Jean’s Pick of the Week: The Pirates of Somalia: It’s true that it’s hard to break into journalism these days, so you have to admire a young man who’s been living in his parents’ basement in Chicago, writing boring market reports, who one day says, “What the hell,” and takes off for Puntland in a dilapidated Russian Avatar where he chews khat with Somali pirates and writes a book about them. Jay Bahadur’s hutzbah paid off big time.
Monday: Uncovering Hemingway's Cuba Archives: Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, IL, but found his true home in Cuba, where he wrote some of his greatest works. Fifty years after his death, his publisher’s granddaughter embarked on a quest to find Hemingway’s lost papers, leading to an unprecedented collaboration between Cuba and the United States to preserve a trove of never-before-seen letters and documents.
Tuesday: Why the West Rules - For Now: Few historians have been so bold as to try and answer the big questions of why and how the West came to dominate the world. Stanford historian, Dr. Ian Morris does just that, and then goes one step further, predicting what the next century will bring.
Wednesday: World Peace and Other Fourth Grade Achievements: They face war, economic meltdowns, border disputes, ethnic strife, and the devastating effects of global warming, while trying to keep cool heads and guide their countries to peace, stability, and prosperity. And they are only in the fourth grade. John Hunter teaches children how to make peace, but can the lessons fourth-graders have to teach us really be learned?
Thursday: Is Burma Finally on a Path Toward Democracy?: Are Burma’s leaders serious about political reform? More than a decade after the military junta declared martial law, changed the country’s name to Myanmar, and killed thousands in pro-democracy crack-downs, is it finally loosening its strangle-hold?
Friday: From the Jewish Heartland: Baklava studded with cranberries, turnovers made with sweet cherries from Michigan, rich Chicago cheesecakes, savory gefilte fish pounded out from Minnesota northern pike: immigrant Jews recreated the foods of their homelands working with what they found at hand.
It’s December, my favorite month, the season of both darkness and light. Come enjoy it with us!
Jean
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