Best Selling Books by Lawrence WRIGHT

A brilliant and thought-provoking examination of how the study of twins informs our understanding of free will, individual identity and human nature. Written with great elegance and with complete control of the sometimes complex issues, this is a remarkable piece of scientific writing, and one of the best and most accessible examples of how Darwinian ideas, evolutionary psychology and modern genetics are illuminating human nature.

When Academy Award winning writer and director Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) left the Church of Scientology after three decades of loyal service, the organisation suffered a crushing blow. Alongside Tom Cruise and John Travolta, Haggis was one of the church''s Hollywood trophies. But Haggis'' personal investigation of the church to which he had pledged his faith uncovered a litany of horrors, including physical abuse, forced abortions, slavery and imprisonment of its members. With his belief shattered, Haggis resigned from Scientology and here u for the first time u he speaks out about his experiences. Prisoners of Faith explores the roots of Scientology, from the life of its eccentric founder, L. Ron Hubbard, to the practices of its current leader David Miscavige. Encompassing flashes of brilliance and insanity, we discover the appeal of Scientology through Haggis'' eyes, especially to talented and ambitious members of the entertainment industry. This is the most profound reckoning to date with the powerful and secretive organisation that dominates celebrity headlines. It is also a moving human story of the lure of extreme faith and the price of leaving it.

Lawrence Wright at the height of his powers. Centers around the newfound—and forced—relationship between a Palestinian American FBI agent and a hard-line Israeli cop, working together uneasily to solve the murder of the Israeli police chief in Gaza. Moving, thrilling, with extraordinary scope, it does for Palestine and Israel what Gorky Park did years ago for Russia. In the vein of John le Carré and Graham Greene, this is the rare novel that manages to entertain, educate, and deeply move the reader. Tony Malik is a half-Irish, half-Arab New York–based FBI agent, specializing in money flowing from drug and arms deals. The novel opens in shocking fashion, with Malik seriously injured by a terrorist-planted bomb. During his lengthy recuperative process, his life changes radically. A long-term relationship ends, and his job is on the verge of being taken away from him. During this period he learns more about his roots and becomes interested in his father''s past and family—his father came to America years ago from Palestine. Malik decides to make a trip to his father''s homeland to attend the wedding of his niece, whom he has never met. As a result of his plans, he is given a simple assignment by his boss at the FBI, partly to see how well he can still do his job. That simple assignment becomes anything but simple. As soon as he arrives in Gaza, the Israeli police chief overseeing the area is murdered. Malik is at first a suspect. Then, due to his superior investigative skills, he is invited into the Israeli investigation, seeking the murderer. At the core of this novel is Malik''s relationship with Yossi, the hard-line anti-Arab Israeli police officer leading the investigation. They must learn to trust each other because, as they move closer to solving the case, they realize there is no one else they can trust on either side. Extraordinary three-dimensional characters populate this novel: Yossi''s daughter, studying in Paris, trying to escape the violence that surrounds her in Israel; Malik''s niece, whose wedding and life are shattered by the murder; her fiancé, a peacenik whose existence is complicated by the fact that his cousin is high up in the Hamas command; religious leaders on both sides; corrupt Israeli cops; Palestinians thirsting for violence against Israel; Israelis determined to crush the Palestinians. Lawrence Wright brings a wide and complicated tapestry to life, one that culminates on October 7, 2023, with the deadly Hamas attack on Israel. But he has written more than just a thriller, or even just an examination of all these complicated lives. He has written a novel that manages to explore and explain much of the devastating history that encompasses the relationship between Israel and Palestine—and shows it to us in a way that poignantly reveals the tragic human scale that is involved.