Michener Magic

The Jan. 26 saga by James A. Michener (“Michener’s World”) was spellbinding. Odd part is, I learned next to nothing about Herat, Afghanistan, and didn’t care at all. What mattered was that there was a rug merchant there named Muhammad Zaqir. Michener clearly found him (persistent but) delightful. And portrayed him so that I found him equally delightful.

It never before occurred to me that I might want to go somewhere across an Afghani desert to buy a couple of rugs. But now it seems a wonderful idea.

Nice part of the story, of course, was that (aside from being such a thoroughly enjoyable narrative) it also contained a pleasant reminder that anywhere can be a wonderful place to visit if the people you meet there make it wonderful.

WILLIAM M. TIMLIN

Cypress