Our top book picks this week: gritty war reportage from Cairo to the Gaza Strip

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Devil Is a Black Dog

Sándor Jászberény, Scribe Publication, November 26

This fiction is very much in the Ernest Hemingway and Tim O’Brien style. A Hungarian journalist, Jászberényi, has delivered a powerful and gritty collection of stories from Cairo to the Gaza Strip tries to show the human side of war. This is a new paperback edition.

I’m Travelling Alone

Samuel Bjork,

Doubleday, December 31

A six-year-old girl is found dead with a tag around her neck saying: “I’m travelling alone.” Assigned to the case is veteran Oslo detective Holger Munch. But first he must convince Mia Krüger, a brilliant but troubled officer, to join the investigation.

Fifteen Dogs

André Alexis, Serpent’s Tail,

November 5

What if animals could talk? The gods Hermes and Apollo argue about what would happen if animals had human intelligence. So they grant a group of dogs the gift of speech. So begins a conflict between those who prefer “old dog” ways and the hounds who embrace change.

Liberty and Coercion

Gary Gerstle,

Princeton University Press, November 3

Many Americans say they are opposed to “big government”, yet they consistently enlist its help to enforce rules on religion, marriage and schooling. This book looks at the contradictory stances on the role of public power and who controls what.

India

Steve McCurry and William Dalrymple,

Phaidon Press, September 21

This book features 150 unpublished photos from McCurry. From Chowpatty Beach to Old Delhi, this captures the lives of everyday people. Also includes a forward from Dalrymple, a respected historian of India.

Shell-Shocked: On the Ground Under Israel’s Gaza Assault

Mohammed Omer, Haymarket Books,

December 17

Over the course of 51 days in 2014, much of Gaza was reduced to rubble by Israel. Omer was covering the assault and in this war reportage details the horrors of “Protective Edge”.