MILWAUKEE _ Fatehpur Sikri, the old, abandoned capital of India's Mughal King Akbar, is a somewhat deserted place these days, a bit off the beaten tourist path, outdone by the popularity of the Taj Mahal about an hour away.

By HEPHZIBAH ANDERSON By Hephzibah Anderson Bloomberg AKBAR THE GREAT, Niccolo Machiavelli and Lorenzo de'Medici spring to life in Salman Rushdie's culture-spanning new novel, each falling under the spell of the siren who steals men's hearts and the book's title.

Author, Salman Rushdie, will speak with Carrie Fisher, actress and author, on Monday, June 16, 2008, at the Writers Guild Theater as a part of TOWN HALL's ongoing Writers Bloc series.

By Baker, Simon THE ENCHANTRESS OF FLORENCE by Salman Rushdie Cape, Pounds 18.99, pp.

By Boyd Tonkin Symbol, victim, blasphemer, target - Salman Rushdie, it seems, is anything people need him to be.