Page 8 - Book Reading

A media mogul's toxic legacy

We see in precise detail the misogyny of Redstone's lust as he decides that his wealth and professed love for these women give him something like the rights of a king

What does it mean to be liberal?

This is an un-bookish book filled with anecdotes from his life as an engage intellectual, a long-time editor of the leftist magazine Dissent, a signer of statements and joiner of marches

The multicultural landscape of Tamil heritage

'The Sweet Salt of Tamil' unveils the rich literary and cultural past of Tamil Nadu, and how the region's history informs and colours its present

Political impulses in economic policies

'India in Search of Glory' is an unbiased account of the interplay between politics and economics in independent India. This voluminous book needs to be savoured like a fine wine

Early globalisation and its discontents

"Globalisation," as we call it today, was never universally beneficial or beloved, and underneath it coursed a growing discontent

RSS: A worm's eye view

Devanura Mahadeva's book takes a critical look at the RSS and helps readers comprehend the founding principles of the organisation through a series of quotes from its key members

Model mistakes

Mathematical modelling is an indispensable analytical tool, but not always accurate. Erica Thompson's book takes a nuanced look at the challenges of matching its predictions against reality

The nation as a 'continuous conversation'

Through a series of essays, Rajeev Bhargava reflects on our times, what is good and bad, right and wrong. His book is a treatise to the inquiry: Have we lost our way?

Putin's war machine

A military operation that was to last 10 days is now closing in on a year. Mark Galeotti's rigorous book offers a real-time understanding of the Russian operation's catastrophic failure in Ukraine

Exploited in America

The book starts with love stories that introduce us to some of the men and explain why they're so desperate for work

Quitting can be good for you

Human beings find it hard to quit, but life is too short to be wasted on endeavours not worth sticking to. Annie Duke's book illustrates the virtue of knowing when to give up

The Emperor syndrome

Dominic Lieven's 'In the Shadow of the Gods' presents a breath-taking cavalcade of larger-than-life characters, many of whom have left deep imprints on human civilisation

Living the life, energy efficiently

For those looking to live a cleaner and greener life, Energy Efficiency Matters is a ready reckoner offering easy practical steps to reduce their carbon footprint

The Raja of Big Things

An eminently readable book by Carnatic music-loving corporate honcho, Kamini Dandapani, delves into the life and influence of Rajaraja Chola and why the 11th century ruler still has a cult following

India's tryst with parliamentary democracy

At a time when Parliament is about to be relocated to a new building, 'House of the People' offers an insightful look into the evolution of representative bodies in India and their functioning today

Apple Books launches new audiobook catalogue with AI-based narrations

Tech giant Apple has quietly launched a catalogue of books narrated by artificial intelligence in a move with potentially huge implications for the multi-billion dollar audiobook industry

Measuring civilisation

The story of humans measuring things is no less than the story of civilisation - a claim that sounds like irritating hyperbole but in this case turns out to be true

A panoramic history of the cell

Pulitzer Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Song of The Cell is a beautifully crafted exposition of the author's own lifelong fascination with the subject

Leadership in a time of constant flux

Covid, climate change, misinformation and Fourth Industrial Revolution have created a perfect storm that needs new paradigm for leadership. Faisal Hoque's Lift offers insights into what that would be

Epic endings: Mahabharata's final chapters

Eminent Indologist Wendy Doniger's latest book focuses on the final days of the protagonists of the epic and makes their stories come alive with different meanings