Review: Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle

Lately I've been very interested in books about North Korea. It's a fascinating, secretive, and tragic country, and I've sought out books from a variety of perspectives: one by a defector, one by a Korean-American woman who taught high school English there, one by an American journalist. So when I read about Guy Delisle's Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, I was…

Review: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Ever since my best friend told me about the blog Kim Jong-il Looking at Things, I've been wanting to learn more about communist dictator Kim Jong-il and his father and predecessor, Kim Il-sung. I knew the basics of life in communist North Korea: no internet access, not much food, no television or radio beyond the government stations,…