Jamie

The Bin Ladens
by Steve Coll
Steve Coll continues his masterful exposé of the complex and far-reaching antecedents to the 9/11 episode. The Bin Ladens is a lengthy and immensely absorbing account of the family history; from Mohamed, the Yemeni clan patriarch, and the development of a construction empire through royal patronage to the fractious years after his death when his many male heirs struggled to navigate in a world of globe-trotting glamour and religious reclusion. It is a story inextricably linked with the al Saud clan and the introduction of their oil-rich land to the international stage. Yet most revealing, and ultimately tragic, is the conflicted development of one younger brother in particular.

Chasing the Sea
by Tom Bissell
Central Asia has become an important geopolitical fulcrum in the early part of this century. Bissell treats his readers to a well-researched history of the region intertwined with the wanderings of a curious travelling journalist. Chasing the Sea is a brilliant mosaic and a must for the historical vagabond in all of us.