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Mammoth effort to
preserve avian world
Reviewed by Lieut-Gen Baljit
Singh (retd)
Threatened Birds of India:
Their Conservation Requirements By Dr Asad R Rahmani. Bombay Natural
History Society. Pages 861. Hardbound Rs 3,000
In
the Hall of Fame of ornithologists in India, the two names that stand
above the restare, Surgeon Major T C Jerdon (Madras Presidency Army)
and A O Hume of the ICS. Their combined energies had unveiled the
riches of our birds both in species and of their gorgeous plumages.
Life’s
tricky balance
Reviewed by Vibha Sharma
The Valmiki Syndrome: The
Work-Life Balance By Ashok K. Banker. Random House India. Pages 288.
Rs 250
Talk
about ‘work-life balance’ is indeed a tricky topic, almost like
walking on a tightrope and more so in the current age when ‘more’
and ‘higher’ seem to be the mantras.
Daughter’s
salute to an icon
Reviewed by Pooja Dadwal
Flame - The story of my
mother Shahnaz Husain By Nelofar Currimbhoy. Hachette. Pages 236 + 24.
Rs 295
How
do you capture the essence of a woman who has been painted by M.F.
Husain, honoured by President Kalam with the Padmashree, interviewed
by Goldie Hawn, been a confidante to India's most charismatic woman
Prime Minister, recognised by President Obama, walked the red carpet
at Cannes
Pride
and Prejudice to get makeover
Inspired
by the phenomenon success of EL James’s "mummy porn" title
Fifty Shades Of Grey, a publisher of adult fiction is giving literary
classics such as Jane Eyre and Pride And Prejudice an erotic makeover.
Speed
thrills and yields rewards
Joygopal Poddar, a
fundraising director with ActionAid, has churned 11 crime thrillers in
22 months and finds an entry in Limca Book of Records as a speed
writer
Reviewed by Narendra Kaushik
It
was a freak incident — a believe-it-or-not kind —sometime around
mid-2010 that pushed Joygopal Poddar, Director (fundraising) ActionAid,
to become one of the most prolific writers of crime fiction in India.
Life
of a babu under the lens
Reviewed by Ambika Sharma
An Outsider Everywhere:
Revelations by an insider By M.K. Kaw. Konark Publishers. Pages 191.
Rs 476
The
book is a compilation of a bureaucrat’s candid revelations about his
various tasks, his close brush with politicians, thereby revealing
their insecurities and egos and his zest for not toeing the line
blindly despite all odds.
Flame
of Faith
Hajj: Journey to the
heart of Islam Ed Venetia Porter. Lustre. Pages 288. Rs 2,975.00
It
is a sacred duty for Muslims, wherever they may reside, to go for Hajj
at least once in their lives to Mecca, the heartland of Islam where
the Prophet Muhammad received the revelation in the early seventh
century.
Recipe
for India’s growth as global power
Reviewed by D. S. Cheema
China’s Nightmare,
America’s Dream: India as the next Global Power By William H. Avery.
Amaryllis. Pages 244. Rs 595
William
H. Avery, former American diplomat and India-watcher, traces the
history of the golden era of India and recalls what made India a great
economic and military power, just four centuries back.
International scene
Dear Zari
By Zarghuna Kargar Vintage,
£8.99.
Zarghuna
Kargar produced and presented the BBC World Service's Afghan Women's
Hour from 2004 to 2010: this book is a selection of some of the true
stories of women's lives in Taliban Afghanistan.
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