The whole world stands polarised on the seemingly intractable conflict between Israel and Palestine/Arab world. While one section of the population attribute this raging disquiet to Israeli obduracy, the remaining section remains firmly entrenched in placing the blame squarely on Palestinian/Arab obstinacy. This tome by Avi Shlaim endeavours to clear the cobwebs and strike at … Continue reading The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World by Avi Shlaim

A calendar of neglect, but paradoxically a calendar of immense import. Relegated to the confines of the dustbin of history to be too obscure or derided by a fickle memory as too obtuse, these are the forgotten children of Planet earth whose influence, either triumphant or terrible will be felt until perpetuity. Eduardo Galeano in … Continue reading Children of the Days by Eduardo Galeano

If ever there was a misleading title to a book, this has to be it! Detestable dalliances, pompous promiscuity and astounding adultery litter this collection substituting the Shakespearean jilted love or a scorned heart. Inexplicably weird habits of a bunch of highly rated philosophers (for eg. Diogenes the Cynic's reprehensible propensity to urinate, defecate and … Continue reading Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love – Andrew Shaffer

The physical demise of any sportsman not only evokes feelings of sadness but also transports the mourner into a world of nostalgia graced by both pleasure and pain. While the fact that the athlete no longer resides in the physical world might bring immeasurable grief to his/her fans, the very acts performed by the departed … Continue reading The Promise of Endless Summers: Cricket Lives from the Daily Telegraph – Martin Smith

Commencing with the 'seemingly' simply illustration of a chair, and posing a question as to the very existence of that object, Bertrand Russell opens to the reader the amazing, complex and contradicting world of Philosophy. Weaving an intricate pattern of thoughts, highlighting paradoxical postulates and rudimentary concepts, this prolific, erudite and intellectual genius, strives to … Continue reading The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

After an interminably long hiatus spanning a decade, one of the most original writers of our time, Kazuo Ishiguro is back, and how! 'The Buried Giant', although not in the same make and mould as the sensational 'When We Were Orphans', or the phenomenal 'The Remains Of The Day', is nonetheless refreshingly stirring and invigorating. … Continue reading The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

  Often times riveting, at other times, polemical one of the most influential thinkers of our time provides a compact overview of the tenets underlying anarchism or libertarian socialism or anachrosyndicalism (as appropriate). With particular focus on the works and philosophy of Michael Bakunin, George Orwell and Wilhelm Von Humboldt, Chomsky proceeds to highlight the … Continue reading On Anarchism – Noam Chomsky

You know (or at least you strongly suspect), that your sibling is a notorious murderer on the run, and consequently the focus of a massive man hunt by the cops. You also happen to know the whereabouts of the elusive fugitive and you harbor this eerie suspicion that his victim count has definitely not ended. … Continue reading Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do by Michael J. Sandel

In this essential offering, Dr.Atul Gawande holds forth with dazzling brilliance the perils and pitfalls staring the medical profession unblinkingly in the face. Just like any other sphere of commercial business, medicine also has to grapple with pernicious issues such as prudential allocation of scarce resources among competing choices, malpractice probabilities etc. However what sets … Continue reading Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande

In 1928 Canada banned walrus hunting. However an exception was made in the case of the Inuit tribes whose sustenance was based on such walruses for over 4500 years. In the 1990s, the Inuit leaders approached the Canadian Government with a unique proposal. They requested the Government to permit the Inuit to sell a designated … Continue reading What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel