Failed States by Noam Chomsky

When history is crafted in the service of power, evidence and rationality are irrelevant.

Hazrat Chomsky is very popular with Pakistani literati and for good reason, as he presents the other aspects of the momentous world events which together makes the story somewhat complete.
Consider the very obvious and rational argument, the top nation of the world, número uno country of the world, the mighty USA, misbehaving, openly flaunting, imperiously rejecting all international laws it expects rogue and terrorist nations of the world to follow. Trouble is, USA and its foreign policies are the main reason why countries like North Korea and Iran are in their current state, as every country in the world will consciously or subconsciously follow the leader, copying its every move and behaviours. Unfortunately for the world, USA will not change, why should it? Why change a strategy which has got it at the top slot. All the world has to do now is wait for an able contender for the throne. In the meantime writers like Chomsky will have a field day arguing to their lefty brothers. The book makes completing reading though.

Check for yourself.....
'International court jurisdiction has proven inappropriate for the United States.' Condoleeza Rice 2005.

International law and court judgments are fine, but only when they come out the right way. Anything else is inappropriate for the United States.

Why are the US nuclear facilities not open to IAEA like Iraq and Iran?

The US has the right to attack any country that it thinks could attack it first.

The logic of the annexation of Texas was essentially attributed to Saddam Hussain when he conquered Kuwait.

A large majority of US public believe that the US should accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the World Court, sign the Kyoto protocols, allow the United Nations to take the lead in international crises, and rely on diplomatic and economic measures more than military ones in the 'war on terror'. ( A large scale survey conducted in the US by independent bodies).y

Games without rules by Tamim Ansary

A very bold and subjective view of history of Afghanistan from the time of Abdullah Shah Baba to the present. I enjoyed the particular take of history from Tamim Ansary point of view. Afghanistan is not unconquerable but ungovernable and Afghanis don't unite to fight against the occupier but divide even further, making the occupiers task impossible. As a Pakistani though, I found his views on Pakistan pretty difficult to digest. There was scant regard for Pakistan's hospitality role in housing millions of Afghanis in its midst. I myself saw my Islamabad literally invaded by thousands of Afghanis back in the 80's bringing the property prices up. I also didn't quite understand the 'non-aligned' role which Afghanistan seemed to have adopted. How can it be nonaligned if it was openly vowing both superpowers? Even the title and Afghanistan's analogy to Buzkushi seems to be very similar to most of the South Asian countries like Pakistan and India. Most traffic I have experienced in Pakistan is the same organised chaos as described by Tamim. so nothing new here.
Still Tamim's present book is a timely and important one, as little is written from the Afghani point of view.

Driving over lemons by Chris Stewart

I enjoyed the book, it's positivist approach to poverty and anti-consumerist message. For me the most revealing bits were the great insight into Spanish culture, especially how they stand aside and let a friend suffer some minor loss, so that in the long run he might learn from his bad decision. I also enjoyed the transactional nature of human society, how we need others to help us and in return have to help them in their hour of need in order to survive and flourish. This book is a story of triumph of the human being over nature, indeed a very motivating story.

The Infidel by Bob Shepherd

Absolutely loved the drama and the excitement right till the end. I don't want to divulge details and spoil it for any readers but I loved the attention to detail especially of the Afghan/Pathan culture nuance displayed by Bob. He has successfully managed to capture most of the features of the Afghan race for me, loyalty, honour, Islam, and family and clan ties. The whole novel kept me guessing and on the edge. I loved the end as well as I thought it also reflected the proper attitude of the Afghans. This novel is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the Pathan race. The only slightly challenging bits for me were the battle and weapon details etc which are difficult for someone with limited combat experience. I would recommend this novel with Bob's other master piece called the 'Good Jihadist.'

A history of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr

The book kept me intrigued and glued for the first part of the British story after the Second World War till the 1960's, but then it started to read like a political story of Britain which I found difficult to follow. There was far too much focus on politicians for my taste. More analysis and less can us would have been better in my opinion as Andrew Marr has an interesting view on events. I don't know what kept him from elaborating more?

The Story Of My Assassins by Tarun J. Tejpal

One of the best novels I have read. Tarun Tejpal has created a masterpiece. It starts off slowly, with a weakish plot but the strength of characters is so vivid that I almost thought everything was happening for real. I loved Sarah, the progenitor's mistress and their sexual encounters which were certainly kinky, arousing me every time. The individual stories of all the assassins were captivating and illuminating. The author has a great gift of celebrating the diversity of India in great detail.

Al-Qaida in its own words by Kepel Milelli

If you want to find out what 'the rules' or Al Qaida really means, the. This book is the right choice. As a knowledgeable Muslim with a lot of study of the Islamic history, I found the references and notes section very useful indeed as it furthered by understandings of the latent and searing resentment felt by Sunnis towards their present plight. Basically, it's everyone else's fault that they find their society struggling and decadent. Too much focus on history of a bygone era will naturally result in such a state of mind. What struck me that all the so called Ulema writing fatwas spearheading the Al-Qaida vanguard were iconoclasts, not Islamic academics. Some had had religious education but had severed their ties after going operational like tasting Jihad firsthand, and others who had had no religious education at all like Zarqawai. This text and their fatwas needs to be widely debated in the Islamic world as it has tapping holes and huge inconsistencies which can easily be pointed out by academia and intellectuals, but for some reason the novel task of countering such spurious fatwas has been left to Western academia again. Isn't it time we start filling holes created by our own instead of simply avoiding them? Ironically, this murjia or avoidance is exactly what Al-Qaida theologians seemed to be so pissed off with. I do find myself sympathising with them on murjia though.......

Osama by Lavie Tidhar

It reads like a detective crime thriller with lots of clouds mishmashed together, all beyond any recognition. There are clouds of conspiracy theories, America's many insurgency plots, opium bars, sleazy hotels and a bit of Afghanistan which seems alien to the whole story. I expected Osama to emerge fro New York instead of Kabul. Maybe its just me with my Muslim background who expected some serious treatment of the 'War against terror' which has turned out to be a completely one way as far as the West is concerned. Why is the the West behind this 'war', or better put, why is the West behind every war? Why can't some due credit given to Osama and his cronies for escalating the stakes in order to warrant huge attacks against Afghanistan and Iraq? Now that Osama is safely dead and his movements main enemies obliterated, can we at least present a factual story of events? Don't we owe that much to the hundreds of thousands of innocents killed on both sides? 

Pirates of the Caribbean by Tariq Ali

The book is a collection of various articles written about the South American political situation. Its an eye opener as it talks about the influence of the Washington Consortium over the rest of the world. This and other works is essential in raising awareness against the general prejudice of the countries or cultures going against the grain. I found the character of Chavez, Moralis & Castro. Why can't the Muslim world produce a Chavez??

The Reluctant Mullah by Sagheer Afzal

I found it to be a brilliant story, a unique insight into the British Pakistani culture of today. The characters were almost real like especially the ones representing British Pakistanis. There was a bit too much reference to the Holy Book for a Pakistani (from Pakistan) but I guess that is what most British Pakistanis must feel like. I loved the various one liners in the novel including the sad ending which was pretty apt. I predict one day this novel will be adopted as a movie or a TV drama simply because there are so few narratives on this subject out there.
Who are you, are you a Muslim?
No, I am not a Muslim, I am a Pakistani.
Get the message my Pakistani brothers and sisters?

Misadventures in the MiddleEast by Henry Hemming

O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another... The Quran 49:13. This was a courageous travelogue of two artists crisscrossing across the MiddleEast looking for inspiration. They choose to drive across the waste lands from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and Israel. They discover a strange brand of Islam which means different to different cultures. The book is a quick page turner. I loved the way author presented his various experiences across the very diverse cultures. The best bit for me was their time spend in Iran which I think they enjoyed the most. Very brave young men.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Tried by level best to get into this story without any luck whatsoever. Some I was reminded over and over again that English was indeed my second language. But then there are a lot of books in Urdu which I have struggled with a lot as well. Maybe I shall try and finish this story after a few more years?

In the Plex by Steven Levy

This is a five star book most of the time. It has coined rightly as the Google story. The author takes us a Ross the 13 or so years of Google's life by narrating interesting anecdotes and tribulations of the young company. Apart from Google the book also touches upon some of its competitors and the relationships over the years. Larry Page and Eric come across as two modern day prophets with a singular dream of helping the whole world with the power of their minds. Read to understand whether they are able to a commish this momentous feat or not. For me the most interesting bit of the book was its chapters of Googles experiment in China which culminated eventually in them pulling out which for me proves that in order to make effective change you need to be among the right sort of people. Too much restrictions can cripple the best of intentions. As a Pakistani, I felt a bit deflated as it is clear for me that few outside Silicon Valley can come up with such super corporations like Google as these need proper space at the right time. So may be the most brilliant individual in the world, but if you are unlucky enough to be living in some Pakistani village, then you have little or no chance of being noticed. Therefore, spacing is extremely important. So lets get out bags packed and all migrate........

I Putin by Jennifer Ciotta

I loved it, the whole story was put together with a lot of insight of the Russian people, their lives and the impact left on them of the Second World War. The author has managed to present a reality of the hidden world of presidents, reflecting on their human sides which is very interesting. A very good effort.

Corpalism by Arun D. Ellis

Very interesting book filled with conspiracy theories about the Western world from a British angle. So if you are looking for a quick understanding o the underlying British rumble about the economy, NHS, women rights, xenophobia then look no further. The book will give you all the alter ate popular thought steams in a neat package. It's very good to read such material as at the least you will know. Some of the justifications and alternate reasoning was pretty interesting, especially about the banking crises and women rights. Although the Muslim terrorist bit was a bit disingenuous. But I guess you cannot expect an author to know everything about everything I guess.

Trickster travels by Natalie Zemon Davis

Found this book tough going as it is a proper history book of a Muslim traveller living in Rome for nine years. I was fascinated to read how much literary endeavours were undertaken by the Muslim noblemen of the 16th century at the tail end of Muslim power in the world much like the Western travellers of today touring the world. There are other similarities as well with the Muslim culture appearing to be much more sexually active and liberal as compared to the Western world back then. No wonder the Muslim had done so well.

The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki

I guess the book achieves most of what it sets out to do. It managed to convince me of this dark art where a crowd of people working together, with something to loose, are able to somehow come up with the right solution again and again. But this is certainly not a foolproof discovery, as some crowds like the financial markets can get it completely wrong. That is the bit I didn't quite get from this reading. What is the difference between an effective and a failing group. One suggestion was given as peer pressure, so this is choosing an option in hope of being accepted by the majority in the crowd instead of voicing your own impulsive opinion without fear of any recrimination. Coming from Pakistani culture I can relate to many instances where agreements are reached because of either peers or a bullish boss or some thuggish personality in the particular group instead of individual impulsive thought streams. Again, the human animal has managed to ride the roost in the animal kingdom due to their ability to work and live together. I guess this book highlights this basic  atavistic feature in all of us.

After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam by Lesley Hazleton

Finally, a book which explains all the conflict between Sunni and Shias in great detail. I really enjoyed Lesly's style and prose as she explained the great story as told by Muslims resources in a wonderful lucid way. For me the most interesting character was Mauwiya and the legacy he has managed to leave for the rest of the Ummah. I particularly enjoyed the way Lesley was able to draw comparisons history with current events. I would recommend this book to all Muslims whether Sunni or Shia as it will clear a lot of fog. Unfortunately for us Muslims, the fear of upsetting our brothers is so extreme that any mention of these events are scandalous at the least leaving this delicate job of explaining history to non-Muslims like Lesley. Most of the history has been picked up from the great work of Al-Tabari which makes it pretty believable.

Radical: My Journey from Islamist Extremism to a Democratic Awakening by Maajid Nawaz

I don't know whether to call this very autobiographical account of an ex-Islamist and very eloquent Maajid Nawaz inspirational or megalomaniac. I thoroughly enjoyed the Essex racist scene and his descriptions of his time in Pakistan and Egypt. He has also very eloquently explained the difference between Islamism and Jihadism which I don't really see as much relevant to the whole debate. The book is filled with self glorifying stories plucked from Maajid's personal life whether he was in the Egyptian jail or in front of David Cameroon where Maajid was always important. Typical self righteous approach displayed by most second generation Pakistanis. I wish they could pick some of the humility of the British culture as well. Anyway, Maajid has given me the impression of changing ideologies from a very extremist Islamic view to a very extremist Islamophobic view. Although he has claimed that the change was gradual but I believe that Maajid flipped to the other extreme because the Islamists ditched him in his hour of need.
I would have been more comfortable reading his account if he had turned into a full fledge skeptic. His conversion from being a Hizb Tahir to anti HT wasn't very convincing as well. Why he choose to reject on multiple occasions in his life, gestures from other Muslims is a bit beyond me as my own experience of living in UK has been pretty humanistic in general. How a well educated otherwise eloquent Maajid failure to grasp basic human to human contact confirms his megalomaniac tendency. I think sooner or later he will end up joining politics.

The good jihadist by Bob Shepherd

This is a must read for all Pakistanis........

If you want to know what the average Brit thinks about Pakistan at the moment, read on. This book has it all, Islamic fundamentalist pitied against American Christian ones, separatist like the Baluch's. Pathans, Sindhis, even Punjabis are up in arms in this page turner of a book. At times it seems a trifle paranoid and surreal with business like explanatory meetings happening right in the middle of a firefight but as a Pakistani I loved all the attention. I thought all the conspiracy theories with the Chinese and American interests in Pakistan were very interesting, and especially the focus on the Baluch movement. Money seems to rule the roost as very paradoxical Pakistanis are easily swayed by American dollars. I also enjoyed the difference in characters of the suicidal bombings adopted by Pathans and Punjabi have not taken up by the Baluchis. The books is filled with rich anecdotes which as a Pakistani I thought were very apt like:

'watching too much news makes you loose touch with reality'
'people love talking about themselves unless they have something to hide.'
'worst form of torture is silence.'
'The Baluchs are simple, he does not think unless we ask.'

Somanatha by Romila Thapar

Once upon a time there were no Hindus and Muslims in India but a rich and diverse culture with Turks, Persians, Arabs, Jains & Shivas. There was a temple in Somanatha dedicated to Shiva which was never actually destroyed by the Mahmud Ghazni, never once let alone seventeen times. The whole story is apocryphal, concatenated by the Colonists to foster their own take on history which was a pretty straight forward story, Muslims terrorised Hindus for centuries, forcibly converting them and destroying their temples, thus instilling a great hatred for their Muslim masters. The British finally came to the rescue of the pliant and slavish Hindu and saved them from the Muslim tyranny, thus Hindus should be thankful to their new masters. The author states that even after independence, modern historians have chosen to pick pieces from the British history without questioning its authenticity. The author has painstakingly researched Jain and other contemporary narratives and decided that the whole story was an probably a very elaborate hoax!! Wow.

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt

The book is a welcome addition to the field of Moral philosophy. It presents a good comparison between Eastern and Western description of morals, clearly siding with the Eastern approach which I think is wrong. Western 'individualistic' approach may seem off-hand and shallow but I find it very difficult to reject the Western achievements in freedom and liberty just based on a few months of research in India I am afraid. India is no comparison with the author's home country USA which the author has clearly being influenced with.

Nevertheless the author does a great job of explaining with a number of stories and analogies the difference between reason and impulsiveness, with impulsiveness and emotions clearly leading and reason coming in after with elaborate justifications. Again I tend to agree with this analysis of the emotions dominating our lives, but I was a bit surprised why the author missed a trick with not drawing more from the rich research available from the various religions of the world. Again the whole scientific term claimed by the author as a very new area of study is nothing different from hundreds of years of very rich studies already available on the religious shelves in countless libraries across the world. Religion is an old player in this domain and the author should have fully utilized the rich resource at hand.

There is one reference to the Quranic approach to apostasy which according to the author is clearly prescribed as death which is an untrue claim as given on the following link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam   

The book does a tremendous job of explaining the blind nature of following political ideologies by drawing upon examples for the Democrates and the Republicans in American political domain. It also explains the genesis of morals quoting from Darwin and the latest in evolutionary sciences.  I think the author does a tremendous job presenting morals as necessary but not in the real living breathing world.

India rising by Oliver Balch

Is India really shining? How is India reacting to the massive change in consumerism? How will the millions of have-nots and know-nots react to the change surrounding them? This book attempts to answer all if the questions above and more by interviewing and experiences people directly playing a role in this ongoing drama. The personalities are profiled diligently managing to leave a long lasting impression on the reader. I liked the wide cross-section of people interviewed from drivers right through to captain Gopinath, owner of Air Deccan. Books makes a very interesting read of the current trends in India. Excellent resource for sociology students.

Engineering Long-Lasting Software by Armando Fox & David A. Patterson

I bought and read the book in conjunction with a free online SAAS course with www.coursera.org. Together with the video courses I completed five chapters of the group which made brilliant reading explaining the philosophy of hardware vs software testing and the whole focus on TDD (Test Driven Development). For someone like me who comes from a network based background this TDD approach is pretty far fetched at the moment. But I found the concepts interesting to know at the least.

Them by Jon Ronson

Very interesting read. Jon sets himself the task of trying to understand the fundamentalist viewpoint by taking them seriously. He discovers a certainly logic behind various viewpoints, a modern world controlled by a clique of Jews and Jew-like people or capitalists. Not only does he believe them but he actually tries to follow their tips right into the heart of the secret Druist ritual in America. At various stages I even felt that the whole conspiracy theory was actually real. I see a lot of parallels between these conspiracy theories in West and Pakistan. Was Osama really killed or not? What difference does it make? For me that idiot was a waste of space. Blind trust will lead to these stories appearing real. How we can trust such fantastic assumptions when we cannot even trust our own eyes sometimes?

The hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones

A definite 5 stars from me. It has to be one of the most thoroughly researched and detailed account of the Moriscos (new Christians or Muslim converts) set in 16th century Spain. I was taken into a world where a defeated Muslim community is forced to chose between survival and their old faith. The main character is a bastard son of a Catholic priest and a Muslim girl who struggle through a civil war and makes it to the higher echelons of Spanish society, only to be unceremoniously chucked out because of his uncertain credentials by a Royal decree. I lived the various dialogues between the very faithful Christians and Muslims in the story. I thought that the era was very nicely captured by the author, though at times the flow is slightly repetitive. It was news for me that the initial Muslim conquest was not really seen as a Muslim victory per se by the vanquished as they thought the Muslims to be another version of the the various Christian sects residing across the pond for about 30 years. I really enjoyed the focus on the ordinary and the downtrodden in the story. This particular method of encapsulating factual history in a story is the best way of enjoying mundane history in my opinion.

I loved the way the whole story climaxes as well, only 960 pages later.........

An Introduction to Islamic Law by Joseph Schacht

How I wish some  of our own (Muslim) scholars would take matters into their own hands instead of leaving a huge gaping void in knowledge which is being slowly filled by Western and Secular academics. The way information is help back from us is very pretentious I find, what do they think we are little kids who need to be protected?

This book is a great example of a western scholar using analytical techniques to portray the history of the Sharia and the Sunna. Some of the points picked up by me in the book are......

The Arabs due to the quick nature of their initial conquests had to rely on heavily on tradition and precedent of their elders, as they found themselves masters of alien very well developed cultures in a decade. The Arabs regarded the Sunna as precedent laid down by a person only recently, but then this person was their Imam, their greatest spokesman and leader, so therefore the Sunna although a recent innovation in itself was used to discredit everything new or different. So initially the newly construed Sunna was used to bind the community together. Once the aim was achieved the Arabs resorted back to their traditionalism using the Sunna as precedent.
The author also maintains that the Sharia is not exactly divine but very much made by men and cites similar contemporary laws from the Romans, Jewish and Sassanid cultures, whom the Muslims had subdued in a matter of a decade. I find the argument pretty plausible as the link of Sharia to the Quran is pretty tenuous.

There are holes in the study as well, for instance when the author maintains that the Sharia was generally decided by the majority opinion of the scholars which generally went against the majority opinion of the masses. How he came about this conclusion is not exactly justified as this trend goes against the practice of making changes in the modern law.

Sharia is based on Umayyad system of governing provinces based from Kufa, very similar to the English Law based on the King James Bible from London in the 16th century. In the second century of Islam, the Iraqis converted the Sunna from a political and theological into a legal context, which gave the impression that Sunna was divine in nature and every act of the Prophet was meant to be followed and interpreted as a living tradition, which still exists to this day.
The various schools of sharia formulation are also contradictory, which also points to the men-devised-sharia argument. In short through the ages, the Sunna evolved from a political and theological study to a legal one, which transformed into a tradition verses 'ray' (opinions based on reason), ultimately culminating into Ibn-Taymayyah's famous decree in the wake of the tremendous Mongol defeat of the Baghdad Khilafat to sanctification of the traditions into a pure unbreakable idol. Since than, there has been no need to alter the Sharia as the lands and laws of Muslims were slowly encroached by Western powers with their own set of laws, basically marginalizing Sharia forever. Moreover, this traditionalist approach also helps foster the romantic notion  of going back to the time-of-the-Prophet, an ideal epoch, a perfect time, a necessary must for every rightly believing Muslim to try and achieve.

The Koran: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Cook

This is book is a very concise and relevant view of issues related to the Koran. The Koran is a scripture, not a treatise or dogmatic theology.

The author points out some of the known issues in the Koran, like the issue of abrogation of verses. How can all powerful Allah not know? The author does not delve too much in the many explanations given by Muslim apologists defending or denying abrogation, but I guess it is very difficult to defend the resulting contradictions due to the many abrogations listed in the Koran.

The other issue was introduced by 13th century scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, who argued that all Muslims shall have to learn Arabic in order to really understand Islam. Suffice to say, this completely impractical suggestion is pretty relevant even to this date where a number of scholars argue its many merits, leaving me flabbergasted generally.

The next issue was relevance of Koran when juxtaposed with modernity values of science, religious tolerance and women rights. With science, the author quotes studies profiling Koran in light of modern science. The obvious disadvantage being that science will move on, thus making the Koranic justifications redundant. Religious tolerance is also an issue with many Scholars declaring non-Muslims subservient in the light of Koranic verses. Similar stance is taken when women are considered through the Koranic lens. I think the author has made a pretty valid point as Koran fares very well when compared to the Bible and other scriptures but lacks when judged against modernity. More efforts have to be taken by the Islamic scholars to modernise the Koran, I guess otherwise it could be resigned to obscurity like other previous scriptures.

The other issue is whether to consider the Koran literally or metaphorically? other issues discussed are...
- Should the Koran be bought or sold like the Jews?
- How to dispose a worn out or used Koran properly? Wipe off the ink from the paper maybe? But what to do with the inky water? the author cites the example of the Taliban who banned all paper bags in Afghanistan in fear that the paper may contain Koranic verses.
- How to make sure that the text remains accurate? Engrave it on the rock for longevity? The Chinese Hun did it but that too could not last for more than a decade. There are no master copies of the Koran.
All in all the author likes the way Koran was preserved, with all errors intact, the way how the Koran was broadcasted across the ages.

Finally the tradition of numbering the verses has been pretty recent and the naming of Surahs is also man made, not divine.   

Chaos by James Gleick Chaos: The Making of a New Science by James Gleick

Although this is a scientific book explaining a new scientific faculty, but the author manages to keep novices like me pretty entertained. It is a story about iconoclast breed of scientists going against the grain. What amazed me that all of the pioneering scientists was not the non-understanding of their papers and presentations bu the amount of hostility they faded by their peers. The deep hostility and prejudice is due to two reasons, the re-discovery of traditional accepted scientific facts in a new light, and the threat to their own works of science which they all relied on for their day to day existence.

Very similar to the experience faced by most prophets preaching their new religion to peers. true heroes.

Aag Ka Darya by Quratulain Hyder

What a novel, I cannot believe any Indian Muslim would be capable of writing such literature after growing up in a very conservative, Islami, Zia Ul Haqqi Pakistan. No wonder Quratulain Hyder left Pakistan to settle back in India. The novel starts from 2000 yeas ago, in the time when Alexander the great and Darius third were fighting it out. Her first hero is a Brahmin barmachariya, who is a talented artist who finds inspiration in a failed romance. The next hero is a Muslim soldier katib, the jumping a couple of thousand years who is looking to document the history of the land they have become masters off, but are completely frustrated by the lack of any written records of history. History does not seem to be very important with the local people, who only seem to be occupied with accepting all vagaries of life, all masters, abhorring conflict, content to spend their lives in trying to find the meaning of life.
Raised the very important question for me, what have gained by severing ties with India? How can we forget our forefathers and their efforts? Creating nations based on ideology has put us in a constant state of unrest. After all, any ideology is perfect, absolute which unfortunately makes it very unachievable as well. The great religion of Islam is just one of the other great religions to inhibit the great land mass of India. It has had its peak, but also its low with the British taking away all its glory. Trying to resurrect the spirit of Islam in India is a lost cause for me, as we have forgotten the skill to rule as well as severed all links with global Islamic super power of that time. What is the use of harping about unity of a weak and miskeen Ummah?  We are a nation without a nation, flying in the air without a base to return to. How long can we fly aimlessly?
The 'river of blood' is used to string the novel together as the heroes change over time. The third progenitor is an English who comes to India with the famous East India Company to make a fortune. But the next change in scenario winds to the all familiar Lucknow which is Qurat's specialty. Suddenly the smooth description of the progenitor disappears as a myriad of characters suddenly come to the fore, confusing the whole story very badly. I can understand why Qurat could have messed this bit up as this was her own era so she was capable of presenting a lot more but this change in style is very confusing for the reader. Wish we had proper Urdu publishing industry in India/Pakistan who would have been able to correct this massive anomaly.
It is two novels in one. The first one is brilliant followed by longish one set in the elitist circles of 1940's Lucknow. The second one is an exact copy of 'teri bhi sanam khaney' which I found tough going as most of the characters were going through their lives without much excitement or action. Qurat's problem is that she reckons Lucknow to be at par with London, Paris, New York. The cultured girls of Lucknow seem to be in hot demand of eligible bachelors the world over. The music, the culture, the dance the political awareness is above everyone else in all of India, especially the Punjabis who in contrast are are great spoilers of culture, who are nothing in front of Luckow wallas. The second bit of the novel has brought the rating down to 3 stars.

What are universities for? by Stefan Collini

Universities are not corporations and corporations are not universities. Every Pakistan student needs to understand this vital and critical difference. Why because undue and unnatural credence is given to education in the Pakistani culture.

Therefore, longer time spent in any university may prove to be counter intuitive when money has to be made in the real world filled with greedy corporations and even greedier businesses. Be prepared to be outflanked by a result producing technician who may be favoured over you even with your high and mighty degrees.
I loved the similitude drawn between a university and museum or an art gallery, his exposition of 'global' league tables and student surveys in order to excite and attract foreign students to invest into their assured futures as well as supplementing the university campuses and academic staffs.
The other vital point which the author seems to make is the self-righteous smugness inculcated into every university graduate because modern Universities try and brand themselves as finishing schools of modern civilization. How can a snotty nineteen year old be magically transformed into a well mannered, conscientious citizen in just 4 years of University education? This book is very powerful as the author seems to be going the grain here especially if you consider his own academic background. Its exactly like a religious person rejecting his own religion and becoming an atheist.

The whole argument is based around the British government slow and gradual re-branding exercise to view modern universities as corporations of education, thus relegating students to commodities. The author tries to exposed the illogic in the governments logic to measure the Universities instead of judging them. The argument is detailed and reads like a newspaper column at times. It is meant for university curriculum.

In Afghanistan's shadow: Baluch nationalism and Soviet temptations by Selig S. Harrison

For a land the size of France and a terrain which resembles that of the Moon and Mars, this is an excellent which presents the history of the current rebellion in the forgotten region of Baluchistan. Interestingly the name of the book itself is a sign for the insignificant treatment received by the valiant Baluch's over the years. it is a story of a Baluch race kept deliberately ignorant , first by their tribal leaders in connivance with their British masters and followed by the new Pakistan master race, Punjabis. The book sets the context of the struggle from 1947, the 'independence' of Pakistan, when the Baluch suddenly found themselves ditched by their old masters, the British which the author somehow forgets to mention. The Punjabis, who seemed to inherit the power from the British flexed their muscles on the behest of the powerful Punjabi dominated army by first insisting on a one-unit in West Pakistan in a power struggle with the Bengalis in the East Pakistan. In the fight for dominance of power in Pakistan, the Baluch leadership were ditched even more, relegated to small military actions and dubious deals based on the Quran which were conveniently ignored as there was no mention of an oath based on Quran in Pakistani laws to start with. This made the already incredulous  Baluch's even more frustrated and forlorn which ultimately resulted in the popular uprising fueled by the few students coming out of Pakistani setup schooling system. There are absolute gems in the book like the following quote from Baluch Nationalist leader Khair Buksh Marri. 'If the Punjabis we're not prepared to share power with majority Bengalis than how do you expect them to yield power to minority Baluchis?' And from Bezenjo,' when a country divides than the sole responsibility lies with the people who were it's most policy makers, (Punjabis) supporters and enforcers.'

Baluch are internally divided among various cultures dominated by the few yet elitist Baruhi clan. they don't really understand how democracy is supposed to work. Its a numbers game, if you do not reproduce enough, you wont really have a share of the power. Also the Baluch struggle is not popular among the masses due to its elitist nature, and the dearth of the higher and self-aware educated middle class. The Baluch cannot really compare themselves to the Bengalis because of three factors. East Pakistan was physically separated from West Pakistan, Indian support for the Bengali freedom fighters, and the buy in from student, and educated middle class in East Pakistan, all three of which are woefully absent from the current Baluchistani independence struggle.

The other angle which is somehow lost in the story of struggle is the fact that land of Baluchis is divided among three nations, the largest of which is Pakistani controlled, the second chunk is under Islamic Republic of Iran and the third falls under Afghanistan. It is interesting to note that the Pakistani controlled Baluch's seem to have done the best in terms of revolutionary struggle, for which credit should be given to Pakistan. You could also argue that the revolution is being led because Pakistani controlled Baluch's are the most disenfranchised, but I would beg to differ, as for me all revolutions are led by an educated lower middle class nurtured in state tun schools which are non-existent in Afghanistan and negligible in Iranian controlled Baluchi areas.

That's offensive by Stefan Collini

It is the smallest cutest book I have ever read, can be easily covered in less than an hour, but what it sets outs to do is pretty remarkable. It is trying to bring back the actual spirit of criticism, by cleaning off all accumulated fat like political correctness and religious and racial sensitivities. For me the most important aspect in life is to engage my convictions, broadcast them publicly and than sit back and defend these concoction with my full force. Now whatever is left still, after extensive cross cultural engagement will make any left over convictions stronger and more reliable, although not absolutely watertight though.
I also enjoyed the writing style which is very difficult to follow, much like my own I am afraid :(

Standing alone in Mecca by Asra Q. Nomani

I was well impressed by the author's fight for equality inside the mosque, so I mentioned her crusade to my wife, who remarked,' what's the use if her own community has ostracised her in the end?' I thought it was a valid point as I plunged into the book.
Unfortunately the book is nothing but a classical dichotomy between parental religion (in this case Islam) and her own version, through the eyes of an ABCD (American born Confused Desi). The main accusation against ABCD is that they think they are superior as compared to their parent's culture. They are trying to answer a very important much avoided question here: why did the parents chose to leave their own set environments and cultures and or a life in the West? It is a noble and valid quest to answer indeed, filling a gulf in their lives I am sure, but the way they go about trying to answer this question is where I disagree. They always seem to pick out religion as the only really reason for the demise of the parental cultures. I guess because religion is the most documented that's why. This is a classical contradiction as religion must be held liable for its demise an breakdown of parent's culture surely? How are the ABCD's trying to rekindle something which is proven to have failed, if it was the only reason that is.
The second point is religion is one of the reasons for the demise of the parental cultures, there were many other factors for the sorry state of original cultures like lack of resources, jobs, family issues, living conditions, security, services with the biggest reason being relative equality o opportunities which the ABCD's do not seem to expose too much. Maybe because they haven't really managed to compete with the Western counterparts that well? I am not really sure.
Nevertheless, the book was very interesting insight into a life of an ABCD still living with her very supportive parents well into her 40's, giving lectures on modernising Islam to a very eager Western audience. She has really embraced America hasn't she?

Ghosts of Empire by Kwasi Kwarteng

This book presents a unique take on British Imperialsim, arguing that it was Philosopher king like British aristocrats who ruled the colonies on whim rather than some defined set of policies dictated by the mainland British government. The most informative and enjoyable bit personally for me was the Kashmir chapters as it presented some of the most balanced views I have yet had to read. I also enjoyed the chapters on Iraq, Burma and Hong Kong. This book is highly recommended to any seeker of Imperialism.

Beyond the Border by Yoginder Sikand

Its a very long travelogue of a Indian leftist trying to visit Pakistan fascinated by his grandmothers stories about her family near Gujranwala in Pakistan. The book starts from building Pakistani perceptions in India and than comparing some of those perceptions when the author finally makes it to Pakistan. I found the book pretty balanced narrative, written in simple Hinglish/Pinklish (Hindi English/Pakistani English) when the author visits various sites authorized on his visa. I especially found his experiences with the Haris, and Dalits in Pakistan pretty revealing. I also tend to agree with the treatment or no treatment of the ancient ruins of Moenjedaro, Sindh pretty spot on. It is a great dis service to Pakistan to neglect such a rich heritage and ancient site like Moenjedaro for any reason.

I wish such courageous travels are taken up by more Pakistani and Indian citizens as they help bridge the gap between two completely different ideological states, one based on religion and the other on secularism.

A whistling woman by A S Byatt

Could not finish this one, gave up after a 100 pages. The character kept appearing and appearing with no clear link between each other. There was also a temporal shift with characters sometimes appearing 30 years ago.

The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth

I found it a very enjoyable and pleasantly written book, one which managed to keep me very entertained by invoking regular laughter. The research seems to be well managed and modern, and the author seems to be a real lover of words. Someone I would very much like to meet someday. Great effort.

In the rose garden of the martyrs by Christopher de Bellaigue

This is a great book on Iran if you have been keeping pace with what has been happening there, politically since the Islamic revolution, otherwise certain sections might became a bit of a drag. The author has the singular advantage of being a British man married to an Iranian lady and living in Tehran, giving him pretty unprecedented coverage of the insides of a very proud but wounded country. Proud because of their culture and wounded because despite their tall claims they were routinely overlooked when the new world powers were busy collecting prize lands for themselves, places like India, Sri Lanka, Africa etc.

I was a bit disappointed in that the author chose to present an Iran by interviewing people of substance and not choosing to present the life's and impacts of the ordinary people. Because of this route, every time he presented a new character, a quick historical context had to be established which proved pretty tedious to me as I had little background of the ground politics of Iran.

Machete Season by Jean Hatzfeld

The educated people were certainly the ones who drove the farmers on, out in the marshes. Today they're the ones who juggle with the words or turn close-mouthed. Many sit quietly in their same places as before. Some have become ministers or bishops; they aren't much in the public eye, but they still wear their fancy clothes and fold framed glasses. While suffering keeps us in prison. Adalbert, a Hutu farmer turned killer in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

What a book. Its a book which is unlike any other, written from the point of view of a journalist with very few of his own deductions. I loved the whole outlay of the book as it just presented the facts from the killers point of views. There was little covering or philosophy behind the pure butchery of the whole exercise which sort of makes sense when you consider butchers dealing with meat, taking life every day and living without any remorse in their daily lives. The interviewed Hutu killers were like the butchers for three months of absolute carnage, egged on by the society and the leadership, they killed with systematic efficiency, over and over again. There seems to be no rational explanation of this absolute carnage. All you get is quiet contemplation and a warning to quell any hate filled rhetoric as quickly as possible, because any idea once popular is impossible to kill.

The social animal by David Brooks

I liked the concept and objective of the book, to present modern psychology in the form of a long story of a modern but a very Western American couple. This makes the whole presentation rather restrictive, only to two White Western American nurtured protagonists. I just wish we could get some other authors looking at various other cultures in a similar fashion, but I guess the drive has to come from other cultures and I shall not take anything away from the wonderfully scholarly work done by the author in achieving his objective. I loved the corporate cultural bits as well where a detailed analysis of a very real problem of todays world is very nicely portrayed. parts of the story are riveting but others drag on sometimes. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Western cultural lifestyles of successful couples, along with the thousands of movies and documentaries complimenting this same worthy domain to death.

Its time authors start to use their great skills to analyze other cultures in the world as well.

The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell.

This is a fictional historical novel set in the 9th century between Saxons and the Danes. What impressed me most is the story narration from the view of a common soldier who is struggling with life and religions. I also. Luke not help making a straight comparison between the current rhetoric in Pakistan and the alleged 9th century Britain. Christian God was always right, whether or not you won or lost or died or lived. The Bible along with a incalculable number of saints had ready answers for all of the issues faced by Alferd the King. All impossible problems, all ailments could be addressed by the power of the prayer. I confess, this comparison made me depressed when I considered the Pakistan milieu of today, unfortunately.

Countdown to Armageddon by Mattias Gardell

Islam in the USA. This book explains the absorption of Islam in the USA over hundreds of years from aprophycal tales of Abubakri II, ruler of Mali who had discovered America 200 years before Columbus to the current NOI school led by Louis Farrakhan, this book has it all. The main focus is on the NOI in trying to define its philosophy of the black man as Allah. Each one is Allah the Creator. The link of NOI with Libyan leader Qaddafi is also explained which is a very interesting description. I guess it is only natural that the black man, after years of slavery and direct subjugation rise up and claim its natural rank among the other races in the world. The book explains how the leaders of NOI are living like kings on handouts of the poor black brothers and how the poor brothers seem to be very happy with this unfair arrangement. The followers are happy because they are happy to be part of an establishment of speakers and edifices which they can call their own. I think this is all a part of growing up. The white man is classified as a devil himself, while all blacks are Allah's. Islam has made inroads among the American blacks precisely because no nationalist American black can call white favoured Christianity as its own. Islam is also popular because it focuses on orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy making it easier to spread without the aid of preachers and canonists travelling to far flung areas. Interestingly this is precisely the same reason why terrorists are able to form groups all over the world in isolation simply because of this effect based nature of Islam. But this opposition to white mans religion of Christianity has produced a lively argument. Consider this gem by the Messenger, Elijah Muhammad,' there is no such thing as dying and coming up out of the earth and meeting those who died before you. I say get out of such slavery teachings. It keeps you blind, deaf and dumb to reality.... When you are dead you are DEAD. Heaven and hell are not postmortem destinations but conditions on earth. Hell is when you are enslaved, poor, and deprived of true knowledge if a self and God. Hell is when someone else controls you and your life. The white man enjoys a heavenly affluence in the same world in which the black man endures hell, a situation bound to continue until the curse is lifted.'

50 psychology classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon

This book is unique as it reads like a introduction book and a reference book at the same time. The book is divided into 50 chapters around critical questions like
Dreams and their language
Depression
Sex
Relationships
Moods
Corporate cultures
Money
And on and on.
Each chapter is taken from great books written on the subject with brief biographeys of the various phsycologists.

تلاش ممتاز مفتى

ي تلاش ايسى ك جس كى كوى منزل نحي.
اسلام أور چيز ح أور كتاب اود.
متعصب لوگ كحتيحن ك اسلام تلوار ك زور پر پهيلا. وه سچ كحتيحن ليكن ي تلوار فولاذ كى نحين ، أسلامى كردار كى تهى.
آيك خاتون كا عشق انسان كو پاگل بنا ديتا ه أور وه كسى جوگا نحين رهتا تو الله كا عشق كيا هو گا؟
هوش ارا ديتا ه اك خاك ك پتلى كا جمال
خود وه كيا هو گا اسي هوش مي لاني والا؟
عشق فرد كا كام ه قوم كا نحين.
دًُر بهى آيك تعلق ه، محبت بهى ايك تعلق هِ.
I don't know about this book. First of all there is a lot contradiction between the way he takes down Alims but than follows others of his own choice. The book is also incredibly positive outlook on Pakistan which is a theme he seems to have borrowed from Qudrat Ullah Shihab. Also the role of the Prophet, Koran and Muslim race has been greatly eulogised. He has also indulged in taking down the Western race without properly looking into reasons why they have done better. I give credit to Mufti for trying to get youngsters out of the doctrinal clutches of Pakistani Islam, but he fails to give them any future direction. Why should the young not be impressed by Western development? Haven't the Westerners after having learned from Muslims doing a great job currently? The issue is, that when knowledge is lost, or moves away from one culture how do you recapture it back? And that is what these scholars need to be thinking about.

The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureshi

What a story. Difficult to extricate if you are a desi in Inglistan. don't believe me? Check this out.
'In the suburbs people rarely dreamed of striking out for happiness. It was all familiarity and endurance: security and safety were the reward of dullness.' Huh, what do you think? Want more, here is a bit of a dialogue between an old immigrant (Anwer, owner of grocery store) and his freshly imported son in law (Changez) from India, specially brought in as extra help with the shop.
Anwer had reclaimed Changez and was patiently explaining to him about the shop, the wholesaler and financial situation. Changez stood there looking out of the window and scratching his arse, completely ignoring his father in law, who had no choice but to carry on with his explanation. As Anwer was talking Changez turned to him and said, 'I thought that it would much more freezing in England than this?'
Anwer was bewildered, irritated by his non sequitur.
'But I was speaking about the price of vegetables,' said Aner.
'What for?' asked Chagez in bewilderment. 'I am mailny a meat-eater.'

The book is filled with many tensions in the immigrant community of Asians in England. Between themselves, the Whites, and fresh arrivals like Changez.

Encounters with Islam by Malise Ruthven

I want you to beg borrow or steal in order to buy this book, if you are a Muslim. The book is a literary review, an overarching discussion of all books about Islam in today's world. I have begun to understand the great fear of the new Europeans when confronted by the Muslim culture. It's a case of identity crises. At a time when Europe is trying to come up with a distinctive new identity, the last thing it needs is to try and absorb a very different and distant Muslim identity. How does an Europe deal with the guilt of colonialism and the Holocaust, not to forget the hundreds of years of crusades? The Jews are not so numerous and have already cashed in by claiming Israel for themselves, but what about the millions of colonists? Interestingly it is exactly this payback mentality shared by a number of Pakistani immigrants in UK. 'Time to get our share back for what they have taken away from us,' is how they justify their continued existence in UK over and over again.
This book presents both sides of the arguments categorising various authors and presenting the gestalt of their discourse on a platter. It is difficult not to admire this format as a Muslim for the shear number of explanations included between it's covers.

Toast by Nigel Slater

Bloody waste of my time. It's a collection of English food which I could hardly relate to. There was no constant thread through the book which I could follow apart from mentioning food. Don't quite understand why anyone would be interested in writing such a book to be honest, and how this book became a best seller in UK is beyond my feeble comprehension. I mean food is for eating and savouring, not bragging about and that too about ordinary household food which went bad mostly. The good author could have fulfilled his great craving for food by indulgence into cooking and hospitality by actually making some dishes of his childhood for his friends and instead written about something else more revealing and insightful for me.

Light on Life by Hart de Fouw & Robert Svoboda

This book is a couple of Westerners researching the much practised and honoured skill of Jyotishi in India. But unfortunately this book is not for the causal sort of reader wanting to understand the intricacies of Hinduism. I have yet to read a book which is able to explain the Hindu mythology or philosophy in any simple terms. There are negations and contradictions from the very second page which only get complicated as you leaf further. These faculties can only be properly understood with a living Guru not with a paper one I am afraid. I have yet again managed not to finish this one :(

The Hinge Factor by Erik Durschmied

This book should have been named something apart from the 'Hinge factor' as it looks into the events of which went wrong for the losers of the many battles fought over the ages. Instead, the author has chosen to present his evidence as a collection of alternate 'what-if' scenarios. The issue is that any 'What-if' is sort of difficult to predict due to the nature of the unknown and I think the author acknowledges this fact by choosing not to detail any alternative theories. That's probably a very wise decision because only when certain authors start to theorise what-if's that strange judgements and conspiracy theories tend to emerge. These pseudo prophets are dangerous individuals who seem to relish in writing their own versions of their korans. Who wouldn't as the allure is so powerful. So for me the details of the battles listed give credence to the ever present chance or luck factor prevalent in every battle, every decision, every moment in our lives. Makes very interesting reading of a number of decisive battles and wars over the years, making it abundantly clear as to why such histories need to be scientifically researched as they can yield important corrective measures for all future battles to come, not barring the luck factor though. Therefore, for me this book should have been named the 'luck factor' but I guess that would have made it a very hard sell for the super confident Western audience who give little credence to luck in their very successful lives. Can't really blame this behaviour as well though....

I found it a fascinating fact that most wars in Europe were fought between the kinfolk, brother against brother or cousin against cousin, much in the same way as most bitter disputes still incur between family members. Just take a look around any family or observe the popularity of any TV soap of today.

One of the best encounters was the Boer war. Where the British gunners followed logic, their opponents used their instincts.

For me, the author fails to complete his argument. He starts off with the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, almost analysing some of the factors behind the tremendous event but abandons it completely during the whole narration till picking it up right in the end again. Yes, I thought, maybe he will give some details of this biggest crime the West has chosen to ignore over the years, but to my utter dismay the author failed to detail any circumstances here again. I have a feeling maybe the Publisher or Editor may have something to do with curtailing this section for the consumption of a very Western readers. Serves us right for not reading enough though. If there are enough readers buying books in the Islamic world than it will force the literal community to produce books to appease their new customers surly?

Ordinary thunderstorms by William Boyd

Very, very interesting plot in which an ordinary working class, almost brilliant British academic gets involved in a horrible crime in London which he counters by running away and hiding. He forges a brand new personality for himself as he lives off the streets of London. The plot gets better as he is still hunted by the killers who are working for a huge corporation. The story well till the very end where somehow the author runs out I ideas as to how to finish off the loose ends. Why did a cold blooded killer decide not to shoot his dog when he seemed not have the slightest hesitation killing a young girl and an innocent professor? Will the protagonists new GF ever find out his old identity? How can an intelligent and very able protagonist live satisfied working as a porter? How can a successful girl get involved with a hospital porter in the first place? Maybe I fail to understand as I am a Pakistani, but some of the assumptions were asking a bit too much of my imagination.
Otherwise I found the story very interesting especially the working of large corporations, journalists, and ordinary working class. I quite enjoyed the interpretation of the Corporate jostling, very realistic. The book is very captivating but the end could have been even better.

Famous short stories from Prem Chand

Possibly the best in Urdu short stories I have yet to read.

انحراف كا اثر ترياق سي رد نحي هو سكتا.
No anti-dote can cure once rebellion sets in.
أميد كا سراب ديكه كر بري بري دانا بهي شيخ چلي بن جاتي هيى.
حر آيك اصول كي عملي شان كچه أور هوتي هي.

راندْ اپني ماندْ ميى خوش حيى.
A prostitute who is only content when in demand.
جس نئ كبهى تلوار نه چلاى هو وه إرادى كرنى پر بهى تلوار نحيى چلا سكتا.
بحاوٓ كى طرف كشتى كو ليجانا أسان حي. بحادر ملاح وهى هى جو چرْهاوٓ كى طرف كشتى كو ليجاى.

Ghosts of Spain

Ghost of Spain: travels through Spain and its silent past by Giles Tremlett.

It's a fascinating book which covers Spanish history upto 2005. The main focus of the book is on the Franco years and Spanish attitudes and behaviours of today. This is a great book for anyone looking to get up to speed on visiting or planning to live in Spain. I quite enjoyed the descriptions of the artists, writers, poets, and politicians because it helped me greatly understand the Spanish mindset.

Heaven on earth by Sadakat Kadri

It's a must read for details on the Indian and Pakistani Muslim scene. The author is not shy to exploit his own heritage by extensively touring both India and Pakistan in his quest to understand Sharia through the ages. I particularly liked the Iranian Shiah angle and the Saudi take on Wahabism. I loved it when he topped the discussion off by covering the UK Muslim approach to Islam as well. Some bits get a bit tiresome when he goes into lengthy discussions on the finer points of Sharia but I guess it was unavoidable because he was trying to analyse law. I would highly recommend this book as it as also very nicely explains the Mutazillite philosophy as compared with the orthodox Hanbali one. The author has put life into an otherwise mundane topic by referring to British tabloid reports on some Sharia exemplary judgments (some pedophile in Malaysia) and its respect in the English people. This raises an interesting theory which a French Muslim Orientalist has shrewdly raised. Why is Islam so popular among drug addicts and sociopath new converts? Is it not because of its insistence on discipline and loyalty to God which makes it attractive to potential converts in the West? I digress, onwards to my next book as I venture into the Spanish nature.........

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman

The author has tried to bring home the message that we are probably not in complete control of our selves let alone others. He has also taken apart free will which is not very good news for the skeptical types. There is also mention of the great Julian Jaynes 'Bicameral mind' theory which I found very interesting. But by and large his effort will go down as one of the many being rejected by the ever haughty scientific community for not being serious enough. The book is slightly more longer than I expected for non-scientific readers and not that much detailed for the scientific ones, I suspect.

Its worth the money for someone wanting to learn about the latest technologies on the science of the mind.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

The book is probably the best ever motivational book written in order to get any couch potato up and running, barefoot! It is a classical runners book from a runner's prospective. I found the book extremely well researched which was very surprising as it has a chapter on the evolution of man and the role of running in the life of our forefathers. The author has managed to keep my interest alive throughout the book with interesting insights into the lives of the characters and the science of running, debunking popular concepts like the role of expensive running shoes and the under hand tactics of the big corporations like Nike. The end was very well put together. I would recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in sports.

Indian Mujahideen, the enemy within by Shishir Gupta

'The solution (against home grown Islamic terrorism) particularly in India, lies not with religious clerics, but economic development, good governance, better infrastructure, more security and superior investigative tools that avoid harassment of the innocent at the end of law enforcement agencies. It is the harassment, bullying and insecurity that sowed the seeds of home grown jihad, with external forces ever ready to nurture the poison ivy and encourage it to strike its own people. '
The above statement above in the preface of the book can be perfectly applicable to Pakistan or if you chose to go a bit further to Afghanistan or to any bloody country with a strong mixture of radical religionism with bad economic conditions. The issue is the author's prejudice towards Pakistan which he has tried to counter at times but failed to do so in my opinion. On numerous occasions when profiling home grown terrorists he has used terms like 'managed to get a job in US as a lecturer' demonstrating his surprise as if implying, 'how as a Muslim could he find such a job so easily in the US? In India he would have to struggle first.'
The other question which the author does not consider is the fact that most of his profiled terrorists came from good university educational backgrounds before being radicalised, immediately raising the obvious question as to why? Why would potential engineers or doctors or pilots risk a potential safe and secure life in order to throw everything away to practice airguns?
This book is clearly written by a journalist who has not really done a lot of 'investigation' apart from a cleaner cut and paste job from police files. It reads like a dossier prepared for the Indian government which refuses to look into causes as to why so many minority Muslims seemed to be so easily being led to a suicidal career of Jihad?
On the other hand I am thankful to the author who has spelled out the depth of the Hindu paranoia against global jihad. One wonders why the Indian government has not shared its concerns with the other governments in the network like UAE, Bangladesh, Nepal and Saudi Arabia along with Pakistan.
The book was a waste of good time.

The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladmir Putin by Masha Gessen

Its a good introductory book about the state of Russia today with focus on Putin's regime. Russia somehow falls off the radar from the general Western media outlets enabling bullys like Putin to assert themselves. The best bit I enjoyed in this book was the author's description of her time spent with Gary Kasparov. As she witnessed one hurdle after the another orchestrated by the regime, she made a very astute observation.

'You can be the richest person in the world, you can be super popular, but without effective democratic structures, you can look very ordinary.' That is what Putin has effectively accomplished in Russia. He has effectively taken over the 'leader making' structures and shredded them apart.

The book is again written by a journalist. The only problem with such books is that they promise a lot, good marketing, but lack in actual substance, like literary material or logical conclusion. Still it is good quick read for some one cut off from todays Russia.

In the shadow of the sword by Tom Holland

What a controversially exciting book for the Muslims of the world. Its an honour to get a serious scholar like Tom Holland actually researching the history of the Muslims and presenting theories that help fill out many gaps in the known Muslim history. Read on if you are slightly concerned about the various claims put together by the Ulema about the authenticity of the Quran guaranteed by Allah; read on if you want to know why there is a period of almost 200 years of literally silence after the death of Muhammed; read on if you are naive enough to believe that there were no factions during and after Muhammed; keep reading to learn about the great Ummayid dynasty and their most illustrious Khalifa Abd Al Malik, enlighten yourself if you think that Islam is any different from the Roman, Persian or Christian empires preceding it;read and learn about the concept of jihad;absorb the effects of what a serious piece of historical history should look like. I wish we had one historian within the Islamic domain with balls enough to tackle such interesting issues instead of hiding behind the huge and comfortable but undefinable 'wall of faith'.

This book is the serious version of Salman's Rushdie's Satanic verses, with a lot of conjecture but without any cheap or dirty fantasy analogies. Is there any scholar in the Muslim domain who can stand up and issue a serious rebuttal to this book or are we going to have to rely on some Western scholar to help us out yet again? I have asked Zia Uddin Sardar to reflect.

I have just read a pretty damning review by Zia Uddin Sardar in which he tries to take Tom's effort apart. But the issue is that history is not Zia's area of speciality. What is badly needed is a Muslim historian adept in global history and then handling these questions with some level of respect.

Tom concludes in the end that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. I think Muslims have to rise to the challenge again.

The Duel by Tariq Ali

Starts of well with good insight into the reasons why Pakistan was created. I liked the bits about Muslim League own history, as a feudal based conservative party created to garner relations with their British masters. I also enjoyed the piece on the way how the colonialists used to brand certain nationalities like the Pathans for their own nefarious purposes. How an image of a warrior and a always vengeful Pathan was pushed almost becoming the sine qua non of his profile; thereby justifying all punitive actions against them. I was able to link the two together; the Muslim League's reliance on the British/Americans and the sticking to the colonialist definitions of the locals [like Pathans] even after the partition because of their own weakness in community based politics in Pakistan, both East and the West.

The other strong odour from the book was nationalism; Pakistani nationalism was born after its creation while the Indian started way back in 1885. The Pakistani version before 1947 was based on partition from the Hindus instead. I think we have never successfully been able to separate the two successfully; nationalism and our hatred for the Hindu majority.

Khadija by Resit Haylamaz

'At the time Khadija was born, Hijaz was, in every sense of the word, living in the time of ignorance. However there were a few roses among the swamp where people found solstice and wisdom...... ' What irony in the statement, how can you have a completely ignorant society which produces some of the wisest men on earth?
If you can somehow bypass such stark assumption made by the author and keep focused on trying to gauge as much information as possible about one of the most allusive and neglected personalities of the Islamic faith then you might be able to get answers to some very important questions, like, why role did Hazrat Khadija play in protecting her husband in a very hostile atmosphere after his open declaration of the new faith. Could he have ever accomplished what he did without her ardent support? How many husbands are pulled right left and centre by wives pushing their own agenda, completely destroying all of their husband's dreams in the process. Her diminished and subdued role in the story of Islam has to be highlighted in order to tackle this very patriarchal attitude prevalent in the Islam of today. I also the concept of coming of a messiah is still pretty much an entity of all religions, the Hindus with their avatars, Muslims with Imam Mehdi, Christians and Jews with the messiah, so I understand the authors insistence that the Hijaz at that time was rampant with signs of the coming of a Prophet. The atmosphere described is very much similar to the one we have today, hence pretty normal I think.

Basically this book is a waste of time. The only revelation for me was that Hazrat Khadijah had already married twice and had kids from both earlier marriages before she got engaged to the Prophet.

Breaking the curfew by Emma Duncan

Wonder what has taken me so long to read this great book on Pakistan? I think the desire to read it was triggered after reading 'Eye of the storm' by OB Jones. The book is a series of interviews across the various classes of the Pakistani society, a bit like 'A million mutinies now' by Naipaul. I loved the skeptical narrative as she interviewed and compared events around her with the narrative on offer. I think she very nicely catches the mood of the country and the various challenges across the gamut of the society. It was enjoyable to see her interview the President and the taxi driver and present their views in an equal measure. Why can't our own Pakistani journalists or authors write similar books you may wonder. It is because they do not find it easy to get access to the rich and mighty which this particular author or indeed any foreigner seems to enjoy in Pakistan. Maybe it is throwback to the British Raj? Go figure.....

Wisdom by Stephen Hall

Excellent book which attempts to bring back Wisdom to the centre of science.
For me there is a fundamental problem with science of today, it is too
structured and somehow the faculty of wisdom has failed to formalize in this a
very finely defined domain. No wonder the world has not seen a modern version
of a Socrates or Pluto. or maybe we have already defined everything we ought
to know about wisdom and now suffering from exposure to strings of wise
cliches? A bit like self help books? The book is very important link in which
the author tries to bring wisdom back into the main fold of science. But
unfortunately he cannot do enough justice to the task he set himself as
routinely he has to resort to stories and anecdotes to explain complex issues
with wisdom. I think he will fail to see this book on the shelves along with
great works of science which is indeed a state of shame.

The Night of the Miraj by Zoë Ferraris

The one I read was called 'The Night of the Miraj'. This is indeed the author's first novel. The crime and its discovery story are very tedious and repetitive to follow. But what makes this book most valuable is the tension introduced by religious piety on a culture. All women have to veil and the men have to take pains not to even glance at them for fear of becoming impure. This is Wahabism of the extreme quality. Just one gem of an example in the book. The hero and heroin go out on a date with the heroin's minder who is basically someone required to keep the religious police away. They want to buy ice cream and eat it while sitting in a closed compartment of a ferris wheel which is three minutes of walk away. Simple anywhere else in the vile and corrupt world, but in the righteous Kingdom of Saudi Arabia apparently not so. Why, because of the fact that the heroin has to lift the veil in order to eat the ice cream the she cannot do so publicly. Therefore the owner of the shop has to provide an icebox which is then used to carry the two measly ice creams to the privacy of the ferris wheel before they can be eaten.

If the author wanted to portray Arab Bedouin's as some sort of hero status than she is failed miserably to convey this message to me. After reading this book I have further begun to dislike the Saudi culture I am afraid.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

What a wonderful book to explore the common sense. It challenges both established hardened structures and known stereotypes and prejudices. A must read for every thinker, every wayfarer on the path to wisdom.

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik

Saw the movie first and fell in love with the concept of trying to see the maximum number of birds in a calendar year. The book itself is very different from the movie. In my opinion both literary and cinematic experience are a must.

Pakistan: Eye of the Storm by Owen Bennett Jones

Excellent book about Pakistan concentrating on the Musharraf regime, detailing most of the major issues with detailed historical insight. It reads like a long newspaper article but very nicely structured to make it absorbing. Kashmir, Nationalism, Bangladesh, Bomb, Democracy and the Army are analysed and conclusion drawn. I thank the author for taking time off to write a wonderful and fairly objective view of my country. Although the book is written for the non Pakistanis but I would highly recommend the book for all Pakistanis as well. The concise history given is very revelatory.  

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The Mulberry Empire by Philip Hensher

I live for books like these, authors who can go back effortlessly in history and make a novel of factual events. Philip has gone further in this one, not only does a masterfully explanation of the era both in the then of Britain and Afghanistan, but he also provides a context of the personal lives of the main characters of his story, Burns, Bella and Dost Mohammed. It is a fantastic read for anyone interested in the first Afghan war in which an army of 16000 was slaughtered by the vengeful Afghans. I thoroughly enjoyed this rich mishmash of historical fiction with faction. One aspect was very surprising in the narrative. The abundance of male-male relationships on both sides, British and the Afghans. Very surprising.

Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks

What an utter waste of precious time. I tired and tried but could not get into
the futuristic world created by Banks. The creatures and the heavens and the
flora and the fauna required too much imagination from a poor realist like me. I
have vowed to stay close to the factual and sociological themed books from now
on. Reading about phsycology is a breeze for me in comparison to science fiction
:(  

From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet

From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet

byVikram Seth

 

What is the best way to experience another culture? Learn their language and then promptly hitch hike your way across. This is precisely what Vikram Seth has chances upon. It is a gem of a travelogue, and what has won my admiration is that he is a Hindu pilgrim. Vikram captures the emotions of his friendship with the Chinese people, especially the tension between the majority Han and minority Uighars, mogols and the Tibetans. The travel abroad a truck as it crisscrosses across Sinkiang and Tibet brings about a constant stream of challenges, from police checks, bartering to frequent unwarranted stops when the truck gets stuck in mud. These occurrences produce the best phrases out of the author like....
'A mind clouded with rage is fearsome even to itself.' I agree with Vikram's analysis in the end though when he compares India with China and the way both have progressed under different system of governance. According to his observation if you are dirt poor than you are better off born in China as compared to India. On the other hand if you are on the upper end of the poverty scale, than India offers a better prospect for future.(

My Sisters Keeper by Julie Picoult

When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Wow, what a topic. A huge moral question for every parent. If one kid is suffering, should all the focus and love be showered on the suffering individual? How can any parent ever keep parity in affections to the other kids when facing one who suffers from terminally ill cancer? The issues and effects on the other kids are beautifully highlighted in this well crafted novel which reads like a thriller. A page turned till it gets to the middle bit where the story drags around the lawyer and his girlfriend. I didn't quite understand how they fit into this moral drama. Then the climax when portrayed is too bloody complex. One accusation is followed by another one which don't seem to exactly marry together. The ultimate end is very very surprising, but impossible to believe in my opinion. I think overall the topic picked is smashing but the handling of this very complex issue is not really presented well, with the author hiding behind familial love