by Tom Reiss
First published 2004
Lev Nussimbaum, a Jew from Baku, flees the Russian Revolution in a camel caravan. In Germany, he reinvents himself as the Muslim prince "Kurban Said" and writes best-selling books about Islam and global revolution. But Lev's double life spirals out of control as he marries an heiress, gets caught up with Nazis, and faces house arrest. As his true identity unravels, Lev must confront the shadowy worlds he's created - and the origins of modern fanaticism.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, biography-memoir
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Baku, Germany
Period: 20th Century
433 pages · Hardcover · Random House