A history of erotic encounters

Bernstein, Richard. (2009). The East, the West, and sex. New York: Knopf.

Kirkus: An investigation of the Western male's age-old attraction to Asian women. In an effort to be fair and nonjudgmental, Bernstein offers feminist viewpoints as well.A diligent scholar pursues a subject given to theories of exploitation and dehumanization, but intriguing any way you look at it.

Rejuvenation?

Spencer, Scott. (2008). Willing. New York: Ecco.

Booklist: His frank view of a trashed and corrupt world in which men and women struggle to do right is immensely moving, and his subtle alignment of our abuse of women with the pillaging of the earth deepens the resonance of this very human tale of the many faces of love.

Kirkus: Against all expectation, considering the subject matter, Jankowsky is a more interesting character than the novel in which he finds himself.

The inheritance of Rome

Historian Chris Wickham defies conventional views of the "Dark Ages" in European history with a work of rigorous yet accessible scholarship. Drawing on a wealth of new material and featuring a thoughtful synthesis of historical and archaeological approaches, Wickham argues that these centuries were critical in the formulation of European identity.

God's crucible

Islam and the making of Europe, 570 to 1215. David Levering Lewis.


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