Book

Urjit Patel's new book uncovers Western sanctions and their discontents

The author's analysis highlights another factor, namely, overestimating benefits and understating or ignoring the welfare costs of sanctions, including to third parties

Pax Americana: Why the world needs the US to stay true to its ideals

The world needs an America worthy of its ideals, because the alternative could be brutal authoritarianism

Cult building in black and white: How chess became one man's redemption

The book deals in detail with one of the most infamous cheating scandals, with its account of the Hans Niemann - Magnus Carlsen face off in 2022, seen from the perspective of Rensch and Chess.com

Beneath the pink glitter, Barbie is a tale of theft and ruthlessness

Barbieland is a book written from outside Barbieland's high-security gates; we meet Hitt - an editor and contributor with The Drift magazine

'I was once a broken reader but slowly found my way back to books'

Writers may be more likely to break than other readers because there's ego and other occupational hazards involved

More from Less for More: Can innovation bridge India's quality gap?

Mashelkar and Borde argue that true innovation doesn't cut corners or chase exclusivity. It expands access, raises quality and proves that efficiency and equity can coexist

Manoj Kumar Jha's book explains hope versus reality in coalition politics

A timely collection reflects on democratic ideals, coalition failures, federalism and the need for active citizenship as India debates the future of its political culture

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

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

SC dismisses plea seeking ban on Salman Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses'

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking a direction to ban Salman Rushdie's controversial novel "The Satanic Verses". The plea came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. The counsel appearing for the petitioners referred to the Delhi High Court's November last year order. The high court had closed the proceedings on a petition challenging the Rajiv Gandhi government's decision to ban the import of "The Satanic Verses" in 1988, saying since authorities have failed to produce the relevant notification, it has to be presumed that it does not exist. "You are effectively challenging the judgement of the Delhi High Court," the bench observed, while dismissing the plea. The petition was filed in the apex court through advocate Chand Qureshi. It alleged the book was available due to the order passed by the high court. The Centre had banned the import of the Booker Prize-winning author's "The Satanic Verses" for law-and-order rea

What happened in the 2024 election? Kamala Harris shares some thoughts

Harris was initially bewildered by Biden's sudden switch, including his determination to rush out an announcement

Ishita Tiwary's book shows how video cassettes changed our visual culture

It would be no exaggeration to say that making sense of the evolution of the media industry is challenging given the sheer scale and the short span of its transformation

Trial by Water: Assessing the paradoxical legacy of Indus Waters Treaty

Uttam Kumar Sinha's book Trial by Water: Indus Basin and India-Pakistan Relations would be useful to anyone who is keen to understand India's official stance through a historical framework

The Call of Music: Recording journeys of resilience for the sake of art

In her latest book, reputed Hindustani classical vocalist Priya Purushothaman traces the experiences of eight singular voices in Hindustani classical music that have deeply inspired her

India's Act East policy needs deeper economic integration with Asean

India's Act East policy needs fresh momentum through deeper economic integration with Asean

The Hindi heartland: Indian history at the turbulent core of change

Regaling with stories, the Hindi heartland takes us through history, unraveling not only wars and invasions but also the beliefs of victors across eras, showing how we arrived where we are today

Why the poor don't kill us: A must-read on why India is still Bharat

The poor attacking the rich is relatively rare in India. Sordid jails and the snail-paced judiciary are effective disincentives for voluntary criminal acts

The Art of War and Peace: From Ethiopia to Ukraine, what's changed, endured

The book contains analytical accounts of the 20-year Afghan War, which ended with ignominious withdrawal of US and Western military forces & with the Taliban gaining control over the entire country

M S Swaminathan: Celebrating an icon of India's Green Revolution

As one reflects on Swaminathan's life and time, it is worth wondering if India could produce towering figures like him today