Book Review: Retracing the Silk Route from 130 BC to 1453 AD

Silk Roads

Silk Route

An Oxford historian captures a fascinating world history from an eastern perspective along the 6,400-km-long Silk Road network that connected eastern China and India to the Mediterranean Sea

Business Standard

Media at Work in China and India is a good book to get into the subject

The media worlds of India & China

Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book offers us a glimpse, however partial and sometimes self-serving, of the drivers of foreign policy there

Pakistan's foreign policy: A partial view

Already a success in France, The Arab of the Future will do little to complicate most people's perceptions of Libya or Syria

Love and longing in the Arab world

Avantika Bhuyan finds out what makes Vikas Khanna the poster boy for Indian cuisineA mere glance at celebrity chef Vikas Khanna's schedule is enough to make me dizzy. This week, for example, started with the launch of his book, Indian Harvest: Classic and Contemporary Vegetarian Dishes in New York, followed by preparations to host former US president Bill Clinton. Then, he attended cooking demonstrations and numerous events to discuss his work and new book, while also supervising service at his Michelin-starred restaurant, Junoon. If that wasn't enough, "in the next two weeks, I will be doing 29 appearances all over the east coast and I will be working during the dinner service at Junoon," he says.People who have worked with him often wonder what powers Khanna through such frenetic days. "I am just the fraction of the equation. I have a very large devoted team," he says. "Also, when I see so much appreciation for Indian food in the US, it helps me unwind like nothing else."It is no won

Vikas Khanna: Tastefully Indian

The story of the partition of India in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan continue to engage the attention of scholars because, first, the explanation for this surgical operation still baffles and divides, and, second, the narrative cannot ignore the great human tragedy that resulted from the mindless transfer of populations and powers to two governments.That story is integral to the study of the events that led to the creation of the Islamic state of Pakistan, the New Medina for Muslims of the Indian sub-continent. Venkat Dhulipala explains that this title was chosen not only from the religious history of Islam from the days of Prophet Mohammad but also by voters of a separate Islamic state.The title emphasises that it is not only the Muslim League or M A Jinnah or Liaquat Ali Khan or Jinnah's alter ego, the Raja of Mahmudabad, who deserve to be studied to understand the genesis of the movement for Pakistan. The Islamic ulemas (scholars) and the voters of Sharia also deserve attention

Mass appeal of a New Medina

Arun Maira has always been pleasant and soft-spoken - a consultant to the core, he patiently listens to both sides of an issue before offering mostly optimistic scenarios to help solve it. But a stint in the Planning Commission as a member from 2009 to 2014, where he enjoyed the rank of a Union minister of state, appears to have had a visible impact on him. His latest book, which is largely devoted to the challenges he faced in the Planning Commission, bears the imprint of his optimistic persona, retaining that obsession for scenario-building and Total Quality Management. But it is hard to miss the tinge of disappointment and even frustration when he recounts how the Planning Commission failed to restructure itself in spite of a clear brief to achieve that transformation.The dissatisfaction was probably more acute because Mr Maira had decided to retire when he turned 65 after a successful career with the Tatas and as a consultant that saw him head the Boston Consulting Group's India op

Mr Maira's disappointment

Playboy not to carry nude photographs of women

To continue publishing images of women in provocative poses, though; says internet porn the cause.

This book is a spirited collection of short articles and occasional pieces by Pranab Bardhan, a major figure in the pantheon of Indian economics

Pranab Bardhan's ideas of India

Global jihad and its discontents

Talmiz Ahmed examines two authoritative new books that explain the wellsprings and proliferation of radical Islam

In Richard Dawkins's first memoir, An Appetite for Wonder (2013), he described losing his virginity, at the somewhat advanced age of 22, to a cellist in London.His writing about this episode was typical of him. First he called upon science. "It isn't difficult for a biologist to explain why nervous systems evolved in such a way as to make sexual congress one of the consistently greatest experiences life has to offer," he said. "But explaining it doesn't make it any less wonderful."Then he summoned literature and morality, and wrote: "I'll say no more on the subject, and will betray no confidences. It isn't that kind of autobiography."Mr Dawkins's sequel to his memoir has arrived, and it isn't that kind of autobiography either. Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science presents a public life more than a private one.This is autobiography as intellectual victory lap. What it lacks in intimacy it mostly makes up for with wit and bounce and a sense that this deeply learned man is running

Richard Dawkins' intellectual victory lap

Manmohan Singh with Condoleezza Rice

Xi Jinping

The Turn of the Tortoise

Narendra Modi with Shinzo Abe

The world wants India to be a counterweight to China, but so far India has not measured up

T N Ninan: Will India slip into China's shadow?

In the last 30 years in European football, there hasn't been a more captivating presence than Sir Alex Ferguson. As manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex created a modern-day footballing dynasty that is unlikely to be matched - at least in Britain. That he was a serial winner is not a secret but in his retirement the Scotsman has turned into a prolific author as well. In 2013, his book Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography was released and became the top-selling print book of that year. Released only in October of 2013, it sold over 800,000 copies approximately by the end of the year.Now the man from Govan is back with a new book - unimaginatively titled Leading - on leadership and management philosophies. If you're looking for a book on deep-rooted management jargon and a lot of boardroom gyaan, then you're in for a great surprise. Just as he did when he managed his football teams, Sir Alex blends the right amount of intrigue, flair and controversy in his latest book.The book jacket tells

Sir Alex's masterclass

Chetan Bhagat is a controversial figure in Indian literature. As the best-selling author constantly reminds everyone prepared to lend him an ear, his books sell millions and some have enjoyed that ultimate arbiter of popular taste in India: Bollywood acceptance. Mr Bhagat is frequently caricatured by the elite who despite his success - or perhaps because of it - dismiss him as a minor writer enjoying unwarranted attention. Or to borrow from Bhagat-speak, he sucks in their estimation.Lost in this cacophony is one quality that distinguishes Mr Bhagat from many of his contemporaries: his acute understanding of his audience. Responding to critics who disparage his books as "safe", he once told author Jai Arjun Singh that he still manages to shock the middle class who may not have been exposed to broader literature. For instance, his decision to allow his protagonists to engage in pre-marital sex in one of his novels led to accusations of having ruined the girl's life.Or as he put it: "Ther

Why Chetan Bhagat is 'awesome'

Harry Potter Illustrated Book (Photo: Twitter)

The boy wizard and his magical world are ready to make a comeback for his first year in Hogwarts. Bloomsbury is releasing in illustrated colour editions Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone, the book that opened the gates to the wizard world and the adventures of three friends, on Tuesday.

Harry Potter all set to cast a new spell

Yes, consumers in India want products and services that are affordable but not those that look and feel cheap

The difference between affordable and cheap

This is an admiring portrait rather than a particularly affectionate one

Henry Kissinger: a revisionist biography

Is medicine a science?

It may lack grand universal laws but there is a need for guiding principles for young doctors, says Pulitzer Prize-winning

A hero needs a demon, be it the Greek myths and epics or those of Vedic times

Pride and the demon

A confession: I became a great admirer of Professor Amartya Sen at the very beginning of my studies of economics half a century ago, when a perspicacious teacher at Cornell University made Choice of Technique (1960) required reading for graduate students. That admiration grew after Growth Economics (1970), then waned, following Professor Sen's increasing preoccupation with welfare economics and his writings in the popular press. It got to a point of my shunning The Argumentative Indian (2005; it is, astonishingly, missing from the list of the author's works at the end of this volume) and An Uncertain Glory (2013).I nearly declined to review this book; had I done so, I would have lost out on the enormous joy of sharing the workings of one of the finest minds of our times. Professor Sen has woven several strands of thoughts from fields as diverse as Sanskrit classics, hemerology (the study of calendars), mathematics, history, literature and good, solid economics into a most alluring mosa

Amartya Sen's polymath mind

Before Robert Ludlum, three writers in the seventies defined the popular thriller for me: Alistair Maclean, Desmond Bagley and Frederick Forsyth. By then Fleming's novels had morphed into the flourishing movie property and John Le Carre was, well, in a class by himself.Bagley rarely touched great heights but Maclean (Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra, Where Eagles Dare and Fear is the Key) and Mr Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War) saw their best-sellers turned into memorable movies. Bagley and Maclean died young - at ages 59 and 65 respectively - and their books went out of vogue, overtaken by writers attuned to the shifting dynamics of global politics and the digital age.At 77, Mr Forsyth has had the good fortune to live long enough to write more contemporary books (though to diminishing acclaim) and now this autobiography. It is certainly a story worth telling. The Outsider reveals a life as fast-paced and stylishly versatile as his novels. Mr Fors

Forsyth's saga

Book News: Check out for latest book news, reviews, book launches and more on Business Standard. Explore now for new books reviews along with books writers and novel reviews and more.

Books News: Latest Book, Book Reviews, Book Features, Book Launches | Business Standard

Check out for latest book reviews, book launches and more on Business Standard. Explore now for new books reviews along with books writers and novel reviews and more.

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