Book Review: The Diary of a Social Butterfly by Moni Mohsin

I bought this book when I thought I was giving too much time to history and politics. So I bought this one- just for a break. This is an interesting book about a Pakistani elite woman who lives in her own world. The writer brought together many acts, events, attitudes and sophistication into one character called ‘Butterfly’. Butterfly lives in a high society where she acts and behaves in a certain manner. This provokes the reader in...

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Book Review: 11 Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela by Ndaba Mandela

Ndaba Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, writes this book as an account of his experiences with his grandfather. This includes his upbringing by his grandfather, troubles in life, lessons and principles learnt from his grandfather. Based on eleven chapters this book brings to light the dimensions of Nelson Mandela’s life, never discussed before. The author discusses apartheid in daily life in South Africa. The police could raid any house...

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Book Review: Aurangzeb- The Man and The Myth by Audrey Truschke

The author of this book specializes in Mughal history and Mughal Empire. This book is based on eight chapters. Aurangzeb ruled for forty-nine years over a population of 150 million people. Being the sixth ruler of the Mughal Empire he named himself ‘seizer of the world’ (Alamgir). Aurangzeb was a complex ruler who the author thinks has wrongly been attributed as a villain in history. Aurangzeb longed for territory, political power and adopted...

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Book Review: A Life History of Allan Fakeer by Raza Hyder Mugheri

A life History of Allan Fakeer is a dissertation on a legend from Sindh. It covers many aspects of the legend’s life. This book is a scholarly work based on five chapters. The introductory chapter briefly explains different approaches used by anthropologists to study life history. This is done to give a better understanding of the research study. The second chapter includes the introductions of locale, where the study has been conducted....

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Book Review: Ice Mummy- The Discovery of a 5000-year-old man by Mark Dubowski and Cathy East Dubowski

This is a short interesting read about a mummy. The special thing about this mummy is its discovery by two hikers. In Sept 1991 two German hikers hike in the Alps, the border region where Austria meets Italy. Reinhold Messner, a famous mountaineer later looks at the body. He believes that the body is not hundred years old but it may be thousands of years old. Dr. Rainer Henn comes to examine the body. Dr. Henn and his helpers put the mummy...

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Book Review: The Founding of the Kashmir State; A Biography of Maharajah Gulab Singh 1792-1858

The Founding of the Kashmir State is divided into nine chapters. To some Gulab Singh seemed an opportunist who took advantage of the confusion which followed after Ranjit Singh’s death. He was able to carve out a state for himself with the establishment of Jammu and Kashmir by the Treaty of 1846. Gulab Singh was the son of Kishore Singh. Gulab Singh’s sons were Randhir Singh, Sohan Singh and Ranbir Singh. Gulab was under his grandfather’s...

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Book Review: Etherton at Kashgar Rhetoric and Reality in the History of the Great Game by Daniel C. Waugh

I believe this research article is a very important one, as it brings out the complexities regarding the politics in East Asia in the late ninetieth and early twentieth century. Etherton’s career is highlighted in the first chapter. Etherton was a British officer, traveler and writer. He fought for the British in Africa in 1901 and then joined Garhwal Rifles, a largely native regiment in northern India. Etherton’s two famous books are Across...

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Book Review: Afghanistan and the Afghans by Major H.W. Bellew

This book/document provides a brief account of the history of Afghanistan and its people. It gives a special mention to the continuing crisis with Amir Sher Ali Khan of Afghanistan. The author tries to show that Afghanistan is unable to maintain its independence as a friendly neighbor without British support. He holds this view in reference to the aggressive policy of the Russians. Bellew traces history of Afghans during the time of the Mughal...

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Book Review: Karl Marx by David McLellan

I am writing this review after almost six years. I read this book back in summer 2013. Karl Marx was born in Trier in 1818 and he died in 1893. Marx spent a lot of his time with Young Hegelian intellectuals. He tried his career in journalism. Marx was expelled from Paris for subversive journalism. He met Engels who was the son of a Rhenish cotton spinner. Engels brought Marx a practical acquaintance with the workings of capitalism, provided...

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Book Review: Teachings of Rumi by Andrew Harvey

Jalal-ud-din Rumi, one of the greatest mystics of Islam was probably born in Balkh Afghanistan in September 1207. He died in Konya in Southern Turkey in December 1273. Mevlevi order was founded by him and continued by his son Sultan Valad. He spread his vision all over Asia and Africa.  Rumi combined the intellect of a Plato, the vision and enlightened soul-force of a Buddha or a Christ, and the extravagant literary gifts of a Shakespeare....

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Book Review: The Principality and Power of Europe by Adrian Hilton

Adrian Hilton’s book was published in 1997. The author was a parliamentary candidate who also produced many theater programs. He was also a lecturer in psychology. Hilton argues that United Kingdom has the right to remain independent politically, economically and religiously. He throws lights on the spiritual and political aspects working throughout Europe. Covering many details of the relationships the author stresses on the importance of sovereignty,...

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Book Review: Fire on the Mountain by Anita Desai

Nanda Kaul an old lady wants to be left alone for the last years of her life. She lives in a quite house at Carignano in Kasauli. This relatively short book is divided into three parts. The first part discusses Nanda Kaul’s life at Carignano. The arrival of her great granddaughter Raka is covered in the second part. The third and last part of the book is about Ila Das’s departure from Carignano. Nanda Kaul’s daughter is Asha. Asha is mother...

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Book Review: Ethnicity and Politics in Pakistan by Feroz Ahmed

The author believes that theory is generalization and systematic and meaningful ordering of empirically verified facts. Ahmed suggests that concepts by themselves are not the motive forces of history. It is the material realities behind these concepts which call for change. Before the formation of Pakistan there was a center which delegated powers to the provinces for the sake of administrative convenience. Pakistan retained its unitary...

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Libraries in ICT

Last month I visited libraries near my house and in total I found only three. One of them is in G-11 Markaz. This library is a dingy room with insufficient light. One corner of the roof gives a view of the sky as corrugated roofing sheet is not in place. An employee at the library informed me that the roof was affected by a storm a few years ago. This building needs serious renovation. Travelling to another library in G-8/1 I saw a library located...

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