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The true story of a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince in Nazi Germany. Lev Nussimbaum escaped the Russian Revolution in a camel caravan and, as "Essad Bey" and "Kurban Said," became a celebrated adventurer and author of the enduring novel Ali and Nino.

But his success shielded a fatal secret...

The entire first three notebooks of Lev Nussimbaum: Notebook1 ; Notebook2 , Notebook3

Tom is currently traveling to research a biography of the general Alexandre Dumas, the father of the famous French author.

Finally, The Orientalist is being published in German, its most important foreign translation, in March 2008.

Essad Bey's first two works are being republished with introduction by Tom Reiss.

Watch a short BBC documentary about The Orientalist

Listen to Tom on NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

Read The Orientalist? Write about your reading experience on the book's Amazon webpage.

 

 

Tom Reiss has written about politics and culture for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere.

Tom is currently writing a biography of General Alexandre Dumas, the father of the famous novelist, who rose from slavery to become a leading general in Napoleon’s army -- the highest ranking black military figure in history until Colin Powell, 200 years later. Dumas went to Egypt as cavalry commander but his rivalry with Napoleon ultimately left him in an Italian dungeon. His exploits were memorialized by his son, in books like The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo.