in the affairs of others. Roya Hakakian's beautiful book mercilessly exposes just one of these crimes, and stands as tribute to the courageous dissidents and lawyers who managed one of that rarest of human achievements; an authentic victory for truth and justice." Hakakian's characterization of German attorneys Alexander von Stahl and Bruno Jost led the United States Federal Bar Association to honor to those attorneys with a ceremony at the Daniel Moynihan Federal Courthouse in New York City on February 25, 2014. Assassins was also named among the 2011 Best of Nonfiction by Kirkus Reviews. A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious Hakakian's newest book A Beginner's Guide to America For the Immigrant and the Curious was yet another departure for the author. This time she chose to write in second person narrative, straddling between fiction and nonfiction. Hakakian walks the immigrant through the moment of arrival in America through the naturalization process. By turns lyrical and witty, Hakakian decided to write the book when the anti-immigrant sentiments reached a fever pitch in 2016. While the book appears to be written for new immigrants, it is just as much written for the native born Americans who, unaware of the privileges of their own country, must see it through the perspective of a newcomer to discover what they take for granted. Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan called the book "striking and beautiful," while Anthony Kronman, Yale law professor and author of The Assault on American Excellence, called the book, "a stirring, insightful, funny and uplifting book whose real predecessor is Alexis de Tocqueville." According to a review by Tunku Varadarajan for the Wall Street Journal, Hakakian's account is notable for its balance: "She offers counsel to readers, not commandments, and although her book could be seen as a love letter to America, it is one that’s been written by an exacting lover who isn’t blind to this country’s flaws." In his review for The Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby wrote about the book, "Lyrical and perceptive, “A Beginner’s Guide to America” is an immigrant's love letter to the nation that took her in. And it is a timely reminder of what millions of human beings endure when they uproot their lives to become Americans by choice." Poetry Hakakian is the author of two collections of poetry in Persian, the first of which, For the Sake of Water, was