A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Hardcover)
by Ishmael Beah
A heart-breaking tale of a young boy in Sierra Leone forced to become a child soldier in order to survive.
Mountains Beyond Mountains
by Tracy Kidder
This is easily the most inspirational book I have read in the past few years — it really demonstrates the power of one person to change the world. A must read.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
by William L. Shirer
Middlesex: A Novel
by Jeffrey Eugenides
An unsettling tale of a hermaphrodite who was raised as a girl, but later in life decides to live as a man. The book questions the very nature of gender (genetics? rearing? yes!). Beautifully written. A worthwhile read.
Wish I Could Be There: Notes From a Phobic Life
by Allen Shawn
I heard composer Allen Sean (son of legendary New Yorker editor William Shawn) interviewed on NPR and couldn’t wait to get this book. I was sorely disappointed. Half of the book reads like a book report (page after page of Shawn regurgitating information about various phobias) and the other half just falls a little flat.
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
by Muhammad Yunus
A really inspiring book that chronicles the creation of the Grameen bank and micro-lending.
Chasing Daylight
by Gene O’Kelly
A Fine Balance
by Rohinton Mistry
Untouchables: My Family’s Triumphant Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern India
by Narendra Jadhav
