Princes Amongst Men: Journeys with Gypsy Musicians - Garth Cartwright

A good source for bands, artists and recordings from all the Balkan Rom communities.  It seems, though, as if the book (and accompanying CD) are biased towards music within the genre that has been heavily influenced by Western rock and pop styles. (Though, to be fair, this seems to be the music largely in demand now even within the gypsy community itself, at least according to the book.)

As with Armitage's book, for me there is also too much of the author in the book - his hangovers, his world music and blues references, his reactions rather than more description.

Still useful as a source book though.

Walking Home - Simon Armitage

A poet's account of walking the length of the Pennine Way in England while surviving on people's generosity and hat collections at poetry readings.  Some interesting information about the trail, the walk and the weather but a lot of the book was about the author himself and also quirky English ways seen from the inside.  Not as interesting as some of the other walking accounts I have read, such as "The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot" by Macfarlane.

1956 The World in Revolt

An interesting idea.  Looking at the seeds of many of the social revolutions that manifested themselves later in the century:  Civil Rights Movement, South Africa, revolts in Eastern Bloc countries, new music and film in the West, shake-ups in the Soviet Union.
While worth a look, I found it a bit long.  Chapters tend to circle back to the same themes without really adding a lot more to the discussion.

The interesting idea is seeing the roots of change that were to play out later in the century.

Brassai: Paris Nocturne

Beautiful reproductions.  Some nice night work, especially the cityscapes.  There are also some good ones of people, but many of them lack something - turns out many of his night shots with people portraying aspects of Paris "nightlife" were actually posed and paid for.  Ara Güler's Istanbul street work is grittier and more authentic.

The Gardens of Consolation - Parisa Reza

A novel chronicling the life of a family in a remote area of Iran from the early 20th century to the overthrow of Mossadegh.  I think she creates a rick picture of the changing mentality and world-view as the generations move from the remote village, isolated and hemmed in by mountains, through a generations of migrants to the orbits of the larger cities, to integration of the brightest of the peasant-rooted generation into the universities and political struggles of Tehran at the time of Mossadegh.  Reza has a way with the inner voices and echoes of the characters, from the illiterate mother married at age twelve and her shepherd husband to their university educated son.
A personal tale of various confrontations with the modernization and shifts in Iranian society.  There is longing and respect for each character's inner world, whether that of peasant or educated elite.
An enlightening, thoughtful read.

Nightwalking: A Nocturnal History of London - Matthew Beaumont

An exploration of night in the city of London through literary portraits from Chaucer to Dickens.
The book offers a great picture of the life of the street in pre-modern times, with all the sights, smells and sounds that are so often forgotten.
It is also a social history of the grind of poverty and the attempt to survive in periods when being poor and destitute was essentially criminalized.  At the same time it is a history of the elite's exercise of control and authority in the urban environment, and the sense of threat that the street presented them.  You get a sense of the authoritarian oppressiveness of the ruling class in English history.
There are several sections that explore nightwalking as an antiestablishment artistic/social phenomenon, which is interesting.  Links to Wordsworth and other Romantic poets.
Dickens was also a great nightwalker, mainly due to insomnia - this walking is given credit for his understanding of the street and the many inhabitants of it, both low and high.

Well-written.

The Art of the Qu'ran - Massumeh Farhad

A catalogue of an exhibition from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts.
A large, high-quality catalogue with large reproductions and closeups of details.  Many stunning illuminations.  Some of the illuminations look like carpets on the page with the words in the centre surrounded by several layers of decorative borders.  Also, a catalogue of the many styles and beauty of the written word in arabic script.  Fabulous book.

The Carpet and the Connoisseur - Saint Louis Museum

A fabulous collection of carpets, some over 400 years old.  Excellent colour reproductions with closeups of details and information on origin, etc. for each carpet.