My traitor's heart by Rian Malan

Love is worth nothing until tested by its own defeat. True love is able to transcend defeat. 

Must read for anyone trying to understand the breakdown of racism into socialism in South Africa among the white population.  

Whites had the most to loose from social redistribution so why were they so keen? Because whites who surrendered their claims to class privilege gained something infinitely more precious in return: relief from guilt and complicity that preyed on their minds like a nightmare. 

How did the whites become socialist from predominantly racist? First step was to convince yourself that South Africa was being torn apart not due to race but class struggle, the second was to move into alignment with the blacks and declare your lee of as it's self proclaimed vanguards. Beyond this point you were born again, South Africa became a country where the enemy were determined by the class not by the race, thus your whiteness became irrelevant. Socialism became the opium of the elites.

Another aspect seldom reported was the mafia like black on black killing which occurred in parallel with whites subjugating the blacks in South Africa. Rian portrays a stark picture of various black on black attacks in which all major political parties seem to have participated with vigour. 

I loved the end story of Neil and Creina in the end of the book. I thought it captured the spirit of Africa succinctly,' if you loved you were vulnerable, and if you were vulnerable you were weak, and if you were weak in Africa, you got fucked over and over again till you could no longer stand it.' 

Welcome to Sarajevo by Walter Nicholson

The children must be saved, only they are innocent, the rest of us are the guilty ones.

Its a pretty moving tale of a young orphan girl rescued by a British war journalist juxtaposed with the Balkan war between Serbs, Croats and the hapless Muslims. Why the Balkans erupted after the end of the communist regime is difficult to understand as it remains unprecedented in contemporary Europe. I mean there were other failed communist states which did not fall to chaos, apart from maybe Chechnya. I got a pretty good idea of the Balkan war in the 1990's but could not understand the hate among the population.  There is something seriously wrong with the whole region. The brutality demonstrated by the Christians both Orthodox and Catholics in the Balkans is stupendous, much worst than the Africans. Much more has to written about this war, it's reasons and it's implications. 

How to cure a fanatic by Amos Oz

Compromise,compromise, and compromise 

No one says it is going to be easy, but it is the only real way forward. Wars are necessary, for self preservation and freedom, and to stop the aggressor, whoever it may be. The opposite of war is peace. Nations need to live in peace with each other. 

This is a gem of a book filled with fantastic ideas. I found it impossible to contradict any of the logic on offer. 

Arabs and Jews are similar::

The Common legacy between both Jews and Arabs is that they are traumatised victims of European imperialism, an experiment gone horribly wrong. Unfortunately both now see each other in the image of their past oppressors.  

Peace in the Middle East::

That Israel must recede to its position in 1948, it must respect its neighbours.

And that the Palestinians must recognise Jews right to belong in Israel, and that Israel is here to stay, in short it must respect its neighbour as well.

What is a fanatic::

He is a true altruist, someone who wants to save others, improve others from bad habits. There is a fanatic gene in all of us, which we have to contain.

How to cure a fanatic::

Partially with humour and partially with the understanding that you could be wrong. 

 

Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer

Everyone wished they had sons instead of daughters

It's a great depiction of the author's rather personal tale of his life in the militant 1990's of Kashmir. The only aspect missing is historical context and reasons behind the uprising. Why did the population rise against the Indian state by resorting to arms instead of votes is not really explained.

The common thread in the book is the plight of the middle class caught in the crossfire of the Indian Army and the Pakistani sponsored militants. The book reads like a diary of the author as he follows various stories in his journalistic day to day career. In terms of historical context there is little on offer other than what anyone can read from the WWW. The book details the massacres purported by the Indian army as well as the atrocities committed by the Pakistani trained militancy making me wonder where the loyalties of ordinary Kashmiris actually lay? Do they really want freedom from India and if so are they willing to write their history in blood? It is clear that India will not just back down considering its overwhelming stature in the world today, therefore the Kashmiris have to be prepared for a long separatist struggle to attain their independence. What that allusive independence will mean to ordinary Kashmiris is not very clear. The fact remains that Kashmir was never an independent entity, annexed by the Moghuls, Sikhs, Hindus, and Indians, thereby making independence an alien circumstance for the Kashmiri common man.  Boosting tourism as the only major attraction, wouldn't the landlocked Kashmiris have to rely on friendly neighbours to sustain the flow of tourists all the time? 

The author compares Kashmiri revolt to Prague and East Berlin but fails to point out that both revolts were against failing states and not against a economic giant like India, which boosts quite a considerable clout in the world opinion at the moment.

What is crystal clear from the book is the sad state of rule of law in India. How the Indian government was allowed to get away which such mass atrocities in Kashmir demonstrates the value of false image. Would we expect the same apathy from the world if similar crimes were committed by Pakistan for instance? I found the notion that civilians killed in collateral damage were compensated with money and job a clear case of state bribery to keep the relatives from pursuing the culprits. But like the author has valiantly pointed out, local media and the larger world media is just not interested in blaming the largest democracy in the world.   

The final chapters of the book detail horror stories by the Indian army and some by the Pakistani sponsored militants on the hapless civilian population. The stories moved me to the plight of the Kashmiri common man who clearly wants an end to this chaos. The final chapters bring this great book to an emotional crescendo, with the spotlight on the hapless common Kashmiri. 

I would highly recommend this book to all interested in conflict of Kashmir. 

Nothing to envy by Barbara Demick'

They hate themselves for what they had to do in order to survive.

 

It's a fantastic description of North Korea through the eyes of defectors. I loved the style adopted by the author which kept me stimulated and very interested in the various stories. I also enjoyed the many parallels made between North Korea and many other autocratic states. I found the comparisons apt and very relevant indeed. The only issue with the narration is that it depicts only the view of outsiders and thus not representative of the North Korea as a whole. But I can imagine why the author would fail to present the insider view without open recourse to interviews with the local populace in North Korea. Propaganda used by any state is an extremely effective tool to keep its citizens in the dark, and the North Koreans seem to have mastered this dark art to perfection. The only way out is revolution from within North Korea which can break this mould. The other possibility is a military coup which is not a bad compromise under the given conditions in the Republic. 

The author has painted a very human story of the North Koreans which deserved to be read and understood, so that we can learn from their plight.

Going to the wars by Max Hastings

The book is a travelogue of a war journalist, a most privileged one who was given quite a few opportunities to cover some of the post WW2 encounters in person. The most interesting chapters for me were the Vietnam and Arab/Israel wars. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's adventures in the war zones. I did not really enjoy the Falkland's war as it seemed to be an anti-climax when compared to some of the other wars in his book. Probably would have enjoyed more if I were British but that's impossible now :)

China crisis by James R Gorrie

Is China really doomed for disaster? Before I picked this book up I considered the possibility pretty unbelievable but I am afraid it is entirely plausible considering just one of the many facts which the author has covered with his verbose style in this argument. And that is the Communist Chinese Party. The CCP is the sole, all powerful judge jury and enforcer of all policies in China which leaves China extremely vulnerable whenever there will be a power vacuum. And why should we imagine its usurpation, because all similar one party states have gone through a period of popular change which unfortunately introduces chaos followed by more chaos as the newly empowered people glow with their new power. So its a question of not if but when unfortunately which means more doom and gloom for the world economy. 

The only problem with this book is that the arguments are repeated over and over again which tested my nerves. Maybe the author used this propaganda style to counter CCP’s propaganda machine? The book should come with a warning, ‘be prepared to be bored.’ An hour’s talk on the subject would have been a better proposition.

The Shah by Abbas Milani

The much lavished mistress who had been unfaithful all along…...

The book is a beautifully crafted account of the Reza Shah Pahlavi's life and times. Every revolution is unique in nature but the Iranian one has always intrigued me as the Iranian people were not exactly famished either financially or physically , which is a common factor almost mandatory in most revolutions. The author pitches the same question; how could the people hate Shah so much, even after the Shah did so much for them?

The attention to context details personal life of the Shah and his immediate family in a very vivid detail. The author has blended the art of Eastern story telling with Western detail to produce a real page turner.

The book offers the best story of the Islamic revolution right from its inception to its peak in 1979. It seems that the Shah did not defend monarchy in modern state of Iran, choosing instead to counter the external threat of communism with counter propaganda, thus delivering the common man to the mosque and its clergy, making the Islamic revolution inevitable. It is pretty strange that the Shah although educated in Europe failed to follow the example set by a number of European monarchies as they successfully transformed from ruling absolutely to reigning in name only. How did the Shah see his own rule? He portrayed himself as doing a thankless job almost like some sort of humanitarian philanthropic endeavour which must have further enraged the young Iranians.

I loved the gradual manner in which the author brought the Islamic revolution to a crescendo in the last chapters with many astute observations of the some of the contemporary players. This biography presents a unique and whole picture of the Shah, from a humble beginnings to the height of his career to his end as an international pariah.

The book left a strong feeling of compassion for the Shah, like a true lover spurned by his beloved who ultimately paid the ultimate price for his true love.

The only question left is the main reasons for the Islamic revolution in Iran. As the author points out, none of the major reasons for a revolution were present. There was no poverty, jobs were aplenty, democracy in some way and form was there. It isn't still clear to me what prompted the Iranians to revolt. The most ardent followers of revolution were from the new urban class, the peasants uprooted from their villages living in cities. The Shah choose provide more economic and personal growth to try and assuage threat from the new class instead of providing them with their own political representation which is the common practice among most third world sham democracies. But unfortunately this move only provided an already frustrated class further reasons for blame and impetus for revolution. Further during the lean period of democracy clerical figures like Khomeini were able to proclaim their democratic credentials. The Shah was also dumped by the Americans right towards the end who seemed to be more than happy to deal with the new revolutionaries giving credence to the new Islamic regime.

So I guess the Islamic revolution was hardly a revolution but a takeover in reality, by a very shrewd Islamic clergy, the only resort to democracy in an era of political vacuum.

Orphan of Islam by Alexander Khan

The story appeared interesting and I guess because it is supposed to be a true story there weren't a lot of twists. But I did find it strange when the Pushtun women in the book are depicted as wearing sari's over an over again. Being a Pakistani and having lived in closed proximity of Pushtuns, I have yet to see any of their women wearing a sari. The other aspect which troubled me reading this rather sad account was the chosen name of the book as the 'Orphan of Islam'. Granted a number of Muslims were instrumental in the authors 'kidnapping' and forced incarceration in Pakistan but some of the very same Muslims helped him break free from his captivity as well. More so, the author has given his father most of the blame while his Western English mother and his much loved British country were given hardly any stick for completely forgetting and ignoring his sorry plight even when the author was living amongst the British in Britain. As far as I can make out the British people in his life and British system are equally to blame for letting him become a victim, but I guess the publishers of the book would want to appeal to all Islamophobic readers which are numerous.

I would have wanted some more insight into the traditional Pushtun family structure though it is a much guarded fellowship even for more urban Pakistanis like me. The story lacked details of complexities of the Pushtun family and only touched on some of its intrigues.

On the whole, I do feel indebted to the author for at least penning down his story as it does shed some light on a much guarded and secret area.

Vanished kingdoms by Norman Davies

Norman Davis has to be a pretty brave historian, to stand and portray histories of the defeated and obliterated is not an easy task. To read about how some nations failed is very interesting and very a real possibility which has to be considered, especially by the relatively new nations of the world as the older nations seem to have given up the nationality model when adopting European Union. 

So why do some nations fail while others prosper? Five reasons according to the author, implosion, conquest, merger, liquidation and infant mortality. 

The book is too academic for someone like me who is a huge fan of the narrative history genre, which basically is eastern style myths juxtaposed with Western fact gathering tradition.

When the lion feeds by Wilbur Smith

I have always loved Wilbur’s novels. The world he creates is so real that the outside real world seems like a fantasy in comparison. This story is special as it creates the a perfect specimen of a successful leader. The protagonist has demonstrated all the attributes of such a mythical  human lion, a true leader. Someone who demonstrates the following behaviours (I am an Engineer after all :)

• Impulsive.
• Ideological.
• Prone to bursts of anger.
• Just to the core.
• A failure at school and organised lessons.
• Prefers to learn from his experiences.
• Rebellious yet never being a pessimist for too long.
• Loves the thrill of the hunt.
• Takes pride in his courage.
• General trusting type personality.
• Appreciates all things beautiful.
• Possesses an abundance of raw unadulterated courage.
• Has a nose for fine tastes.
• Never afraid of any showdown, almost never backs down in fist fight.
• Appreciates the value of true friendship, and formally craves it.
• Pretty much belongs to the anti nepotism club.
• Loves been on top taking life changing decisions.
• One of the first to knows when to quit and start all over again.

The book also finally explained all the nuances of how companies and corporations operate. I loved the drama of power struggles for the gold mining company. It was all very convincing and depressingly relevant to our current age.

I found the second part of the novel very different from the first. A sequel to the first it was all about the interactions of the Zulus with the White masters. I loved the depiction of the African savannah and all of the drama right till the very end.

This bleeding city by Alex Preston

This is a dark depressing novel about working in the City (or of a London) in the financial sector which I found pretty difficult to put down because the story intrigued me throughout. Maybe because I myself do not like working and felt a strong affection for the plot? The book left me with a pretty negative profile of city traders highlighting the huge sacrifices they have to make in order to follow their materialistic dreams. The protagonist is portrayed as a stereotype trader who is ambitious and self centred and is willing to pay a price for his success. As someone who has never worked in the city I found the story kindling sympathy for the traders but I am not sure whether this sympathy grew out of my envy for people with high profile jobs? It will be interesting to know the views of traders who read this book though.

The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

This was my first novel from Elif Shafak and what a great novel it was. The plot, story and very interesting characters kept me turning pages fairly rapidly. Elif is another  Paulo Coelho sharing his courageous attribute of dealing with some of the most difficult topics like incest and patriotism with authority. I love the parallels made between Istanbul and the female only Turkish family. The Armenian American angle was very astutely made as well, the only thing lacking was the loose end with the chat room characters which were never really detailed. Maybe people you befriend on internet are meant to remain unknown? 

I am also not entirely sure why she was charged by the Turkish government for treason because as a non Turkish I certainly came out with a distinctively sympathetic view of Turkey role in the whole Armenian massacre affair. I also felt that the Turkish army was portrayed as a big brother sort of character as well. Maybe it was the mention of the jailing of the cartoonist for his crime of portraying the PM as a donkey thus painting the Turkish government as draconian and autocratic? I would love to know what Turks actually feel about her characters. 

Any Turks out there?

Start the car by David Lloyd

For one, I never knew that Bumble never played for England and was the captain for Lancashire, as well as umpire and the coach. But I did enjoy his stories of some of the great super stars immensely. The Bart one was Wasim Akram's which I won't spoil by repeating it here. The book is written in a style which I found rather difficult to follow. I therefore lost most of the intended funny stories narrated by the author. There was also not a great deal of international coverage form the author which was rather disappointing.

I Still Remember A Small Town in Punjab by O.P. Narula

The small booklet captures the chaos and confusion felt during the Partition of Punjab. I could feel the disbelief and denial of the common people when faced with the horrible choice of giving up everything. In fact if you happen to be belong to the wrong religion in the new Pakistan you had no hope of living in the country as you lost your property by a government decree. So the seed of hatred against Hindus had been sawed by the government of Pakistan right from its birth. No wonder most migrated Hindus hated Pakistan like anything.

Unfortunately the process of deamonization of various minorities still continues with the prosecution of Ahmedi’s based on religion and Bengalis based on race, but I digress. The book is a tribute to the author’s childhood spent around the town of Daska. The small chapters narrate life as he remembered it before Partition, made up of all communities under the British masters of India. The author’s life revolved around Hindu and Sikh  religious holidays with occasional mention from Muslims among their midst.

The author’s journey back to his beloved Daska proved to be an anti-climax, as many fantasies do when reality bites.

Empire of the Moghul, The Serpent's Tooth , by Alex Rutherford

The authors have surpassed themselves. What a wonderful and moving description of love and separation. I could actually feel Shah Jehan's suffering at the death of his only lover, friend, and guide and the urgency and desire to fulfil her dying wish. Her dream, her paradise on earth, a symbol of love, an open challenge to all lovers. Can their love survive the finality of death? Can their love be ever worthy of such brilliance as the Taj? Could they match and surpass such a timeless monument the great Taj represents?

What I really love about the story is that it hardly deviates from actual events as the story is more or less based on facts. Yes there are some fictitious characters but they are seldom critical. Most fictitious characters are like alter egos of the rulers giving further insights to their often isolated personalities.

Shah Jehan’s reign and his family discord was a watershed moment in the history of India, setting the scene for the demise of the great Moghul dynasty in India. The authors have portrayed conceivable set of historical events building up to to the last novel in this great series. I wait with baited breath…...

The Murder of History by K K Aziz

No small wonder that K K Aziz died in abject penury. Living in Pakistan the courageous scholar had the audacity to claim that Pakistan was created by the Hindus under the persistent nagging of the Muslims of India for greater rights. It was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s declaration that India would rather live in peace without the permanent headache of the Muslim problem, which convinced the Hindus acquince to Partition. Jinnah had already, in May 1946 accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan thereby abandoning the Pakistani ideal. 

Was there any significant effort by the Muslim masses for their freedom from their British masters? Yes there was by parties like Khudai Khidmatgars and Khaksars but both also were not in favour of an independent Muslim country. There were no other parties fighting to throw off the English yoke of slavery in the freedom struggle. Pakistani nationality therefore was born after 1947, and thrived as there was almost no other contesting opinion to the tailored Islamic image created by the salaried apologists. Some of the claims are clearly contradictory, and are very effectively demonstrated by the author. 

The only question that troubles me is, that did the forefathers have any other choice? Especially if we accept the authors narrative that independence was thrusted upon us? Surly we had to survive, and in order to survive we created this magnificent identity myth. All identities are selective reading of history in my opinion, so we little choice in that matter. The real mistake was sanctifying this created identity as this creates fundamentalism and self delusion on a national level, which once it sets in, is pretty difficult to destroy, as the author found out for himself when he published his groundbreaking study.

‘I discovered that I knew the textbooks produced in the country, but not the country.’

The book is a seminal study clearly explaining the mindset of the Pakistani nation, explaining most of its contradictions, presenting many intriguing areas of research and unanswered questions for any prospective historian.

Like 

How did a martial Muslim race not fight for independence choosing instead to remain loyal to their new masters the British?

Broken relationship between Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan.

Failure to produce a new constitution even after 4 years of power by Liaquat Ali Khan.

The complete destruction of Punjabi culture and identify.

The Partition of India can be understood by the Pakistani attitude of the secession of East Pakistan when they claim that Bangladesh was never meant to remain united from the beginning. Surely now the Hindu logic when granting Muslims their own land can now be understood?   

The author makes a pretty significant statement about lying in the textbooks. He makes a direct correlation with the Pakistani profile and the persistent inconsistent textbooks that produced it. The assertion is pretty relevant in my opinion, as it does explain the self righteousness, hostile, self praise and self glorification as general attributes of a Pakistani. How much damage these books full of lies has done is an open debate but it has to be pretty significant. 

A very pertinent observation is also made about Punjabis taking over the Pakistani ideology mantra, which supposedly was a UP based movement. The result was the decimation of Punjabi language as a result of this enthusiastic imposition of Urdu in Punjab. 

The authors makes an astute observation when analysing lack of protests against this inaccurately taught history by the people.  Protests originate from the need, ability. And need emerges from want and awareness. If most people are not aware than how will they protest?

The book is simply brilliant!!!!

Empire of the Moghul: The Tainted Throne by Alex Rutherford

Have you learned to be careful of what you wish for?

Probably the best love story the world has ever known. Young love between a prince and a pauper which culminated in the largest and most magnificent tribute ever to a wife in the known history of the world. Yes, I am referring to the opulent yet magnificent Taj Mahal, which remains an unprecedented and unparalleled tribute to love of a woman. The authors faced a very difficult task to create a fitting story to match the famous structure, and I believe they have succeeded. The fourth novel in the Moghul series is the most engaging and riveting out the four so far, complete with a vamp in the Emperor's wife, vivid battle scenes, love and support. There is added spice of Europeans in the mix as mercenaries and tradesmen making the story even more sumptuous.

Authors have done a wonderful job of filling the blanks in the great story. Why was Mehrunissa so powerful? What drove her on? How did Arjumand and Khurrum become so much in love? What single fundamental question did every Moghul prince have to contend in his life?

I feel this was the best novel in the wonderful series so far. It just keeps getting better and better.

Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser

It's lack of faith which makes people afraid of meeting challenges.

I bought the book in an attempt to understand Ali's influence on the Nation of Islam movement in the US. His role as a Muslim hero among the Muslim population outside US was never in question. Most non-US Muslims are not aware that Nation of Islam has its own prophets which is blasphemous notion among traditional Muslims.

Cassius Clay's conversion to Muhammad Ali is covered in great detail. The style does become cumbersome sometime as the book reads like a long traps script of a documentary. There are even video links of interviews given in the book. Cassius gravitated towards Malcolm because of the strong message of self love, which is pretty common among most GOAT (greatest of all time) sports people. The other strong attraction was the confrontational narrative which must sound so familiar to Cassius as well. No wonder he wasn't attracted to the other black civil rights activist Martin Luther King as he must have sounded rather pliant in comparison. One definite advantage of the style used in the book is that I did feel like living in the 1960's America because the language was maintained.

What did the conversion do for Ali, as he must have gotten something out of this conversion himself? Well for me he became a lot more clearer and focussed as the core message of NOI (Nation of Islam) is about segregating from the white race by defining a new black profile, complete with their own religion, separate God, firm belief in self-love even down to the new name. For the new Muslim name broke their link with the original slave masters. In Ali all of NOI core fundamental values were realised as a living breathing ideal.

Trouble is that the same galvanizing message for self conscious blacks which worked so perfectly for Ali in the beginning, also started to cramp his progression as the message was only divisive in nature. In order to really progress he had to forgive his White tormentors which the NOI teaching squarely rejected outright. Mainstream Islam does not have the same issue on the racial level at least and therefore the Islamic brotherhood proudly accepts all colours. Unfortunately the same hospitality is not accorded to people belonging to other religions.

Ali Bomaye (Ali Kill him).

I love the way all the fights are build up and described by the author. Ali was the complete fighter, both verbally and strategically inside the ring. The author has not rushed or cut corners with the interviews, which seems out of deep respect to the legend. The legend who transcended his sport to become a symbol of love. Ali had a similar effect to what Tiger Woods had on the US stock market years after, only Ali’s lifted the spirits of people all over the world each time he fought.

By the end of the book, a hero emerges. A hero who doesn't have to be either the brightest or the strongest nor the most sophisticated kid on the block. The only thing required is the profound recognition of right and wrong, and a strong urge with limitless energy to become a constructive member of the society, and Muhammad Ali had that.

His whole life reflected a fight for justice and equality for impoverished blacks of America against the White rich class, and this image deeply resonated with all the unrepresented poor of the world. Ali became a symbol for the poor, an icon for their hopes and aspirations to rise and develop.

‘ I am still gonna find out who stole my bike when I was 12 years old in Louisville, and I’m still gonna whup him. That was a gud bike.’ Muhammad Ali.

Perv by Jesse Bering

The author has laid a fantastic case for analysing current moral based laws against laws which cause physical or emotional harm. Perverse sexual habits and their perceptions were truly debated in this convincing study complete with historical references. Homosexuality as a natural behaviour was boldly compared with other perverse behaviours like paedophilia and necrophilia,

foot-philia and a number of other gut wrenching and seriously sick human habits in evolutionary terms. So why is homosexuality all legal while paedophilia is still pretty much illegal was the obvious question for me which the author tackles by explaining that as long as there is no harm inflicted, which made sense to me initially. But then the author gives examples of some of his own sexual encounters and their emotional effects left on him, I felt like he was contradicting himself. To claim that any intimate personal sexual perverse encounter has no emotional harm even when the subjects are adult is wrong in my humble opinion. Which means that there has to be some value still attached to the moral based laws out there. Surely humping a sheep just because it cannot complain has to be considered morally wrong? I think the author is clearly prejudiced towards homosexuality as he is himself a homosexual and in order to paint homosexuality as normal also done a great disservice to the whole moral vs harm based law debate by including every known sexual perversity in the same mix.   

The historical attitudes to various sexual trends over the period of past 200 years is nicely covered by the author in order to demonstrate the changing trends in cultural perception. The author makes a compelling argument that 50 years from now people will look back with astonishment and wonder at our sanity when considering our current sexual taboos.

Also the rather long and detailed descriptions of sexual paraphernalia was rather tedious and monotonous.

The author has put together a compelling case, which forced me to dig deep and gave me an insight into this very intriguing and relevant debate. But lay people might find the book hard to finish as the details are really meant for academia with a nice veneer of authors wit and candour, which has become a hallmark for most openly homosexual writers.

Empire of the Moghul, Ruler of the world by Alex Rutherford

History has taught us that it easier to conquer new lands than to keep them.

This is the third book in the Empire of the Moghul series whose progenater is Akbar the Great. Together with Ashoka he is the second ruler to given the accolade of greatness. As a Muslim, his achievements of conquest, leadership, architecture, laws, and developed have been unsurpassed and miles ahead of any contemporary. The book does great justice to his character. It portrays a dyslexic Akbar who is keen to complete his grandfathers dream of establishing a great Moghul kingdom in Hindustan. This third book has given me a completely different concept of haram as a place of pleasure and intrigues. The women of the haram are actively engaging in affairs of the government, justifying or berating the Emperor but always supportive. 

Unfortunaty Akbar's greatness is shrouded by the reluctant Hindu dominated India and a defiant Muslim only Pakistan. It is indeed a shame as the great Moghul is the only example of eclectic secularism in the subcontinent revered by all under his command.

The book contains an intriguing description of inter religious debates in the 'Ibadan khana' headed by the Great. Akbar felt confident enough to invite representatives of all faiths to come come and convert him thus demonstrating that he was above all religions. 

Almost half of the story is about the cold and fraught relationship between Akbar and Salim. The story seems to be more ficussed on Salim rather than Akbar, which I found incongruous with the first two novels on Babur and Humayun. It's because the authors intended to explain the importance of takhti or takhta in the Royal family. The deep desire in all Moghul prince to grab power and glory of face death in trying. I believe the focus on Salim was important to explain this complex family dynamics.

Onwards to the next novel in the series.

Empire of the Moghul, Brothers at war by Alex Rutherford.

To have your dearest wish fulfilled isn't always easy.

The second in the series of ‘Empire of the Moghul’, Babur’s hand picked successor to his new kingdom in Hindustan, the great Humayun. His reign appears as a mere footnote in the history of the great Moghuls as he was seen as he actually lost it all to the Pathan Sher Shah Suri. The book depicts him as a self conscious, unsure and dreamy young king who seeks isolation and gazes at the stars for inspiration. The pace is fantastic as we follow Humayun’s battles both against Sher Shah Suri and his own brothers all the way to the court of the Kizal-Bashi Shia king of Persia Shah Tahmasp.  I could almost feel the urgency as the deposed Padishah runs away from his brothers and the usurper Sher Shah. The book is written with suspense and drama, never boring of monotonous, a real page turner.

Humayun, probably because he lost Hindustan to Sher Shah, does not have a great perception among six great Moghuls. The authors have done a great service by charting his life because he was the father of the great Akbar, so must have been some influence to produce a son like him. On his final campaign to win back Hindustan, Humayun realises the value of collective confidence. For if he was to succeed he was to have troops confident in his success, for each victory would add to the tide of this confidence and deplete the strength of his opponents. There is another positive dimension when success is attributed to a particular family like the Moghuls, for each victory is attributed to the Moghul name, further enhancing their charmed reputation. The benefit is that even if you lose, people will still choose to back you because of your families reputation.

It is uncanny that the exact strategy is still employed by family based politicians in Pakistan when planning and executing their election campaigns.

Empire of the Moghul, Raiders from the North by Alex Rutherford

Empires were not built on mere diplomacy. Actions and results determined your fate. By far the biggest travesty to Pakistani history is the omission of Moghul history from the narrative. Nations have to have selective history, and for some reasons Moghuls have not really featured as favourites in the popular history of Pakistan, which is a great loss indeed. For which other dynasty was able to rule for about 400 years or so? Their aura was such that even after the end of the the greats reign with the passing of Aurangzeb, their reign managed to survive for another 90 odd years? That's huge when you compare with the British reign of 90 years starting in 1857.

This wonderful book is the first in series of narrative history detailing the life and times of the first great Moghul Babur, charting his course from his tiny kingdom of Ferghana to the mighty seat of Delhi. His trials and tribulations, harsh choices, tough lifestyle, life threatening decision making, allegiance to friends and family and most of all his unique personality is vividly brought to life in a thriller of a book, which cannot be put down. The book reads like a thriller movie, filled with suspense and drama containing love, rebuttals, revenge, heartaches, suspense, anger, passion, desires, all leading to a terrific legacy.

What about Babur personality? He was almost illiterate, who after becoming a king by birth the age of 12, fought most of his life trying to justify his Taimuri lineage. It's a classic recipe for  success repeated even today by the successful the world over. Belief in your destiny to succeed has to earned by sheer hard work and persistence. Easy you say, but the real feature of aha it's success were the very supporting family and friends who also shared this remarkable belief in his destiny. So correct support is vital to fulfil any dream which are all delusions to start with. This support is successful history for a young struggling nation like Pakistan on the macro level. Without owning our great Moghul past and understanding the real reasons for their huge success, how can we succeed?

I humbly salute the two writers for undertaking such a wonderful project. I remain a lifelong fan.

Capitalism's Achilles heel by Raymond W Baker

From the very first line where Raymond bundles criminals, terrorists and multinational corporations as one, got me hooked, but his much hyped up self-profile about his work and life experience slightly put me off as well. Raymond has tried to employ a sarcastic style, where he tries to belittle various corporations making gains from loopholes in government financial laws. Most of what he lists is common knowledge for me as their nefarious activities are pretty blatant in third world countries. Similarly, the corruption of Pakistani politicians, Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif as well as the Pakistan military is also common knowledge as it is widely reported in the local press. For not only do politicians think locally while criminals think globally, most third world media can only report locally as well. None of the local politicians in the third work really care about what gets reported in their local media as long as the global media giants don't pick up on their story. 

Most of the book is about ways to improve free market economy by stemming out all known ills from it in order to reduce the gap between rich and poor. But I fail to see how and who will actually implement such global changes. Raymond makes economy sound like religion claiming that free market based capatilism isn't bad, it is actually the people running it who are actually to blame. I wish it was as simple as that. The only way economy will improve is protectionism all over again. Transparent Protectionism that is, as I believe most corruption occurs when deals are shrouded in secrecy hidden away from all stakeholders. This is where the local medias can play a role in bringing the details of every deal promptly to the people for effective scrutiny. 

The book was a pretty difficult read for me as most economic books are generally. Will economics ever make sense to me?

The Second Ottoman Empire: Political and Social Transformation in the Early Modern World by Baki Tezcan

Can you guess who took the first stab at writing the first history of the world? None other than the indefatigable Arab Ibn Khaldun, who is considered the father of modern history. His Muqaddimah reads like a scientific study of past events and was followed by number of other Muslim historians clearly motivated by him. Baki follows lost this tradition in Islamic cultures. A tradition of critical analysing their own history. I found his confrontational style very very satisfying indeed. Why he asks, is one regicide (Britain) considered as progress as another (Ottoman, Turkey) as a sign of decline? Indeed a most pertinent observation which must be pondered in detail unfortunately before history can be re-written again. For to take down existing opinions is far more difficult than defining new ones. Baki’s attempt is most admirable but needs to be urgently repeated all over the world where orientalism has left a deep and ugly mark.

While reading about the battle between Kanun and Sharia, I had a fantastic revelation. If Sharia was Allah’s Kanun then surely it must include all of His creation, which can only mean that the real and proper Sharia has to be His Laws of Nature. For it is only the Laws of Nature which every created creature is bound to once created. All other laws including the man’s descriptions of Sharia are therefore redundant and obsolete as every kanun changes with change of the Ruler.

This book presents a brilliant analysis of the Ottoman history. Who really controlled the infamous fracticides? What attributes were required to remain a Sultan? Who really called the shots, the absolutists or the Constitutionalists? Baki has provided compelling evidence to demonstrate how the power shifted from absolutism to constitutionalism after the Ottomans started to rely on Devshirme to run their huge state. The infamous ‘Harem’, instead of a degenerate sexpot of orgy was in effect an institution for producing and grooming future Sultans with the help of a very able class of civil servants supplied by Devshirme. I have a clear image of an all powerful Ottoman royal family kept in constant check by the constitutional Janissaries, making sure that every Sultan was able to tow the policy agreed by their selected viziers. Small wonder that the Ottomans were able to rule such a huge kingdom for so long.

Baki details the first known regicide of Osman II and argues pretty convincingly that he was killed because he was openly trying to rebel against the constitutional vice, made up of Janissaries as the mighty Ottoman army had become a financial hub rather than a fighting force. Pretty much like the Turkish or Pakistani army of today. Who says we can't learn anything from history?

The book also explains the social classes in the Empire with power in the hand of the Askeri class who owned 80% of the resources. The devshirme were also converted from a once potent fighting force to financial ombudsmen, collecting taxes and conducting various types of business. 

The reasons of the demise of the Sultanate? Well Baki argues that the Askeris did not take up Capitalism and Corporatism as vigorously as modernists in Britain for instance. There was a different approach in land management as well rather than the popularly held view of loss of the vast tracts of land. Again Baki takes a very apt analogy with Britain losing America only to rebound and take up India and vast straits of Africa through largely a policy of aggressive corporate trade policy, which is still being followed generally. There was also the absence of the bourgeois against Lords and Barons in the Sultanate which could be a significant factor in the loss of Ottoman prestige as the bourgeois was slow to take up the nationalism. 

In the end, I have come to a very valuable conclusion. History should be written by a representative of the natives, as well as outsiders, leaving the readers to conclude for themselves.

The Zanzibar Chest: A Memoir of Love and War by Aidan Hartley

Classic, absolutely classic memoir of a very fulfilled life. Part of the narrative was as good as the 'Heart of Darkness'. What a story, kept me captivated and engaged throughout the 440 odd pages. For me the most interesting aspect was the self reflection of the White colonisation of Africa. I tend to agree with Hartley's dad. They should have never gone into Africa. Whence gone in they should never have left it. Arabs colonised Africa before the Europeans, and they stayed on, slowly converting the local cultures to Islam. Now it is impossible to differentiate between the two races in Africa. This book is a homage to the few but extremely courageous Europeans who decided to stay on, long after their mother-ship had decided to go back. Aidan's experiences in some of the most vile and despicable massacres in Africa clearly demonstrates the important role of  white man still has in controlling human disasters on unimaginable scale in Africa. Perhaps the most important insight I have had from the book is the working of the Western media when covering human catastrophes, where there is an implicit policy of fitting the pigeon holes of the Charities, reader’s fatigue, and stock market reactions. It does seem like that traditional media has become pretty ineffective and needs to be completely redefined.

Read the book if you want to witness the real face of human nature.

Heaven's command by Jan Morris

The book catalogues the psychological change of the British in the aftermath of the American Independence leading them into an age of Imperialism. The British used their experience of the American colony  which was basically that ‘more successful an overseas settlement, the more likely it was to break away from the mother country’, to abolish slavery which gave it a huge moral high. Thus the abolishment of slavery, which seemed to an almost suicidal step economically was turned into a huge moralistic gain with the help of the Evangelist movement as the main trigger for Imperialism.

Jan’s picks on very pertinent examples of this new moral and righteous Imperialist crusade in Africa where the English used slavery as the very basis for subjugating any opposition like the Boers, and in India where the customs of Sati and Thuggee were obliterated using the same ethical argument. These and other similar noble causes were exploited by the righteous British to morally subjugate the native population into submission, which meant that the natives were always playing a catch up to the British, thus ensuring that the colony was never actually be allowed to be as successful as the mother country. That also explains why the British classes in India for example, always seemed much more closer to the moral, judicious and humanist British idealist model as compared to their actual counterparts living in Britain. The British in India needed to project a perfect image in order to justify their superiority over the natives so as not to repeat the same mistake as their American colony. 

The book presents one incident after another on the timeline of the Empire, analysing the change on the British people as they slowly began to realise the magnitude of their possessions. The cornerstone of the Empire is basically a mishmash of Christian Evangelists principles and Darwin’s Evolutionary theory. The moral justifications of racism is given in the light of the Original sin, with different colored people in tougher plight, due to their level of sin. 

By the end of this massive first book, we are left with a British character whose

Chauvinistic is not very cruel.

Racialism is more ignorant than malicious.

Skin deep militarism.

Passion for imperialist grandeur was more transient and superficial, more of a show piece than love of power.

Visible conceit due to unparalleled level of achievement.

Cannot wait to read the second book in the series……...

I am Malala by Christina Lamb

The first part of the book is a pretty ordinary description of Malala’s family life and a brief version of Christina Lamb’s history of Pakistan. It is from the second part where the story begins to get really interesting with the Taliban slowly moving into Malala’s beloved Swat valley. It seems that the Taliban are happy to use fiery Maulanas as their mouthpieces while they remain in the background judging the results of their version of Islam. The reactions of the common man in Swat are brilliantly captured by Malala and I can see why this memoir is being dubbed as similar to Anne Frank’s diary. This also explains why Malala’s story has such struck such an emotional chord in the Western world, although most in Pakistan are still unconvinced about her plight which is indeed a sad state of affairs, but completely understandable. As unfortunately the Taliban still remain a visible and potent threat to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan, who are behind most of the terrorist activities in the whole region. As mentioned in the book so lucidly, most Pakistanis cannot simply see anything bad in the Islamic message preached by the Taliban sponsored Maulana’s like Fazlulla till the time the same hardline regime takes over. Swat, therefore resembles a microcosm of Taliban regime takeover. So instead of criticising Malala for being a Western puppet, they should take heed, empathise with the people of Swat and reject the Taliban and all their sponsored Maulanas before the whole country is affected.

I failed to see why Malala was so against the Pakistan army in her story. Her criticism seemed to be based on the premise that Pakistan Army was all powerful so how could let the Taliban into Swat valley? Therefore there must be some elements of the Army supporting the Taliban. Well the answer seems to be in her own book. Taliban use Islam as justification for their actions, and most Pakistanis are religious, thus reluctant to reject Taliban outright. Unfortunately, the all powerful Pakistani Army is also predominantly Muslim, therefore are affected by similar apprehensions towards the Taliban, hence the indecision. I am amazed that Malala and Christina Lamb have compared the Pakistan army with the Taliban over and over again in this book, without giving any evidence to any alleged atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army. This is a gross injustice to the perception of Pakistan Army. There was a civilian Islamist elected government in KPK when the Taliban infiltrated Swat valley. If anyone is to blame, it has to be the people of KPK for electing Islamist parties as their representatives. The reality is that most Pakistani are devout Islamists, therefore shy away from rejecting the pious looking Taliban with their vanguard fiery Maulana’s firing verbal Islamist missiles. It is not the Army responsible, it is the confused Islamic opinion of the general populace which is to blame. There real battle is change of narrative not guns.

Also Malala and Christina have made repeated references to the corrupt politicians of pakistan who don't pay taxes. I have news for them, no one does apart from the salaried class who are deducted at source. Has Malala’s honourable dad ever paid tax himself? So if most ‘honorable’ Pakistanis refuse to pay tax, who will pay the government salaries?

All in all the book is very interesting when depicting life under the Taliban in Swat. The rest of the book was pretty ordinary for a Pakistani like me. 

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

Brilliant analysis

This book is as thought provoking and stimulating as Malcolm's Blink. Malcolm is really utilising the power of his autodidact opinions on known principles across all aspects of life, from parenting to politics and medicine. Whether you agree with him or not, you have to read him if only to appreciate his critical analysis of each example. I bought the audio version of the book which was narrated by the Malcolm himself and really enjoyed the experience as Malcolm was able to convince me from the preamble to the hidden outcome of every so called perceived weak aspects of life.

The end of India by Khushwant Singh

Every organised religion harkens back to an imagined  glorifies past and opposes change.

In Europe, it's secularists had to fight off Christianity to develop, a process which had not happened in Islam, resulting in backward and non democratic societies. In India, Hinduism has to be countered by secularism among its 80% Hindu population rather than any of its Muslims, Christian or Sikh minorities. Khushwant finds it incredible how the Hindu masses have been led to believe by the religious leaning Hindu leaders that they are being discriminated in their own country. Hard to believe isn't it? But unfortunately, focus on any religion will inevitably lead a more narrow minded and restricted approach.

Hailing from a minority religion himself, Khushwant makes some poignant points about the rising fundamentalism in India. 

If Nazi fascism had succeeded in a literate Germany, won't India be much easier?

If Bhindranwale succeeded in gathering a substantial following from the pulpit of gurdwaras, imagine what damage any elected government can have in preaching the message of hate using much greater resources?

Communalism has always been and will always remain in any any culture where two or more religions share resources.

Congress was first to exploit religion for electoral gains, effectively showing BJP how to galvanise masses using the religious rhetoric. 

Congress motive of maintaining Muslims and Dalits as oppressed classes is to appear as their only saviours.

Most heroes in India are non-Muslims who fought Muslims.

Khushwant also defines the Indian version of secularism which basically means the state acknowledging all religions instead of detaching itself. 

Khushwant sums up the book by presenting a new religion for India with the motto, 'work is worship but worship is not work

Controversially Yours by Shoaib

Not only has the book been written by someone else but looks like quite a bit of the material is also influenced by the writer. Like Shoaib mentions that his school had no counsellor. Being a Pakistani myself, I can pretty much confirm that very very few schools in Pakistan have counsellors, so I don't know what Shoaib is trying to prove here especially when you consider his pretty low middle class upbringing? Maybe he was trying to justify his extra ordinary naughty behaviour when in school and college? A more likely explanation is that he was just acting up in an attempt to get noticed as he had desire from an early age for success, both for malarial goods, travelling and fame. 

Shoaib also rightly credits Rawalpindi Cricket Club for grooming him. This club has patrons within the Pakistan Army which itself is the most merit aware institution in Pakistan. 

Another aspect which helped Shoaib in his formative years is his positive outlook. He has acknowledged that he avoided people with negative outlooks on life and focused instead only on the positives. This single minded devotion to success probably also helped his chances in the cutthroat Pakistani cricket youth scene. 

Shoaib comes across as a for-ever-angry-young-man, which although is a necessary state in the beginning when you are trying to make it but has to discarded when you have made it. His book is filled with stark contradictions, no one helped him but there are quite a few named by him who have helped in with their time and money in the same book; seniors never groomed him but there seem to be many seniors like Majid, Waqar and Imran encouraging him in his own words at other places in the book; BCCP never helped him but the Chairman sent him to Australia to get his suspect bowling action certified.

The thing is that coming from a low background helped him rise above the competition. It generated a desire of monster proportions inside him to succeed with his family having no other options but to allow him to keep playing. Most middle class families would diverted his energies into some other mundane 9-5 job.

And most of all Shaoib's anti-Pakistani rants were very difficult to digest. He is a cricketer not a politician or an philosopher. There were sections in the book where Shoaib was trying to solve Pakistani issues like debt and joblessness. I wish he had had the sense to edit some of these vile comments from his book but then it wouldn't exactly make it controversial would it? Shoaib needs to realise that maybe when he complains over and over again how no one listens to him in Pakistan he actually means that he doesn't listen to everyone around him? How can he discredit his country of birth when all he achieved was in the same dis functional country, the same inept system and the same unimpressed cricket control board? If everyone was so apathetic then how was he ever selected for the Pakistan cricket team? 

All in all the book makes excellent readings, with unique inside into the world of Pakistani cricket seen from the eyes of a cricketer coming from an ordinary lower class family. I wish most other players would take the time out and write similar books about their lives as it does make very interesting insight into what-makes-Pakistan-tick. This book is politically incorrect and candid view of life as viewed by Shoaib who seems does seem to love controversy. 

Is this chip on the shoulder attitude prevalent in most Pakistanis?

Shoaib seemed to have learnt his lesson by the end of his chequered career in the form of this most valuable advice for any budding cricketer,' it's best to relax, keep your mouth shut, not go complaining from pillor to post, and to remain alert for opportunities. There is a solution to all of one's problems but they will appear in their own time, so one must learn to sit it out and stop panicking.'

Nice Shoaib Bhai, this alone merits 5 stars for your book effort at least. If not for anything else just one chapter called 'The dressing room' makes hilarious reading.

My Booky Wooky by Russell Brand

Wow-vacious, what a wonderful and intimate encounter with Russell Brand. A true and modern revolutionary in the set-piece life of today. The book left a very positive message of life on me. Richard’s unique take on life, treating every one of his idiosyncrasies as a positive instead of trying to blend in with the majority culture surrounding him, left an impression of great hope in me. What also impressed me was his ability to forgive his parents over and over again, for forgiving is the first step towards forgetting, before we can truly move on. There you have it, this almost seems like a religious message does it not? Russell has brought out the angel in me with his very honest and thought provoking autobiography. I have these religious experiences when humbled. Although not religious I do tend to resort to religion when facing brilliance. I guess reading Russell has had the same affect on me.

The only slight bit of criticism I have is the language used in the book, which does require some knowledge of British lingo.

End of India by Khushwant Singh

Every organised religion harkens back to an imagined  glorifies past and opposes change.

In Europe, it's secularists had to fight off Christianity to develop, a process which had not happened in Islam, resulting in backward and non democratic societies. In India, Hinduism has to be countered by secularism among its 80% Hindu population rather than any of its Muslims, Christian or Sikh minorities. Khushwant finds it incredible how the Hindu masses have been led to believe by the religious leaning Hindu leaders that they are being discriminated in their own country. Hard to believe isn't it? But unfortunately, focus on any religion will inevitably lead a more narrow minded and restricted approach.

Hailing from a minority religion himself, Khushwant makes some poignant points about the rising fundamentalism in India.

• If Nazi fascism had succeeded in a literate Germany, won't India be much easier?
• If Bhindranwale succeeded in gathering a substantial following from the pulpit of gurdwaras, imagine what damage any elected government can have in preaching the message of hate using much greater resources?
• Communalism has always been and will always remain in any any culture where two or more religions share resources.
• Congress was first to exploit religion for electoral gains, effectively showing BJP how to galvanise masses using the religious rhetoric.
• Congress motive of maintaining Muslims and Dalits as oppressed classes is to appear as their only saviours.
• Most heroes in India are non-Muslims who fought Muslims.

Khushwant also defines the Indian version of secularism which basically means the state acknowledging all religions instead of detaching itself.

Khushwant sums up the book by presenting a new religion for India with the motto, 'work is worship but worship is not work.'