Page 4 - Book Reviews

Mujib's blunders: Manash Ghosh's book reveals how Rahman lost plots

The Power and the Plot Behind His Killing, "covers the troubled years after the freedom struggle, popularly known as the Liberation War, against the genocidal Pakistan Army"

What happened in the 2024 election? Kamala Harris shares some thoughts

Harris was initially bewildered by Biden's sudden switch, including his determination to rush out an announcement

Dance of Freedom: How Bharata Natyam became India's quintessential dance

Padma Shri Leela Samson traces the journey of Bharata Natyam through its origins, controversies, costumes, and philosophy, while reflecting on its enduring inclusivity and timeless appeal

Ishita Tiwary's book shows how video cassettes changed our visual culture

It would be no exaggeration to say that making sense of the evolution of the media industry is challenging given the sheer scale and the short span of its transformation

Decoding China: Ashok Kantha's book offers hard Indian perspectives

From the weaponisation of trade and border issues to the Belt and Road Initiative, this book paints a detailed picture of China and its future direction

Song of India: New book clarifies why Tagore composed the national anthem

Several songs competed to become India's anthem after Independence. Dr Mukherjee's book debunks myths about why Tagore composed his song and how it came to be chosen

Dapaan: Kashmir's stories of conflict, resilience and remembrance

After 35 years of armed conflict, Kashmir abounds with stories-heard and unheard-of loss, laughter, haunting, and place-making, but also of defiance against the state

S Muralidhar's book spotlights SC's fault lines and judicial fallibility

In the current discourse on the basic law of the country, the Constitution, leaders of both the ruling and the Opposition blocs are engaged in its competitive veneration, pronouncing it sacrosanct

Rocket Dreams: Those magnificent billionaires and their flying machines

According to the journalist Christian Davenport's latest dispatch from the high-tech space race, Rocket Dreams, Bezos also posed a question: "How would we go about this if NASA did not exist?"

Decluttering, Indian style: Bhawana Pingali revives forgotten rituals

The book spotlights forgotten practices that reveal how Indian homes once embodied sustainability and balance. Mustard seed pillows that ease the body and offer better sleep for infants and adults

Being an Oak shows the hidden life and lessons of a 240-year-old tree

Through the life of Quercus the acorn and his woodland kin, Being an Oak reveals nature's quiet power to change, adapt, and heal when left alone

Believer's Dilemma: A leader's struggle with power and self-doubt

A new biography unravels Atal Bihari Vajpayee's complex persona, tracing his political journey, inner conflicts, and role in shaping modern Indian politics

Trial by Water: Assessing the paradoxical legacy of Indus Waters Treaty

Uttam Kumar Sinha's book Trial by Water: Indus Basin and India-Pakistan Relations would be useful to anyone who is keen to understand India's official stance through a historical framework

Victoria Woodhull: A tale of America's first female presidential candidate

Victoria Woodhull's improbable life - from clairvoyant to Wall Street broker to presidential candidate - is retold in Eden Collinsworth's witty new biography

Devbhasha: G N Devy's book tells the phenomenal story of Sanskrit's rise

Devy's book also examines Sanskrit's flaws, such as the phenomenon of Sanskritisation

The Evin Prison Bakers Club: Prison memoir details hard-baked resistance

The book blends memoir, recipes, and resistance, portraying Iranian women prisoners who turn baking into an act of defiance and solidarity

From broom to bust: New book traces AAP's rise, drift, and undoing

In just 13 years, Delhi's own party soared and stumbled. Sayantan Ghosh's book examines what it must do to rise again as it grapples with existential questions

The Red Bull story: Book reveals private man behind the successful brand

The creator of the Red Bull empire had a strong aversion to media attention, and even his death would not change that

The Wisdom of Plagues: Book traces lessons not learned from pandemics

Covid-19 was the saddest pandemic NYT reporter Donald G McNeil ever covered. Now he shows how outbreaks like AIDS and Ebola foreshadowed the next in patterns, responses, and impact

The Story of CO2: The story of human civilisation is a story of energy

Peter Brannen's sweeping book argues CO₂ is the hidden force behind evolution, civilisation, fossil fuels, and today's climate crisis - the story of everything