Reading Time: 5 minutes Like most Afghans, Rahim was born a Muslim. Not that he cared much about religion. What he did care about was flying. And being a bright adventurous young man, he became a pilot. With Aryana, the Afghan Airlines, that flew, among other routes, from Kabul to London. The line started operating three years before I […]
Steven Darian
"Steven Darian is a Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University. He has
also taught at the U. of Penn & Columbia. He has lived and worked
and studied in 9-10 countries; 3 of them, on Fulbrights He is also
Editorial Director of a small publishing house in NY. He has written
a dozen books, including Understanding the Language of Science
(U. of Texas Press), The Ganges in Myth & History, (U. of Hawaii),
The Wanderer: Travels & Adventures Beyond the Pale, & The
Heretic’s Book of Death & Laughter: The Role of Religion in Just
About Everything; due out fall 2022. "
Posted inHistory
Book burning as ancient practice and modern menace
Reading Time: 7 minutes Since ancient times, people from almost all religions and societies have been burning books. As one scholar put it: “The goals of the book burners have been to extirpate history, to intimidate and stamp out opposition, to create solidarity, and to cleanse society of controversial ideas.” Not surprisingly, the act of book burning has […]