From Medieval to Mideast

This week's Bookshelf page has a variety of selections from a variety of sources, modern and ancient.
Former Congressman Glen Browder reviews the sometimes controversial The Israel Lobby, which gives an overview of the loosely connected individuals and groups which lobby the United States to support Israel. The book not only explains why and how they lobby to help that country, but how Middle East diplomacy could be improved upon.
JSU English professor Carmine DiBiase reviews the latest translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a pre-Renaissance epic tale by an anonymous writer that could be just as well enjoyed and received as the new Beowulf. Can anyone say "screen adaptation?"
Steve Whitton adds to the fiction reviews with Hotel de Dream, a "fantasia" written by Edmund White about author Stephen Crane. The novel beautifully melds fact and fiction about Crane's possible end-of-life work.