Book around the World (indefinite)

July 22, 2007. The world has many countries, some big and some small, and I want to find the best books about each country. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that country and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. Let's "book around the world" and find at least one excellent book for each country in the world.

North America
Central America
Caribbean
South America
Europe
Africa
Middle East
Central Asia
Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia
Oceania
Anarctica

NOTE: This is my challenge and has its own blog, Book around the World. That's where you'll find the books and follow-up information. Our challenge is to find books for as many countries as possible. When we find them, we can challenge ourselves to read a book about each country, maybe a handful at a time. What have you read? What did you enjoy reading? Let's name some possibilities.
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As I read and review books that fit into this category, I'll link them here.

Books I want to read:
1. Adios Hemingway ~ by Leonardo Padura Fuentes ~ Cuba
2. Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal ~ by John Shors
3. The Blackwater Lightship ~ by Colm Tóibín ~ Ireland
4. Brazzaville Beach ~ by William Boyd ~ Republic of the Congo
5. I Am a Taxi ~ by Deborah Ellis ~ Bolivia
6. The Language of Threads ~ by Gail Tsukiyama ~ Hong Kong
7. Latitudes of Melt ~ by Joan Clark ~ Newfoundland, Canada
8. The Madonnas of Leningrad ~ by Debra Dean ~ Russia
9. Mademoiselle Victorine ~ by Debra Finerman ~ France
10. My Heart's in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland ~ by Liz Curtis Higgs ~ Scotland
11. Napoleon's Pyramids ~ by William Dietrich ~ Egypt
12. Old Man and the Sea ~ by Ernest Hemingway ~ Cuba
13. Secret River ~ by Kate Grenville ~ Australia
14. Other Side of the Bridge ~ Ontario, Canada
15. Shadows on the Rock ~ by Willa Cather ~ Quebec, Canada
16. We Just Want to Live Here ~ by Amal Rifa'i and Odelia Ainbinder ~ Israel
17. With Their Backs to the World: Portraits of Serbia ~ by Asne Seierstad ~ Serbia
18. Beirut Blues ~ by Hanan al-Shaykh ~ Lebanon
19. Absent ~ by Betool Khedari ~ Iraq
20. The Yacoubian Building ~ by Alaa Al Aswany ~ Egypt
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.