(Last updated: 22 Oct 2009)
It's the 12th of Jan 2004. Have decided to write reviews of all the books/technical papers/articles that I read and put it up here. Should have started to do that earlier - all the stuff read in the last so many years won't find a review here unless I re-read them. But here goes anyway.
We have this wonderful hardcover book at home. Its one of my favourites. Its about Niels Bohr. A very readable and lovable book that touches upon all aspects of Bohr's life - the daily life, Bohr's institute at Copenhagen, the culture and environment at the institute, the Danish setting, Bohr's physics, the World War II years, the Manhattan Project years, Bohr's friends (most of them great people in their own right); and it does so in a very balanced manner.
Bohr was a great man, a great scientist, and one of the most admirable qualities of his that comes across is his ability to gather the best folks around him, have fun with them, and bring out the best in them. The stories of the institutes and the people there, makes you wish you were one of them.
A little bit of physics and the problems that were tackled are also described well. Bohr's efforts to bring peace during times of the World War and the later Cold War are also something one gets to know on reading - and there are quite a few dramatic moments too where Bohr helped people escape, and then he himself escaped the Nazis.
You must read this book. It leaves you with a real warm feeling about the full and great life of Niels Bohr and all his adoring friends.
Its written by Paul Ehrlich one of the leading figures in the field. The book talks about "human evolution". This means genetic evolution, cultural evolution, evolution of societies - from hunter gatherers via agriculture, nation states to today's global cultures. There is a whole wealth of facts, knowledge and new thought in the book that broadens our mind. Since the book is new - first published in 2000, the thought and knowledge-base is pretty state of the art. The final discussion about the human prospect is also very interesting and I am beginning to think, like it is suggested in the book, that this entire subject must be part of basic school curriculum. Having praised the book, I must point out that it is not a quick read. Its 331 pages with another hundred or more pages of notes (which I abandoned reading). And somehow it took me quite a long time to finish it. So maybe the writing style could've been more gripping, the material could've been presented better, but all in all reading it till the end is worth the content.
Just finished reading the book "The Great Indian Novel" by Shashi Tharoor. Its got ENOUGH wit and wisdom. The story follows the outline of Mahabharata. But it tells the story of modern India, roughly speaking, from the time of British Raj to the end of Indira Gandhi. So the people have Mahabharatical names and episodes are from Mahabharata, but you see that the characters are really Gandhiji and Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose, Indira Gandhi etc. Nice read. I am hesitant to call it an Indian masterpiece, but its definitely worth reading.
You need to have a background of the Mahabharata and some Indian politics from Mahatma Gandhi to Indira Gandhi to enjoy this book.
When I went to Pune University for certain work (I had done my B.E. and only wanted to ask whether I could do an M.Sc. in Mathematics as an external candidate), man, the clerks there had me running from pillar to post for days! I had to stand there for hours together to talk to some guy who was typically completely disenterested, and asked me to meet someone else, who typically would only be available a few days later. The bureaucracy had me sick. Somewhere in this period, I read the short story "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol.
Its about a Russian bureaucrat who buys and owns a prized overcoat and loses it and stuff. But the satire in there, and the way the Russian bureaucracy is represented is hilarious, biting and sad at the same time.
The satire is very well put forth, but the story takes a twist in the end which I didn't exactly like too much. But anyone who has had to face bureaucracy anytime will relate to this wonderfully and enjoy it. Go ahead read it.
By the way, I see that its available online here.
16th Jan 2004
Wonder whether I should write reviews for Agatha Christie and such books too. Typically, anyone who happens to be able to lay hands on one of these books just reads it.
The backside cover of the book has this observation by The Observer - "Twice as brilliant as Death on the Nile , which was entirely brilliant."
This is a Hercule Poirot story about a horrible old woman with a sadistic mind, and her family. The family and some other folks (and Poirot) are visiting the middle east. Everybody hates the old woman who is genuinely a bad one. We get acquainted with the mind and personality of each character in the story. The old woman is murdered. Who killed her? Well, I have never been able to figure out the killer in a Poirot story before the end, when Poirot unveils the killer with his customary drama and flamboyance. Good one, doesn't take long. Read it.
1st Feb 2004
This book is made up of two parts. Part#1 describes each phase of a compiler for Tiger - a language created for illustration purposes just for this book. The material in this part is general enough to give a good idea of how compilers work. Part#2 deals with more "advanced" aspects like compilation of object oriented languages, of functional languages, compiler optimization etc. I've finished reading Part#1 so am writing the review of that part. Will complete the full review when I finish reading Part#2.
Like the name says, this book is really "modern". I had studied compilers for a semister as part of my Engineering degree. The book I'd used was the one by Aho and Ullman. I had really enjoyed it, and had learnt enough about lexical analysis, parsing and sematic analysis. However, the compiler backend, except for a vague idea how it might be, was a complete mystery. This could also be because I did not study those aspects enough. But this book by Andrew Appel has changed that. I think, for anybody to get an idea of how an entire compiler can be built, and how it works, this is an excellent book.
Part#1 has a chapter on each phase, to mention the most significant - lexical analysis, parsing, semantic analysis, activation records, liveness analysis, instruction selection, register allocation. The amount of detail in each of these, is just sufficient for one to get an idea of how it works, and still make it a pleasant reading experience. I learnt a lot of new things in the chapters on the backend, like those on instruction selection, register allocation etc. The references cite even some papers written in after 1995 (which is quite modern if you consider the book by Aho and Ullman. I guess part#2 will have even more recent citations).
I urge any programmer who wants to know how compilers work without really wanting to get bogged down into too much detail, or on the other hand, not wanting to end up with a vague nebulous incomplete understanding, to read this book. I am glad I did.
2nd Feb 2004
This is a short story written by a college buddy. You'll find a link to the story here: http://xenon.stanford.edu/~salgar/stuff/.
I haven't read too many short stories so can't give very intelligent comments on them. But the ones I have read are supposed to be very good ones. Most of them were unputdownable, but at the end left you with a little incomplete-ish feeling, which made them thought provoking. This story sure seems to fit that bill.
One is also left wondering about the choice of first person narrative for this story.
24th Mar 2004
This is a story about a boy stranded at sea with no companion but a royal bengal tiger in his boat. The story line is certainly unusual but the book is an interesting read. The boy Pi, is the son of a zoo keeper in South India. The childhood days in the zoo seem to be something every child would love to have. The book also has interesting information about zoo animals and there are some very nice philosophical ramblings sprinkled throughout. The book is quite gripping at start but in the later one-third it starts to drag a bit. The end of the story has a certain twist but left me a little disappointed. Guess I am a little old-fashioned when it comes to fiction, but I like stories with some concrete conventional ending. I have read other stories where there are some loose-ends, some part left open to reader's interpretation, and in general, the end is meant to be thought-provoking. Somehow this kind of stuff, atleast right now, is not very much to my taste. I am however sure that many people would love that though. But having said that, I quite liked the book for the description of the childhood days in zoo, all that stuff about animals, and all those musings about life, animals, society, nature and so on.
17th June 2004
Am reading this page which has transcripts of interviews of the people at Bell labs involved in building unix. You'll find it here.
The interviews are by Michael S. Mahoney. Isn't it wonderful that he can walk into the same office twenty years after the original project and still find most of those people still working together in the same place?
By reading these transcripts you get a glimpse into the personalities, the different perspectives of people, and the time and environment, behind how Unix came to be. For example, Al Aho has this deep interest on the theoretical aspects of computing and talks about that, Ken Thompson comes about as a very pragmatic and clear thinking guy, Doug McIllroy comes about as the wise boss whom everyone loved and respected. It is fun and inspiring to read these transcripts.
24th July 2004
The World Of Nagaraj is the first R.K.Narayan book that I've read. It is a tale about Nagaraj who stays at Kabir Street in Malgudi. Nagaraj's is a simple man, whose mind is always abuzz with thoughts, and whose one ambition in life is to write a book on Narada. He loves to lead a peaceful life and sit on the pyol in his verandah and watch the life on the street. His peace however is broken sometimes by things like the problems created by his brother Gopu or nephew Tim or Tim's wife Saroja whose blaring harmonium he simply can't stand!
This is a very charming tale with simple likeable characters and brings out the life, thought and people of small town South India. The language is also very typically South Indian. Enjoyed reading this one.
2nd Aug 2004
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray is a award winning acclaimed book. But somehow I am unable to decide what to make of it. Reading a few other reviews I see that that is indeed what is supposed to happen. It is about a book that the author finds on street-side, that describes how a woman was revived from the dead and how a child's brain was used inside her (nothing gory or ugly in the text). Then by way of the woman's thoughts (that is the thoughts of a frank fearless innocent child's brain) there is some commentary on social evils as the woman encounters the cynicism, hypocracy, pompousness of society in her travels about the world. I must stress that this is not dull or heavy, but in fact quite light and, some might say, witty. The woman goes on to become a doctor with active pacifist / radical socialist opinions. Then the author has given the letter by the woman herself, about how that book is all false, and how in fact she was a normal human being and nothing like being resurrected from the dead. So the reader, that's me, is left wondering what is true and what is not, and what does Alasdair Gray want me to think. To top it all, there is a section called critical and historical notes, where Alasdair Gray attempts to confuse us further by stating some facts from that age and time, related to the story of this woman.
I am sure some people will love this book, will be fascinated and be all praise for the author. But somehow I simply do not get it. So I stop short of recommending this book, or not doing so, because I think my literary tastes aren't yet quite ready to be able to give a proper critique of a book such as this one.
29th Aug 2004
This is the story of Ani Pachen narrated in first person, written as told to Adelaide Donnelley. The foreword is by Dalai Lama ("His Holiness") himself, and the preface by Richard Gere.
Ani Pachen is the daughter of a chieftain in the Khampa region of Tibet. The younger days of her life very nicely gives us a glimpse into Tibetan lifestyle, culture and beliefs. She has a happy childhood and in youth her one big worry is an arranged marriage. She does not want to marry some stranger and lead the usual ordinary life, she is deeply drawn by spritual study. But then gradually but venomously, Mao Tse Tung decides to spread communism (or rather Mao-ism) everywhere and destroy everything else. When her father dies, Ani Pachen resolves to lead the fight against the Chinese. This is where her life takes a turn and she has to undergo fighting, hunger, imprisonment and torture. But throughout all this, she lives on courageously, recalls all the spiritual teaching and finally escapes to India in Dharamsala where Dalai Lama is in refuge.
Though it seems to be a typical story of courage against odds, this book also shines in the portrayal of Tibetan lifestyle, culture and thoughts. You get to know the rich spirituality of the simple people, and how that Buddhism moulds their living and thinking. The Chinese invasion of Tibet was one chapter of history which was almost an unknown to me. Now I know what the Tibetan people felt about it. Secondly, I had recently travelled to Darjeeling and Sikkim and all the imagery in the book was something that struck a chord. Nice reading.
24th Oct 2004
This travelogue is the author's first book - and has a freshness that they say comes with such works. On holiday from Cambridge, while the next term was yet to start, William Dalrymple left on a very interesting mission - to retrace Marco Polo's journey and carry a phial of the Holy Oil that burnt in the famous lamps of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to the summer seat of Kubla Khan (Genghis's grandson) in Xanadu, China. The books takes us through the journey replete with adventures ranging from hiding from and talking sweet with authorities to get over the lack of permits, to meeting strange people in the strangest of places. Garnished with characteristic British humour, this book is also rich with historical information, and keen observation of peoples and cultures. With all this, the book is not heavy reading at all. It just takes you through geography and history effortlessly, and you just have to sit back and watch. The author was accompanied by Laura (from Jerusalem to Lahore) and Luisa (from Lahore onward), and they lend their own charm in those legs of the journey. As I was reading this, I also looked up the encyclopaedia to read up on things like history of Israel, the article on Marco Polo and such like - that was nice too. I would recommend this book.
2nd Jan 2005
This is a book with an interesting subject matter. It mainly talks about the new developments in scientific thought that emphasizes on taking a holistic view of systems instead of the traditional reductionist approach, and also about the various interesting properties of non-linear systems and their emergent behaviour. In particular, it delves into applying these ideas to the study of living systems. It also briefly touches upon chaos theory and fractals to explain the nature of mathematics that the study of such systems will entail. The most interesting part of the book however, is the part dealing with life, biology, and the various inter-relationships and patterns at various levels - cells, organisms, and ecology. The book also includes very recent studies and findings, and how some of these might upset long held traditional views. There is also a discussion of emergent behaviour and its relation to evolution, of the huge role of bacteria in shaping life as it exists today, and of the Gaia hypothesis, as well as the nature of mind and consciousness. All in all, many thoughts and facts are very interesting and fascinating. However, I couldn't help shake the feeling that this book could have been written in a much better manner. In different parts it seems repetitive, pedantic, and even incoherent. So am left with a feeling that I'll have to perhaps read it again to form a better picture, and will definitely like to read about all these topics from some other sources.
This is a fast-paced gripping book that was fun to read and also told me quite a bit about the history of Christianity that I was not aware of. Having read this book I looked up Wikipedia to get more of that history. This book is mainly a murder mystery where the victim tries to leave clues about his murderer. A Christian secret society and even the Vatican is part of the plot. The hero is a Harvard symbologist who tries to solve the mystery with the French police suspecting him of murder all the while. All in all, a good story, well-written and also informative background thrown in.
The World of Mathematics - edited by James Newman
The World of Mathematics is a collection of the most notable writings in and about Mathematics, edited by James Newman, and available as four big volumes. The writings range from the historical and biographical, to writings by eminent mathematicians, commentaries on different topics and some actual papers in mathematics. The articles are very accessible to non-experts and do not contain too much mathematical notation.
I first saw these books in our college library and almost fell in love with them. But I had only read an article or two. Then I found these books in the Strand book exhibition in Mumbai and bought all the four volumes. Plan to go through them one by one slowly. Plan to add reviews of most of the stuff I read.
"The Nature of Mathematics" is a book by Philip E. Jourdain reproduced in its entirety in the first volume of "The World Of Mathematics" edited by James Newman.
I very much recommend the book - it is a must read to anyone interested in mathematics, and is even more enjoyable if one has studied elementary calculus and also a little bit of higher algebra. The book, as the name indicates, deals with the "nature" of the subject. It distinguishes between Mathematics, the body of knowledge - that part of the Truth that this subject deals with; and mathematics (smaller case) - the methods used to arrive at that knowledge. The book deals with all the little question that nag at the back of any mathematics student - what exactly is a negative number? how is such a thing justified? what is dx exactly? how come we ignored (dx)^2 in a mathematical proof? what is a number afterall? We see that these questions that we always had, are not "stupid", they are genuine questions that bothered people interested in the principles (as opposed to the methods) of mathematics, and mathematcians are slowly coming to terms with. While dealing with all these questions, the book also touches upon some history and the influence of say, the Egyptians, the Greeks, of Descarte, of Galileo, Newton and Leibnitz etc. All in all, reading this book gave me a lot of pleasure.
Havings said that, we must note that the book is a little dated - published in 1913. So this is before Godel's paper, Turing and Church's work, and more recent stuff like fractals and Chaos theory. So a lot has changed since the publication of the book, but it is still definitely worth a read. Wish somebody would update it with more recent results and their implications.
There was a lot I learnt that I didn't know about ancient Greeks, and how Geometry and Analysis took shape, overlapped, Algebra came into being, Arithmetic played a role, and how new ideas came about and influenced the developments. For example, it is really amazing how late the current number system came to be adopted in the study of the subject, and how so much progress was achieved without even resorting to a lot of notation and concepts that looks so obvious today.
Having said that, there surely will be many non-Western mathematicians left out of the work (not intentionally). And even many prominent mathematicians not sufficiently featured because of the need to restrict the size of the work. But that is something unavoidable.
03 Feb 2006
This is the story of Margayya. We first see him sitting under a banyan tree telling villagers how to extract loans from the Co-operative Bank. We then see how his life changes, how he gains wealth, and all the ups and downs of fate, and how he thinks and lives through it.
The beauty of the book is how the author has brought out the very typical character types. There is also the very authentic touch of small town South India. You can immediately recognize the people of the story, their thoughts, their philosphies, and the sights and sounds of the town. There are many very specific observations that seem to hit the exact point. There are many paragraphs and conversations that make you laugh aloud. But behind all this is a more deep, and in a way, serious tale, that is typical of R.K.Narayan.
All in all, it is a enjoyable yet thought-provoking book, and is a quick read.
22 Feb 2006
This is a book about the medium of comics that is itself written in comic book form. I simply loved reading it. It is a scholarly work that starts by defining what comics are, and then dives into various aspects of it. We see the history of the art form, and read about intersting things like the universality of icons that cartoons bring out. The author tells us about the triangle where the three vertices represent realism, icons and the "picture plane". We see the special features of each style, and the impression created by it on the mind of the reader; and also a survey of where the various comic characters fit into this triangular plane. A similar analysis is done on the world of words and literature. This is one example of the detailed engrossing study that is put forth in the book - there is much more, like the subject of various kinds of panel to panel transitions, the distinctive philosophies of western comics and their Japanese cousins, the depiction of time in comics, the evolution of an artist, and such like.
Having read the book, you learn not just about comics but about art in general. This is really a learning experience that broadens the understanding about many things in art while being entertaining at the same time. Highly recommended.
11 Mar 2006
This is a Oxford University Press book to explain medicines to the layman. It provides background on how medicines work, what goes in discovering new medicines, the process of bringing them out into the market, and the rigorous testing process that they go through. It also discusses questions of ethics and responsibilities of the pharmaceutical industry, physicans, and the society in general. The book is peppered with many little interesting examples and quite some history. The book is informative and interesting to read, especially to someone like me who knows very little of medicine.
However, you also get a feeling that language, style and structure need to undergo editing and improvement in places.
26 May 2006
This is the story of Mehrunnisa. A name that means "Sun among women". Mehrunnisa is the beautiful, charming and intelligent daughter of Ghias Beg who fled from Persia to find refuge in the Mughal court of Akbar, and rose to a position of honour there. Mehrunnisa frequented the imperial harem - the zenana, quite often and was enchanted with that life. This is the story of how she harboured love for Prince Salim, and how much later she became his wife and empress - later to be known as Nur Jahan.
This is a story well told. You feel you are in the Mughal period as you travel through that time and through places, and experience the daily life, the politics of the age, the crises and rebellions, the internal ladies' politics at the zenana, and everything else. The book is recommended to anyone who likes a good story and likes to get a taste of life at a different period in history. The story leads up to the point where little darling Mehrunnisa becomes Empress Nur Jahan. There is a follow up book by the same author called The Feast of Roses about what happens later. I intend to read that one too.
12 Jul 2006
This is the story of Genghis Khan, who more than anybody else in history, could lay claim to the title "Emperor of the World". Genghis Khan was born in the minor Mongol tribe but rose to rule all the land from Korea to Italy.
The book tells us about the many innovations he brought about in the art of war - his surprise attacks, his war strategies, reliance on cavalry alone and innovations in artillery. But his legacy is not just the art of war. He brought about globalization by encouraging free movement of people. He established protected trade routes, introduced paper currency and really understood the importance of trade and commerce and of a globalized economy. The third big break from history was the granting of complete religious freedom in the Middle Ages - a time when Christian lords and Muslim clergy dominated the state. The Mongol empire believed in the primacy of the state over religion and enjoyed religious debates among the Buddhists, Muslims and Christians visiting their court, but they worshipped nature and the Eternal Blue Sky. While having conquered so much, Genghis Khan did not believe in erecting glorius monuments and big cities, but was very practical and simple and continued to live in the traditional Mongol way of nomadic tribes with moveable tents. The book also tells us about the various visitors and travellers to the Mongol court from other countries, and then moves on to Genghis Khan's descendants upto Kublai Khan, and how slowly the tone of the Mongol empire changed and the empire finally was destroyed mainly due to the sudden epidemic of plague. The book also talks about how Europeans later completely changed the history and depicted Mongols as a despicable race.
The history is fascinating. The book is very interesting and I enjoyed it, but I won't call it "unputdownable". I recommed it wholehearetedly.
I read the translation, Mahadev Desai by Navajivan Publications. This autobiography appeared as weekly columns by Gandhi in Navajivan. It covers his experiments with truth right from childhood upto the launch of the non-cooperation movement in 1921.
This work is just what its title says - it is the story of Gandhi's experiments with truth. As he says in his introduction, it is not so much about his political life and things done in public life, but is full of personal development, private observations, thoughts and experiments. Gandhi is seen to have a disposition towards Truth since his very childhood. His courage and unwavering adherence to his principles is awe-inspiring and thought provoking. The book itself is not preachy, but contains a narration of various incidents involving these experiments and their results, and how they were used to revalidate, refirm, and revise his beliefs and principles. Gandhi's family was religious as far as the practice of tradition was concerned, but he had not really studied his religion. Only after his acquaintance with Europeans and his discussions with them in philosophy and religion, did he decide to study his own religion and was drawn inescapably to the teachings of Bhagawadgita and we see him practice the teachings of Gita in his own life. At the same time his life also gives rise to questions such as "how far should one go in adherence to truth in various practical situations of life, what is the right way?" etc.; these are the same kind of questions that come to mind when reading about Raja Harishchandra or Yudishthira. Along with truth itself, there are many experiments with diet, vegetarianism and brahmacharya. Some might even make you think, as he himself says, that he's a crank.
The glimpse into the India of that time is also fascinating. Gandhi's account of travel by train, meeting with various kinds of people, his very long walks, rides on elephant back are very interesting, and his boundless energy and dedication is very apparent. Also, his mention of stalwarts such as Gokhale, Tilak, Tagore etc. shows you how India had so many highly regarded thinkers at the time (where are they now?). We also notice almost a passion towards self-restraint and self-discipline in Gandhi; and his practice of taking vows that he'd observe for tens of years. While there is in him this obstinate adherence to principles, there is also intelligent self-doubt, questioning and revalidation. We are also amused by his annoyance with the "stamp of mahatmaship" put on him, and his frantic attempts to evade darshan-seekers.
One thing about the book is that it assumes that the reader is aware of happenings, politics and news of the time. Since I don't know too much of it, there is a feeling that I might have missed some things. Also, the book is full of many people and detailed incidents, and it is on the readers part to read through it without being distracted, and gather the essence of what is being said and shown.
This is Bill Bryson recounting his experiences of a solo travel in Europe. We read his observations on things like the cities, people, views, cafes, cathedrals, waiters, traffic, queues, bus and train journeys, and shops, of various cities right from Paris and Rome to Sofia and Capri. It is a quick and enjoyable read. The travels are mainly through the various urban cities and towns, and in a largely unplanned manner based more on whim, mood and availability of tickets. Bill comes across as a fun guy reasonably knowledgible in maps, histoy, cultures, movies and architecture. For me, the one put off of this book is its attempt to be funny; it seems sometimes he tries too hard to be funny, and the humour is mostly what is often termed "cheap". Looking at the reviews such as "Hugely funny" from Daily Telegraph and the like, printed on the cover and the back of the book, it however appears that this is what is the selling point of this work.
I haven't read much science fiction, so can't compare much. But in any case, this is an interesting tale of a select group of people called "Eternity". Their job is to move in time, and modify reality of particular periods, by making sophisticated calculations as to what is the minimal change to be affected in the reality of a particular time, in order to maximize the chances of humanity's survival over time. Eternity has its own set of interesting characters, its own hierarchy, rules and bureaucracy. This is the story of how Andrew Harlan, a Technician, whose job is to be completely unemotional and do the job of precisely modifying the reality, as per the calculations and approval of Eternity. Andrew Harlan falls in love, fails to remain fully unemotional, and then the story takes place with an interesting end leading to some drama, a loop in time and a overall satisfactory end that also makes you think a bit.
This book is a little gem. It is a set of episodes from the school days of Swami and his friends in Malgudi. R. K. Narayan is a master at bringing out typical events, thoughts, conversations and characters; that you can immediately relate to from your school days, and the things that went in your mind when you were small. Enjoyed the book.
This is a book about the enigmatic physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, or Oppie as some people called him, by Abraham Pais, a physicist himself. The author says right at the beginning, that while he always thought of Einstein and Bohr as simple good men and felt it easy to write about them, he could not say the same about Oppenheimer. The book starts with an annoyingly brief account of Oppenheimer's early life and just a brush through his days spent as something as important as the head of the Manhatton Project that built the Atom Bomb. The first 100 pages has some interesting stories and comments, but leave you a bit irritated. Then it gets better as the author covers those days he himself spent with Oppenheimer. This was when Oppenheimer served as the directory of the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton. A lot of pages of the book are dedicated to the Institute, its history, its members, life in it, and its internal politics. This is followed by a gripping account of the Oppenheimer hearings where he was put on trial with suspicions of him passing on secrets to Russia. There is a lot here that reveals things about not just Oppenheimer, but also about the people and thinking of those perilious times of Cold War, and make you think about how circumstances can easily cloud people's thinking and bend the common understanding of ethics.
Oppenheimer comes across as a brilliant and mysterious man with immense charisma. The author, with his benefit of close acquaintance with not only Oppenheimer but many other famous physicists like Einstein and Rabi, as well as his understanding of the subject itself, gives a very candid account of Oppenheimer's life, and his and other people's opinion of Oppenheimer. The frankness is illustrated in lines such as where he calls Kitty Oppenheimer (Robert's wife), "the most despicable female I have known". Oppenheimer gives rise to a varied range of feeling in various people, and frustrates any description. From great respect for his brilliance there is the very apparent dissatisfaction about his contribution to his subject. There is annoyance about his arrogance, accounts of being mesmerised by his speech, and compassion for his condition. Interestingly, some phyisicists such as Rabi also point out Oppenheimer's interest in fine culture, paintings, literature and particularly his readings such as that of the Bhagavad Gita in original Sanskrit; as being the reason why he never could achieve what a simple minded physicist with complete faith in his subject can. The book also has many personal accounts of the impression Oppenheimer made on people, and little stories about him.
While the book is a good one, I think anyone interested in knowing about Oppenheimer, should also read some book in addition to this one.
This is a tale of the Ski-Himalaya expedition of Capt. Harish Kohli of the Indian army, and his team. This is the second big expedition of Harish Kohli after the first widely regarded Trans-Himalaya expedition. Ski-Himalaya involved skiing across the Himalaya from the Karakoram Pass to Lipu Lekh. This is a fast moving story of their planning, the various aspects of organizing a Himalayan expedition, the physical and mental strength required, the varied personalities of the team members (who kept changing at each revictualing point), the difficulties of terrain, weather, avalanches, rock slides, wolves and snow leopards, the enchantment of Himalayas and how the whole adventure took place. Reinhold Messner has said of Kohli - "what I have achieved vertically, you have done horizontally". In this expedition, the team also discovered three new passes which is shown in the accompanying photographs and points on the maps in the book. My only gripe against the book would be that I somehow felt that bit of the writing somehow felt unnatural as if it was deliberately constructed and written by the author and did not come naturally, and at places the many details and points in the book had me a little lost.
This is a delightful comedy play telling the tale of love of two English gentlemen and ladies. The plot involves the usual confusion and running around that such stories entail. The dialogues are full of witty humour, some "smart" remarks, and wise sounding statements that are quite contrary to the usual ones (such as "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing"). This is a quick fun read, and quite recommended.
This is exactly the kind of book I was looking for - a brief but comprehensive history of India covering all aspects; political, social, religious, artistic, literary, and intellectual. There are three volumes - ancient, medieval and modern. The book on ancient India covers the period right from the Harappan times, and going over the vedic times, the pre-Mauryan, the Achaemenian presence, the Alexander campaign, the Indo-Greeks, the Mauryan times, Sungas to Sakas, Pahlavas and Kushanas, Chola, Andhras and the Deccan kingdoms, the Guptas, the post-Gupta preiod of Harsha, Chalukyas, Pratihara, Pala, to early medieval India. Geographically it spans from Persia, Greece and Arabia in the West, to Kambuja, Champa and Yavadvipa (Cambodia, Vietnam and Java) in the South-East.
Another thing that I really liked is that historical conclusions are presented with mentioning the sources from where the conclusion was drawn; say inscriptions or literary works. Different historical points of view of certain events are all presented. Original Sanskrit, Prakrit references are mentioned.
Having said that, I must say that the book is not very well edited and put together. It is too brief, and a bit disorderly to be an academic work - many terms are used without explaining the meaning, places are mentioned without providing the location on a modern map etc. It is a bit too bland and factual to be a work of popular writing. But the content is good and it provides a rich bibliography. Accompany this reading with regular visits to Wikipedia for extra pleasure.
This is the next phase of Indian history covered in the same series as the book above. I enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed reading the previous one. The book covers the period from around the last couple of centuries in the first millenium AD to the end of the Maratha period i nthe eighteenth century. Beginning with the rise of Islam after the initial Arab prescence, it covers the invasions of Mahmud Ghazni and the Turkish conquest by Muhammad of Ghor, followed by the sultanate period with Qutbuddin Aibak, Iltutmish, Raziya Sultana, Balban, the Mongol threat, the Khiljis, Tughluqs, Timur's invasion, and Syeds and Lodis. Then after giving a review of the various Hindu kingdoms of the period, it comprehensively covers the Mughal era, and then the rise of Marathas, and their final defeat under Abdali. The nice thing about the book is that it not only covers the political aspect, but also the social, art, religious aspects and living conditions. At various places it points of sources from where conclusions were arrived at.
Once again, it suffers from the problems of not being very well edited, has some grammatical mistakes etc. But I have now come not to mind that.
This book is a story of Christopher who is a " special child " with photographic memory, magical calculation abilities etc, but unable to understand other people, their feelings and social norms. The story, in the first person, tells us of an incident in his life, in the background of a disturbed family and problems between his parents. The narrative is fascinating since it is from the perspective of this child with autism, but the plot and the story leaves much to be desired. It is a good and fast read, makes you think about how our brain works and how Christopher's brain works, and how it is so intriguingly similar and different at the same time. On the whole however, I won't term this work an enjoyable read - it leaves you with the feeling that it could have been better somehow.
For someone as clueless about economics as I am, this book provides the light. Very nicely written, with material developing systematically and covering quite some breadth; this provides a very good introduction to economics to the uninitiated. It is also nicely peppered with examples of various events in history that provide further insight. Of course, while the book provides initiation, it doesn't seem to quite provide the ability for the reader to independently think of clever economic explanations and recipes of the problems that affects one's life. That would need further study.
This 1948 book is apparently a textbook for college courses. Very well written and edited, it systematically covers schools of Indian thought. Starting from initial Mantras, Brahmanas and Upanishads, it covers schools of thought such as Jaina thought, Buddhist thought, Nyaya Vaisheshika, Sankhya and Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, and then atheistic and theistic vedanta. While very interesting in itself, the book makes no specific attempt to appear interesting - there is no stories, no humour, or anything generally found in books that cover academic topics for lay people. To really appreciate the philosophy and the book however, I think one should study some ancient philosophic work in original Sanskrit (such as Bhagavad Gita) along with meanings and commentary.
This classic from Orwell is thought-provoking and paints a scary picture of the future, well, past - 1984 (the book was written in 1949). The setting is a of a rule that goes beyond the communists and the Nazis in the extent of their totalitarianism. The Party wants to control and transform the mind, and does so by its peculiar philosophy, methods and by observing your every move using the telescreen. The most interesting method I thought, is the one of controlling the past - every record of an event will be modified so that it confirms with what the party wants it to be, and this is done on a continual basis. What is unwanted not only does not exist, but never existed - since there will be no record of it. Traditional institutions of family, love etc. are all broken down, and the only thing the Party wants is power. This is a much praised classic, and I found it an interesting read.
Heard this as an audiobook. It's one of those classic adventure stories with colonial men in Africa encountering native tribes and treasures, battles and animals, and native kings, pretty damsels and royal witch doctors. Containing not just telling of a tale but also insights on human character, it is a good read. At the same time it also brings out the 'arrogance' and feeling of superiority in colonials of the time - this is not only in the stories and characters, but also in choice of words and phrases. In fact, this book would probably come out as being sympathetic towards the native given the prevalant thinking of the time. It is also this aspect that makes this book an interesting read.
This is a book about group theory, symmetry, Galois, and Abel. It is fascinating to read about Galois and Abel - the two shining lights of mathematics that both died tragically young. The historical setting, along with the prevailing mathematical style and personalities, is quite well presented. This is the part that I'd recommend the book for. The part of mathematics mainly dealt with is algebra, group theory and solvability of equations of third, fourth, fifth and higher degrees. They are described well for the non-mathematician to follow. The purported central theme of symmetry however, seems not very natural to the book somehow. Having said that, the topic of symmetry is also quite covered, along with how symmetry and group theory proved useful in physics, and are to be found in various areas ranging from biology to music.
I listened to this one in audio book form. This book tries to answer the question of why human history evolved in different ways in different continents in the last 13000 years. Both the subject matter and the author's thesis is very interesting. The book is quite interesting and sprinkled with facts. Primary factors dealt with, include the onset of food production from a hunting-gathering lifestyle influenced by the availability of domesticable plant and animal species, spread of cultural development (and diseases) influenced by the geographical layout and features of continents etc. Quite a few fascinating example are cited to support the theory. Don't want to get into whether I think the theory is sound etc. - it sounds reasonable for the most part, and most criticism I read is more about it not being complete (in the sense that there might be other type of influencing factors not addressed in this thesis).
All in all, a great subject matter. The only problem with the book is its length and a somewhat bland writing style. I would call the same also a merit, given that so many specialized-subject-for-the-layman books mostly focus on making things dramatic rather than the core subject at hand; but this leads to a book that while very interesting is not quite gripping. If you want a quick peek at what the book is all about, read this article . Also, by looking at the table of contents of this book on Amazon, I see that my audio book simply skipped the last chapter (the one before the epilogue).
Would definitely recommend the article above and advise you to go for the book if you get motivated enough.
Written by a Nobel Prize winner, at one level this is a story of the murder of a guilder for miniature paintings in Istanbul in the late 1590s. However more than that, this is a wonderful history and philosophy of the art of Islamic miniature paintings. It is full of very interesting discussions between the characters - most of whom are miniaturists, on the nature of this art, its philosophy, its standing in religion (which is against idols and realistic depictions) and its practice involving workshops, masters and apprentices in the famous schools of Herat, Tabriz etc. It is set in interesting times where the influence of Venetian and Frankish masters from Europe is entering the Islamic world. The literary style was also quite new to me wherein every character takes turns in talking to the reader, so that we get to know their perspective as things unfold. Moreover, these characters, as they tell their tales, are fully aware and conscious that they are talking to the reader and might well try and deceive to show themselves in better light. Some of these characters that talk to you might even be a dead body, or the colour red, or the general concept of a horse. All this was fascinating, and set me off looking through websites to learn about miniature paintings.
At the end of the book is a chronology of various events in history where we realize that some of the characters in the story are real people from history.
One caution about the book is that it is quite long and slow-paced. The plot is not the focal point and in that says it is not a gripping tale or anything of that sort. If you are interested in art and all the thinking about it through history, you must read this one. But if you are looking for a story mainly, you could give this a miss.
This is a delightful book - the autobigraphy of David Attenborough. It is one of my favourites now. There is so much to it that I am afraid I might not capture it all. Beginning with how David Attenborough first joined the BBC, you learn about the very early days of television, and the thinking and methods of the time. Then as he found his calling as a producer of natural history programmes, you are led into fascinating accounts of travel to exotic places, tales involving various animals, plants, geology and what not; anecdotes involving very interesting people, the wonderful techniques developed in filming as years went by, adventures and thrilling moments, wise observations, many achievements like first-time filming of certain species and first time contact with certain tribal people, and a lot more. There is also fun childhood and family life, and the period as a BBC employee making his mark on the corporation that gives you an insight into that life, people and industry. It is wonderful to imagine the events as you read about them, and you really like the author's thinking and points of view.
I heard this as an audiobook and that's what I'd suggest you do. Expertly narrated by David Attenborough himself, you enjoy every bit of it. And of course, there is the characteristic British understatement and humour sprinkled all over, that will keep you smiling. One of those books you would want to re-read.
This is the story of changing India and comes with the author's personal perspective. The author is a Times of India columnist, ex-CEO of Procter and Gamble India, and has served on the board of, and advised many companies. The best part of the book is the chapters on pre-independence and just-independent India. There is some history of Indian trading culture such as the marwari class, and few anecdotes about both the common man and the famous and powerful. The social and economic zeal and idealism of Nehru's time is described with some reflection of why it all failed. Was interesting to read that this enthusiasm and idealistic spirit was not unique to the newly independent and young India but to the world in general, and particularly scholars of the time. Then the dark period of Indira Gandhi's rule and subsequent years of overall social and economic stagnation with License Raj etc. is described. All this is interspersed with the author's own experiences and observations of the time as he travelled around the country as a young executive. This is followed by a bit of inside story of the miracle of liberalization in 1991 during Narasimharao's tenure and how much India has changed since. However, there is a strong cautionary note as to how reforms have slowed down and only carried out with a defensive mindset of it being "inevitable" rather than "desirable".
All interesting reading, quite some insightful observations, though gets a lengthier and less interesting in the later sections. Also must observe that while the author's point is sometimes quite repetitive (across chapters) and sometimes not clear at all - you get the rough idea, but are not sure what exactly he wants to say. All in all though, a good read especially to learn about the post-independence days of India and how things have changed in a silent but sure way.
This book is set during the 1857 sepoy mutiny. Trouble is brewing, and soon the Collector's residency in Krishnapur is under seige by the sepoys. In there, are several English gentlemen and ladies (and some loyal natives). It is this time of siege, and what happens there, and the various thoughts and conversations, that this book is all about. It is a well researched and very well written work. It is almost as if you are there and seeing the situation grow more grim but people carrying with all the little things of life while also trying their best to defend against the enemy. The focus is not on the story but on bringing out the thinking of the time. There are all kinds of people - young soldiers, pretty ladies, the atheist rational magistrate, the dutiful Collector whose mind privately ponders on various topics on life; and various interactions from attraction and budding romance, to petty bickering, one-upmanship and rivalry, to lofty debates on philosophy, civilization, science, materialism and the arts; and all this collectively brings out the essence of English thought at the time. There are also some interesting observations of India, Indians, and the English view of Indians. The book is also sprinkled with subtle wit and humour for that faint smile.
Having said that, this book is not for the reader who looks for gripping tales. This one's for the more patient reader who likes to think about history, culture, society, and that sort of thing. Would recommend the book. Also, this is a Booker Prize winner.
This is a graphic novel about the life in Palestine. It has been presented to us in the visual form unique to the medium, and is mainly a trip report of the author's visit to Palestine. The author is himself the main character who goes about visiting West Bank, Gaza etc. visiting refugee camps, talking to people (of different generations from old people who were around and personally affected in 1948, to young children who have known no other life than the suffering they are living through), visiting hospitals, seeing Israeli soldiers storm streets and fire grenades and tear gas shells, and having cups of highly sugared tea offered to him one cup after another wherever he went. The book gives us a good idea of the Palestinian situation from the point of view of the average Palestinian - one who has had close friends and relatives killed, injured, cheated, by Israeli soldiers and policies, and has himself been arrested once or twice. It is presented with down-to-earth, real and human feel with no pretense of understanding the "real reasons" behind the problems or proposing any solutions.
So while it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the reality of the situation on the ground, it's also true that it doesn't provide any history, background, or anything of the kind that might help you get an insight of the complexity of the situation in broad terms. Having said that, the author seems to have achieved what he aimed to, and the graphic novel medium has been put to good use, and that's another (perhaps smaller) reason to read this book.
This is a very interesting and thought provoking book. It is about the author's work on simulating life in his game Creatures. It begins with the author describing his thought process and philosophy. He describes how he thinks of life, intelligence etc. not to be a yes/no thing, but a gradation of what he calls persistent phenomena. He describes how the various levels of feedback loops, and the complex systems built out of simple rules of the various constituent parts can lead to emergent behaviour such as life. So if one were to simulate intelligence, the method should not be to to try to teach a computer program the rules of language and to provide rules on how to respond to certain sentences etc. In the author's opinion, intelligence is an emergent property of how life is built and it is the lower level building blocks to be simulated, and let the higher level behaviour emerge, and then it'll be truly intelligent. For example, let's say for a moment that we are able to simulate the laws that govern atoms. These simulated atoms are obviously not real atoms. However, if these atoms get together and form molecules, and furthermore cells and tissues, how is one to deny that they are different than real molecules, cells and tissues? Molecules are patterns that emerged from the behaviour of underlying atoms, and if the same molecules emerge by similar mechanisms from simulated atoms, they are real molecules for all intents and purposes in the simulated world. This in short, is the author's approach towards artificial life.
After such conceptual subject material, comes the author's real work in his computer game where, he builds (very much) simplified building block mechanisms, that nevertheless give rise to creatures for his game that develop some memory, develop their own behaviour and tendencies. Game players are drawn to these creatures whose life they shape, and there is a community developed around this game, which provide ample evidence for some amount of success to this approach. This part is also interesting since it tells us how abstract thoughts can be put to use in real programs.
The last part of the book goes on to further philosphical musings, which also has certain points of interest.
All in all, would recommend the book.
This is the sequel to The Twentieth Wife , by the same author, and tells the story of Mehrunissa after she became the wife of Emperor Jehangir and came to be known as Noor Jahan. I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed its prequel, if not more. It is fascinating to read and you feel as though you are part of the whole setup and are living in those Mughal times. There is all the grandeur, court intrigues, little charms, that you'd expect if you've read the previous book; and there's also a lot of interesting history. One of the things that makes this period in history interesting the advent of the English to the British court, and their attempts to make an impression on the Emperor and gain some favour, while upsetting the long-established Portugese. This review might be a bit rusty since it's been over a month since I finished reading the book, but I'd recommend both The Twentieth Wife, and this book for anyone who likes good stories, interesting personalities, and history.
This is a biography of a different sort. It is a biography of P.G.Wodehouse woven together by stringing excerpts from his own novels, letters and plays. It is not a serious account of his life and work, but an entertaining book that gives you a pretty good idea of who he was, what he lived through, how were those times, what's special about his work, and how things might have shaped him. Since it is his own sentences and paragraphs you read, you immediately recognize the style and enjoy it. I suppose this would have taken quite a bit of researching on part of the authors, though they probably enjoyed it every bit. All in all, you'll like reading it end to end, and then will probably come back and try opening a random page to see if you find that little gem of a quote that you liked so much. Wonder why this book seems to be so little known.
This book by the Ramakrishna Math, is the story of Ramanujacharya, the great acharya of Sri Vaishnavas who is historically placed in the eleventh century. This was the time when Buddhism had all but waned in India and Sankara's highly intellectual advaita philosophy had taken hold, and begun to slip into elitism, arrogance and corruption. Ramanuja with his knowledge and a bit of genius, brought back theism, the concept of a personal God and loving devotion, into the time where the abstract intellectual advaita seemed to have won. Ramanuja, a great devotee and scholar, came up with several works such as the Sri Bhashya (commentary on Brahmasutras) and Gita Bhashya (commentary on Bhagavadgita) where in he propounded his line of philosophy and called it Vishishtadvaita.
A good thing that the book begins not with Ramanuja but from much earlier with the line of preceptors and alvars who can be considered the predecessors of the philosphy and tradition that Ramanuja was the culmination of. An account of the various previous alvars, of Andal, Nathamuni and Yamunacharya is given in the form of stories. Then comes the story of Ramanuja himself and also of the various gurus and disciples that he met in the course of his lifetime. This is told by way of various episodes (each a great little story) in that lifetime.
The book is not in the staid and academic style but rather is itself permeated with the loving devotion that so characterizes the Sri Vaishnava culture. This is very good since you get an idea of the underlying style of thinking that this whole school of thought entails. Also, there is a lot of imagery in the way the stories are written so it is easy to form a picture in your mind on how it might be in those days. Lastly, the thing I liked best about the book is that a lot of original sanskrit sutras and references are given, and there are some little stories of how Ramanuja interpreted a certain sutra different from how advaitins interpreted it etc.
A good book to read.
h2> The Sunday Philosophy Club - Alexander McCall Smith
23 Mar 2009
I had heard good reviews of another of this author's book, and when I found this one in audiobook form, I grabbed it. The book however left me rather disappointed. It starts with some promise - a detective story where the protagonist is a philospher and the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, is sure to be interesting. However, not only is the plot weak, but even the intellectual sprinkling is not really so impressive. There is a good set of characters and their relationship, and the whole Edinburgh lifestyle that does hold you interest, but that's not really enough. Would recommend you stay away from this one, though I plan to pick the other one that I heard was good.
I heard this one as a audiobook from librivox.org, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a story of adventures of Kim - a street smart, half-Irish lad living in India in the late 1800s; a charming boy and a perfect imp who grows up with the story, referred to by people who know him, as "little friend of all the world". Kim knows the native ways, all the alleys, and how to talk to what kind of people. He, by turn of cirucmstance, attaches himself as a chela to a Lama, a wise, old, and very simple man, whose only quest is to find the holy river which can wash all your sins. There is Mahboob Ali, the pathan horse trader for whom Kim used to run mysterious errands. And then there is glorious India of the time, and the story takes us from the plains to the Himalayas, walks us through the Grand Trunk road, and all the various types of people, and their peculiar way of talking and thinking. There is also the "Great Game" and the sahibs, in which Kim gets involved, that's made of espionage and intrigue between the Rajas and the British. All in all, it is an enjoyable work, and Kipling has beautifully captured the manners and thoughts of various different Indian and sahib types, and made Kim, Lama and Mahboob a charming lot. Recommended.
This story is set during the Sepoy Mutiny (or the First Indian War of Independence). It runs us through rather dramatic incidents in the life of a British captain Rodney Savage, of a Bengal infantry regiment. It begins with a good and detailed picture of daily life when all was normal, with all joviality of the British officers, some bravery, some weak-kneed-ness, and some corruption, the intrigues and petty politics of the memsahibs; and the Indian solidiers and servants, with all their religious beliefs, little rivalries, and varied characters. Inspite of being rather supportive of the Indians and the need to respect their way of life, Rodney finds himself compeletely swept by the entirely unexpected tide of the Sepoy Mutiny. There's the violence of it, the escape, and the internal battle as to whether to hate all Indians, or as the strange intelligent English woman Caroline Langford advises, to adopt a larger human outlook. There also is the very passionate and strong Indian Rani of a neighbouring state.
This seems to be a well researched book, and is a gripping plot which also gives a good idea of the British view of the Indian society at the time. Having said that, though the subject matter is of interest to me, and the book doesn't really have much that isn't good about it, reading it rather wearied me.
Palestine - Joe Sacco
08 Jun 2008
Creation - Life and How to Make it - Steve Grand
22 Jul 2008
The Feast of Roses - Indu Sundaresan
26 Oct 2008
P.G. Wodehouse, In His Own Words - Barry Day and Tony Ring
20 Dec 2008
Life of Sri Ramanuja - Ramakrishnananda
11 Jan 2009
Kim - Rudyard Kipling
17 Aug 2009
Nightrunners of Bengal - John Masters
08 Sep 2009