Africa

Book critic John Leonard reviews the new collection of essays by veteran Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski, called The Soccer Game.

Roberts helped popularize what is now called world music. His interest, particularly in African music, developed while he worked for a news agency in Kenya. Roberts was surprised to discover American influences in some of the songs he recorded, which led him to reject any notion of a pure, national music.

The British author and travel writer recently passed away. His acclaimed books include Songlines, a semi-fictional account of the myths that structure the lives of Australia's aborigines, and the travel book In Patagonia.

The fiction writer sought adventure, so he followed the Equator around the world. His new book describes the different cultures, colonial vestiges, and natural phenomena of his various stops -- many of which the locals described as the "middle of nowhere."

Jazz critic Francis Davis says John Carter's new album, Dance of the Love Ghosts, is both experimental and structurally sound; each "electrifying" track needs to be heard in its entirety.