Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Closing the Ring chronicles the period between June 1943 and July 1944 as the Allies consolidated their gains towards a drive to victory the fall of Mussolini, Hitler's secret weapon', the mounting air offensive on Germany, strategies to defeat Japan and the plans for D Day.
From uninterrupted defeat to almost unbroken success: a year when Rommel is gradually thrown back in North Africa, and in the Pacific, the tide turns.
As hostilities in Iraq continue to dominate the media, and the US led coalition's approach to the war and the reconstruction of Iraq increasingly in question, Andrew White's is the voice of authority, always realistic but never without hope. But where is hope now? What is the future for Iraq?
Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher. Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. Personal rivalry is the very stuff of politics. The causes and controversies, the parties and technology may have changed over time but political conflict is still dramatised by the competition of ambitious individuals for the highest offices. Over the past two hundred years the size of the electorate has grown enormously and the means of reaching it transformed out of all recognition but human nature itself hasn't changed.
The Middle East is notorious in the West for many reasons; few of them are positive. Synonymous with terrorism, oil riches, bad governance, corruption, and conflict, it has led many Western commentators to write it off as both backward and insular. In this pioneering introduction, Oxford University's Philip Robins argues that the region is plagued by the same problems that afflict the rest of the developing world. With each chapter focusing on a topic essential to a rounded understanding of the region, Robins weaves together the disparate countries into a coherent and entertaining narrative. From leadership and gender to religion and society, The Middle East: A Beginner's Guide is replete with case studies, astute analysis, profiles of key personalities, and even jokes from the region. There is no better resource for understanding the modern Middle East.
In Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist, Mani Shankar Aiyar, crusader for a secular credo, calls for an unambiguous and decisive restoration of secularism to the core of our nationhood. In doing so, he revisits every dimension of our secular ethos and exposes the various myths perpetuated by communal elements of all hues. Putting under the scanner contentious issues like conversions, uniform civil code and Article 370, he nails the falsehood underlying terms like 'pseudo-secularism', 'appeasement' and 'soft Hindutva'. And he places the domestic debate over secularism in India in the wider external dimension by discussing the experiences of countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Israel and erstwhile Yugoslavia. Admitting to wearing his secularism on his sleeve, Aiyar reasons that only a determined and inflexible adherence to secularism can counter religious bigotry and fundamentalism. Clear in his convictions, with history, logic and persuasive argument at his command, this is Mani Shankar Aiyar at his best, on a subject that we can ignore only at our own peril.
Shashi Tharoor began reading books—Enid Blyton’s Noddy series—when he was three. For many years afterward, he read a book a day. Bookless in Baghdad brings together pieces written by this compulsive reader and prolific writer on the subject closest to his heart: reading. Tharoor takes us on a delightful journey of discovery, as he wanders the book souk in a Baghdad under sanctions where the middle-class are selling their volumes so that they can afford to live, and drives around Huesca looking to pay an idiosyncratic tribute to George Orwell.
Contemporary India goes beyond the limits of political history to put into perspective some of the most relevant socioeconomic challenges that 'New India' faces today. By concentrating on the concepts of 'agency' and 'negotiation', this book helps the reader gain a wider perspective of Indian history and guides the aspiration of today's generations by facilitating their understanding of India's historical legacy.
I would reverse the order. I see and find Beauty in Truth or through Truth. All Truths, not merely true ideas, but truthful faces, truthful pictures, or songs, are highly beautiful. People generally fail to see Beauty in Truth: the ordinary man runs away from it and becomes blind to the beauty in it. Whenever men begin to see Beauty in Truth, then true Art will arise.
The idea of exploitation is centrally important in Marx. For Elster, the importance of exploitation in Marxism is two fold. First: the presence of exploitation in a society provides a ground for normative criticism that exploitation is wrong and exploiters are morally condemnable and hence, it ought to be abolished. Secondly: exploitation can provide the exploited with a ground for taking individual or collective action against the system and therefore enters into the explanation of such action. That is, Marx's
Since 1971, Pakistan has evolved into a praetorian state plagued by army interventions and corrupt civilian governments. Nevertheless, the tunnel-vision of General Musharraf triggered a political implosion in 2007, and widespread dismay over the assassination of Benzir Bhutto has led Pakistanis to vote overwhelmingly for unfettered civilian rule and the diminishment of religious parties. In contrast, the Bangladesh Army seems intent on returning control to civilians, having remained averse to power for the past seventeen years. Furthermore, Bangladeshi society isn’t nearly as Islamicized as Pakistan’s, though Jihadi groups stand ready to exploit the government’s weaknesses. Milliam takes a hard look at the political and religious realities of both countries, especially the al-Qaeda-linked jihadi networks that threaten to permanently turn Pakistan into an ideological state. He also considers Islam’s undeniable influence on the culture of both societies, and, in turn, the influence of these cultures on the tone and expression of Islam.
