszard Kapuscinski ( Verso, hardback, $16.95) How to make sense of those unknown peoples, the 'other' that one comes across in life. From a lifetime of travel, and influenced by the philosopher Levinas, the late, great Ryszard Kapuscinski considers European responses to the Other. His own travels have him consider questions of nationalism and race, as well as his own Otherness. Historically, fear, cooperation or exploitation are some ways peoples approach the Other. (The Crusades, ghetto walls, colonization and trade (as well as the field of anthropology) were some of the obvious results.) Adapted from a series of lectures over fifteen years, this very readable volume is a necessary primer for anyone who considers him/herself a traveler. Personal interactions are, indeed, mediated by history. "The road we are on is very important, because each step along it takes us nearer to an encounter with the Other, and that is exactly why we are there." - ADD TO CART	The Savage Detectives Roberto Bolano ( Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, paperback, $15.00) Roberto Bolano, who died in 2003, and whose major works are only now being translated, has been increasingly acclaimed as the most important and original voice to emerge from the generation of Latin American writers who came of age after the magical realist “boom.” Nothing could be further from the villages of magical realism than Bolano’s Mexico City of the mid 70’s, a dingy, jivey, ultra-urban place reproduced as lovingly as Joyce’s Dublin (a conscious model). And nothing could be further from florid rhetoric than Bolano’s combination of vernacular storytelling, pop slang and high theory. The Savage Detectives is an epic, sprawling over time (following two poets from an avant-garde splinter group from the 70’s through the 90’s) and over space (as they search for a legendary poet of an earlier generation across the Sonoran Desert.) Bolano’s imaginary world is a recognizable but somewhat alternate universe in which everybody is either a writer or wannabe writer (which is, come to think of it, not that different from San Francisco). This does not mean they live in a world of otherwordly refinement. Like all Latin Americans, they suffer through history. Violence befalls them accidentally and arbitrarily, and their worst enemies are time and the dying of their hopes. This guy is the real deal: a truly great writer. - ADD TO CART
The Stranger Max Frei ( Overlook Press, $29.95) A novel that opens with a narrator describing his earliest memories of being unable to fall asleep at night is right out of the Overture of Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Max, the narrator of The Stranger, isn't going to reflect on childhood and family relations, however. His sleeping habits are the introduction to his dreamlife in the city of Echo. It is in this fantastic town of mosaic streets and turbaned magician-citizens that the novel takes place. If you are expecting a novel that straddles two realities, this is not your book. And though the narrator is a neurotic insomniac, this is not a character driven novel. The Stranger is equal parts fantasy, mystery and adventure. It's also funny. Some have called The Stranger an adult Harry Potter. This is the first in the Labyrinths of Echo series by Russian writer Max Frei (Svetlana Martynchik) to be translated into English. - ADD TO CART	Travel as a Political Act Rick Steves ( Nation Books, paperback, $16.95) Rick Steves is known as the fellow who helped popularize inexpensive, independent travel in Europe. His travel shows on PBS and his guidebooks and gear are extremely popular. But, over the past few years, Steves has become more outspoken about social justice and America’s role in the world. His most recent travel show on PBS had him touring Iran in order to put a human face on a country that many in government were trying to demonize. Travel as a Political Act, addresses the many assumptions and passive acceptance that most Americans have about the U.S. society, customs and government policies. Poor countries like El Salvador, high tax rates in Denmark, European drug policy, secular Islamic countries: Steves makes the point that U.S. policy is not a model for the world, much as our leaders like to tell us otherwise. - ADD TO CART
Travels with Herodotus Ryszard Kapuscinski ( Vintage International, paperback, $14.95) Travels with Herodotus is a final and perfect summation of the travels of Ryszard Kapuscinski. Equal parts autobiography and history, Kapuscinski recounts his travels as Poland's foreign correspondent during the Communist era. Whether in India, China, Iran or the Congo, he always travels with a copy of Herodotus' The Histories. For Kapuscinski, Herodotus is not just the first historian, but also a master at reportage. Herodotus’ devotion to investigation, his inquisitiveness and his skepticism fascinate Kapuscinski. In recalling the Greek-Persian wars and the world that Herodotus lived in, Travels with Herodotus is both homage to the first historian/traveler and a long look back at Kapuscinski's own career. - ADD TO CART	Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan Lisa Katayama ( Chronicle Books, paperback, $14.95) Urawaza is the book you didn't know you need. It's a how-to book that combines old wives' tales with scientific corroboration. In short entries of less than 100 words, the book identifies home remedies, cleaning tips and minor repairs. Here is a sampling of what this book covers: - Cure chafed elbows with avocado rinds. - Prevent toe frostbite with chili peppers. - Revive dying plants with garlic water. - Get burn marks off pans with crushed egg shells. Who knew? The only unsubstantiated claim I could find in the whole book was a cure for mosquito bite itching. But, that's a minor quibble in this most refreshing reference book. - ADD TO CART
West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders and Killers in the Golden State Max Arax ( Public Affairs, hardback, $26.95) The underbelly of California has long held a strange allure, from the Barbary Coast through to the 1940s noir dames. The murderous cults and fallen starlets have created an idea of California quite outside of the myth of Hollywood, surf and sunshine. Max Arax's California lies in the farmlands of the Central Valley. He traces its meaning from the vantage point of the mortgage crisis and the war on terror, but also in the remains of the dust bowl and in the murder of his father in a Fresno nightclub in 1972. Along the way Arax meets with Berkeley based conspiracy theorists, the last 'Okie' in a small Central Valley farming community, a persecuted raw milk farmer and some Humboldt marijuana moguls. He depicts a California quite separate from the façade. It is a state built on immigrant labor and dreams, in which power and class and race devastate. - ADD TO CART	Yalo Elias Khoury ( Picador, paperback, $16.00) Khoury’s novel opens in the middle of the interrogation of Yalo, a Beiruti war criminal accused of rape, arms trafficking and planting bombs. As we read on, the story comes into focus through a series of forced confessions, as Yalo alternately denies and admits to the crimes. His story, like the city he inhabits, is repeatedly torn down and reinvented. As the pieces fill in, we get a better idea of Yalo’s and his country’s history, but any absolute truth remains elusive. The novel is at first somewhat confounding, but quickly becomes quite engaging as we assemble the pieces of Yalo’s story. Any clear-cut answers are not laid out for the reader however; whether Yalo is a violent criminal or a pitiful victim of the war and the abuses of his countrymen is left to the reader to ponder. - ADD TO CART