Page 5 - Book Reviews

Devils' Advocates: Is American foreign policy genuinely for sale?

Vogel traces the alarm over foreign lobbying to a well-known scandal from the 1930s in which some of America's top public relations men were charged

On the Brink of Belief: A book on gender, religion, and the margins

A new anthology brings together 24 queer and trans writers from South Asia exploring faith, identity, and belonging under the editorship of poet Kazim Ali

Mother Mary Comes To Me: The book goes beyond the mother-daughter sob story

Ms Roy's radical and radiant life is the subject of the book but the messaging around it has flattened a complex narrative into a sob story of a daughter wronged by her mother

Wall Street's original sin: Sorkin revisits the greed and glamour of 1929

Over the course of more than 400 pages, tha author narrates a fable of greed, corruption and incompetence to shock the conscience

On the Margins of Protection: How refugee rights are being redefined

With right-wing populism on the rise, refugee protection is seen as a problem. This book examines how protection works across contexts, shaped by history and geopolitics

The Dravidian Pathway: Book traces evolution of Tamil identity and politics

This deeply researched book seeks to answer these questions, unravelling methodological challenges and dissecting the various components that go into the making of identity

Splendid Liberators: How America replaced Spain as the world's great power

Joe Jackson's Splendid Liberators unpacks the brutal realities and far-reaching impact of the Spanish-American War, challenging the myth of a "splendid little war"

Moonlight Express: Rediscovering the lost romance and rhythm of slow travel

In the process, she draws the reader into not just the train and the intricacies of its sleeper class, but also the people, the character of cities it passes, and of course the surrounding countryside

Fly, Wild Swans: A memoir of China's ideological paralysis under Mao

In many ways, the book is Ms Jung's tribute and love letter to her mother, her "guardian angel"

Tea party with a different flavour: Asian youth rebel against autocracies

How the type of tea preferred in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Burma, in contrast to the tea common in China, built a notional connection among students and youth in popular uprisings in the region

The Last Bench: A story that moves readers to question caste norms

This book doesn't call for action to abolish the caste system - yet it leaves the reader wanting to do away with it

Winning with AI: It's not AI, but users of AI, who'll take your job

The authors' calm and confident approach makes AI seem less monstrous than it is made out to be

38 Londres Street: The case of Augusto Pinochet and the art of impunity

Impunity is the central theme of 38 Londres Street, a marvellous and absorbing new book by the British-French lawyer and author Philippe Sands

Unsilenced: Book explains the social realities of an Indian prison

Seema Azad has been a known name in the human rights circle for a long time

ITEC at 60: Book revives forgotten chapter in India's global outreach

The Trumpian tariff and H1B visa dystopia would have looked less so from India's point of view if these initiatives were sustained, it now seems

Ghost Nation: By ignoring Taiwan, the world is eroding its own morality

Chris Horton's Ghost Nation chooses a different premise. The book assumes, correctly, that we live in a world where moral arguments have been rendered impotent

Ink Over Algorithms: Book explores AI's impact on creativity, ethics

Storytelling is deeply human, and Manjima Misra's book examines how AI can enhance the craft and the ethical questions it brings

The Zardari Presidency: Book offers revisionist view of Pakistan leader

This book is Mr Babar's account of Mr Zardari's five years as President from 2008 to 2013. This was a tumultuous period of Pakistan's history

McNamara at War: Rare later regret over Vietnam worthy of admiration

Robert McNamara's life was defined by a quest for control. A new biography shows how that same drive shaped his Vietnam errors - and his rare, late-in-life willingness to admit them

Nautch Boy: Manish Gaekwad's book sheds light on lives of boys in a 'kotha'

Nautch, a corrupted pronunciation of naach, fascinated the author in his childhood. As a practice, the tawaifs didn't let their children near their performances and patrons