Vermeer In Bosnia by Lawrence Weschler

This is a fascinating book! It's a series of essays by New Yorker writer Lawrence Weschler, on subjects ranging from war crimes to art to Polish history to Judaism. I love the way Weschler shows how everything is connected to everything else; in the title essay, he mentions how a justice at the war crimes tribunal at the Hague would destress by going to a museum to look at Vermeer paintings, then proceeds to draw a connection between the political and historical context in which Vermeer painted and the context in which atrocities were committed in the former Yugoslavia. The vast majority of the topics he discusses in this book are things I know nothing about, but he explains everything so well that I am able to follow along like an expert. It sounds like something that would be dull and pretentious, but it's actually fascinating and easy to read. Read this book if you want to feel smart!