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.

Office Politics --- Guy Browning 5/5

This is one book which everyone who has a salaried job should read. And it is the bible if you happen to work in an MNC ( mind numbing calamity). It is what P. G. Woodhouse would have described a 21st century workplace. The tone of the book is humorous and light. The best part is that inspite being sarcastic, the author manages to never leave any bad light at the end of each chapter. The book is divided into chapters which are on topics ranging from HR pot-plants in offices to toilets that are there in modern day corporations. It would be a tough ask to come across anything, which the book does not dedicate a chapter to, in your office. Written with a typical English humor, the book is definitely among one of the best books I have read in recent times. It is ironical that not many people have read it or have heard about the author.

The centurion principles --- Col. (retd) Jeff O leary 3/5

This is a leadership book. It is just like one of those books. It lists down the different traits that would lead on to make a good leader. The leader which is idolized in this book is referred to as the Centurion, the ultimate honour for any soldier as far as his leadership qualities are concerned. Even though it is one of the run-off-the mill books on leadership, the approach is quite fresh and interesting. The author who happens to be a retired colonel of US Airforce, is able to bring a very simple and effective approach to developing a good leader within. The traits identified have been demonstrated by examples ranging from Hannibal and Alexander to Lee and Patton and even Lincoln. The examples cited in some fashion tend to depict the timeless respect, honour and dignity that good leaders are able to command.
It is definitely not a must read but it does have an interesting tone to the already bland topic of Leadership Development.

Good Muslim, Bad Muslim ---- Mahmood Mamdani 4.25/5

This book tries to establish the evolutionary relationship between three distinct entities, namely: USA, Islam and the Global war against terror, as can be seen from the cover of the page. It is an objective dialogue by the author to present the chain of events that begun much earlier than 9/11 and have most recently got exacerbated in the form of subjugation of Iraq. The author is a Ugandan Muslim and has tried his level best to approach this topic without any bias. It must have really been tough to write this book as the topic is seemingly easy to reach hasty conclusions, as can be seen in the world around us now a days.

The book begins with the topic of “Fundamentalism” and origin of the word. It is interesting to know that the root of the word in its current meaning can be traced back to the Presbyterian movement of Princeton of early 20^th century. The perspective offered by the author is: “ …a struggle inside religion, not between religions, as critique of liberal forms of religion…” This represents the original right wing approach that the word emphasized upon. It later explains the meaning of the word “Jihad”, a word which arguably can be most misinterpreted world in theological history till now.

The book is divided into mainly 3 parts: Cold war until the Vietnam debacle, American foreign policy after Vietnam and Outright aggression by America after 9/11. The most prominent aspect is the rising ideology of Proxy wars which took the forefront during Reagan Administration. It was an eye opener to see rise of Wahhabism and militant ideology of Islam, with the spread of proxy wars. The role played by CIA in supporting HAMAS and Hizbollah as well as the “bleeding to death” strategy during the Iran-Iraq war is also worth noting.

The book at times does drag down as the author meticulously tries to cite the references and instances to point towards the deviant role played by America. What the book lags in pace is made up by extensive availability of gravity in the content and the apparent “forged” reality that most of us believe. This book is definitely a “must read” for anyone who wants to know the dubious role of CIA in doing more harm to USA than the so called “Islamic Terrorists”.

Embracing the Infidel ---- Behzad Yaghmaian

I sometimes pick book at random and have no clue what made me read it. This particular book is one of such picks. It had an interesting title. The subscript to the title says “Stories of Muslim Migrants to the journey West”. This was enough an stimulant to make me read through this book.

The Iranian-born author, Behzad Yaghmaian, is an economist who is currently in political asylum in USA. He has tried to retrace the path that illegal immigrants from lands like Afghanistan,
Angola, Sudan or Iran take to reach the land of their dreams in OECD or EU countries. He goes to important cities on the route like Istanbul, Athens, Sofia, Paris and London.

The book depicts touching stories of immigrants like Shahrokh Khan, the afghan having the name similar to a Bollywood actor, who aspires to be an actor in Hollywood or Nur, the Sudanese pregnant lady, who on the way in Athens gets separated from her husband and her kid. It is not just the story of people like these, but the reality that is portrayed around them. This might be the slums in Istanbul or the ghettoes in Athens. Topics like homosexual relationships and the intolerance by Iranian government towards these gays can be some real heart wrenching first person accounts. Interspersed in such stories are the various difficulties that manmade and natural hazards put across.

This book would remain one of the best accounts to read about human trafficking and the dangers pertinent in it for those who are innocent aspirers of dreams.

Investment Biker by Jim Rogers.

I guess I am in awe of people who are specializing in finance, esp. the ones who run the much adored (as well as hated) Hedge Funds. The author, Jim Rogers, is one of such giants in the field of investing. He specializes in commodities and investments in international markets.

The book is an amazing read. It is a perfect blend of “motorcycle diaries” rolled into a finance text. The author and his companion have embarked on a crazy idea of traveling around the world on bikes. The bikes in this regard are BMW R100RT and R80. The author is a biking enthusiast and is a proud owner of R100RT for quite sometime. The journey is colossal in its extent. The expedition took 22 months and spanned 62 countries, clocking 65000+ kilometers on the odometer. The book is a vivid description of all the charm and dangers that can accompany such a trip. Reading across the book, one cannot help but respect and look with awe the spirit of adventure which so very well engulfs the journey. The interesting part is not just the excursion which is depicted but the mindset which is able to relate the geography, politics and economics as observed in the streets with the investing decisions which can be made by a uncanny, unconventional, eccentric but highly successful investor.

The most amazing quality of the book is that it can make a finance guy fall in love with adventure biking and similarly, it can make any layman learn finance in the easiest of terms. This shall remain must read thing for all those who want to learn a bit of both: finance and biking.