BOOKS YOU DEFINITELY SHOULDN’T MISS THIS WINTER

Compiled by: TNN Bureau

1) “Pride, Prejudice and Punditry: The Essential Shashi Tharoor” by Shashi Tharoor

(Non-Fiction | Format: Hardcover/Kindle | MRP: 722 INR)

BLURB: Shashi Tharoor is one of India’s greatest living writers. In the course of a career that has lasted more than half a century (his first short story made it into print when he was ten), he has published over five million words—in books, newspapers, magazines, journals, and online media—on a variety of subjects. “Pride, Prejudice, and Punditry” brings together the very best fiction, non-fiction, and poetry from his published books and journalism—as well as many pieces that have been written specially for this volume.
There are ten sections in the book, each devoted to a particular topic. ‘In the Company of Giants’ looks at some of the most important figures of modern Indian history; ‘Into the Maelstrom of Indian Politics’ contains work on the Indian political scene; ‘Our Unruly World’ covers international relations and diplomacy; ‘The Hindu Way’ examines various aspects of the faith; ‘Musings of a Cricket Tragic’ includes some of his finest writing on the sport; ‘You Cannot Be Serious!’ is a light-hearted take on sundry matters; ‘Fragments of an Autobiography’ has poignant essays about his parents and an evocative look at his Kerala heritage; ‘The Spoken Word’ is a selection of his most famous speeches; ‘The Writerly Life’ comprises ruminations on writing and writers; and ‘Selected Fiction and Poetry’ showcases his masterpieces of fiction and poetry.
This book will give those new to the author’s work a panoramic view of the range and depth of his writing. Long-time fans will find fresh material to delight them as also ageless pieces that continue to enchant. Dazzling, inventive, and exuberant, “Pride, Prejudice, and Punditry” presents readers with the essential work of a literary genius.



2) “Policymaker’s Journal: From New Delhi to Washington, D.C” by Kaushik Basu

(Non-Fiction | Format: Hardcover/Kindle | MRP: 465 INR)

BLURB: Irreverent and hilarious, wise and introspective, Kaushik Basu’s journal records the course of his career over seven years, first in India as the chief economic adviser to the Indian Government and after that as the chief economist at the World Bank in Washington. Encounters with expected and unexpected world leaders and influencers—Manmohan Singh, Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, Sheikh Hasina, Deepika Padukone and many, many others—pepper and liven this charming page-turner of a journal.
The Indian years were a period of high inflation, growth challenges (as the global financial crisis arrived in India) and also a remarkable growth recovery story, with India moving past China’s GDP growth rate. The World Bank years ranged from interacting with officials in tiny, remote countries like Samoa, to gigantic nations with considerable heft, such as China.
Basu narrates these momentous periods in his diplomatic career with a rare lightheartedness which not only informs by giving the readers a ringside view of Indian bureaucracy, but also makes this book the most compelling and enjoyable book on policymaking to come out of India in years.



3) “Immune”, by Philipp Dettmer

(Non-Fiction | Format: Hardcover/Kindle | MRP: 1295 INR)

BLURB: Each chapter in this book delves deeply into an element of the immune system, including defences like antibodies and inflammation as well as threats like viruses, bacteria, allergies and cancer, as Dettmer reveals why boosting your immune system is actually nonsense, how parasites sneak their way past your body's defences, how viruses - including the coronavirus - work, and what goes on in your wounds when you cut yourself.
Enlivened by engaging full-colour graphics and immersive descriptions, Immune turns one of the most intricate, interconnected, and confusing subjects - immunology - into a gripping adventure through an astonishing alien landscape.
Challenging what you know and think about your own body and how it defends you against all sorts of maladies and how it might also eventually be your own downfall, Immune is a vital and remarkably fun crash course in what is arguably, and increasingly, the most important system in the body.



4) “Two and a Half Rivers” by Anirudh Kala

(Fiction | Format: Paperback/Kindle | MRP: 345 INR)

BLURB: A depressed doctor and a young Dalit couple caught in the vortex of an armed insurgency.
A recently divorced doctor looking for seclusion relocates to an isolated house on a riverbank. The following summer dead bodies start turning up in the river, on the roads, in trains and on city crossings. Everybody calls it the ‘Punjab Problem’, as if it were a stubborn crossword puzzle. The doctor is kidnapped and nearly killed, once by terrorists for helping the police and once by police for helping the terrorists.
A young Dalit girl, with the dream of becoming a dancer in her eyes, and her soulmate Bheem leave their caste-ridden existence behind and relocate to Bombay. They have learnt the hard way that the preaching of oneness by their religion does not work in the real world.
Drawing its title from the historicity of the Partition which has left in its wake only two and a half rivers to India from the land of the five rivers, Anirudh Kala’s novel offers a poignant commentary on the turbulent connection between religion and terrorism.



5) “Murder in Old Bombay: A Mystery” by Nev March

(Mystery | Format: Paperback/Kindle | MRP: 288 INR)

BLURB: In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lies in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, with little to do but re-read the tales of his idol, Sherlock Holmes, and browse the daily papers. The case that catches Captain Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by Adi, the widower of one of the victims — his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide — Captain Jim approaches the Parsee family and is hired to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon.
But in a land of divided loyalties, asking questions is dangerous. Captain Jim's investigation disturbs the shadows that seem to follow the Framji family and triggers an ominous chain of events. And when lively Lady Diana Framji joins the hunt for her sisters’ attackers, Captain Jim’s heart isn’t safe, either.
Based on a true story, and set against the vibrant backdrop of colonial India, Nev March's Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning lyrical debut, “Murder in Old Bombay”, brings this tumultuous historical age to life.



6) “Banaras: Of Gods, Humans and Stories” by Nilosree Biswas & Irfan Nabi

(Non-Fiction | Format: Hardcover | MRP: 1250 INR)

BLURB: A cascading effect of events unravels in Banaras: on its ghats and in its lanes. Myriad lanes emerge like an umbilical cord out of the ghats to the womb of the sacred geography, to the infinite spots where the believers pause to experience the divine. Its waterfront, a grid of staircase leads one’s vision up and the eye meets a world that is frantic of the mundane and magnum opus, a scene that appears chaotic yet in sync.
In “Banaras: Of Gods, Humans and Stories”, Nilosree and Irfan discern the engaging narrative of a unique chromosome that makes Banaras. Traversing within the maze, its sacred topography, craft traditions, and gastronomic plethora, the book examines the tenets of its weave. There is a singular, unified, and unstoppable momentum to all this—akin to the unfolding of a scroll of a painting.



7) “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War” by Craig Whitlock

(Non-Fiction | Format: Hardcover/Kindle | MRP: 588 INR)

BLURB: The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock.
Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives.
Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, “The Afghanistan Papers” contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines.
“The Afghanistan Papers” is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.



8) “Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favours the Brave” by Ryan Holiday

(Personal Growth | Format: Hardcover/Kindle | MRP: 476 INR)

BLURB: An inspiring anthem to the power, promise, and challenges of courage, the first in a series examining the timeless Stoic virtues from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday.
Fortune favours the bold. All great leaders of history have known this, and were successful because of the risks they dared to take. But today so many of us are paralysed by fear.
Drawing on ancient Stoic wisdom and examples across history and around the world, Ryan Holiday shows why courage is so important, and how to cultivate it in our own lives. Courage is not simply physical bravery but also doing the right thing and standing up for what you believe; it's creativity, generosity and perseverance. And it is the only way to live an extraordinary, fulfilled and effective life.
Everything in life begins with courage. This book will equip you with the bravery to begin.