Bs Reads
Camus in his own words: Discipline, doubt, and the limits of intimacy
Camus's notebooks, which run from 1935 to 1959 contain almost nothing about his friends or his family, his experiences during wartime or much about his personal life
 "Camus in his own words: Discipline, doubt, and the limits of intimacy")
The Battle of Narnaul: Re-examining the 1857 rebellion and selective memory
The book is an invitation to rediscover a moment of defiance and to shed light on forgotten heroes whose sacrifice deserves recognition
 "The Battle of Narnaul: Re-examining the 1857 rebellion and selective memory")
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
 "Urjit Patel's new book uncovers Western sanctions and their discontents")
The Great Indian Brain Rot: How platform capitalism is reshaping thinking
A central insight of the book lies in its sustained attention to influence as a social and economic form
 "The Great Indian Brain Rot: How platform capitalism is reshaping thinking")
Furious Minds: The MAGA intellectuals and the rise of extremist ideas
How ideas that used to be the arcane obsessions of nerdy young men and buttoned-up tenured professors have become 'an engine and accelerant' for extremism
 "Furious Minds: The MAGA intellectuals and the rise of extremist ideas")
Malala's coming-of-age memoir offers an unfiltered glimpse into her life
With wisecracks, misadventures, and tales of first love, Malala Yousafzai takes charge of her own story, offering the world an unfiltered glimpse into her life
 "Malala's coming-of-age memoir offers an unfiltered glimpse into her life")
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
 "Pax Americana: Why the world needs the US to stay true to its ideals")
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
 "Cult building in black and white: How chess became one man's redemption")
The Caste Con Census: This book maps caste and other social fractures
In support of his arguments, author cites scholarship spanning history, sociology, anthropology and political economy
 "The Caste Con Census: This book maps caste and other social fractures")
The Eleventh Hour review: Salman Rushdie's meditations on mortality
Salman Rushdie's latest work blends fiction, memory, myth, and mortality, offering a deeply personal meditation shaped by near-death, nostalgia, and literary playfulness
 "The Eleventh Hour review: Salman Rushdie's meditations on mortality")
A new book reviews the global history of how capitalism took over the world
Sven Beckert's sweeping global history reframes capitalism as a centuries-long, often violent world-making force - rich in detail, ambitious in scope, and certain to provoke debate
 "A new book reviews the global history of how capitalism took over the world")
A History of Santiniketan: A university against national chauvinism
Uma Das Gupta's history of Santiniketan traces Tagore's educational vision, the making of Vishva-Bharati, and the challenges that shaped his alternative to nationalist orthodoxy
 "A History of Santiniketan: A university against national chauvinism")
Mind in Motion: A biography of Francis Crick balances his life with science
A balanced yet probing biography traces Francis Crick's brilliant scientific leaps and human flaws, revealing the mind behind DNA's discovery without fully interrogating his more troubling ideas
 "Mind in Motion: A biography of Francis Crick balances his life with science")
Fascist Yoga: How the West twisted yoga's spirit of peace and wellbeing
How yoga has been appropriated, packaged and sold in the West by people whose political views are divorced from its spirit of peace and wellbeing
 "Fascist Yoga: How the West twisted yoga's spirit of peace and wellbeing")
The silent enemy redefines security for a world beyond the battlefield
A timely book by Arvind Gupta and Rajesh Singh expands the idea of national security beyond the military to include climate, technology, and economic vulnerabilities
 "The silent enemy redefines security for a world beyond the battlefield")
After the Spike: A bold argument for rethinking the demographic doom theory
Why a larger population is better than a smaller population with a higher quality of life
 "After the Spike: A bold argument for rethinking the demographic doom theory")
The peacemaker the world forgot: U Thant's UN and the Cold War's edge
How a self-effacing, self-taught school headmaster from a small Burmese village became one of the most influential figures at the UN in the 1960s
 "The peacemaker the world forgot: U Thant's UN and the Cold War's edge")
On the Brink of Belief: A book on gender, religion, and the margins
A new anthology brings together 24 queer and trans writers from South Asia exploring faith, identity, and belonging under the editorship of poet Kazim Ali
 "On the Brink of Belief: A book on gender, religion, and the margins")
Splendid Liberators: How America replaced Spain as the world's great power
Joe Jackson's Splendid Liberators unpacks the brutal realities and far-reaching impact of the Spanish-American War, challenging the myth of a "splendid little war"
 "Splendid Liberators: How America replaced Spain as the world's great power")
McNamara at War: Rare later regret over Vietnam worthy of admiration
Robert McNamara's life was defined by a quest for control. A new biography shows how that same drive shaped his Vietnam errors - and his rare, late-in-life willingness to admit them
 "McNamara at War: Rare later regret over Vietnam worthy of admiration")
