Book Reviews

The silent takeover of India's health care

The Silent Syndicate examines how private equity and global finance are reshaping India's healthcare system, raising questions over ownership, regulation and patient welfare

Beyond market ideology

Sunanda Sen's new book challenges financial liberalisation, arguing that volatile capital flows can constrain policymaking and undermine industrial development in emerging economies

The unmaking of the nation state

One of the most perceptive chapters in the book relates to international law

Sea, salt and spice: History on a plate, Mumbai style, and making of a city

The book engages with a long timeline, not restricting itself, as many Mumbai history books do, with just the colonial period

The two-faced governors of Empire

The first English voyages to India ended for want of knowledge of the sea routes

How the CCP shapes national memory

The foundation of the CCP's legitimacy and the social contract it has with the Chinese people is rooted in the term it coined: "One Hundred Years of Humiliation"

Software, made in India

It was not as if Tally had a smooth ride. Mr Ahmed points out periods when the company was bloated with numerous senior managers, multiple tiers and delayed decision-making

'D K Shi' in his political labyrinth

The best part of Mr Kidwai's book may well be its timing

Rule by automation

The experience of living in the Artificial State might feel new, but Lepore says the dynamics are in fact extremely old

Bullet Nani and other Badass Indian Grandmas: Nanis beyond the stereotypes

The first generation of women of independent India carried within them important fragments of our history

The descent of Israel

The "best tool" for this diversion from criticism comes from a globally accepted definition of antisemitism endorsed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016

Creating a life in prison

Mr Farooqui describes in detail various aspects of Asia's largest and most famous jail - its food, atmosphere, his inmates and their backstories

Writing from the wreckage

Loss and grief are dressed up in impersonal statistics. But Palestinian author Jean Said Makdisi focuses on the grotesque and the suffering of ordinary lives during Israel's occupation of Beirut

S Y Quraishi's eventful life

The former Chief Election Commissioner of India tells his story with droll humour, elegant prose and, above all, a deep sense of humanity

The Story Of Your Life: Everything looks wonderful, just keep scrolling

All was sweet innocent fun for a while. Then the algorithm came along and ruined everything

Speaking of History: Separating myth from fact in India's contested past

Myths are comforting because they ask nothing of us; history, on the other hand, asks everything - curiosity, rigour, discipline, the willingness to be wrong

Courage Under Fire: Chronicles of hard-won lessons in crises and leadership

Suresh Narayanan's memoir offers thoughtful lessons in crisis management and leadership, drawing on the Maggi controversy, Covid-19 and crises across global markets

Down But Not Out: Style overwhelms substance in tales of startup failure

This book on founders and their failures offers flashes of genuine insight but feels incomplete

Shankaritya Kanpatimar: The procedural failures that helped a serial killer

An account of India's most dangerous serial killer who struck people at night in their deep sleep and remained elusive for years

Human First, Machines Second: A road map to restore faith in the human mind

At a time when AI has become a buzzword with companies and leaders parroting its transformational effects, this book ushers in a timely and pragmatic debate