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