Where is A.B. Carolan?

The US is a huge country, and that tends to make Americans a bit insular and more concerned about what’s happening in their own country. This spinning orb in space that’s our home is much bigger, of course, so others’ successes and problems are really ours too. As all avid readers know, those who travel hither and yon in their reading, the world’s more connected every day.

That connection isn’t necessarily physical—the internet extends it to the far corners of the globe—but my auspicious meetup...