[warrioraks]

The Silent Coup by Josy Joseph - 4 out of 5
Read this book if you want to know how law enforcement, security agencies and sometimes judiciary bend over backwards to please their political masters. The author has tried to portray himself as neutral by covering both national level parties in this excellent piece of investigative journalism.

Some of the stories are depressing.

People who who like investigative journalism would be able to enjoy this book.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

The Silent Coup by Josy Joseph - 4 out of 5
Read this book if you want to know how law enforcement, security agencies and sometimes judiciary bend over backwards to please their political masters. The author has tried to portray himself as neutral by covering both national level parties in this excellent piece of investigative journalism.

Some of the stories are depressing.

People who who like investigative journalism would be able to enjoy this book.

Attachment 2470410

There is an excellent podcast on the of the author at https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2021/...ecurity-state/
As you mention, gets a tad depressing.

[ValarMorghulis]

Blood and Oil: Mohammed bin Salman's Ruthless Quest for Global Power by Bradley Hope and Justin Scheck
Rating: 3/5

I've read another book by Bradley Hope on 1MDB scam which was quite mesmerizing and a page turner. Hoping a similar treatment on Saudi Arabia's quest for power and oil, I picked this book up but it failed to live up to the expectations. It did showcase the brutal side of MBS (Mohammad Bin Salman), the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and his quest for unhinged control but at times it appeared as if the book was commissioned only to highlight the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi (which was egregious to the point of being mind numbing).

The book is OK but the writing is pretty average. Read only if you want to understand the workings of Saudi Arabia, else read up Jamal Khashoggi's Wikipedia page.

[warrioraks]

The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy by Jennifer McCartney - 3.5 out of 5

So I bought this Pink book from a book store because the title intrigued me. It's a lighthearted read on how and why to slow down your life.

I took it on a vacation where I did nothing but lazed around so in a way, this book was the perfect companion. It's a decent read for a weekend when you have nothing else to do.

[ValarMorghulis]

Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller
Rates: 4.5/5

Technology books are interesting and more so that delve into the vagaries of the Silicon Valley. This book along with The Innovators by Walter Isaacson are all the books you need to understand how Silicon Valley and America's lead in the semiconductor and electronics industry came to be.

Chip war is an excellent read and highly recommended, especially the second half of the book where it lays out China's growing might and the future of the world in a race to silicon dominance.

[ValarMorghulis]

The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan
Rated: 4/5

Having read multiple books on Mahabharata I wanted to explore this one especially because it is authored by the eminent RK Narayan. The book is quite short (as suggested by the name) and caters to first time readers. While it covers many important topics it does skimp on overall story in favour of keeping the book succint.

Give it a try if this is your first book on Mahabharata.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan
Rated: 4/5

Thanks for the recommendation. But where did you buy it from? Amazon India shows an eye watering price of almost Rs 2,500.

Edit: There is a 1,500 variant too, but still..

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Thanks for the recommendation. But where did you buy it from? Amazon India shows an eye watering price of almost Rs 2,500.

Edit: There is a 1,500 variant too, but still..

Interesting. Didn't buy. It was in the library at my in-laws.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Long before I even dreamt of living here, and even, at first, without knowing what I was watching, I got hooked on the Mahabharat TV series, which was shown on British TV. Short of a full-length (I think it's something like 15 volumes?) translation, I read every version I could find that was written in English.

My favourite was by a guy called William Buck. He too had become fascinated by this epic, and, unlike me, learned Sanskrit, to help himself appreciate and understand it. I thought his translation was the best and most readable English version that I found.

Here it is on Amazon.in.

He did Ramayana too. I lost both volumes in the Chennai Flood.

[N.A.GTC]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Thanks for the recommendation. But where did you buy it from? Amazon India shows an eye watering price of almost Rs 2,500.

Edit: There is a 1,500 variant too, but still..

https://www.amazon.in/Mahabharata-Pe...s%2C252&sr=8-1

This seems to be a different edition of the same book, at Rs. 321. Don't buy the hardcover though, that's priced at 58k!

The below link appears to contain three books of RK Narayan, including the Mahabharata, for about 500 bucks. Do check if it's the same book though!

https://www.amazon.in/Indian-Epics-R...s%2C252&sr=8-2

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

...My favourite was by a guy called William Buck. He too had become fascinated by this epic, and, unlike me, learned Sanskrit, to help himself appreciate and understand it. I thought his translation was the best and most readable English version that I found.

Here it is on Amazon.in.

Thanks for this. I'll put this in my reading list. I've read Mahabharata by multiple authors (5 different books so far) and each one unravels a different gem from this great epic. Ultimately, I think, I'll venture in to the OG editions authored by Bibek Debroy (~10k pages in 10 volumes) or by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (18 books) or by Ramesh Menon (12 volumes).

[warrioraks]

The World for Sale by Javier Blas & Jack Farchy - 4.5 out of 5

The book is about a handful of commodity traders. How they have managed to stay in shadows over last 3-4 decades despite being the lifeline of global supply chain for natural resources. This behind the scene action has not only made them exceptionally rich, but they have also helped shape up the destiny of nations across South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Sometimes even going against the geo-political stand and sanctions levied by their own countries.

The topic itself is worthy of just a documentary but the writing style and details exposed make sure you cannot keep this book down.

An enlightening read on global trade.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

The World for Sale by Javier Blas & Jack Farchy - 4.5 out of 5

The book is about a handful of commodity traders.
The topic itself is worthy of just a documentary but the writing style and details exposed make sure you cannot keep this book down.

An enlightening read on global trade.

What a book! Literally starts off racing. Un-put-down-able. Very reminiscent of Frederick Forsyth’s The Biafra Story. Thanks for the recommendation!

[ValarMorghulis]

Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization by Nel deGrasse Tyson
Rated: 4/5

This book is typical of Neil deGrasse Tyson's personality. Effervescent and enthusiastic about any topic and his passion for scientific approach in its resolution. Looks like a compendium of his talks on different late night shows or podcasts. His 2017 book "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" still remains my favourite of his authored works.
Recommended but not exactly unputdownable.

[ValarMorghulis]

Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik
Rated: 2/5

My endeavour to read Mahabharata by different authors continues and perhaps this is the one I'm most disappointed with. Keeping aside the prejudices of the author, what bothered me was the fictional stories being woven in the book. There have been different fictional narrations of Mahabharata by different authors as "they perceive" the events to be but they definitely call them out irrespective of how outlandish the tales may be. Pattanaik tries to weave a few of such tales in the mainstream narration, which is shocking to say the least. The most atrocious of these is the chapter 62 "Draupadi admits a secret" which talks about Draupadi secretly loving Karna, which is beyond disgusting and outlandish to say the least.

The book is rife with his own interpretations and deviations (I won't list them all here) which I haven't encountered in any other book by any other author.

Highly NOT recommended (unless you are looking for a fictionalized version of an epic).