Read Books by Martin Booth!

I am first recommending books by Martin Booth, a prolific (if late bloomer) British writer who died in 2004 at the age of 59. His work came to light recently with the release of "The American" with George Clooney, based on his book "A Very Private Gentleman." The book is great. I then moved on to "The Industry of Souls" which was short-listed for the Booker prize, and then cruised through several works based upon Booth's upbringing in Hong Kong and deep familiarity with that location as well as Japan. I recommend "Hiroshima Joe" and his tender memoir of his childhood (and I am not a big fan of memoir) "Gweilo" (originally released as "The Goldenhaired Boy," I believe) which he wrote at the request of his children when he learned he had an inoperable brain tumor and would be dead in a year or two. It is exquisite. I am now on to "Islands of Silence." He also has an extensive collection of non-fiction and my next choice is going to be a work he did on the Triads.

Also, for those who like travel and historical writing with a lot of detail and a wry eye, Ian Frazier, the great essayist and writer for "The New Yorker" released "Travels in Siberia" a couple of months ago. It was excerpted in the magazine last year and I couldn't wait for its release. It lives up to the promise of the excerpts but one must be prepared for exhaustive historic detail coupled with some very funny writing. I recommend all of his books--check him out on Amazon.

Let me know if any of you find these works to be as great as I have.

Happy reading!

Sure thing. Loved Great Plains. Can you believe how much time this guy spends on research while still maintaining a tremendous wit? For a quick read, check out "Lamentations of the Father," bunch of essays.