Book Reviews

Slowing down to save the planet: A manifesto for mindful living

With themes such as slow food, slow health, slow fashion, slow work, and slow democracy, this book offer practical actions for a more mindful daily life

The Robe and the Sword: Why Buddhism needs protection from polarised monks

A sharp, accessible account of how religion and power intertwine in Asia, examining Buddhist extremism without losing sight of faith's deeper values

Taming the Dragon: Clear diagnosis but few solutions to India-China tension

Why India must not only enhance its comprehensive national power but also become a major power in China's perception

Do you know your Hinduism? Understanding an ancient way of life journey

While everyone must find the meaning of religion in their own way, this book serves as a handy guide in the journey

The architecture of autonomy: How 'Muskism' is remaking the global order

A new book frames "Muskism" as a system blending tech power, state dependence and libertarian rhetoric, shaping a disruptive and unequal political economy

Biting Off More Than: A culinary rebel's multi-course life story

Rahul Akerkar's candid memoir serves up a rich mix of chaos, craft and reinvention, tracing the journey of a chef who helped shape India's modern dining culture

Trump yielded to Iran pressure, forced Netanyahu: Lebanese MP on ceasefire

Hassan, a member of the Loyalty to the Resistance, affiliated with Hezbollah, made these remarks while speaking in the Lebanese Parliament, according to Iranian state media Press TV

The Future Is Peace: Finding common ground in the Israel-Palestine journey

An Israeli and a Palestinian journey through Israel and the West Bank, crafting a powerful, humane book that makes you believe a path beyond revenge must exist

The Mind Electric : Pria Anand's book bridges myth, mind, and medicine

From sleep disorders to fear of the dark, a neurologist's book explores why the brain functions the way it does

Great Power Games: Vikram Sood maps a world shifting from West to East

Former R&AW chief Vikram Sood's book offers prescient insights into America's decline, partly attributing it to its outdated 'Philosophy for Profit'

Streetwise: Lloyd Blankfein pulls no punches in his autobiography

The book gives an intimate glimpse of how the US changed, both as a society as well as in its economic regulations

Here Where We Live Is Our Country: What is Judaism without Zionism?

As debates over Zionism intensify, a new book revisits the Jewish Labour Bund, offering an alternative vision of Jewish identity rooted in "hereness" and solidarity

Faith and Fury: Why Jyoti Yadav's Covid chronicle still haunts India

Jyoti Yadav's debut book captures untold stories of migrant distress, rural suffering, and systemic gaps during India's Covid-19 crisis

Framing the Media: How 'once-free press' narratives misread India's history

The book's engagement with the digital turn is particularly significant in this regard

Chokepoints and sanctions: How finance has turned into a weapon of war

Neither Iran nor Russia has been deterred by US economic sanctions, and the US itself faces limits on escalation to avoid harming its own interests, argues Edward Fishman in Chokepoints

Arguably Contentious: The search for a principled nationalism in India

In an era where nationalism dominantes Indian politics, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari's book offers a conceptual framework for it and for India's foreign policy

INA, warts and all: The Forgotten Prisoners offers a needed rebalancing

Mr Hazarika notes that despite Bose's electrifying oratory, only 2,000 men of the 27,000 POWs outside the INA joined; the rest opted for the purgatory of Japanese POW camps

Reimagined by crises: Why the United States' Constitution is doomed to fail

A sweeping history traces the US Constitution's roots to medieval England, arguing it was shaped by crisis and expansion rather than pure ideals of liberty

Birds, Sex and Beauty: A lively take on evolution and attraction

Matt Ridley's book revisits Darwin's sexual selection theory, exploring how birds choose mates-and what it reveals about beauty, evolution, and human assumptions

Stories We Wear: Do appearances, outfits carry texture, history, politics?

This book unravels the layers behind what may seem like mere Instagram aesthetics or airport looks