Quote for the Day

I tell my guys, the best way they can prepare before they come out here is to watch The Sopranos.

--a U.S. general in Iraq, quoted in The Wall St. Journal. Per Today's Papers in Slate, "much of the conflict resembles the fighting among organized-crime families."

Burning Books--and Their Buyers

Baghdad book market bombing kills 30

A car bomb ripped through Baghdad's oldest book market on Monday, killing 30 people, setting shops ablaze and leaving body parts scattered across the symbolic heart of Iraq's intellectual life.

At least 65 people were also wounded in the powerful blast on Mutanabi Street, an ancient centre of learning and culture and a rare pleasure for the capital's war-weary citizens, a security official said.

Many shops packed with books caught fire and the market was littered with blood-splattered pages after the attack, the latest assault on a US-Iraqi plan aimed at stemming bloodshed in the capital.

Full story from Agence France-Presse

How fortunate I am to live where it's safe to visit a bookstore (especially when there's one just a few doors up the street).