The Oakland Tribune reports that Nazila and Lida Sharaf entered their pleas Monday in Alameda County Superior Court. The sisters have been released from custody after posting $340,000 bail each.

THE LONELY WAR By Nazila Fathi Basic. 297 pp. $27.99 As the Middle East slides further into decay, thrashed by despotism, war and rebellion, the West appears a bewildered interloper. The Arab ...

**Nazila Fathi** is a journalist, translator, and commentator on Iran who reported out of the country for nearly two decades until 2009, when threats from the Iranian government forced her into exile.