OFF THE SHELF
Political goals of the holy war
V.N. Datta
Islamic Fundamentalism Since 1945
by Beverley Milton-Edwards. Routledge, London. Pages 158.
IN the world as constituted today, Islam and fundamentalism are perceived as a threat to peace and security in the world. Islam is also seen as a manifestation and nursery of fanaticism, obscurantism and violence. To many, Islam and jehad have become synonymous. The Muslims constitute a billion people and are a majority in 60 countries.

On a bed of arrows
Sridhar K Chari
Shedding Shibboleths: India’s evolving strategic outlook
by K. Subrahmanyam, with Arthur Monteiro.
Wordsmiths, Delhi. Pages: 444. Rs 690.
HAILED as the Bhishma Pitamaha of Indian security studies, K. Subrahmanyam is the most authoritative voice on matters relating to defence, foreign policy and international affairs in the country. His is also a trenchant, original and compassionate voice, worthy of being savoured not just by specialists in strategic studies, but anyone interested in the future of this nation.

Salute to Shivani
Gitanjali Sharma
Diddi: My Mother’s Voice
by Ira Pande. Penguin.
Pages 216. Rs 250
BY the time you’ve put the book down, one thing is clear: you know you have fallen in love with renowned Hindi novelist Shivani’s writings. You may or may not be satisfied with the presentation of her character by her daughter Ira Pande but there’s no contesting that the translations of Shivani’s works, which comprise the major part of Diddi, are the unputdownables in this biography-novel.

Hard to catch
Local
by Jaideep Varma. Indialog. Rs. 250. Pages 357.
FOR those interested in English writings of Indian authors, Jaideep Varma’s maiden novel, Local, is a welcome addition. It reflects the new and confident face that modern India has acquired in recent years and, therefore, it need not be judged by the need to encourage English writing in India.

‘Mumbai has reduced success to a formula’
Jaideep Varma’s maiden novel, Local, based on life in Mumbai, reflects the new and confident face of India. The characters are as varied as the people boarding and getting off the suburban train. Harbans Singh takes us on a journey into the mind of the writer, who grew up in Chandigarh and is still fascinated by it. He gets the author talking on his love-hate relationship with Mumbai, his adopted hometown.

Taste of freedom
A Bunch of Old Letters
Ed Jawaharlal Nehru. Penguin. Pages 527. Rs 750
IT is a collection worth reading and preserving. A Bunch of Old Letters, which was first published in 1958, embraces three dynamic decades from the birth of Indira in 1917 till India’s Independence in 1947. Selected and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru, this revised volume gives a flavour of the action-packed days of the freedom movement.

Defying troubled times
In the Time of Madness by Richard Lloyd Parry. Jonathan Cape. Pages 315. £ 12.99
JOURNALIST Richard Lloyd Parry has lived in Tokyo for 10 years as a foreign correspondent, first for The Independent and now as Asia. Editor for The Times, London. He has reported from 24 countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, North Korea and Indonesia. But it is his reporting assignment in Jakarta that moved him the most. And in a bid to make sense of all that was happening in the troubled times when he was there he has penned the critically acclaimed In The Time of Madness.

A kiss that wasn’t what it seemed
David Usborne
The Truth About Hillary, by veteran journalist Edward Klein, has soared to second place on Amazon’s best-sellers list within days of publication.

Advantage India
Rajesh Kumar Aggarwal
India Towards Economic Super Power
ed: Ajit Kumar Sinha. Deep & Deep, New Delhi. Pages 591. Rs 1,200.
AFTER triggering off several far-reaching reforms in 1991 in different sectors of the economy, including trade, finance and industry, India is now on the threshold of second-generation economic and labour reforms.

Short Takes
The essence of truth
Randeep Wadehra

• The Light of Asia
  by Sir Edwin Arnold
  Penguin. Pages: xi+185. Rs 195

• Dew Drops
  by Vemuri Balaram
  Vasan Publications, Bangalore. Pages: 140. Rs 60

• Vahini
  by Vivek Kumar Singhal
  Samkaleen Prakashan, N. Delhi. Pages: 173. Rs 100