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Challenges ahead
for Asia
Reviewed by Parshotam Mehra
Global Power Shifts and
Strategic Transition in Asia
Eds N.S. Sisodia and V. Krishnappa.
Academic Foundation, New Delhi.
Pages 394. Rs 995.
A
large-size, heavy tome
running into almost 400 pages of close print ‘Global Power Shifts’
deals with some challenging issues relating to Asia, the end-product
of a seminar held at Delhi in the first week of February (2008) to
discuss the ‘strategic outlook’ of Asia’s major political actors
and their multilateral framework for ‘managing conflict and
fostering cooperation’.
Fallible
mortal, infallible hero
Reviewed by Nonika Singh
Unlikely Hero: Om Puri
By Nandita C. Puri.
Lotus Collection/Roli Books.
Pages 208. Rs 395.
A
great actor, and a great
biography is guaranteed. Well, not always. Om Puri is without doubt
one of the finest actors Indian cinema has seen in recent times. But
his biography Unlikely Hero, penned by his other half Nandita
Puri, a journalist and a writer, will certainly not rank as
superlative.
The
marvels of Indus Valley
Reviewed by Kuldip Dhiman
Harappan Technology and its
Legacy
By D. P. Agrawal.
Rupa & Co. in Association with Infinity Foundation.
Pages 332. Price not mentioned.
WHAT
is now known as the Indus Valley Civilisation or Harappan Civilisation
was discovered accidentally when a railway line was being laid down in
the 1920s. Initially, archaeological sites were found in the twin
towns of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, now in Pakistan, but with the
passage of time, more and more sites have been found in the north of
the Indian subcontinent.
Sad
tale of a caged soul
Reviewed by Puneetinder Kaur
Sidhu
The Blue Notebook
By James A. Levine.
Hachette India. Pages 206. Rs 250.
"THIS
is the philosophy of the prostitute; I am who I am only at this moment
in time; my past does not hang from my shoulders and my future is
indefinable and so cannot be a concern. I am nothing else and there is
nothing else.
Democratising
scholarship
Matthew Hay Brown
IN
a quiet, windowless room deep inside Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum,
a digitisation specialist places a 900-year-old Quran into the
cradle of the Stokes Imaging System. She turns a page, lowers a wedge
to hold the book in place and snaps a picture.
Pen
friends
The gap between parents and
children needs to be reduced, says Shobhaa De
INDIAN
columnist and novelist Shobhaa De feels that in today’s fast
changing world the gap between parents and children needs to be
reduced.
Covers and coffee
Two coffee-table books raise a toast to Shimla and cinema
THOSE
nostalgic about the good old times in Shimla should be delighted.
Coming up is a coffee-table book detailing the history of this city
that was a seat of power in British India.
Return
route
Dalai Lama believes he can
return to Tibet, says book
TIBET’s
exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is confident that he can return
to Tibet in this lifetime, and believes he will be reborn many times
after his death, according to a book published Friday.
Red-letter
day for ‘Black tulip’
Edgar Allen Poe’s book from
1827, referred to as the ‘Black tulip of US literature,’ fetches a
record $662,500 at auction
AN
1827 first edition copy of poems by Edgar Allan Poe sold for $662,500
recntly, setting a record for a 19th century book of poetry, said a
spokeswoman for Christie’s auction house.
Ill-effects
Jane Austen may have died
from bovine tuberculosis
THE
mystery surrounding Jane Austen’s death more than 40 years
ago appears to have been solved with a scholar’s claim that the
famous novelist could have died from bovine tuberculosis. The Pride
and Prejudice author, who was 41 when she died, has been widely
believed to have died in 1817 with Addison’s disease.
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