The Orientalist Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life

Spellbinding history . . . part detective yarn, part author biography, part travel saga . . . The Orientalist is completely fascinating.
The Dallas Morning News

Rarely in the literary annals of identity confusion has there been a tale as gripping. . . . A captivating and disquieting parable of the mystery of identity . . . truly page-turning.
The Miami Herald

Sympathetic, elegant, and extraordinarily affecting . . . Reiss s storytelling panache [is] spellbinding.
Los Angeles Times Book Review

Thrilling, novelistic and rich with the personal and political madness of early-twentieth-century Europe.
Entertainment Weekly

A brainy, nimble, remarkable book.
Chicago Tribune

A wondrous tale, beautifully told . . . mesmerizing, poignant, and almost incredible. Reiss, caught up in the spell of Essad Bey, has turned around and worked some magic of his own.
The New York Times

For sheer reading pleasure . . . this book cannot be bettered.
The New York Sun