Mehr Tarar

One of NPR's Books We Love in 2022. Longlisted for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography In this erudite and piercing biography, best-selling author Reza Aslan proves that one person’s actions can have revolutionary consequences that reverberate the world over. Little known in America but venerated as a martyr in Iran, Howard Baskerville was a twenty-two-year-old Christian missionary from South Dakota who traveled to Persia (modern-day Iran) in 1907 for a two-year stint teaching English and preaching the gospel. He arrived in the midst of a democratic revolution―the first of its kind in the Middle East―led by a group of brilliant young firebrands committed to transforming their country into a fully self-determining, constitutional monarchy, one with free elections and an independent parliament. The Persian students Baskerville educated in English in turn educated him about their struggle for democracy, ultimately inspiring him to leave his teaching post and join them in their fight against a tyrannical shah and his British and Russian backers. “The only difference between me and these people is the place of my birth," Baskerville declared, “and that is not a big difference.” In 1909, Baskerville was killed in battle alongside his students, but his martyrdom spurred on the revolutionaries who succeeded in removing the shah from power, signing a new constitution, and rebuilding parliament in Tehran. To this day, Baskerville’s tomb in the city of Tabriz remains a place of pilgrimage. Every year, thousands of Iranians visit his grave to honor the American who gave his life for Iran. In this rip-roaring tale of his life and death, Aslan gives us a powerful parable about the universal ideals of democracy―and to what degree Americans are willing to support those ideals in a foreign land. Woven throughout is an essential history of the nation we now know as Iran―frequently demonized and misunderstood in the West. Indeed, Baskerville’s life and death represent a “road not taken” in Iran. Baskerville’s story, like his life, is at the center of a whirlwind in which Americans must ask themselves: How seriously do we take our ideals of constitutional democracy and whose freedom do we support?

From the author of Race After Technology, an inspiring vision of how we can build a more just world—one small change at a time “A true gift to our movements for justice.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow Long before the pandemic, Ruha Benjamin was doing groundbreaking research on race, technology, and justice, focusing on big, structural changes. But the twin plagues of COVID-19 and anti-Black police violence inspired her to rethink the importance of small, individual actions. Part memoir, part manifesto, Viral Justice is a sweeping and deeply personal exploration of how we can transform society through the choices we make every day. Vividly recounting her personal experiences and those of her family, Benjamin shows how seemingly minor decisions and habits could spread virally and have exponentially positive effects. She recounts her father’s premature death, illuminating the devastating impact of the chronic stress of racism, but she also introduces us to community organizers who are fostering mutual aid and collective healing. Through her brother’s experience with the criminal justice system, we see the trauma caused by policing practices and mass imprisonment, but we also witness family members finding strength as they come together to demand justice for their loved ones. And while her own challenges as a young mother reveal the vast inequities of our healthcare system, Benjamin also describes how the support of doulas and midwives can keep Black mothers and babies alive and well. Born of a stubborn hopefulness, Viral Justice offers a passionate, inspiring, and practical vision of how small changes can add up to large ones, transforming our relationships and communities and helping us build a more just and joyful world.

What will you do if someone told you that your existence could ruin the life of the one you love? Would you stay or leave? Will the insecurities of your past overwhelm your need to love and be loved? Would you leave the hand of hope, keep your love bereft of the life he deserves, instead chaining him in the shackles of time and uncertainty? Set in modern day India and Pakistan, comes a tale of two investigative journalists Ghazanfar and Joanna who are warped in a mysterious hunt for a 12th century Jain icon that was hidden by the guardians of the temple. As Jo and Ghazi face multiple challenges, they must find out why time has chosen them: an unusual combination of an Indian Christian and a Pakistani Muslim to find the beautiful Jain icon of which they have never heard of before. Join the duo on an exciting adventure that begins in coastal Alibag and engage in a visual walkthrough of the ancient ruins of the Jain temples at Mithi, Kasbo and Malir right up to Umerkot, the birthplace of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, as you travel through the pages of pre- partition India and its undiscovered beauty. It is in this arduous journey of rediscovering lost history that both young people must delve into their own past and decide whether they will leave the bitterness of earlier misfortunes to create the life they have always longed for. Will their love wither long before it has even begun to blossom or will they take the leap of faith to move forward together despite every obstacle? Read on to know more about this tale that binds feudalism, tradition, romance and tragedy in what promises to be a journey to remember…“A pacy read with all the essential ingredients to keep you hooked—romance, conflict, crime and a healthy sprinkling of intrigue." ~ Kiran Manral, Author of Missing Presumed Dead, INDIA “Riveting! This novel is refreshing and entertaining! The author pens a captivating and masterful page-turning story of culture, love, and romance in a beautiful exotic setting in modern India. Utterly fascinating, a must read.” ~ Rianna Richards, USA “I am reading the final pages of Every Sunset has a story, just heard breaking news, a 19 years old Kashmiri rebel, rammed his explosives-laden car into a bus carrying paramilitary troopers along a highway in Pulwama district. Coincidentally this novel is so relevant to what is happening in Pakistan and India, this novel represents the feeling of the common people of both countries, people from both sides of the order must read this novel.” ~ Syed Ishrat Hussain, UK “The title of this story is absolutely apt, and discovering why it is so, is a treat. Katherine has perfectly highlighted the stubborn mentality that has persisted over decades among many people of the Indian subcontinent showing how they have let hatred, pride and the fear of the unknown fester within, whereas the solution to it is so simple. There are some brilliant moments in the book that will stay with you for long. The author has beautifully painted a mental picture for us and I have learned so many new things and kept looking up the places and art forms as I read on. The language is uncomplicated and the story is extremely engaging and relatable.” ~ Divya Shetty (storyteller)