"Ashoka - the search for India's lost emperor" by Charles Allen was a mind-blowing book that showed how even history can be presented to it's readers like a thriller. To better such a book is a challenging task and thankfully Charles Allen sets the tone for the kind of book in …

Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Henry Kissinger - all geniuses (possibly debatable). And then when you add Steve Jobs into the list, you know the author is out to prove a point. Walter Isaacson helms the only official biography of Steve Jobs, a mercurial genius.

It documents the …

K.A Nilakanta Sastri was an Indian historian who specialized in South Indian history and was an expert in Cholas. The Hindu compiled a list of his best contributions there and released them as a book.

Most of these essays are from the 1950s and some from the early 60s …

Vito Corleone is the head of the Corleone Family in New York City, one of the most powerful Sicilian families that controls organized crime in the city. He is a friend to those who seek his help and in turn expects a reasonable favour in return when the time arrives …

I generally don't pick business books unless it is highly recommended. "Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh was recommended by a manager at one of my previous workplaces. Tony Hsieh documents the story of Zappos, an online footwear retailer until it's acquisition by Amazon. The primary focus of this book is …

Khushwant Singh, a noted author pens the biography of Ranjit Singh, referred to as 'The Lion of Punjab' by the Sikhs. He was the first king to have unified the Punjab and built a huge empire. The book documents the events in Ranjit Singh's life chronologically with a lot of …

Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture" may not be as evocative and stylish as Paul Kalanithi's "When Breath Becomes Air" but is heart-breaking nevertheless. He was a professor at the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that later metastized into the liver. Randy delivered …

"An Era of Darkness" sprung out of a popular lecture by Shashi Tharoor in London. This speech was appreciated by a lot of Indians even across the political spectrum but caused some stir amongst the English. To address these, the author deemed it fit to write a book as it …

Lisa is on the cusp of adolescence while she is put up for adoption by Nazi authorities and finds herself in the home of Hans and Rosa Hubermann. She is confused as to why she has to live with her foster parents when her mom is alive. After settling into …

"History is written by the victors" goes a famous quote. Every reading of history should be treated with some scepticism. "A People's History of the United States" written by Howard Zinn narrates history not through the government's propaganda but through common people's movements.

The book opens with Christopher Columbus' armada …