[whitewing]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Dr B.R Ambedkar: Pakistan or the Partition of India

https://www.amazon.in/Pakistan-Parti...dp/9382842454/

What a heavy tome this is. Both literally and figuratively. The man has so much information it really does not make for quick reading. I can only read a few pages a day. He breaks down the for and against arguments about the partition and it really is an eye opener.

Just at the quarter mark now and am already amazed by this great man's book!

Thanks for the recommendation, picked it up for reading over the weekend. The based on the reviews in amazon, skipped the kindle edition since it misses (based on reviews in amazon) a chapter "XII—National Frustration".
Tried to find other sources and surprisingly found a PDF copy hosted in a MEA website https://mea.gov.in/Images/attach/amb/Volume_08.pdf
Ordered the paper copy from https://www.adhyayanbooks.com/

As you indicate, this is a slow read. It has way more data that I would retain.


The mental capacity of the man is astounding, to have compiled such a dispassionate tome with so many cross references & citations - in an era prior to google, this, when he was actively engaged in other nationalist activities !

The past leaders seem to be much more erudite and conscious of the need to share their thoughts in written form.
I wonder if this was because they had the prescience to educate the future generations, or they were just filling in for the absence of television and mobile phones.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by whitewing

Thanks for the recommendation, picked it up for reading over the weekend.

The mental capacity of the man is astounding, to have compiled such a dispassionate tome with so many cross references & citations - in an era prior to google, this, when he was actively engaged in other nationalist activities !

The past leaders seem to be much more erudite and conscious of the need to share their thoughts in written form.
I wonder if this was because they had the prescience to educate the future generations, or they were just filling in for the absence of television and mobile phones.

It truly is amazing to read that book and one can only admire his great ability to put forth so much data into a concise form on paper on such a sensitive topic without coming across as being partisan.

Started reading Savarkar's book on the 1857 mutiny or as he calls it, The Indian War of Independence.

https://www.amazon.in/Indian-War-Ind.../dp/9353227631

At 452 pages it was surprising. But i guess he is taking a comprehensive approach to the events that preceded the revolt.

But after 5 chapters i am struggling to hold my attention. Hopefully the book will improve as the pages turn.

Unlike Ambedkar, Savarkar comes off as very passionate as opposed to analytical and it really shows in their writing.

[shashanka]

Just finished (for the nth time) John A Keel's "The Mothman Prophecies" - the classic account of his investigation of the paranormal events leading upto the 1967 disaster when the Silver Bridge across the Ohio river collapsed a week before Christmas 1967.

For Forteans and other connoisseurs of the paranormal, John Keel's books - written in a meandering yet gripping style - remain a must on the coffee table.

[Stardust]

Book Name: Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics

Author: Tim Marshall

Read this book on my Kindle a few days ago. Nicely explains the past and present geopolitics, and the role of geography in shaping it.

Anyone having interest in international affairs can go through the book.

Rating: 4.5/5.

[warrioraks]

Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us about Modern India



Read this book couple of months back. It’s a very insightful piece of literature on our country’s habits. Based on the media narrative and anecdotal evidences, we typically form a narrative of world around us. For example:
- I always thought that I belong to middle class
- India was a majorly vegetarian construct when it came to culinary habits
- We are sitting on a population time bomb

The book busted these myths and then quiet a few others as well. Also threw some light on how political masters have twisted/hidden/re-purposed data to suit themselves in recent years.

Truly worth the time - 4.5/5.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us about Modern India

I seldom go for non-fiction, but I think I will give this one a try. Thank you!

(One of my shattered myths was imagining that this part of India is largely veggie. Far from it: vast majority are meat eaters!)

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

(One of my shattered myths was imagining that this part of India is largely veggie. Far from it: vast majority are meat eaters!)

It was something we found out during our years in India. However, I have yet to find anybody that is willingly to believe me, when I tell them!

Almost to the last man/woman the world is convinced India is mostly if not completely vegetarian, possible vegan.

Once, I was travelling back to our home from Amsterdam to Delhi by plane. Started chatting with the (Dutch) guy next to me. As you tend to do, you ask about the line of work they’re in.

He told me he was setting up and running several pig farms in the South of India. I thought he was taking the Micky out of me. But he explained in detail the “meat” industry in India. I looked into it a bit later on. Talk about hidden truths!

Of course, not all kinds of meat were available even then, and I assume this has gotten worse during the last 5-6 years.

Even back then, for a really good steak we used to go to the American Embassy. The Americans used to fly in their steak daily as part of the diplomatic post. This was also before they had to get rid of non-US Embassy Club Members (I.e. us!) due to this diplomatic row over the Indian Diplomats trying to bring in their maid into the USA.

Just ordered the book from Amazon.com. Euro 24. Here is another statistic for you. The same book cost 4 times as much on Amazon.com then on Amazon.in

Jeroen

[adisan]

Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart
- Brian Luke Seaward

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked" - Kahlil Gibran

Be a victor, not a victim, of life's problems

[sahil624]

Just completed the book ‘Amazon Unbound’ by Brad Stone who had earlier written the book ‘The Everything Store’, in 2013, which was based on early days of Amazon. Amazon Unbound focuses on how Bezos strives to keep Amazon as a Day1 company and talks about the various successful and a few failed projects by Bezos. It also delves into the controversy surrounding selection of second headquarters for Amazon, Bezos’ divorce, tussle with Trump and Saudi prince MBS. Overall, it was a good read and provides an inside view of how the functioning is inside this Trillion dollar empire.

[ValarMorghulis]

Title: Our Moon Has Blood Clots: The Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits
Author: Rahul Pandita

There are very few books that have had a heart rending effect on me; this book is one of them. I was a very young kid in the 90s and had only a vague idea of the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits, heard second hand from news sources or folks talking about it. This book is a punch in the gut for all those thinking that the Kashmiri exodus was exaggerated.

The book is a memoir by Rahul Pandita who lived the brutalities himself as a young boy in Kashmir. Honestly, this book left me disturbed and it took me a long time to complete it for I couldn't pick it up lest a sense of despair overwhelm me. The most shocking parts were where close friends betrayed Kashmiri Hindus and how places of worship were used as an instrument to spread terror and helped organize marauding, murderous crowds.

I didn't watch "The Kashmir Files" thinking the movie might have been a propaganda machine but Holy Vishnu, this book left me shivering with anger and fear! At times, my wife asked me to simply stop reading looking at my plight.

A must read book for everyone, lest you forget to learn from the past.

[deathwalkr]

After reading Ambedkar, Savarkar's book on the first independence struggle was a bit of a drag. One was calmly analytical and the latter was passionate. Needless to say, it's gathering dust as I fall asleep after one page of reading

Keeping that aside I got myself a book on my wish-list for quite some time.

Five past Midnight in Bhopal by Dominique Lapierre.

What a book. Slowly builds up and rather than just writing about the factory side of things, he also alternates between the people of the slums living nearby and their lives and travails.

Sad to know just casual industrial safety was at that time and in the name of cost cutting and profits, things were compromised so badly.

Am now just at the stage where things are getting catastrophic and i know it's going to be tough reading from here on :(

[thanixravindran]

I was at Higginbothams, Chennai after a long time, thanks to my wife's new hobby Postcrossing to get some post cards. I chanced upon and picked up a title called 'The Idol Thief'.

It proved to be a interesting read on the stolen art empire ran by Subash Kapoor and the unraveling of it narrated well by an shipping engineer who is passionate about the sculptures and his involvement in the case. And eventually some of the gods are back to where they belonged.

This is not something an act of past like mid twentieth century but continues even now when the priceless Vigrahams of dilapidated temples are looted and end up in the art museums across the world by shady dealers. Even more saddening fact is the official apathy of the art museums in making amends to the wrongs. I can correlate to many of the events as it was widely covered in the Chennai media over the years as the epicenter of this shady trade is Chennai. I can only hope the identification, cataloging, securing the remaining idols will be taken up at national level.

Rating: 5/5

Let more of our gods come home

[Karaboudjan]

Hello All,
This is my first post on Team-BHP.
Browsed through this thread and I must appreciate the quality of reads recommended here.
I am presently reading The Anarchy by William Dalrymple. The way this book has been put together has made it a page turner. Highly recommended.

The last book that I read and, which I feel, we petrol heads should read, is The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations, by Daniel Yergin. It talk about how Energy has shaped the geo-politics in the world and what is the future.

Looking out for more recommendations here from our avid readers.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Karaboudjan

I am presently reading The Anarchy by William Dalrymple. The way this book has been put together has made it a page turner. Highly recommended.

I just got this book delivered yesterday and been waiting to read it. Glad it's a good choice

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us about Modern India

Attachment 2313638

Read this book couple of months back. It’s a very insightful piece of literature on our country’s habits.
Truly worth the time - 4.5/5.

A very interesting premise and overall a good book. I also like that the author switches between anecdotes and data and not data alone.

However, the shift between data and anecdote did not seem very smooth in places. And the major gripe: The quality of charts - really rubbish in today's day and age.

Because of the charts only it gets a 3/5 from me. Else it would have been 4+.