One thousand years ago, when the United States of America did not exist and Oxford and Cambridge were backwaters of ignorance, the light of human reason shone brightly in places like Tunis, Cairo, and Baghdad. During the Abbasid caliphate for much of the 8th through middle 11th centuries, and also sporadically thereafter, tolerance of certain non-Muslim groups was enshrined in law.

Islamic history is replete with pioneering inventions and discoveries, many of which are ingrained in modern society.

Multi-platinum singer Michael Bolton and Richard Clayderman cover "(They Long To Be) Close To You"--a '70s hit for the Carpenters written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David--for the Fathers & Daughters: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, presented exclusively at HuffPost.

Given the luxurious privilege of having my diary of life among the superstars, Starflacker, excerpted in The Huffington Post and in Saturday Evening Post, why would I instead choose to excerpt from another book not yet even on the market?

I have an actor friend who gets through a crowd and gets through life with one over-riding rule: don't make eye contact. It's a great and effective policy, especially for stars who inspire a dangerous sense of possession in fans when in the open public.