Page 66 - Book News

The truths out there

The one thing you begin to notice in this book is that propagating a reflexive scepticism and sowing discord aren't terribly difficult, especially when there's a vested interest willing to pay for it

This tiny shop in Delhi stocks donated books to spread the joy of reading

Established in 2002, a quaint little bookshop in Delhi stocks some of the finest donated books, and helps slum children read and write by raising funds from the sales, writes Sneha Bhattacharjee

A new book challenges the link between ancient Indian society and the Vedas

Read it and follow up on the citations if you want to learn more about yourself and your ancestors

The realities of Lutyens' Delhi

Despite the wealth of details tracing the evolution of the city through the 20th and the first two decades of this century, the book does not really end

India's forgotten blueprint for growth

At the outset, Bombay Plan is undoubtedly a far more thorough, comprehensive and honest economic document than we see from the industry associations of today

The Civil War's fugitive origins

The War Before the War is mainly a straightforward account of events that, although familiar to professional historians, ought to be known by anyone who claims to know anything about American history

In Nagpur, a 'rescue centre' helps writers evolve into public speakers

Nikhil Chandwani, founder, Writers'Rescue Centre, identifies himself more as a political enthusiast now than a social entrepreneur and writer

Leonard Cohen's posthumous collection of poems, lyrics and sketches

The poems are monotonous scribbles of the moody-undergraduate school, what young Werther would have sung had he been Canadian

The innovative ancients

Plato's Alarm Clock, fascinating and easy to read, ends on a sobering note

Cheering madrasas

Madrasas, according to Ms Borker, changed the lives of Muslim girls. Otherwise, they may have been still stuck at home, changing nappies

Bhagat Singh's real legacy

The message of this edited volume is that an individual who is not in tune with the mainstream ideas of his own society is liable to be punished, and Bhagat Singh was no exception

I'm brimming with sadness, writing alleviates pain: Novelist Anees Salim

The writer won Sahitya Akademi award for his novel The Blind Lady's Descendants

The best bookshelf of 2018

2018 was a commendable year for offerings in history and biography

From Dark Circles to The Children Act: The most evocative books of 2018

My book of 2018 is David Gilmour's delightful study of the British in India. It may be long and detailed but it's a joy to read, says the author

Inside the sorting hat of stories

The author includes many folk myths in her collection and considers these a symbol of the reciprocal traditions of storytelling in the region

India's tryst with free enterprise

Merchants from the north or south of India looked up to the state for mainly one role and that was the provision of political security

Profiting from market cycles

Being contrarian and going against the wisdom of the crowds pays off richly in the markets

An American journey

"Becoming" is refined and forthright, gracefully written and at times laugh-out-loud funny, with a humbler tone

Book review: Capturing 365 historical events, one for each day of the year

A TV presenter makes history come alive by focusing on an event that took place on each day in the calendar, but from an essentially Western perspective

'Stillborn Season' depicts a world bound by compassion in face of tragedy

Despite some shortcomings, its invocation of empathy in the face of tragedy upon tragedy is Stillborn Season's triumph