false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176480146m/628416.jpg 628416 2 The three essays in this volume, each long enough to be referred to as a nonfiction novella, originally appeared in the <I>New Yorker</I>, where Weschler is a staff writer. They engage directly with the theme of political exile by delving into the lives of three exiles: South African author Breyten Breytenbach, who would attempt to reenter the country to participate more actively in the struggle against apartheid, only to be captured and imprisoned; Kanan Makiya, an Iraqi whose <I>Republic of Fear</I> offered many Westerners their first in-depth knowledge of Saddam Hussein's regime; and Jan Karan, a participant in the 1968 revolution in Prague who, after years of running a smuggling operation in and out of Czechoslovakia, would return to his liberated homeland only to be denounced for alleged collaboration with its Communist oppressors.<p> Lawrence Weschler is one of the late 20th century's best journalists, a master of the profile format. He offers the reader tremendous amounts of information, including extensive historical backgrounds, without ever sacrificing any of his prose's immediacy or clarity. Given that his three subjects have each fought against oppressive regimes, it would be easy to portray them as simplistic heroes, but Weschler takes great pains to show the full complexities of their characters, even when it casts them in a less than flattering light. By reading <I>Calamities of Exile</I>, you will learn much about international politics, but, more importantly, you will learn much about <I>people</I>. <I>--Ron Hogan</I> 936089 1998 Calamities of Exile total:21|5:5|4:15|3:1| 21 88 34 1 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Mon Dec 10 22:09:41 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 10 22:10:57 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Sat Oct 10 11:45:41 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 11:45:41 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jun 13 06:50:18 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 06:50:18 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu May 28 17:18:26 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 17:18:26 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Apr 25 16:26:31 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 16:26:31 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 22 10:28:43 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 10:22:20 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 10:28:43 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 24 14:27:03 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 14:27:03 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Dec 26 19:56:54 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 19:56:54 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Tue Sep 09 09:49:59 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 09 09:49:59 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue Aug 12 09:04:39 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 09:04:39 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Tue Jul 15 14:23:33 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 14:23:33 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Jun 20 07:06:33 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 07:06:33 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jun 17 08:19:20 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 08:19:20 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Jun 12 18:37:07 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 18:37:07 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon May 12 07:45:20 -0700 2008 Mon May 12 07:45:20 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Tue Apr 29 14:48:49 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 10 15:36:46 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Fri Apr 25 06:24:43 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 25 06:24:53 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Apr 23 11:29:58 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 11:29:58 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Mar 06 12:43:42 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 06 12:43:42 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Feb 25 12:18:02 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 12:18:02 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=628416