The first Salman Rushdie book I read was his nonfiction "The Jaguar Smile", about Nicaragua in the 1980's . I was wandering by Black Oak Books in Berkeley one evening and found Rushdie giving a reading. I listened to him discuss the Nicaragua situation and was surprised to hear a balanced view of both sides of the conflict. (Not always true in Berkeley where everyone seemed to be pushing their agenda. I subsequently read "Midnight's Children", "Shame", "The Satanic Verses", "Haroun and The Sea of Stories", and other Rushdie novels. I have his latest novel "Fury" on my bookshelf, and will read it soon. Rushdie is one of the few contemporary writers who writes equally good essays and fiction. His article in the New York Times, The Most Dangerous Place in the World raises many questions and informs, again in that balanced way I originally heard Rushdie speak. I'm not sure what to make about the Spice Girls quote, though.