Page 2 - Book News

Making gender budgeting work

Social mores cannot be changed by fiscal fiats, but gender budgeting is a starting point, argues Lekha S Chakraborty in her book, which could serve as a useful primer to guide policymakers

PMOs, terror trials, presidents and coups

Here is a summary of book reviews by Business Standard writers in the past week

India's missing female scientists

From prejudice to working conditions that are stacked against them, "Lab Hopping" examines the key issues facing women in STEM, backing its assertions with data and anecdotes

Books turn over a new leaf with boom in religion and spirituality

This is a trend confirmed by publishers, who are flocking to the segment, though empirical data might take a while to come

Meaner than the metaverse

If the internet is the fictional doctor and scientist Bruce Banner, furtive and a little troubled but basically benign, meganets are Incredible Hulks, snarling and uncontainable

Inside Narasimha Rao's PMO

Many books have been written on P V Narasimha Rao, but the latest one is unique because of the author's proximity to the PM

An indictment of terror trials

Mayur R Suresh's book delves into the myriad ways terror accused and the justice system interact in a trial, and is replete with stories of human foibles, quirks, unlikely friendships, and anxiety

Party time in China

"The Party Leads All" offers an in-depth perspective on the changes underway under Xi Jinping and how they could affect China in the long term

An incomplete history of the CIA

How the CIA's daily presidential briefings have shaped history over the past 75 years is recounted in Current Intelligence, although with some notable events missing from the narrative

Everything, everywhere in one big book

Historically, encyclopaedias have been thick tomes for a reason: They are made to encompass all knowledge, leaving nothing to guesswork

The highs and lows of Indian business

Through the stories of four men and their business empires, Nandini Vijayaraghavan's book takes a hard look at the business environment and culture in India and the unpleasant reality of rivalries

Corporate culture under the lens

Divya Khanna's book makes a case for a more humane and engaging corporate culture. She argues our status consciousness and competitiveness make our careers a collection of shorter sprints

The President vs the Prime Minister

India's Presidents were never intended to be rubber stamps, but could they manoeuvre things to strike fear into the heart of a Prime Minister?

China's expansionist playbook: A case study

A collection of essays brings out the various challenging facets of Sri Lankan politics and its foreign policy, constantly attempting to balance the pulls and pressures of its geopolitical environment

Down and out in paradise

The book examines the persistence of want in the wealthy United States, finding that keeping some citizens poor serves the interests of many

Bombay, blockbuster style

This is also a cinema book. Dixit might be a journalist, but he has a flair for drama

Reorienting an empire

The Ottomans leaves the reader with much to ponder on how societies viewed each other in an era of emerging uber-nationalism where religion was the key marker of belonging

India's tryst with counterinsurgency

Two of American academia's most perceptive writers explore varied aspects of India's internal security and argue its counterinsurgency posture is calibrated depending upon the nature of insurgency

The worth of land value tax

The book dives deep into an innovative land valuation model used in the city of Baybay, Philippines to fit the purpose

The last days of Mughal Delhi

The best sections in the book are those that deal with the revolt of 1857 in Delhi