BS Reads

A probing review of Captives and Companions reveals how slavery's long legacy in the Middle East shapes language, race, and memory - and how history itself becomes contested terrain

Slim, at just 130 pages, the book might be a bit of a disappointment for readers looking for an in-depth account of the history and socio-economic aspects of the Indian Railways

Camus's notebooks, which run from 1935 to 1959 contain almost nothing about his friends or his family, his experiences during wartime or much about his personal life

The book is an invitation to rediscover a moment of defiance and to shed light on forgotten heroes whose sacrifice deserves recognition

The author's analysis highlights another factor, namely, overestimating benefits and understating or ignoring the welfare costs of sanctions, including to third parties

A central insight of the book lies in its sustained attention to influence as a social and economic form

How ideas that used to be the arcane obsessions of nerdy young men and buttoned-up tenured professors have become 'an engine and accelerant' for extremism

With wisecracks, misadventures, and tales of first love, Malala Yousafzai takes charge of her own story, offering the world an unfiltered glimpse into her life

The world needs an America worthy of its ideals, because the alternative could be brutal authoritarianism

The book deals in detail with one of the most infamous cheating scandals, with its account of the Hans Niemann - Magnus Carlsen face off in 2022, seen from the perspective of Rensch and Chess.com

In support of his arguments, author cites scholarship spanning history, sociology, anthropology and political economy

Salman Rushdie's latest work blends fiction, memory, myth, and mortality, offering a deeply personal meditation shaped by near-death, nostalgia, and literary playfulness

Sven Beckert's sweeping global history reframes capitalism as a centuries-long, often violent world-making force - rich in detail, ambitious in scope, and certain to provoke debate

Uma Das Gupta's history of Santiniketan traces Tagore's educational vision, the making of Vishva-Bharati, and the challenges that shaped his alternative to nationalist orthodoxy

A balanced yet probing biography traces Francis Crick's brilliant scientific leaps and human flaws, revealing the mind behind DNA's discovery without fully interrogating his more troubling ideas

How yoga has been appropriated, packaged and sold in the West by people whose political views are divorced from its spirit of peace and wellbeing

A timely book by Arvind Gupta and Rajesh Singh expands the idea of national security beyond the military to include climate, technology, and economic vulnerabilities

Why a larger population is better than a smaller population with a higher quality of life

How a self-effacing, self-taught school headmaster from a small Burmese village became one of the most influential figures at the UN in the 1960s

A new anthology brings together 24 queer and trans writers from South Asia exploring faith, identity, and belonging under the editorship of poet Kazim Ali