BOOKLESS IN BAGHDAD: Reflections on Writing and Writers by SHASHI THAR00R Arcade; $25 Pages: 288

This amalgam of essay, literary criticism and memoir blends into a tribute to the world of books--from the London-born author's childhood savoring Kipling and Pushkin to the ardor of obtaining a book in Iraq. He writes of books "striking through the rough husk that enshrouds our minds to tap into the exhilaration that ferments within.