Reader's Corner

A daily battle is raging along the 10th Parallel – the line of latitude 700 miles north of the equator in Africa and Southeast Asia where Islam and Christianity intersect.

In this critical geographical band, religious ideologies clash, often erupting into deadly violence as more than half the world’s Muslims and 60 percent of the world’s Christians compete for the souls of the region’s burgeoning population.

Author of "Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero"

Author of "Money Well Spent? The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History"

In modern America, religious interests and national politics are often intertwined.

But many might not realize that before Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority helped fuel the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Christian influence on American politics was almost entirely the realm of liberals and progressives cloaked in the robes of ecumenism — a philosophy that emphasized unity and interdependence among not only Christians, but all of humanity.

Author of "The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam"

Author of "Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of Global Jihad"

Professor of History at Boise State and Author of "Embattled Ecumenism: The National Council of Churches, the Vietnam War And the Trials of the Protestant Left"

Open a newspaper or turn on your favorite television news channel and you’re sure to be confronted with the latest wave of protests in Syria, Bahrain or Yemen. Given the violent uprisings across the region and the radical transformation of governments in key states, the New Middle East is undergoing a change like no other in recent history. In some areas, governments have toppled and dictators have fled, while in others dissent has led to massive crackdowns and human rights violations.

Author of "Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System"

In addition to following their favorite team stats and player profiles, devoted baseball fans owe it to themselves to add Jim Abbott’s new memoir, “Imperfect: An Improbable Life,” to their must-read list.

On an overcast September day in 1993, Abbott took the mound at Yankee Stadium and threw one of the most dramatic no-hitters in major league history. The game was the crowning achievement in an unlikely success story, unseen in the annals of professional sports.

Author of the short story collection "Volt"

Longtime Idaho Statesman columnist and author of "Destination Idaho"

The typically calm yet wary diplomacy between the United States and the People’s Republic of China has been riled in recent months, putting each nation’s desire to keep the relationship on an even keel on full display.

Yet headlines about an escaped dissident seeking refuge with top American diplomats, and cloak-and-dagger corruption and intrigue at the highest rungs of the Communist Party also serve to highlight how prickly this important relationship can be.

Author of "A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia"

Author of "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen"

In many respects, “innovation” is the buzzword of the 21st century. Corporations, entrepreneurs and research institutions tout its value as they seek to generate new knowledge, products and services.

But where does innovation come from? And how can we make it integral to our organizations? Journalist Jon Gertner offers some fascinating insights into these questions in “The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation.”

Author of "The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East"

Author of "Turn Right at Machu Picchu"

For most people who watched American television in the 1950s, Rin Tin Tin was an exciting character on a popular show. But few know that this famous television dog was little more than a fictional namesake and pale shadow of a real dog whose story and abilities captured America’s heart nearly two generations earlier.

Author of "Imperfect: An Improbable Life"