Book Review: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan by Begum Naz

Syed Ahmad Khan's (SAK) grandfather had migrated from Herat. Syed was born in October 1817 to Mir Muttaqi. He was sent to a maktab. From his father he learnt archery and swimming. Khan's mother told him: 'Life is full of vicissitudes you must only form such habits as you can always live with' (p. 9).Khan went to England where he visited Cambridge and studied the education system in the university.  Syed was an advocate of advanced scientific...

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Book Review: Pakistan and the Bomb: Public Opinion and Nuclear Options (Edited by Samina Ahmed and David Cortright)

Pakistan and the Bomb presents one of the most thorough surveys of Pakistani public opinion on nuclear policy. It examines the main factors that brought a nuclear arms race in South Asia. One of the perspectives in the book is that the majority of the Pakistani elite support their country's official stance of keeping the nuclear option open. Fear of an attack from India is the central factor behind the support for the nuclear option.Pakistan's nuclear...

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Book Review: Lahore: A Sentimental Journey by Pran Nevile

First published in 1933, Lahore: A Sentimental Journey is a tribute by Pran Nevile to his city of birth of Lahore. This interesting book covers his early childhood in Lahore, his time at Government College Lahore, festivals, cinema, time with his friends and the glamour in the city of Lahore. The author also writes about other themes including pathshala (teaching houses), fruits, film censor boards, clothing, fashion, fraudsters of...

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Book Review: The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov (Translated by Constance Garnett)

This volume contains nine amazing short stories.  It touches on the themes of hope, despair, married life, choice, love, ego, time, happiness, life and freedom. The short stories include the Lady with the Dog, A Doctor's Visit, An Upheaval, Ionitch, The Head of the Family, The Black Monk, Volodya, An Anonymous Story and The Husband.Chekov writes (from In The Lady with the Dog): " Useless pursuits and conversations always about the same things...

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Book Review: Fidel Castro: Nothing Can Stop the Course of History (Interview by Jeffrey M. Elliot and Mervyn M. Dymally)

This detailed book covers a wide-range interview of the Cuban President Fidel Castro- the David who challenged the goliath. Some of the major themes discussed in the book are U.S-Cuba Relations, Reagan's foreign policy, the New International Economic Order, Politics in Latin America, Cuba's relations with African countries, arms race, political changes in Afghanistan and the economic blockade of Cuba by USA.Castro believes that Ho Chin Minh and Lenin...

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