tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post9129163550715207200..comments2024-03-28T22:51:28.222+05:30Comments on The Middle Stage: The Middle Stage's Best Books of 2008 – Non-FictionChandrahashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483080477755487202noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-10967403421056884712010-01-23T18:45:30.585+05:302010-01-23T18:45:30.585+05:30Well, this is a year old, but it came in handy tod...Well, this is a year old, but it came in handy today. I was working on something for farmer suicide and was looking for Red Sun, but had misplaced it. After reading your review here and in Mint, it all came back. Thanks for the good work.Hari Battihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14789125444941418973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-17232422075474361272009-01-01T03:13:00.000+05:302009-01-01T03:13:00.000+05:30From this list, I'll make sure I track down Ginsbo...From this list, I'll make sure I track down Ginsborg's <I>Democracy</I>; <I>Empires of the Indus</I>; and <I>Origins</I>. I did begin <I>God's Crucible</I>, but found it a difficult read; I'll continue it some other time. <BR/><BR/>While Chakravarti's book is very important, his tendency to dramatize the last line of every section of the book was a bit annoying. But that's only a minor complaint. <BR/><BR/>My own favorites from this year: <BR/><BR/>1. Richard Dowden's <I> Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles</I>, perhaps the best book written by an outsider on the continent. The book draws on Dowden's extensive experience (something like three decades) as a journalist in Africa. Even Chinua Achebe, always sceptical of outsiders writing about Africa, has nothing but praise for Dowden's book. <BR/><BR/>2. Stuart Gordon's short but illuminating <I> When Asia was the World</I> is a collection of essays on Asian travelers who wrote of their journeys (included here are Ibn Battuta, Babur, and Tome Pires).<BR/><BR/>3. My top choce this year, though, goes to an unusual book. Leonard Mlodinow's <I> The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Affects Our Lives </I> explains, in lucid prose and with interesting personal and historical anecdotes, the theory and history of probability - perhaps the most slippery and confusing field of mathematics. But <I> The Drunkard's Walk </I> is also a philosophical book. Here is a quote:<BR/><BR/>“The cord that tethers ability to success is both loose and elastic. It is easy to see fine qualities in successful books or to see unpublished manuscripts, inexpensive vodkas, or people struggling in any field as somehow lacking. It is easy to believe that ideas that worked were good ideas, that ideas and plans that did not were ill conceived. And it is easy to make heroes out of the most successful and to glance with disdain at the least. But ability does not guarantee achievement, nor is achievement proportional to ability. And so it is important to always keep in mind the other term in the equation – the role of chance.”<BR/><BR/>A very happy new year to you - Feliz Año Neuvo.Harihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12339987786745985294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-62708870082986473402008-12-30T10:18:00.000+05:302008-12-30T10:18:00.000+05:30Avraham – Good to see your endorsement of my choic...Avraham – Good to see your endorsement of my choice for top book. I felt like I learnt something from every page of Havel's book.<BR/><BR/>Venkatesh – I'm amazed you made all that effort to track down Ginsborg, and glad it was worth the effort. I can tell you also, if it's of any help to you, that Penguin India published an edition of <I>The Politics of Everyday Life</I> three years ago that should be much more easily available in Indian stores, for Rs.295. I just bought my own copy.Chandrahashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07483080477755487202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-64720074291323464422008-12-29T18:52:00.000+05:302008-12-29T18:52:00.000+05:30Thanks to your review, I hunted down Democracy - C...Thanks to your review, I hunted down Democracy - Crisis & Renewal and enjoyed it very much indeed. I had to buy it over amazon, because it just wasn't available in any of the bookshops in Delhi.HRVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15973963458037592521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-66748532240438910522008-12-29T06:56:00.000+05:302008-12-29T06:56:00.000+05:30To the Castle and Back is a wonderful choice for a...To the Castle and Back is a wonderful choice for anyone interested in the mind of a great artist who offers valuable insights into the world of politics. Havel is that all too rare public man who cares about important matters greater than himself. This book is recommended for its writing, the history it records, and the lessons it teaches. Its a pleasure to read to boot.AHRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10158870034912116120noreply@blogger.com