Winston Churchill once famously remarked "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." Combining a delectable mix of irreverent wit, dollops of common sense and precocious statistics, Ha-Joon Chang delivers a veritable tour de force scything wide open some of the … Continue reading

Employing bold candour and brazen wit, Michael Lewis regales his reader about the new culture spawning the financial spectrum across the globe - a culture of uninhibited and vulgar greed. Manifesting itself in myriad ways such as Leveraged Buy Outs ("LBO"); collaterised mortgages and hostile takeovers, the unashamed purveyors of this culture remorselessly plough along … Continue reading

Jonas's world is orderly, patterned and gloriously stereotypical. In his settlement, structure represents substance. Days, nights and hours are established mores with specific programmed patterns. Jonas, oblivious of human emotions and bereft of all passions finds his very utopian existence jolted, when at a ceremony to commemorate his Twelfth Birthday, he is selected by the … Continue reading The Giver (The Giver #1) by Lois Lowry

A Companion Guide to the Newbery Medal winning book "The Giver", "Gathering Blue" portrays a Dystopian Picture of three talented artists whose innovative genius is collectively shackled and suppressed to suit the needs of an elite band of members. While Kira is a wizard with weaving magical fabrics using dye and colour, Thomas is a … Continue reading Gathering Blue (The Giver #2) by Lois Lowry

In this engaging third installment of the Quartet series, the focus is on the serene and tranquil "Village". This is a place of serenity and bliss where discards from other communities are welcomed with open arms and provided an opportunity to lead a life of dignity and independence. The leader of the Village is Jonas, … Continue reading Messenger (The Giver #3) by Lois Lowry

Kitchener a.k.a "Kit" is eighteen and is 'socially disabled'. He is foisted with the onerous burden of tending to his father Guy, who is in the final stages of his fight with lung cancer. On a dispiriting weekend, Kit receives 7 guests, all of whom are former University mates of Guy. Professing to lend succor … Continue reading The Quarry by Iain Banks

It inevitably takes the candid brilliance of a rare author to chronicle the life of a coruscating genius. Duncan Hamilton proceeds to do exactly that in "Immortals". Without sympathy or sycophancy, Hamilton proceeds to lay bare the turbulent life of one of the greatest and gifted footballers of all time. A life characterized by triumph … Continue reading Immortal by Duncan Hamilton

61,670 runs at an average of 50.70; 199 centuries and 273 fifties make Jack Hobbs the absolute don of the statistical spectrum in cricket. Devastating on the field and dignified off it this legend strode the cricketing world like a colossus brooking no opposition and breaking every possible record. In this magnificent chronicle of the … Continue reading Jack Hobbs England’s Greatest Cricketer by Leo McKinstry

Sir Issac Newton was extolled by the poet Alexander Pope thus: "Nature and nature's law lay hid in night; God said "Let Newton be" and all was Light!" For an enthusiastic reader thirsting for an easy first acquaintance with the principles and philosophies of this unsurpassed physicist, James Gleick's concise biography is the pick of … Continue reading Isaac Newton by James Gleick

"Archie Jackson The Keats Of Cricket" is a surreal tribute by the indefatigable David Frith to a preternatural cricketing talent whose budding career was tragically nipped. Archie Jackson, a contemporary of Sir Donald Bradman was all of 23 years old, when he breathed his last, having been stricken by a virulent bout of Tuberculosis. A … Continue reading