Don’t let the title fool you, it’s about the only titillating thing you’ll read in this book. I know that sounds like a slam on the book, but with a title like that, I was expecting the text to be a bit more reader accessible. I really can’t recommend this one unless you already have a good foundation of WWII history, especially the British intelligence front during the war. Between myriad acronyms and an intense expectation of European geography, it is not a book to […]
A refreshing take on a done-to-death subject.
Forty-eighth book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. In India, we are taught about our freedom struggle for almost 5 years as part of the high school curriculum. But the study is just a brief overview of the entire movement and does very little justice to this major event in the history of the sub-continent. It involved millions of people and had several leaders that spanned many generations. While writing textbooks for high school history, the authors tend to concentrate on a few of […]
A mammoth account of India’s story over the last 50 years!
Forty-sixth book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. The history of India in the last 50 years is something that we don’t get to read about. Indians love to live in their past; reminiscing about the glory days of the ancient civilizations that thrived on the sub-continent. We love to boast about how three of the world’s major religions started in here and that at least one, found a major foothold. We are a civilization that accepted foreigners with open arms and our hospitality […]
The Happiest Hooker
Late, as ever, to the party when it comes to zeitgeist-type books. But since Michael Faber has a new book out, he’s been all over NPR, and I’ve been hearing about all of his books, so I figured it would be better to start with the most famous one. At least I think this one was the most famous. There was a mini-series, after all. William Rackham is your typical layabout semi-dandy who fancies himself a misunderstood genius. He’s married to Clara, who’s looney tunes […]