Books of The Week -26TH October, Saturday 2024

 Speaking with Nature: The Origins of Indian Environmentalism by Ramachandra Guha 

ABOUT THE BOOK
By the canons of orthodox social science, countries like India are not supposed to have an environmental consciousness. They are, as it were, 'too poor to be green'. In this deeply researched book, Ramachandra Guha challenges this narrative by revealing a virtually unknown prehistory of the global movement set far outside Europe or America. Long before the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and well before climate change gained currency as a term, ten remarkable individuals wrote with deep insight about the dangers of environmental abuse from within an Indian context. In strikingly contemporary language, Rabindranath Tagore, Radhakamal Mukerjee, J.C. Kumarappa, Patrick Geddes, Albert and Gabrielle Howard, Mira, Verrier Elwin, K.M. Munshi and M. Krishnan wrote about the forest and the wild, soil and water, urbanization and industrialization. Positing the idea of what Guha calls 'livelihood environmentalism' in contrast to the 'full-stomach environmentalism' of the affluent world, these writers, activists and scientists played a pioneering role in shaping global conversations about humanity's relationship with nature.
Spanning more than a century of Indian history and decidedly transnational in reference, Speaking with Nature offers rich resources for considering the threat of climate change today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ramachandra Guha was born andraised in the Himalayan foothills. He studied in Delhi and Kolkata, and haslived for many years in Bengaluru. His books include a pioneering environmentalhistory, The Unquiet Woods, a landmark history of the Republic, Indiaafter Gandhi, and an authoritative two-volume biography of Mahatma Gandhi,each of which was chosen by the New York Times as a Notable Book of theYear. His books and essays have been translated into more than twentylanguages.
Ramachandra Guha has taught atStanford and Oslo, held the Phillippe Roman Chair at the London School ofEconomics, and served as the Satish Dhawan Visiting Professor at the IndianInstitute of Science. He is currently Distinguished University Professor atKrea University. Guha's awards include theLeopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society of Environmental History, the HowardMilton Prize of the British Society for Sports History, the Elizabeth LongfordPrize for Historical Biography, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the FukuokaPrize for contributions to Asian studies. He is the recipient of an honorarydoctorate in the humanities from Yale University

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BOOKS OF THE WEEK - SATURDAY, 06 FEBRUARY, 2021

 
History of the World in 100 Animals

By - Simon Barnes

About the Book

In The History of the World in 100 Animals, award-winning author Simon Barnes selects the 100 animals who have had the greatest impact on humanity and on whom humanity has had the greatest effect. He shows how we have domesticated animals for food and for transport, and how animals powered agriculture, making civilisation possible. A species of flea came close to destroying human civilisation in Europe, while the slaughter of a species of bovines was used to create one civilisation and destroy another. He explains how pigeons made possible the biggest single breakthrough in the history of human thought. In short, he charts the close relationship between humans and animals, finding examples from around the planet that bring the story of life on earth vividly to life, with great insight and understanding.

The heresy of human uniqueness has led us across the millennia along the path of destruction. This book, beautifully illustrated throughout, helps us to understand our place in the world better, so that we might do a better job of looking after it. That might save the polar bears, the modern emblem of impending loss and destruction. It might even save ourselves.

 

About the Autor

Simon Barnes was the Chief Sports Writer for The Times until 2014, having worked for the paper for 30 years. He is the author of many wild volumes, including the bestselling Bad Birdwatcher trilogy, Rewild Yourself and On The Marsh. He is a council member of World Land Trust, trustee of Conservation South Luangwa and patron of Save the Rhino. In 2014, he was awarded the Rothschild Medal for services to conservation. He lives in Norfolk with his family and horses, where he manages several acres for wildlife.

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BOOKS OF THE WEEK - SATURDAY, 06TH, JULY, 2019

Sita Under The Crescent Moon
By - Annie Ali Khan


About the Book : 

In present-day Pakistan, in the far corners of lyari in Karachi, or hingol in Balochistan, or thatta in Sindh, tightly knit groups of women keep alive the folklore, songs and legends of sati—their name for Sita in the Ramayana. In Sita under the Crescent moon, Annie Ali Khan travels with women devotees, those without resources, on pilgrimages to retrace the way they worship the goddess. Who are these pilgrims? How did this relationship with Sati start, and why is she so significant? Even while narrating the stories and experiences of these pilgrims, Sita under the Crescent moon shows how worship has changed mind-sets and altered many of the mores of the land. The sacral sites, made up of clay and thread, grant a woman power and autonomy to fight her circumstances and transcend her worldly lot if not all the time, at least in prolonged moments of worship that take her to a different, uplifted spiritual Zone and a new understanding of the world.

About the Author :

Annie Ali Khan was a writer and freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in Caravan, Roads & Kingdoms, Slate, Herald and elsewhere. Annie graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University’s School of Journalism in 2011. Sita under the Crescent Moon is her first book.

ISBN : 9789386797483   

Price : Rs. 599.00

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BOOKS OF THE WEEK - 30 December 2016

Kohinoor 

The Story of the World's Most Infamous Diamond

by -  William Dalrymple

About the Book :

This riveting story of the Kohinoor, the world’s most coveted gem, unearths fascinating new information as it moves from the Mughal court to Persia to Afghanistan, from Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s durbar in Punjab to the Crown of the Queen of England. Shrouded in legend and superstition, the Kohinoor continues to arouse passion and controversy, as India, Pakistan and Afghanistan all claim the diamond and demand that ritain return it. A thrilling historical adventure, full of violence, drama and intrigue.

About the Author :

William Dalrymple is an acclaimed historian and a bestselling and award-winning author whose books include City of Djinns, White Mughals, The Last Mughal, Nine Lives and Return of a King. Anita Anand has been a radio and television journalist in Britain for over twenty years, presenting major programmes on BBC. Her first book, Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, is a highly acclaimed biography of the daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last ruler of Punjab, who was forced to hand over the Kohinoor to the British after they annexed his kingdom in 1849.

    ISBN : 978-9386228086                                                                Price : Rs.499.00    

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BOOKS OF THE WEEK - 2nd January 2015

Wild Fire : The Splendours of India's Animal Kingdom

BY - Valmik Thapar

About the Book : 

Developed and edited by Valmik Thapar, one of our foremost wildlife experts, the book is divided into three sections. The first section, Thoughts from Elsewhere , written by Thapar, takes the reader on a quick tour of the country s natural heritage in the twenty-first century. It provides an overview of mammalian distribution, the characteristics of individual species, the evolution of the country s wildlife habitats, threats to the environment and much else besides. The second section, The Wildlife Chronicles collects the finest accounts of India s animals from the first century onwards. It has stories about the great predators tigers, leopards, snow leopards, lions, golden cats and others; magnificent herbivores like the elephant, rhino, wild ox and the various species of deer and antelope; evocative accounts of some of the most striking animals in the country including monkeys, squirrels and other arboreal creatures; as well as reports of rare sightings of river dolphins, bats, shrews and other lesser-known members of the animal kingdom. Contributors to this section include travellers, hunters, writers, photographers and naturalists such as Pliny the Elder, Ibn Battuta, Babur, Akbar, François Bernier, Isabel Savory, Jim Corbett, George Schaller, Kenneth Anderson, M. Krishnan, E.R.C. Davidar, Peter Jackson and Ruskin Bond. The third section, Wild Fire , contains a selection of some of the finest photographs ever taken of India s mammals. 

The most comprehensive book on Indian mammals ever published. 

Content culled from over a million words on Indian mammals by the world s top wildlife writers. 

Rare pictures selected from tens of thousands of exclusive pictures by the world s top wildlife photographers. 

Most of the world s top writers on Indian mammals represented in the volume. 

Some of these pictures have never been seen before. 

About the Author :

Valmik Thapar has spent several decades serving the cause of India s flora and fauna. During this time, he has authored, co-authored and edited more than twenty-five books and made or presented nearly a dozen films for the BBC and several other television networks on the tiger and Indian flora and fauna. Wild Fire is the second book in a trilogy that began with the acclaimed Tiger Fire, which was published in 2013; Thapar is currently working on Winged Fire, a book on Indian birds, which will be published in 2015. 

He has also created a major non-governmental organization dedicated to conserving wildlife, the Ranthambhore Foundation. Although he has served on hundreds of government panels and committees relating to nature conservation, he is today a fierce critic of government policy and continues to campaign for new ways to save nature in India. He is presently working to set up a think tank, both online and offline, to find solutions to preserve our natural habitats.

ISBN :  978-9383064687      Price : Rs.2995.00

BOOKS OF THE WEEK - 26th December 2014

A Portrait of My Father

BY - George W Bush

About the Book : 

Forty-three men have served as President of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a President told the story of his father, another President, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush's life and career, including his service in the Pacific during World War II, his pioneering work in the Texas oil business, and his political rise as a Congressman, U.S. Representative to China and the United Nations, CIA Director, Vice President, and President. The book shines new light on both the accomplished statesman and the warm, decent man known best by his family. In addition, George W. Bush discusses his father's influence on him throughout his own life, from his childhood in West Texas to his early campaign trips with his father, and from his decision to go into politics to his own two-term Presidency.

About the Author :

GEORGE W. BUSH is the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009. He previously served as Governor of Texas. He and his wife, Laura, now live in Dallas, where they founded the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University. President Bush's previous book, Decision Points, is the bestselling Presidential memoir of all time.

  ISBN : 9780753556580     Price : Rs. 999.00  

BOOKS OF THE WEEK

IQBAL : THE LIFE OF A POET, PHILOSOPHER AND POLITICIAN

BY - ZAFAR ANJUM 

About the Book : 

Allama Mohammad Iqbal, whom Sarojini Naidu called the Poet laureate of Asia, remains a controversial figure in the history of the Indian subcontinent. On the one hand, he is considered the Spiritual Father of Pakistan. On the other, his message of eastern revivalism places him in the ranks of the twentieth centurys major intellectuals. Iqbals tragedy was that after his death, he was made the national poet of Pakistan and largely ignored in India. In his time, he was lauded as much as Tagore, but today India celebrates Tagore while Iqbal has been banished from her consciousness.

This meticulously researched biography will redress that erasure. This is the story of Iqbals evolution as a poet, philosopher and politician. While his role in the struggle for Indias freedom and the Pakistan movement are well known, not much is known about his personal life. This book highlights some of the least known facets of the poets life-how did a nationalist poet transform into a poet of Islamic revivalism and global revolution? How did three years in Europe change Iqbals political and philosophical outlook? Why did he start writing in Persian during his stay in Europe? Why did his first marriage fail and how did his romantic relationships affect him? What exactly was the poets role in bringing about Partition? Written with the passion of an ardent devotee, Zafar Anjums Iqbal answers all of these questions-and many more-in this carefully told biography.

About the Author :

Singapore-based journalist, writer and filmmaker Zafar Anjum has been published in India, the US, the UK, Singapore and other countries. His most recent works include a work of non-fiction, The Resurgence of Satyam (Random House India, 2012) and a collection of short stories, The Singapore Decalogue - Episodes in the Life of a Foreign Talent (Red Wheelbarrow Books, Singapore, 2012).

ISBN : 9788184005868 PRICE  Rs. 499/-