Book Reviews
Breakpoint: Why India's middle class is losing its economic footing
Recent trends in technology-led automation, taxation policies, and rising unemployment have squeezed out the middle class. This book delves into what that means for India and whether it is all gloom
 "Breakpoint: Why India's middle class is losing its economic footing")
Jill Biden's new memoir shows off a sharp eye, if not a sharp elbow
Beyond a few pointed digs at her husband's successor, 'View From the East Wing' largely sticks to the head-spinning details of first lady-hood
 "Jill Biden's new memoir shows off a sharp eye, if not a sharp elbow")
A Fire Over Mount Everest: Revisiting India's landmark 1984 expedition
This absorbing and revelatory book goes beyond the expedition to trace the post-Everest trajectories of the protagonists and is an invaluable account of the realities of the pre-commercial era of Ever
 "A Fire Over Mount Everest: Revisiting India's landmark 1984 expedition")
The Liver Doctor: Finding humanism and empathy beyond social media battles
In The Liver Doctor, the hero is not the doctor, but the liver itself: One of the least understood yet endlessly fascinating organs in the human body, and the only one capable of regenerating itself
 "The Liver Doctor: Finding humanism and empathy beyond social media battles")
Enshittification: How Big Tech went from innovation to digital feudalism
The mischievous quality of the book's title or the emoji on its cover might mislead readers into dismissing it as lightweight reading
 "Enshittification: How Big Tech went from innovation to digital feudalism")
Open Intelligence: AI demands a rethink of human learning for digital age
Popularly known as "the Godfather of AI", Dr Hinton notes that humanity "is just a passing phase in the evolution of intelligence"
 "Open Intelligence: AI demands a rethink of human learning for digital age")
India Out of Work: Hurdles in the Viksit Bharat race for growth and jobs
The book holds the slowdown in the growth of non-farm jobs as a key reason for inadequate demand
 "India Out of Work: Hurdles in the Viksit Bharat race for growth and jobs")
How to Rule the World: The secret elite one freshman discovered at Stanford
Baker pursues the story like a campus reincarnation of Woodward and Bernstein
 "How to Rule the World: The secret elite one freshman discovered at Stanford")
The Ghosts of Indian Small Towns: Ruskin Bond's journey through time
Ruskin Bond's reflective essays revisit vanished small-town India, blending nostalgia, memory, humour, and the quiet ghosts of changing landscapes
 "The Ghosts of Indian Small Towns: Ruskin Bond's journey through time")
Chapal Rani: A poignant portrait of gender and exclusion in folk theatre
Through the story of a female impersonator in theatres, this book offers a commentary on how queerness exists around us in different shapes, forms, words, and feeling
 "Chapal Rani: A poignant portrait of gender and exclusion in folk theatre")
River Traveller: Hazarika brings alive the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra ecosystem
Mr Hazarika's book will appeal to environmentalists, historians, diplomats, anthropologists, political scientists, bureaucrats, and activists as well as readers who enjoy reading travelogues
 "River Traveller: Hazarika brings alive the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra ecosystem")
London Falling: Deception and a death without answers in a gilded city
How a teenager in London crafted a double life as the son of a Russian oligarch, and paid for it with his life under suspicious circumstances
 "London Falling: Deception and a death without answers in a gilded city")
The Good Reporter: Rural women's stories, uninterrupted amid media clutter
In a crowded media world, a women-led newsroom offers a refreshing breather
 "The Good Reporter: Rural women's stories, uninterrupted amid media clutter")
AI For Good: Can artificial intelligence become a force for humanity?
AI for Good is structured like a travelogue and the author's prose is breezy, concise and well observed. But travellers don't always come home with a nuanced understanding of what they've seen
 "AI For Good: Can artificial intelligence become a force for humanity?")
Flower of India: The life and times of the lotus in myth and memory
The lotus is mentioned in some of the oldest creation myths of India. The Puranic myths state that Brahma was seated on a lotus when he conjured up the universe
 "Flower of India: The life and times of the lotus in myth and memory")
Japan's imperial hubris holds a dire warning for a violent century
As new empires pursue old ambitions and borders become bargaining chips, this anti-war treatise reminds us how history repeats itself through humanity's amnesia
 "Japan's imperial hubris holds a dire warning for a violent century")
China Under Xi Jinping: Caution gives way to control, nationalism, ambition
The book provides a one-stop access point for information and analysis on China under Mr Xi
 "China Under Xi Jinping: Caution gives way to control, nationalism, ambition")
Science and Practice of Public Health: A manual for the developing world
At a time when the world is grappling with public health challenges, this book is an easy-to-read handbook for policymakers, connecting theory to the practice of public health
 "Science and Practice of Public Health: A manual for the developing world")
James McDougall's 'Worlds of Islam' celebrates rich heritage and diversity
One recurring theme that unites this book is Sufism
 "James McDougall's 'Worlds of Islam' celebrates rich heritage and diversity")
Our 'screenified' future: How screens turned people into performers online
The book is at its strongest when Garber gets hyperspecific, forcing the reader to wrestle with the fact that the far-reaching power of the screen has touched all parts of life
 "Our 'screenified' future: How screens turned people into performers online")