When an evil magician tricks Aladdin, a young ne'er-do-well, into crawling into a cave and retrieving an old oil lamp, he little suspects that the young ruffian will outwit him and keep the magic lamp for himself. The boy discovers that by rubbing the side of the tarnished oil lamp, a gigantic fierce looking genie is released, who declares, "Your wish is my command!" Aladdin not only escapes the cave with his life, but gains untold riches -- and best of all -- the love and hand in marriage of the daughter of a wealthy sultan. All is lost, however, when the evil magician returns and steals away the lamp along with Aladdin's beloved wife and his many possessions. But wait, Aladdin has one more piece of magic up his sleeve! Set in Persia, Kunstler's adaptation retains the mystery and magic of the original story from the classic A Thousand and One Nights.
James Howard Kunstler is probably best known as the author of "The Long Emergency" (The Atlantic Monthly Press 2005), and "The Geography of Nowhere" (Simon and Schuster, 1993). Two other non-fiction titles in that series are "Home From Nowhere" (Simon and Schuster, 1996), and "The City in Mind" (Simon and Schuster, 2002). He's also the author of many novels, including his tale of the post-oil American future, "World Made By Hand" (The Atlantic Monthly press, 2008). The sequel will be published in the fall of 2010. His shorter work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, Metropolis, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and many other periodicals.
James Howard Kunstler was born in New York City in 1948. He attended New York's High School of Music and art and SUNY Brockport (BA, Theater, 1971). He was a reporter for the Boston Phoenix, the Albany Knickerbocker News, and later an editor with Rolling Stone Magazine. In 1975 he dropped out of corporate journalism to write books, and settled in Saratoga Spring, New York, where he has lived ever since.
Kunstler's popular blog, Clusterf**k Nation, is published every Monday morning at www.kunstler.com and his weekly podcast, The KunstlerCast, is refreshed every Thursday.
Kunstler is also a serious professional painter. His work may be seen at www.kunstler.com
