"Black Sea" (Hill and Wang) by British journalist Neal... By Czeslaw Milosz, Czeslaw Milosz was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980. His most recent book is "Facing the River: New Poems" (Ecco Press). He lives in Berkeley
This year, proving that life is large, I read William... By Herbert Gold, Herbert Gold is the author of numerous works, including the forthcoming novel "She Took My Arm As If She Loved Me" (St. Martin's Press) in May. He lives in San Francisco
"The Leopard" (Pantheon) by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa... By Leonard Michaels, Leonard Michaels is the author of, among other works, "Sylvia" (Mercury House), "To Feel These Things" (Mercury House) and "A Cat" (Riverhead Books). He lives in Berkeley
I found Melissa Fay Greene's "The Temple Bombing... By Alice Adams, Alice Adams is the author of numerous books, including "A Southern Exposure" (Fawcett) and "Medicine Man," forthcoming from Alfred A. Knopf. She lives in San Francisco
"Santa Evita" by Tomas Eloy Martinez (Alfred A. Knopf) is... By Carolyn See, Carolyn See's most recent book is "Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America" (Random House). "The Handyman: A Love Story" is her novel in progress. She lives in Topanga
The best book I read this year, hands down, was David... By T. Coraghessan Boyle, T. Coraghessan Boyle is the author of several books, including "The Tortilla Curtain" (Viking). He is finishing work on his next novel, "Riven Rock." He lives in Santa Barbara
Reassessing Valley's Melting Pot By Roger Waldinger, Roger Waldinger, a professor of sociology at UCLA and director of the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, is the co-editor of "Ethnic Los Angeles," (Russell Sage Foundation) and the author of "Still the Promised City? African Americans and New Immigrants in Post-Industrial New York" (Harvard University Press)
Presidents Expect History to Justify Them; Don't Bet on It By Robert Dallek, Robert Dallek, who taught at UCLA for 30 years, is currently a professor of history at Boston University. His most recent book is "Hail to the Chief: The Making and Unmaking of American Presidents" (Hyperion)
DreamWorks: To Be a City or a Studio? By Joel Kotkin, Joel Kotkin, a contributing editor to Opinion, is the John M. Olin fellow at the Pepperdine Institute for Public Policy and a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. He is also business-trends analyst for Fox TV
U.S. Quietly Abandons the Kurds of Northern Iraq By Thomas Goltz, Thomas Goltz covers the region bounded by the Adriatic and Caspian seas. His documentary film on Chechnya was a finalist for the Rory Peck Award (London)
We Can't Afford to Lose China Again By Joseph S. Nye Jr., Joseph S. Nye Jr. is dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs in the Clinton administration
How to Prevent Death by Fire in Unsafe, Illegal Housing By Neal Richman and Danny Krouk, Neal Richman teaches in the Department of Urban Planning in the School of Public Policy and Social Research at UCLA. Danny Krouk consults with the Community Building Institute. Both work on the Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles telecommunications and information system