Page 41 - Book Review
Small steps in energy transition
For someone who doesn't know anything about the mess in Jharia, this comprehensive account offers much interesting information
Analysing what ails America
Someday, an intellectual historian cite both these books to lament that the contemporaries are not as eloquent that arose in Trump's era to combat the threats to our way of life
 "Analysing what ails America")
The Parivar's mastermind
Kingshuk Nag, author of this biography, has looked at 2019 exclusively from the prism of identity politics
 "The Parivar's mastermind")
City of poets
Academic readers (historians or literary critics) might find the book 'Beloved Delhi' to not be fully satisfying, and indeed having read it, one is left thirsting for more
 "City of poets")
Peace and war
A Chill in the Air is less action packed but more thoughtful. It covers just two years, 1939 and 1940, and captures the politics and the atmospherics from the plazas to the palazzos
 "Peace and war")
What is Pakistan?
The book examines the "political mythology" around Pakistan's raison d'etre ("Why Pakistan?") and raises the question: "Who is a Pakistani?"
 "What is Pakistan?")
Michelle Obama opts for empowerment over politics
Michelle Obama puts to rest any speculation about her political ambitions
Book review: The rise of passive resistance
The author observes that Gandhi "learnt the important lesson that Indian crowds could be very violent" and that non-violence was not intrinsic to the culture of the sub-continent
Alan Greenspan's ode to creative destruction
The book barely mentions Mr Trump beyond condemning his "dangerous" trade policies
 "Alan Greenspan's ode to creative destruction")
Two-century-old journey of the Quantum riddle
Newton believed light was a particle, and Huygens believed light was a wave. Both were correct but this was not acceptable to the 17th-century scientists
 "Two-century-old journey of the Quantum riddle")
More on winning friends and influencing people
Even if the central thought is nothing new, the good thing is The Challenge Culture has a storytelling tone and is an easy read
We need to talk
Most people in Delhi would remember where they were when they heard the news of the 2012 gang-rape case
For whom the bell tweets
So fundamental, in fact, that technological innovation - another universal human experience - is often prompted by war
Democracy detached from the people
While the book's focus is on western democracies, it will resonate in India
How the United States achieved world leadership
We wouldn't know where to begin recreating something like today's system of international order because we have a flawed understanding of its history
 "How the United States achieved world leadership")
And Aadhaar lived happily ever after…
The book is filled with irrelevant gossip about Mr Nilekani's Delhi stint and fails to further critical understanding on Aadhaar
 "And Aadhaar lived happily ever after…")
The desi mindset
The most interesting parts of the book constitute sections in which Mr Sardar articulates his love for his homeland, evenings spent gorging gol guppas and paan
Waging war from the Oval Office
Presidents of War is a marvellous narrative that opens with James Madison, the father of the Constitution and a reluctant warrior during the War of 1812
 "Waging war from the Oval Office")
The corruption poser
Dr Basu presents the issues through the prism of economic theories - using game theory in abundance, but at a philosophical level these have tremendous resonance in Indian society
 "The corruption poser")
The real risks of the Trump presidency
Mr Lewis himself seems to swing from civic optimism to abject nihilism, sometimes within the same perfect sentence
 "The real risks of the Trump presidency")
