Joseph Anton: A Memoir (Random House, $30) is Salman Rushdie’s extraordinary tale of his life before and during the nine years he lived under threat of death after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989 urging Muslims worldwide to kill Rushdie over his authorship of The Satanic Verses. While much of the story reads like a thriller (secret hideaways, clandestine meetings, close calls), it is also a profound and cautionary tale about the inviolability of freedom of expression. There are many heroes and villains in Rushdie’s story—he pulls no punches in excoriating those willing to sacrifice principle for self-interest—and plenty of juicy tidbits about famous literary figures, politicians, and other notable celebrities. Perhaps most touching is how he copes as a father during weeks and months of separation from his young son.
