Darling, by Richard Rodriguez

After 9/11 Rodriguez was determined to learn more about the religion that purportedly inspired the terrorists who engineered the attacks. In his ex­plorations he came to realize that Judaism, Christianity and Islam share more than a patriarch and matriarch: all three are desert religions. The nature of desert religion is the theme that unites these otherwise very disparate essays. Rodri­guez is a master stylist with a probing mind. He asks questions that make a reader pause and reflect. He ranges from popular culture to memories of his youth, from Lance Armstrong to Elvis Presley.