Page 8 - Book Reviews

One in a Billion: Sonal Holland's journey of popularising wine in India

If you believe in an idea and know it makes sense, don't give up - for Sonal C Holland, believing in her idea meant putting wine on India's map and inspiring a whole new community of wine lovers

Vivek Banerji's book shows how to reap insight from information overload

Navigating through tons of data to uncover hidden patterns is a critical skill in this day and age, and the key is to look beyond data dashboards

Hostile Homelands: Azad Essa's book traces India-Israel ties before BJP era

The author, who is based in New York, notes that India's arms imports from Israel rose by 175 per cent between 2015 and 2019

The Stoic Capitalist: Ancient Greek philosophy meets the American Dream

The ancient Greek philosophy lives on as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Here's how to use its principles to handle real-life situations and build a life of your dreams

2024: Could the US presidential election have gone any other way?

The authors end up arguing that things were not so fated, but reading what they have to report, I couldn't help feeling those political insiders had a point

Widows: Schipper's eight chapters offer deep insight into grieving, rights

The eight chapters of Schipper's magisterial work offers a deep understanding into such issues as the kind of grieving is considered acceptable for a widow

Shattered Lands: Sam Dalrymple uncovers the subcontinent's dark realities

Sam Dalrymple's book contextualises the shared history of the subcontinent and reminds us of its many dark realities

A General's diaries are curated into a breezy military history of India

This book was put together by his grandson, Gaurav Shrinagesh, presumably by curating the late general's diaries and memorabilia

'The Indira Gandhi of AIIMS': Sneh Bhargava's memoir is a compelling read

From hospital politics and clashing egos to difficult politicians and controversial appointments - Sneh Bhargava's memoir lays bare the inner workings of Aiims

Tribals and the Hindutva framework: New book explores RSS's evolving views

From Sarna to Ghar Wapsi, this book breaks new ground on the evolution of RSS's thinking on tribals and complex questions such as their treatment after conversion to Christianity

Bad Company: Megan Greenwell's book explores human cost of private equity

Bad Company details how cliched abstractions like "consolidation" and "efficiency" have given cover to real betrayals

Learning about the Other: The Cave of Echoes swims with own pair of fins

The book operates much like a magic mirror where the glass reflects, not the object, but the viewer's gaze on the object

Kulpreet Yadav's Dial 100: A taut true crime ode to India's overworked cops

Crime is never pleasant to read about or watch - let alone experience. But true stories remind us to stay alert and recognise the warning signs of danger

Rivers as kin, not property: A powerful case for ecological empathy

There is hope that we can conserve what remains and revive what has been lost of our rivers - but it begins with acknowledging that a river is a living, breathing entity

India at WTO: Ably defending the indefensible in trade negotiations

India's WTO negotiators have performed brilliantly in defending the 'perceived' national interest - but did they read the national interest correctly?

Deborah Baker's 'Charlottesville' reveals essence of the new American right

The new American right is a Hydra-headed monster. Mr Trump isn't its cause, but its distilled essence

Tibet at one remove: Little Lhasa maps a people's emotional geography

How, by a historical accident, India, despite her own poverty and exploding population, became an ideal home for exiled Tibetans

Luis Alvarez deserved a livelier biography than Collisions offers

Nevala-Lee recounts succession of events that followed: degrees from University of Chicago and a long, illustrious career, most of it at Berkeley. Alvarez was ambitious, arrogant and often prickly

Thinking Aloud: Jerry Pinto maps identity, cinema, and making of a nation

The three essays that comprise this book are updated versions of talks Pinto delivered at conferences organised by History for Peace, an initiative of The Seagull Foundations for the Arts

Caroline Fraser uncovers a second, darker perp behind US serial killings

Studies are beginning to link childhood lead exposure with aggression, psychopathy and crime. Fascinatingly, all the serial killers in Murderland lived near areas with high lead levels in the air