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Book
Picks : Management | Politics | Spiritual |
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RECOMMENDED PICKS |
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The Post American World
by Fareed Zakaria
Review by:
ilaxi
"Power glorifies but the whole
world is getting much richer.
And, as Economic fortunes rise, so does nationalism"
Fareed Zakaria, the Editor of
Newsweek
International, states that his book is “not about the
decline of America but rather about the rise of everyone else.”
Zakaria talks of Asia, especially India and China, which he
terms as 'rest'. He talks of the Global Growth in the
first half of the book and later, describes how China's economy
has doubled every eight years and how India may have the world's
third largest economy by 2040. A game of Power Shift in an
economy that would doom the most Super power! A grand thesis
that captures the attention where the Author has predicted that
America's dominance would sweep away with India, China and
Russia poised to take over. The book is descriptively logical as
Zakaria explains how much the world has changed over 25 years.
He neither under-estimates America's capabilities to meet the
new world challenges.He points to the need for America to adopt
new ways of doing business with the world, one that is based on
"consultation, cooperation, and even compromise" as opposed to
go-it-alone unilateralism. American success in the 21st century
will depend on how these newly ascendant powers will be
integrated into existing institutions such as the G8, the IMF,
the World Bank, and the WTO. Zakaria believes, Indians
understand America. He states, "It is a noisy, open society with
a chaotic democratic system like theirs." In such democracy, the
strength of society overshadow the strength of their state. And
America, despite of its blunders at home and away, will
nevertheless, stay strong due to it's education system and
influx of immigrants.
The Author also has some interesting historical parallels. He
specifically makes clear that the Iraq War may mark the
beginning of the end of America. In particular, the U.S. was
enormously popular prior to the war, and goodwill in the
international arena is extremely valuable, but Bush's policies
simply squandered that goodwill. Zakaria
also mention, specifically the work of Bismark, who, in 1880s,
crafted an international order where Germany stood as an "honest
broker" who could exert influence by prescribing rules and
solutions that were fair enough that other countries actually
wanted to abide by. Zakaria's own example of Germany itself
provides an example of how such an arrangement can unravel very
quickly. Zakaria is one
of the most balanced and insightful authors who paints a
positive future and indeed, the books is an interesting theory
in 259 well-written pages. The last chapter is powerfully
written and amazing to know that the most powerful country on
earth has a fear struck society! His personal note is a message
to White house Politicians to understand the delicate web of
diplomacy and strategic intiatives it need to adopt to stay
glorified in the multi polar world.
If you are keen to read on World Affairs,
Politics and yes, if you wish to know how much the world would
change 25 years from now, click, quick read the Zakaria
Predictions (not nostradamus!) Btw, this book which has been
gifted to me, is the book that I read in parts. It almost made
me go blink blink as I passed through pages - half read, re-read
and left out some pages too - to be very frank!
My Rating:
Pick it up or leave it just to read the reviews,
your Choice! |
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HOAX:
Why Americans are Suckered by White House Lies
-by Nicholas Von Hoffman
Review by:
ilaxi
Satirical and
barbed, a distinguished read by the New York Observer columnist
and author of several books. Hoax stands out to be a
controversial pick as the Author hits on the Bush Administration
for its diversionary tactics for invading Iraq.
Nicholas Von Hoffman begins his book with a quote from former
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser: "The genius of you
Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only
complicated stupid moves." The Author’s son is currently in Iraq
in the United States Army to whom the book is dedicated. Due to
his temper tantrums, the author was fired many times by editors
and TV Executives and he even lost the Pulitzer prize. Hoax is
the hot stepper in the best selling list of post Iraq War Books.
Nicholas Von Hoffman criticizes the Bush Administration and this
may hurt the blind patriotic faith of Americans who believes
that its government does little wrong than many others. In the
beginning chapter ‘The Big Lie’ Von Hoffman speaks of the super
rich and power image of America and reveals how the American
people have been gulled into cheering for a gigantic hoax by the
Bush administration. "It happened because America has
manufactured its own reality. A dome has slipped over the
country, turning the nation into a unique biosphere, which
causes Americans to see, hear, and interpret every event and
each happenstance as no other people do. Poisoned by recycled,
un-refreshed air, Americans think differently." The Bush
Administration invaded Iraq with the terrorism threat hanging on
as the world watched over with make belief feel that Saddam is
the present ‘Hitler’ and Osama Bin Laden lured in the oblivion.
Nicholas confirms Saddam as the butcher of Baghdad and was a
ruthless dictator responsible for the deaths of hundreds of
thousands of Iranians, during the Iran-Iraq war, Kurds, and the
random butchering of Iraqis whom he suspected as enemies of the
Baath regime. Von Hoffman says that America’s mission to curb
the Islamic world and bring terrorism to its knees has proven
unsuccessful inspite of its so-called victories over Afghanistan
and Iraq. The US Government reputation shatters in the eyes of
International community and even Tony Blair, the British PM’s
political future hangs in the balance. Von Hoffman says, “US
coalition is busy converting Iraq into a "free world, "Osama bin
Laden and al-Qaeda still remain at large” and this is so very
true and raise questions to Bush Administration. American vision
gets blurred as citizens get trapped into white lies and belief
‘We are right, you are wrong’.
A saying goes ‘you can fool some people some time but you can’t
fool all people all the time’ and perfectly this applies to Bush
Administration and the US. Blunt, bold and outspoken, Von
Hoffman the Author/journalist is well informed and has presented
a Book that sure is a great Pick and if you have been reading
M.J.Akbar’s Bylines, you will
definitely find a similarity to many topics covered up in the
Hoax.
-If you've read the Book,
Send your Review. |
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More Recommendations - Just Books |
The Terror
Presidency by Jack L Goldsmith
Way of Politics in the 21st century.
Jack Goldsmith as the head of the
Legal counsel was to advice President Bush. The book is a bold
and courageous memoir of the major issues confronted by Jack
Goldsmith during his days. Dealing with Protocols concerning
torture, wartime powers and first hand accounts of Bush
administration
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After Tamerlane by John
Darwin
Review by :
M J Akbar
After Tamerlane by John
Darwin is a good two-in-one -- read it to learn, and also escape
-- because the thriving detail is great fun, because it subverts
official wisdom about the British and other empires with great
panache, and because it is weighty enough to hold the towel down
on a windy day at the beach.- MJ
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Cobra II
by Michael Gordon
Review:
Coming soon....
The Iside story of Invasion and occupation of
Iraq by the Chief Military correspondent from NY Times and retired
Marine Corps lieutenant general. The authors captures the fog of
war and war planning. The miscalculations of Bush Govt and more to
account of war to date.
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Arsenals of Folly
By Richard Rhodes
Review:
Coming soon....
Richard Rhodes presents a terrifying overview of
the global potential for killing.Rhodes examines America's and
Soviet Russia's nuclear weapons policies with special emphasis on
the Reagan-Gorbachev negotiations. A nuclear historian who talks
of the arms of all years and the end of the cold war with a
balanced look at the leaders, govt. officials and scientists
who've rolled over their policies in self interests. |
| 2007 BESTSELLERS |
Imperial Life in the Emerald City
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran |
Tree of Smoke
by Denis Johnson |
A Thousand Splendid Suns
By Khaled Hosseini |
Other Colors
by Orhan Pamuk,
Maureen Freely
(Translator) |
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Rajiv
Chandrasekaran, reports a war from the frontline - what
really went on inside the Emerald city and how the American
misadventure resulted to failure with a mission doomed. |
A Vietnam Anti-war novel written with compassion about
humanity. A story about all wars esp. America's war in Iraq.
The Bush quote that made a stir: We can't get out of Iraq,
we can't stay in;......... |
It's a story of friendship, this time between two Afghan
women brought together by war, loss, and fate. Spanning
nearly half a century, it's a story of love, resilience, and
self-sacrifice. |
Other Colors contains a series of stories by the Author who
was born in 1952 in Istanbul. The presentation
has a number of interesting stories which provide a window
into life in Istanbul. |
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1967:Israel, the War and the Year that
Transformed the Middle East |
Deception
By Adrian Levy, Catherine Scott-Clark |
Legacy of Ashes
by Tim Weiner |
India After Gandhi
By Ramachandra Guha |
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A columnist for Israel's leftwing Ha'aretz newspaper, Tom
Segev has combiled Political and social History of Israel. A
riveting narrative, based on letters, diaries and
interviews, as well as Israel's rich official archives, that
analyses the diplomatic and military background to the
six-day war and offers a shrewd insight into the nation's
psyche. |
Pakistan, The United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons
Conspiracy! Based on hundreds of Interviews in US, Pakistan,
India, Israel, Europe and Southeast Asia.
(Review coming soon!) |
Exhaustive history of CIA and based on prodigious amount of
research of documents, oral histories and interviews. Legacy
of Ashes succeeds as both journalism and history, and it is
must reading for anyone interested in the CIA or American
intelligence since World War II. |
As Washington Post says, "A toast to India on it's 60th
Birthday" - This book is an extremely informative and
insightful information on socio-political history of India
after Independence written by a Historian who has taught at
Stanford and Yale. An eye opening book about Indian
politics, society, economy and development. |
| 2006 BESTSELLERS |
The
Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
The
Plot Against the World Trade Center: A Nightmare Research.
A bold sweep in its historical perspective.. 9/11 - More
Review here |
Cobra
II by Michael R. Gordon
The
inside story of the Invasion & Occupation of Iraq.
Well-written, thought provoking even if not always in
agreement. |
Fiasco
by
Thomas E Ricks
The American Military Adventure and how Iraq fell into
Chaos. Pentagon's political leaders took on road to
disaster... |
State
of Denial by
Bob Woodward
Examines how the Bush Administration avoided telling the
truth about Iraq to the public, to Congress and often, to
themselves. |
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a
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2005 BESTSELLERS |
The
Next Attack
By Daniel
Benjamin-Steve Simon
Review: Coming soon....
An Alarm & a Warning! Another terrorist attack on
the U.S. is inevitable, according to analysts Simon and
Benjamin. Based on interviews with current and former
government officials, they warn that actions by the Bush
administration are only energizing radical Islamist
groups and paving the way for further terrorist attacks
even as we squander resources in the war in Iraq. |
The
World is Flat
By Thomas
Friedman
A columnist of NYTimes, Thomas Friedman in this
book has identified the most important economic and
political theme of the early 21st century - an
introduction to globalization divided into three phases: |
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The
Assassins' Gate : America in Iraq
By George Packer
As
the death toll mounts in the Iraq War, Americans are
agonizing over how the mess started and what to do now.
Packer, a pro-Iraq-war liberal, speaks of penetration of
the ideological fervor of Bush administration power
brokers that led to the Iraq War.The second half of The
Assassins' Gate takes the reader to Iraq
after the bombs have stopped dropping. Packer writes
vividly about how the country deteriorated into chaos,
with U.S. authorities in Iraq operating in crisis mode. |
Messages
to the World
by Osama bin Laden, Bruce Lawrence (Editor), James
Howarth (Translator)
In
this Book, Bruce Lawrence goal is to show in Bin Laden's
own words, how Bin Laden's views differ from mainstream
Islam and even other radical Muslim thought.This is a
collection of writings, public statements, interviews,
faxes and video recordings issued under bin Laden’s
name from 1994 to 2004.
The
world with Osama Bin Laden's is no wonder 'Terrorism'
and he is a scum of the Earth - But one wonders, Does
Osama Bin Laden really Exist??? |
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| 2005
INDIAN BESTSELLERS |
Two
Lives
by Vikram Seth
Vikram
Seth turns for the first time to a combination of
biography and memoir. The two people in the title
are his uncle and aunt, Shanti and Henny, to whom
his parents sent him in 1969, when he was
seventeen and about to begin his British schooling
at Tonbridge. |
Making
Sense of Chindia by Jairam Ramesh
Jairam
Ramesh addresses the security concerns that
continue to mediate the otherwise improving
Sino-Indian relationship and brings to the fore
issues that may still pose problems in the future.
He focus on the long term scenario that may emerge
between India and china. |
Bookless
in Baghdad
by Shashi Tharoor
The
author takes into delightful journey in these
essays on books, authors, reviews, critics,
literary festivals, literary aspirants, Empire and
India. He wanders the 'Book souk' in a Baghdad
under sanctions where the middle class are selling
their volumes so that can afford to live. |
Book
of Nature
by Ruskin Bond
This
brings together best of Ruskin Bond's writing on
natural world, not just in the Himalayan foothills
that he has made his home, but also in the cities
and small towns that he lived in or travelled
through as a young man. He writes of Leopards
padding down the lanes of Mussourie, first rains,
etc. |
Shalimar
The Clown
by Salman Rushdie
Like
some of the post 9/11 literature, Shalimar delves
deep into the roots of terrorism and explores the
turmoil generated by different faiths and cultures
atttempting to coexist. |
Chasing
the Monk's Shadow by Mishi Saran
This
book is about a chinese monk named Xuanzang Tsang
who set off an epic journey to India to study
Buddhist philosophy from the Indian masters.He
left a valuable source of info. |
City
of Sin and Splendour by Bapsi Sidhwa
This
is a verse and prose; essays, stories, chronicles
and profiles by people who have shared a
relationship with Lahore. From mystical poems of
Madho Lal & Bulleh Shah to Iqbal's ode. |
The
Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen
An
illuminating selection of writings from Nobel
prize winning Economist that outline the need to
understand contemporary India in the light of its
long arumentative tradition. |
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All Reviews by -
Blossomsmile
ilaxi, Amazon.com Reviewer
Author of Guardian of Angels: A practical guide to Joyful
Parenting
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All Reviews by -
ilaxi, Amazon.com Reviewer
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