Book Reviews

From the moment I saw the cover on this book, I was mesmerized by the rice patties in the foreground, the mountains in the background and the smiling young woman in the cone-shaped hat. The lush green landscape looked eerily familiar. So did the young woman. Last Night I dreamed of Peace is the diary of Dang Thuy Tram, a 25-year-old North Vietnamese doctor who goes to South Vietnam during the war to serve in jungle clinics near Duc Pho. Her diary chronicles her life from 1968 to 1970, which was one of the bloodiest periods in the Vietnam War.

An American Dragon Reviewed by Larry Li May 5, 2008 This heartfelt book explores the conflicts between Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-raised daughters, as well as the hardships which come from adjusting from one culture to another. Once engaged into the plot, the book is a relativity fast read and spell-binding to the end.

Luck, Money, Fame, and Greed: A Foreshadow of Tragedy Reviewed by Raheem Huseinbhai May 5, 2008 This action-packed story regarding MIT students gambling is both exiting and well written, having the nonfiction plot and story line with the fictional dramatic elements. The story of a double life, millions of dollars, and consequences of fame and [...]

How Purple Came to Be Reviewed by Bao Dao May 5, 2008 This epistolary novel will take you back in time and show you what is was like living in an oppressive and sexist society. It tells of an African-American woman living in the early 1900s and her struggles of trying to find herself in [...]

A Tale of Two Women Reviewed by Katherine Lee February 25, 2008 If you thought The Kite Runner was good, A Thousand Splendid Suns is better. Khaled Hosseini thrills us again with his second novel about Afghanistan. Hosseini expertly weaves together not only the lives of two very different women but also an exciting fictional [...]

Love and Conflict Reviewed by Raheem Huseinbhai May 22, 2008 This compelling novel, narrated in the first person, shows how political and social turmoil in Afghanistan separated both family and love. Beautifully written with compassion and emotion, this book can be read no matter the situation or location. However, before beginning the novel, be prepared [...]

Is conventional wisdom really so obvious? Reviewed by Larry Li January 7, 2007 This book is wonderfully written by two economists who shed new light on old questions by using statistics and data to prove their findings. It makes the reader think about simple questions such as why do drug dealers still live with their [...]