Page 44 - Book Reviews

BSF's unsung role in 1971

Journalist Ushinor Majumdar's book brings to light the Border Security Forces' pivotal role in shaping Bangladesh's liberation in 1971, a role that has gone unmentioned in earlier narratives

Vivekananda beyond Hindutva assumptions

Govind Krishnan's book argues the liberal intelligentsia's tendency to treat everything Hindu as suspect results in Vivekananda's appropriation by the Sangh Parivar

South Asia's fault-lines of identity

Joya Chatterji's book explores the complexities of South Asian history and identity, providing a wide sweep of the many realities of a crucial region in the world

Storytelling as a career tactic

If you are keen to master the skill of effective communication, Sandeep Das's book offers expert tips for a quantum leap in your abilities

Anti-apartheid's first couple

The book arrives at a moment of widespread disillusion, especially among the young, about South Africa's negotiated settlement and the halo over Nelson's head

Why Parliament fails

'Which four-letter parliamentary expression has its origin in fox-hunting terminology'?

Maya and mind games

Wendy Doniger's book is an education for everyone, familiar and unfamiliar with India, looking to navigate the maze-like world of dreams and illusions

The physical and the metaphysical

Exploring the intricate layers of Indian mythology, Wendy Doniger's book challenges prevailing attitudes and uncovers hidden meanings in mythological tales

Looking back in anger

Harsh Mander presents a poignant account of India's Covid-19 crisis in his book, but beyond merely grieving and raging against the government, he attempts to touch our better, humane selves

A party ahead of its time

Aditya Balasubramanian's book questions the prevailing narrative surrounding the decline of India's political outfit dedicated to free market ideals and highlights its lasting significance

Freedom: An unfinished Indian project

Dennis Dalton's book delves into India's key thinkers' perspectives on liberty, societal transformation and their thought-processes, seeking a common thread, an intellectual coherence in their views

Big histories for the future

Publications of Neil Howe's The Fourth Turning Is Here and Peter Turchin's End Times. Both books affirm the idea that we are in the midst of a major crisis

Art as activism

This streets-to-stage story portrays a transgender artiste's evolution as a social reformer

The grey zone of digital currency

Sundeep Khanna's book is an up-to-the-minute and competently written chronicle of how India interacts with virtual assets

Eyewitnesses to catastrophe

Travelers in the Third Reich underlines the power of wilful delusion, and explores indifference of tourists in Nazi Germany to the regime's atrocities, offering a lesson that remains relevant today

Talking about philanthropy

Challenging the status quo, A New Era of Giving argues that giving without impactful, sweeping change risks rendering it meaningless for both giver and receiver

Jack Welch, retrospective 'villain'

GE's iconic former CEO's revered status has been tarnished in recent years, and David Gelles book is the latest attempt to blame Welch's toxic management style for the ills of today's capitalism

A global warming thriller

The yearning question for climate journalists now: What are the magic words? We have the facts and the wildfires to prove them.

The Dalit paradox

Sudha Pai and Sajjan Kumar's book delves into the complex dynamics of Dalit identity and politics, and the intriguing reasons for their protest against right-wing politics while also voting for them

Decline and fall

Joseph Sassoon's book chronicles the rise and fall of a Baghdadi Jewish family in British India and serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of mixing enterprise and extravagance