Isaac has a keen eye for the resilient fragility of individual lives and cultures in the face of the homogenising sweep of the nation state and the dynamic of empires, whether in the West or the East. The book includes some of the most detailed writing on the condition of Assyrians, whose destiny has been shaped by a struggle for survival in response to genocide and repeated upheavals, and also covers the Yazidi genocide at the hands of ISIS. Isaac’s narration of Jewish histories encompasses the legacy of the Holocaust, the relationship between Israel and Kurdish nationalism, and the ghosts of the Jews of Iraq. His essays from London reflect a unique sense for the stories seething under the surface of that great city. Isaac profiles individuals-from Berlin and Paris to Baghdad and Tel Aviv-at heroic odds with mass forces. His cast of artists, writers, and athletes are outsiders, dreamers, and travellers between worlds, whose lives are testament to the vast scope of human possibilities.
