Page 20 - Book Review

World wars in Retailville

As Amazon turns 30, Clash is a timely book that explores the fierce rivalry between retail giants Amazon and Walmart, and examines their impact on the retail landscape and customers

The Nagarwala scandal, unreconstructed

Journalists Prakash Patra and Rasheed Kidwai revisit the 1971 SBI scam after reviewing declassified documents, but with underwhelming results

Spin doctoring for the rich and corrupt

All the Worst Humans, a pithy, anecdote-rich memoir by Phil Elwood, has a lot in common with those books. But it tells a story from journalism's shadow side, the realm of high-level public relations

Lone Fox in the twilight

Ruskin Bond has created a treasury of a lifetime's worth of experiences and wisdom with his writing, carving out a space in children's literature

The art of a reformer

When Rukmini Devi was seriously ill, she refused to take medicines tested on animals and opted for Chinese and Tibetan medicines, acupressure and acupuncture.

Yin, yang and assumptions

Sandeep Hasurkar explores how India and China, through contrasting governance and developmental paths, have shaped their unique trajectories on the global stage

The rise of skyscrapers

Jason M Barr presents towering buildings in a new light-as a strategic balancing act between costs and revenues to maximise profits, rather than a display of hubris

Democrat with an authoritarian streak

Bhaskar Parichha's book beautifully captures the essence of Biju Patnaik - a man both impatient and irascible, fraught with passion, and a big-picture thinker who eschewed detail

Robots in your veins

The Singularity Is Nearer follows Kurzweil's 2005 The Singularity Is Near, and several other heraldic works of tech futurism that have become sacred texts to the current generation of AI utopians

Mapping the labyrinth

Abraham Jacob delves into the deep vaults of ancient Indian writings on Hinduism and its philosophical experiments, providing an easy-to-read primer on both the country and its civilisation

The limits of freedom

Joseph Stiglitz's latest book argues for a shift from capital-centric profit motives to a more inclusive and morally grounded approach in economic policy

Chinese history, for the CCP

Ian Johnson's book offers a lens to view China through the eyes of its people rather than through the party

Was global trade a mistake?

The late-20th-century project of integrating China into the global economy, in the hope that economic development would come hand in hand with political liberalism, feels at best misguided

Heights of ambition

Written with brio, the book nevertheless is an uncomfortable read because Cockrell ignores the distressing negative externalities of Everest Inc

UP's power dynamics

Shyamlal Yadav's book offers extraordinary insights into how UP's chief ministers handle governance, faction management, and administration in a state pivotal to national politics

A capitalist's lament

Ruchir Sharma's book is illuminating and heart-warming in its optimism that despite its many flaws, capitalism remains our 'best hope for economic and social progress

Modernity with Chinese characteristics

Poonam Surie's insightful book invites readers to join her quest to explore how China approaches modernity, leaving much to ponder, like a solitary reverie on a trek

A champion of trade liberalisation

Arvind Panagariya's book offers a rich and fascinating analysis of how protectionism has harmed the country's trade and economy

Fauci on Trump: It's complicated

Dr Fauci has long been circumspect in describing his feelings toward Mr Trump. But On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service, he writes with candour about their relationship

Indian sports beyond the boundary

Nandan Kamath looks at sports like an onion and, through nuanced argument, peels its many layers to provide insight and understanding