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Steve Schale's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Steve Schale recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Steve Schale's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
To save ancient Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean’s Eleven in this “fast-paced narrative that is…part intellectual history, part geopolitical tract, and part out-and-out thriller” (The Washington Post).

In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: to...
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Recommended by Steve Schale, and 1 others.

Steve SchaleTook me 2 months to get thru book 16 of 2019. I’ve long been fascinated by the history of Timbuktu, and Joshua Hammer’s book is an epic tale of how much of that history was saved during the Al Qaeda occupation of the city in 2012-13. It’s a really great read. https://t.co/ukQL7bdo8h (Source)

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2
The dramatic memoir of the journalist who was held hostage in a high-security prison in Tehran for eighteen months and whose release—which almost didn’t happen—became a part of the Iran nuclear deal

In July 2014, Washington Post Tehran bureau chief Jason Rezaian was arrested by Iranian police, accused of spying for America.

The charges were absurd. Rezaian’s reporting was a mix of human interest stories and political analysis. He had even served as a guide for Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown.  Initially, Rezaian thought the whole thing...
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Recommended by Steve Schale, and 1 others.

Steve Schale@ryaneatscake Three this year I really liked: Prisoner: @jrezaian amazing book on his time in Iran. Riding the Iron Rooster: Theroux’s story of traveling by rail in China. Billon Dollar Whale: WSJ book on the Malaysian corruption scandal. It’s a really great read. (Source)

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3
A deeply moving memoir about the year that would forever change both a family and a country.

In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's...
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Recommended by Steve Cohen, Steve Schale, and 2 others.

Steve CohenJoe Biden gave the most exceptional talk in #Memphis tonight centered around his book, “Promise Me,Dad.”Talked of America becoming itself again as a caring and great nation and world leader. Being known not by the example of our power but the power of our example. Thank you Joe! https://t.co/jzypRSVzkB (Source)

Steve Schale@DavidLauter @pkcapitol I know I’m a Biden fan, but his book about Beau is a legit good read. A true story of father’s love for his boy. (Source)

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