The Price of Inequality
One of the reasons for the Arab Spring protests in 2010 and the subsequent Occupy movement in the 2012 was the symptom of globalization, rampant inequality.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize awarded economist and the author of this book discusses the causes of inequality and the ways to fix it …
read moreAlexander the Great
Alexander built one of the largest empires in the shortest time and at a young age. But how did he manage this? Was he blessed with unmatchable valour or did he rule through an iron fist? There were a lot of such questions in my mind before I started reading …
read moreWaves
"Waves" is a collection of short-stories written in Tamil by Sundara Ramaswamy (Su.Ra) and translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom.
These breezy stories are mostly set in a middle-class Tamil Brahmin households some time in the 1960-70s.
read moreNo Logo
A study asked kids under the age of 12 from an impoverished African country to name their favourite logo. McDonald's ended up very high on that list. This in a country that didn't have a single McDonald store! That's branding for you.
"No Logo" dissects brands for you but not …
read moreTinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Smiley has retired but the events that brought about his abrupt retirement still plague him. He runs into a former colleague with information that he suspected for long, the existence of a mole amongst the intelligence sleuths. Smiley is requested to investigate this discreetly and expose the spy.
After …
read moreThe End of Food
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of food? Maybe well garnished food at a fancy restaurant or maybe something yum cooked by you mom or spouse? But food has a history and a story to tell. Paul Roberts documents it's story in "The End …
read moreEmperors of the Peacock Throne
Babur invades India after he is chased out of his homeland. His arrival in India triggers a war with the Lodhis who are routed in the first war of Panipat. With this, Babur plants the seed to the Mughal dynasty in India.
"Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The saga of …
read moreNot without my daughter
Betty Mahmoody, an American citizen is tricked by her husband, an Iranian national into accompanying him along with their little daughter for a vacation to Iran. A few days into her stay, she realizes that this is a one-way trip and her husband has no plans of returning. She frantically …
read moreThe Magician
Have you ever been uncontrollably in love with a person even after learning of their flaws? "The Magician" by Somerset Maugham is the story of Margaret who breaks off her engagement with Arthur, a successful doctor a few days ahead of the engagement. She falls in love with an ugly …
read moreThe city of djinns
William Dalrymple and his wife are on a long visit to Delhi, the city of djinns. The book is a tribute to the city and is filled with stories of interesting characters he meets here like his Sikh landlady, the loud-mouthed taxi driver, house keeping staff etc.
While the back …
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