Appletons Crewel 585

From his predictions about life and death in the Middle French court of Catherine de' Medici to his uncannily suggestive preconceptions of World War II, Michel de Nostradamus has aroused continual fascination - and commercialisation - in the West. Today, many search his elliptical centuries - or collected verses - for new truths about recent events and future happenings. What is the difference between prophecy and prediction and how has it led to a misuse of the ideas of Nostradamus, as well as those...

For many years, heartache prevented Nahid Rachlin from turning her sharp novelist's eye inward: to tell the story of how her own life diverged from that of her closest confidante and beloved sister, Pari. Growing up in Iran, both refused to accept traditional Muslim mores and dreamed of careers in literature and on the stage. Their lives changed abruptly when Pari was coerced by their father into marrying a wealthy and cruel suitor. Nahid narrowly avoided a similar fate and instead negotiated with...