Tag Archives: India
A searing look at poverty in India that reads like a novel
A review of Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, by Katherine Boo. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). Boo focuses on the experiences of two slum families, one consisting of 11 Muslim immigrants from India’s north who have built a business as garbage-brokers, the other family whose matriarch is affiliated with Shiv Sena, one of the most extreme and violent anti-Muslim political parties in India. Continue reading
Filed under Nonfiction
Daniel Yergin’s superb new book: a brilliant survey of energy issues
A review of The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, by Daniel Yergin. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). A survey of virtually every significant aspect of energy in today’s world, touching on every energy source, every significant energy-related technological development of recent decades, and every major location of energy resources, including a short history of each element. Continue reading
Filed under Nonfiction
Aravind: A social enterprise with scale and impact to match Grameen Bank
A review of Infinite Vision: How Aravind Became the World’s Greatest Business Case for Compassion, by Pavithra Mehta and Suchitra Shenoy. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). How this unique South Indiana nonprofit enterprise became the largest and most productive blindness-prevention organization on the planet. Continue reading
Filed under Nonfiction
Economics through the lens of personality: an accessible history
A review of Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius, by Sylvia Nasar @@@@ (4 out of 5) It’s well known that Thomas Carlyle, a 19th century British historian, is credited with first calling economics “the dismal science.” What’s … Continue reading
Filed under Nonfiction
A comic novel about India today, and Big Science, too
A review of Serious Men, by Manu Joseph. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). In his debut novel, Indian magazine editor Manu Joseph takes on the caste system, Big Science, love, marriage, and sex, corruption in government, the news media, office politics, loyalty and betrayal, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, and the fate of the Universe — yet it all hangs together somehow. This is Black Comedy, Indian-style. Continue reading
Filed under Trade Fiction
The Case of the Missing Servant, by Tarquin Hall
@@@@ (4 out of 5) A respected Indian attorney — an idealistic crusader for justice in the face of a corrupt system — has been framed in a sensational murder case and turns for help to the legendary Vish Puri. … Continue reading
Filed under Mysteries & Thrillers
Between the Assassinations, by Aravind Adiga
@@@@ (4 out of 5) Aravind Adiga is one of India’s most refreshing contributions to the world of books in recent years. His first novel, a wildly original story of near-mythic proportions, “The White Tiger,” won the UK’s prestigious Man … Continue reading
Filed under Trade Fiction
Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh
@@@@@ (5 out of 5) Amitav Ghosh reaffirms his place as one of contemporary India’s greatest writers with this extraordinarily rich tale of class conflict, exploitation, and forbidden love against the background of the opium trade. The story is set … Continue reading
Filed under Trade Fiction
Third World development: A reading list
Listing 14 books that cast light on the realities of foreign aid and social change in the world’s developing countries. Continue reading →
Leave a Comment
Filed under FAQs & Commentaries
Tagged as Africa, developing nations, economic development, foreign aid, History, India, overseas development assistance, Third World