India's unending journey --- Mark Tully 4.1/5

I need to tell you all one thing before I write anything about this book. I never expected the book to be what it actually turned out to be. I thought it was another of Thomas Friedman and Ramchandra Guha type books. It was expected to be a story of the growth of India in the recent years and the economic marvel that it represents. In the end, the book turned to make all those assumptions stand on their heads. It is not a book talking about India’s rise in the era of globalization.

The book tries to blend in two things. The author, Mark Tully, seems to be confused as to what shall be the main driver about this book. Should it be India or should it be his own life? To give justice to both, he weaves a very lucid account of his life in India, as the two got entangled in one way or the other. His arrival to India during his youth might have been a stroke of chance but the learning that he has had of Indian culture is quite different. The book is an attempt to find balance. Balance between the absolutism of the western philosophies and the ephemeral context of eastern thinking. It is an honest attempt to come up to a point of equilibrium wherein the good things from both can be imbibed. Thus, the book should end up in the philosophy or social sciences rack of any library rather in the “India & Economy”.

The author brings in all his experiences, right from his boarding in UK to his stay in India over the years. The thoughts expressed in the book are really enlightening and are good to read at the end of a tiring day in office.

The Tyrant --- Valerio Massimo Manfredi 4/5

This book had a very unique feel to it. It might be that I might not have come across something like this but still it does not take anything away. It is a story of a Sicilian warrior-cum-leader which has a lot of biographical methodology. It is as if the author wanted to let people understand the protagonist and the simplest method he chose was also the most ancient way of knowledge dispersal, i.e. story-telling.

The lead character is Dionysius, the soldier who has the blood of a family of generals. He depicts the traits of a person who has a great disregard for democracy, more because of the unavoidable delays in decision making that it brings and diplomacy that it encourages. The life of Dionysius, right from the young foot soldier in the sicilian army, humiliated by Hannibal, till his reign for decades of being a dictator, is elegantly portrayed. The book is a great read esp. if you have loved to watch movies like Brave Heart, Gladiator or even for that matter Troy.

The author, Manfredi, has all the right qualifications to come out with a book of this caliber.