Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who lives in France.  In 1966, at  the age of 16, he joined a Zen Buddhist monastery. During his time there, he organized and reached out to those in the rural areas of his country to  encourage education, establish healthcare services and improve local infrastructure. In 1960,…

In his new novel, Charles Frazier returns to the time and place of Cold Mountain, bringing to life the chaos and devastation of the Civil War. Her marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects the secure life of a Mississippi landowner. Davis instead pursues a career in politics and is…