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  "path": "/books/2026/5/editors-picks-67",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-14T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://airmail.news",
  "tags": [
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  "textContent": "\n\n\n\n##### This week, don’t miss a history of the North Korean personality cult, a Nobel laureate’s memoir of growing up in Communist Romania, and new essays by David Sedaris\n\nBy Jim Kelly\n\nNorth Korea is as much a personality cult as it is a nation, and Jonathan Cheng does a masterful job explaining how the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung, pulled it off. It helped that he was the son of two fervent Christians and grew up during a period of such high missionary zeal that Pyongyang earned the nickname “Jerusalem of the East.” He knew the power of religion and that by persecuting Christians he could become a deity, even developing his own rituals and symbols. He killed millions of his citizens, but he also dramatically improved health care and READ ON",
  "title": "Editor's Picks"
}