Page 88 - Book Reviews

Maoism: A Global History is a milestone in describing a harrowing legacy

Julia Lovell's book on Maoism is concerned with understanding the phenomenon of Maoism when it swept the globe, in some places politically and in most places ideologically and intellectually.

Keep calm- and panic

The book has been put together in a remarkably short period of time and the urgency is palpable

The Irrfan phenomenon

The author focuses on telling the story of what made Irrfan who he was

The limits of 'realism'

Barry Gewen tackles the contradic­tions, and offers absolution, in this book, a timely and acute defence of the great realist's actions, values and beliefs

Science off the wall

One of the points this book makes is that it is often difficult to distinguish a sound hypothesis from something completely off the wall

The first people

This book by Nidhi Dugar Kundalia is about the "first people" or some of the aborigines of India she met and interviewed in the course of researching the book

Undead ideas

Anyone who regularly reads Mr Krugman's twice-weekly NYT column, will be familiar with his accessible style, his arguments and his political leanings

Donald Trump's 'deep state'

Much of the book charts the history of congressional oversight over the CIA and the FBI, beginning, in 1975, with the committee chaired by Senator Frank Church

The Minority Conundrum: Thought-provoking essays on minority rights

A thought-provoking set of essays examines minority rights in the light of secularism and nationalism, both of which are foundational to the vision of the Indian republic, says Chintan Girish Modi

Rites of non-existence

The first half of the book traces a sordid childhood, where the author's mother mysteriously leaves for a journey only to return and never speak of it

Detection diary

Although the book contains interesting, less known or occasionally shocking revelations, the reader is likely to demand better returns for labouring through 614 pages of familiar phases

Instagram's inside story

No Filter has a deceptively simple goal: 'To bring you the definitive inside story of Instagram'

Her voice amid lurking danger: Reflections on some feminist crime novels

It goes without saying that not all of the female crime novelists come out as feminists, and that some male writers can do feminist crime novels quite well.

A gripping book on T20 cricket and why it's the sport's default format

Two English cricket writers have written a brilliant and engaging history of the shorter form of cricket that explains why it has become the default format of the sport worldwide, says Dhruv Munjal

Immigrant chronicles

We learn about Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy who traded in opium, earned a fortune, and donated generously to charities during the Bengal famine of 1943

From good wife to free agent

Pakistani-Canadian inspirational speaker and social entrepreneur Samra Zafar's memoir will leave readers simultaneously horrified and inspired

End runs in End Times

Mr O'Connell's timing was either a bit premature or just right. In the last three months a global pandemic has already killed tens of thousands

Akbar: The Great Mughal is an instructive retelling of the emperor's life

This vivid retelling of Mughal emperor Akbar's life is both timely and instructive

All in the family... and friends

Learning how to build a brand can easily take a semester-long MBA course but the authors manage to distil their story over 25 chapters spanning 236 pages

Tamil Nadu's political mothership

Jayalalithaa was truly a lone empress loved fiercely by her party followers and loathed by her political adversaries