A lady cyclist's guide to Kashgar by Suzzane Joinson

Great start and strong going but did not manage to finish that well. I did enjoy the whole historical context of Kashgar in 1900's though with all three powers Turks, Russians and Chinese vying for power. The parallel story in present England is somewhat interesting as well but not as captivating as the details of Kashgar culture.

Super Power: The Amazing Race Between China's Hare and India's Tortoise by Raghav Bahl, Walter Dixon

I think the book is wrongly marked. It does compare the Indian (Turtle) and Chinese (Hare) economies in quite a bit, complete past, present and future aspiration but is unfortunately heavily prejudiced towards India rising and presenting China about to collapse any moment. The book is very well researched but very well crafted to present India as a better option for foreign investors. I think the author is plagued with the common Indian disease of self-glorification which I have noticed in quite a few Indians.  But what he fails to present in this crafty book is the fact that India is coming out of a very long stretch of colonialism while China has not been similarly afflicted. Which for me that leadership will be always an issue because the confidence is not just there. Therefore I agree to disagree with the author that India is well placed to achieve a Super Power status as compared to China, only because its failure to deal effectively with poverty. China has not only done a far better job at looking after its poor but also invested very heavily into its infrastructure which places it very nicely on a launching pad to a great success.

The book still makes very interesting reading as it provides rich information about the backgrounds and strategies adopted by China and India over the years to progress in public sectors like energy, educations etc. Just be careful of the author's tilt towards India, which for me was very obvious and biased.

The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple

What a book, it is a historical masterpiece, completely factual and yet read like a novel end to end. This book should on the educational curriculum of every Indian and Pakistani. This is the second time I have read this book and have been impressed twice as much with the depth of material on offer. Darlymple has presented a very vivid picture of a lost history from the loser's perspective. He has brought to life the very culturally rich era of the Muslims who ruled India once, which are no more unfortunately. No Indian Muslim can come close to what the martial and intellectual race of Muslims of pre-1857 era possessed, and that is art of ruling without regard to religion. The last vestiges of which are glimpsed in this wonderful narrative. I loved the ending which contains a great lesson for the present. When the balanced is shifted towards one too much. Darlymple clearly points a finger at the Muslim resentment felt after the takeover of Hindus of their properties and favours who fully exploited the wrong English Islamophobic campaign, finally culminating into Partition of India and Pakistan. He also clearly outlines the two strategies adopted by the Muslims in the aftermath of 1857, one embracing West and the other refusing Western values completely. What a book.

The General in his Labyrinth by Garcia Marquez

I found the books concept very fascinating. The last few weeks of a mighty leader who liberated South America from the Spanish colonists but than list it all to his own trusted aids in just over a decade! I saw huge similarities between the general and Pakistan's founding father Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Jinnah rapidly lost favour among his peers and subordinates soon after creating Pakistan from the clutches of Hindu domination.
But I found the book difficult to follow as I knew very little about the various characters portrayed in the book, his many lover affairs and his litany of success's and failures. The book drags on and on as the general tries to die honourably but very similar non-events keep haunting him, like dreams and hallucinations. For me the book could have a lot smaller.

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil

I loved this book right from the start. I listened to an audio version and loved the deep and resonating voice of the narrator for starters. But than I loved all the lucid and vivid characters, authors audacity to cover such a taboo topic in a righteous and confident Indian culture, the ease of street language employed, but most of all the straight analogy made between narcotics addictions and the addiction to work. The son taking off where the father left off, learning from the mistakes made by the family business. Maybe the effect on me was so profound because I listened to this book on by four hour daily commute. Whatever the case, I thoroughly enjoyed this unique insight into the narcotics industry in a metropolis of Bombay, right from the pimps, carriers, users, distributors and the narco bars. 

Gardens of water by Alan Drew

This is a heart rendering brilliant story about the plight of Kurds in Turkey displaced by the civil war through the eyes of small Kurdish family barely surging after the huge earthquake in Turkey. The earthquake forces the family to rely on the hospitality of Americans who they accuse of directly supporting the Turkish army. Soon things begin to turn ugly when a romance starts between a Kurdish girl and an American boy. The book is filled with very astute comparisons of the American and Turkish cultural clash. I loved the writing style and all the detail depictions of life and sights of Istanbul. This is a rare insight of the Turkish & Kurdish civil war. Must read for anyone interested in this region.

Act of Treason by Jack Coughlin

This is a straight crime thriller based on counter islamic terrorism plot set in Pakistan, Europe and of-course Europe. It has all the right ingredients like the perfect sexy girl brandishing a pistol, an all American hero who is tough but romantic, and a cruel and selfish villain. I read this book with one reason only, to find out about general perceptions of Pakistan and Pakistanis. 'Pakis' are on the take from both sides and are very devious. They seem to be very religious with most of them praying all the time, and that too in Islamabad which happens to be my city. There seems to a very close relationship between the Paks and Americans with Paks as servants obviously. The real force and power driving Pakistan is the head of ISI, who is accorded a lot of respect in this novel. He is someone who is allowed to make independent decisions unlike all others Pakistanis. The government of Pakistan is hanging by a thread ready to capitulate as soon as the next bomb is set off.
The book is written for a very Western audience which makes sense as they will buy it mostly. Most of the plot is almost believable especially the grander designs of the Pakistani Taliban to take over a chaotic and destabilised Pakistan in the wake of bombings, kidnapping a and general melee, as they would be considered the only disciples force in the left in the country. What the author has not picked up is the Pakistani army, which is a huge and very stable organisation that can come in and stabilise the country if required. Generally, au enjoyed the read and glowed every time Islamabad was mentioned.....

Office Politics: How to Thrive in a World of Lying, Backstabbing and Dirty Tricks by Oliver James

I think this is a fantastic addition to the literary ocean which was surprisingly missing so far. With so many corporations around, how do we actually carry ourselves in order to survive on a day to day basis? Oliver has defined a successful corporate creature as a triad, a tripartite combination of a narcissistic, Machiavellian and Psychopath individual, features we all have to a certain degree. All of us working in the corporate environment that is. A successful career in any corporation requires not knowledge or skill, but acting skills, because most jobs are based in the service industry where attributes like perceptions and reputation matter more than what you actually know. So in short if you are in any service industry, its not what you know that matters rather its what they think you know or may know. The real world examples are very efficiently employed to emphasize any potential or existing employee to plot his way across the corporate maze. 

A word of caution though, many readers not used to Oliver's sarcastic style may be put off in the beginning. I would implore them to continue and persevere till the end, as the last chapters are really good as they bring the whole arguments together. Trust me, there is a lot to take away from this wonderful book.

Adlia ke arooj o zawal ki kahani by Sohail Waraich

Waste if good time. The author has spent no time trying to come up with any of his own analysis, rather relying on interview questions which he has repeated with every one of the judges. The judges seem to all be some sort of narcissist creatures, only happy in justifying their own position and ditching all others. The result is a very very confusing strong where no one can be believed. Anyway, it's much better to watch the interviews on YouTube rather than reading this book.

Measuring the world by Daniel Kehlmann

How to live a life scientific in 19th century. It was new, exciting and sexy. The author captures the mood of the era pretty well and manages to keep the story flowing with great anecdotes of driven rational men, transcending the human race into a new realm of scientific life. What I really liked was the easy manner in which the story was pieced together keeping a lay person like me interested till the end.

The Death Lobby by Kenneth R. Timmerman

The best kept secret of the Western nations, arms as opposed to the much publicised oil of the Middle East. The extent and manner how oil rich Iraq was wooed and accosted is very well detailed in this almost surreal account of factual events. This book can be used as a template for many a suspense novels for years to come. The Death Lobby would have happily continued to supply Iraq with anything it required if only Saddam Hussein was not in such a hurry for Arab domination. But dictator is a dictator and sooner or later becomes completely detached from reality, choosing to instead believe in his own self created delusion. But au regress as I will not do justice to the extent of this authors research and rich material which is on hand in this tiny book. Consider the full extent of how Iraq was welcomed by France, massaged by West Germany, abetted by Brazil, Argentina and South Africa for weapons against hard cash or oil. When the oil and cash ran out the more sophisticated and articulate British and Americans took over. No more cash or oil, no problem. Why don't we give you wheat so that you can use the food portion of your budget to keep buying more weapons and over the top telecom and building projects from us? Must have felt like music to the ears of a power hungry revolutionary dictator like Saddam whose strategy was to rule through the barrel of a gun, literally as this books details of the regimes fetish with guns, from the smallest to the development of the largest and longest firing artillery piece capable of 1000 km range. It was only due to his foolhardy decision to invade Kuwait which opened up new markets for the Death lobby thus stemming the flow of easy credit and weapons to Iraq's deadly regime, otherwise the flow would continue. This book is a wonderful insight into the operating procedures of the Death Lobby as they ply their deadly trade around the world, complete with vert eloquent moral justifications supplied by their intelligentsia. Consider the a French moralist when defining the special new relationship between Iraq and France. 'We are nonaligned nation, trying to to help another country achieve liberation from yokes of superpower (USSR).' Death Lobby is alive and kicking, complete with the best range of apologists readily available with the right narrative on hand to seal deals which keeps rich nations rich.

I only took one star away as sometimes the book goes in too much detail of the various defence deals, which can become tiresome for ordinary readers.

The Fear: The Last Days of Robert Mugabe by Peter Godwin

For the oldest race in the world, the Africans bring the best and worst out on show. This book an important one. It shows the depth of human depravity, avarice juxtaposing with the heights of en devour and struggle for survival. Mugabe is making a fool of the civilized world by breaking all rules of democracy. I would argue that if there was any real threat to democracy, it comes from 'democrats' like Robert Mugabe. Why the world is quiet in the face of such blatant and systematic mockery of all known rules of chivalry and good governance is beyond me. The only reason which makes sense is that Mugabe's Zimbabwe has little to offer in international business as it was for all intents a country relying on agri-economy. Otherwise why would the very White western civilized countries keep ignoring the torture meted out on all the whites of Zimbabwe?
The book was pretty readable as the author somehow managed to keep the interest alive by keeping the chapters short. otherwise for someone with little local knowledge it would have proven to be a difficult read.

The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz

A psychoanalytic who clearly loves his job. I listened to the audio version of this great little gem of a book which is filled with a great many insights into the inner working of the human being, its most basic fears and the many strategies devised to deal with a very complex life surrounding each and every one of us. I loved the Freudian method of discerning behaviours and conclusions based on dreams. There is something for every reader to take away from this gemstone, although in real life we shall probably come across very mild versions of the example symptoms listed in the book. But here is where what makes this book so great, it has managed to present the very clinical complicated human paranoia as analogies which most non-patients (so called healthy) can use in their every day life. I think its the author's gift to the healthy so that they remain healthy.

A hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

One of the best books on the very complex love hate relationship between Americans and the Saudi Arabians. Is the era of unmitigated favouritism for all things American finally receding in Saudi Arabia? Have the Saudis decided to remove the middle man? Has the American policy of outsourcing manufacturing to Asia backfired? This very small but explosive book deals with such complex and far reaching questions in an extremely captivating manner, as you take a ride along with the protagonist going through his daily life as a very American salesman in Saudi Arabia, trying to get some business and deal with his impotency, literally. What I really loved was the unique style of prose filled with sarcasm giving me plenty of laughs. I listened to an audio version win a strong American accent which I am sure enhanced the experience. The other fact which may have contributed could be the age of the protagonist which is around the same sort of ball park as mine, as well as the dire personal financial circumstances which are also very similar. Lately I have been thinking as an economic immigrant striving as a consultant on a day to day basis in the capitalist culture, how does the working class retire here? Will they ever retire in the wake of this recent recession?