Globalisation: Any alternative?
Nirmal Sandhu
Globalising Rural Development.
ed. M.C. Behera. Sage Publications. Pages 462. Rs 550.
The debate on development has mostly revolved round the role of the state: should it be the minimum as laissez-faire requires or a pivotal one as it was in former socialist countries? When the hands-off approach (laissez-faire) failed in the early 1930s, Keynes advocated greater state interventions in economic management. The 50s and 70s saw Keynes policies at work in India. The government, in line with the Fabian tradition, became a principal instrument of action against poverty.

On target about national security
Rajendra Nath
Random Thoughts
Air Marshal R. S. Bedi. Lancer’s Books, New Delhi. Pages 376. Rs 650.
Air Marshal Bedi retired in 1993 as Defence Planning Staff Director General. Since his retirement, he has been writing on matters of national security and allied issues in various newspapers. This book has brought together the selected articles written by the author on crucial defence issues like national security, nuclear policy and India’s relations with other countries.

Woman on the move
Amarinder Sandhu
Gender, Conflict and Migration
ed Navnita Chadha Behera, Sage Publications, New Delhi Pages 310. Rs 395.
Migration, a concept as old as time, is seen as a movement dominated by the males. However, these days the number of female migrants is on the rise. Earlier literature dealing with migration did not take gender into account. An effort was needed to provide a gender perspective on the existing migration theories.

Market mantra
Priyanka Singh
All Marketers Are Liars
by Seth Godin. Penguin. Pages 186. `£ 9.10
Does wine taste better in a Riedel glass than in a `£ 1 glass? While most wine experts and marketers would have us believe that, it has been proved scientifically that the wine flavour is not enhanced in any manner. And yet, Riedel sells millions of dollars’ worth of glasses every year. The reason: wine tastes better because people want to believe that it does.

The north-south bridge
It has been Chaturvedi’s singular mission to popularise Malayalam literature in the Hindi heartland, and Hindi literature to Malayalam readers, writes M.S. Unnikrishnan
The comparative anony mity of Dr Sudhanshu Chaturvedi, who has authored over 108 books, including 40 original works in Malayalam, is a classic case of a man of amazing literary achievements not getting the attention he deserves.

Pirate tales create waves
Louise Jury
Pirates are swashing their buckle at the cinema box office and now they are taking over in bookstores. There has been an outbreak of piracy in children’s fiction too. Vampirates: Tide of Terror by Justin Somper has just entered the children’s books chart at number 14 after eager stores put it out on the shelves in advance of its publication date.

Chinese chequers
Barry Forshaw
A Loyal Character Dancer
by Qiu Xiaolong Sceptre. `£ 18.99
One reason why Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose was such a success was a sleight of hand on Eco’s part. The medieval setting was stunningly realised, but our conduit through this world, the Holmes-like William, was a cheat: while he possessed the outward traits of a monk in the Middle Ages, he was imbued with a very modern sensibility. Qiu Xiaolong performs a similar displacement in this highly individual novel, which is set within the rigid parameters of modern China.

Re-examining Partition
Arun Gaur
India Divided 1947: Who did it? Why? How? And what now?
ed. K.C. Yadav. Hope India, Gurgaon. Pages 415. Rs 995.
There are two parts in the book. The first part has nine essays by the authors Rammanohar Lohia, B.R. Ambedkar, B. Shiva Rao, R. Palme Dutt, Asim Roy, V.N. Datta, Margaret Bourke-White, Shila Sen and K.C. Yadav. The second, besides containing documents exemplifying the voices of disunity (Lala Hardyal, V.D. Savarkar, Annie Besant, L. Lajpat Rai, Sir Mohammad Iqbal and Mohammad Ali Jinnah) and Muslim voices of unity (Jamiat-ul-Ulema, Majlis-i-Ahrar and Khudai Khidmatgar), carries some other well known documents like the Cripps Proposals and the Cabinet Mission Plan. These essays and documents help us in analysing the causes, process, and effects of the Partition from different perspectives.

Extended living
B. S. Thaur
The Ageing World
Anil Bagchi.
Pearson Education. Pages 346. Rs 599.
You’ll find no spiritual sermon, birth-rebirth cycle and comfort of Swarag in this book, which is based on a simple premise that the longevity of age has stretched up to 90–100 years in the USA and Europe. In developing countries, it is catching up speedily. This longevity in age is due to advancements of medical science.

SHORT TAKES
Play for life & power
Randeep Wadehra
Good Heavens!
by Poile Sengupta Puffin Books, N. Delhi. Pages: vii+199. Rs 195.
For a theatre enthusiast the stage is the only reality and the outside world an illusion. For perpetuating this sentiment one has to give credit to the dramatist. In India, theatre is a niche art at best, whereas children’s theatre barely registers on one’s mindscape. That’s why Sengupta’s effort is laudable. There is humour in the plays like Good Heavens! and a bit of reflection and sensitivity in others. For example, in The White Elephant, two kids decide to colour a white baby elephant to help get a suitable shelter for it, because they believe that nobody wants a white elephant.

Books received: PUNJABI

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