The Portuguese Nobel Laureate José Saramago was a novelist, playwright and journalist. His numerous books, including the bestselling All the Names, Blindness, and The Cave, have been translated into more than forty languages and have established him as one of the world's most influential writers. He died in June 2010.Umberto Eco is a professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna and the author of Foucault's Pendulum, The Name of the Rose, and other international bestsellers. He lives in Milan, Italy.Daniel Hahn is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator. His translations include Creole (2002), The Book of Chameleons (2006), My Father's Wives (2008), and Rainy Season (2009), by Angolan novelist Jose? Eduardo Agualusa.

Fascinating and smart and provocative, and a lot of fun to dip into.