Thursday, October 11, 2018
Book Review: World Famous Dictators by Ian Schott
Monday, July 9, 2018
Book Review: Walking with the Comrades by Arundhati Roy
This work by Arundhati
Roy draws serious attention on the ongoing rebel movement in India. Maoist guerillas
are waging war against the brutal and suppressive Indian government which is
adamant on furthering the interests of multi-million dollar corporations.
Roy writes about the
time she spent with the guerillas on the frontline fighting the government
soldiers. She writes briefly about the history of the Naxalites, different personalities
of the movement, her life in the forests with the rebels, role of women,
makeshift schools for children, and about poverty and malnutrition among the
guerillas. Roy believes that the government wants more minerals, clearing of forest
lands to pave the way for mining companies, dams and large corporations. She
leaves the reader with an important question: whether global capitalism would also
engulf this part of the world?
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Book Review: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Into
the wild is based on Christopher Johnson McCandless’s real story.
After completing his university degree he decided to live in the wild. He gave
$25,000 of his savings to a charity. In April 1992 he hitchhiked to Alaska and
moved north of Mt. Kinley. During this journey he had to abandon his car, burn
his wallet cash and experience a new way of living. He chose this life.
Many writers/commentators believe McCandless to be mentally
unstable whereas others consider his strange behavior to be nonconformist in many
ways. As the maverick grew up he came to know about his father’s earlier marriage
which disturbed him to a great degree. Moving on to hostel life he became more detached
from home. He did not write letters that often. He seemed disenchanted. But he
always remained close to his sister and cared for her.
Moreover McCandless did not want his family to know about
his whereabouts. That was the reason he changed his named. During the trip
Chris read Tolstoy, Jack London and Henry David Thoreau. He did part time jobs
to gather funds for his last Alaskan expedition. McCandless ended up in in an
abandoned bus. He hunted with his rifle but game was short in number. He ate
roots of different plants. Some of these roots are believed to have caused his death
as they turned out to be toxic.
Four months after his death, his decomposed body was
found by a moose hunter. His sad demise caused great sorrow for his family.
Later his parents visited the bus where he had died. The writer of this book initially
wrote an article on his death and later developed a book which we now know as Into the Wild.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Book Review: The Lighter Side of the Power Game by Mohammad Asghar Khan
Based on twenty four small chapters, this book brings out
experiences of Khan in PAF and his post retirement life in politics. The
challenges he faced as a politician are also shared with the reader. The most
interesting chapters in the book include The
Goat; VIP on Shikar, Corruption, Big Brother is Waiting, The Importance of
English and My Quickest Meal.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Book Review: The Art of War by Sun Tzu
I read The Art of
War in 2012. Back then I could not grasp various facets of this classic
text. Sun Tzu a Chinese warrior philosopher compiled this amazing book 2000
years ago. The book revolves around strategy and conflict management. To date
the importance of this book has not diminished. From interpersonal to
international level Sun Tzu talks about victory without combat. This according
to him is only possible through proper understanding of physics, politics and
psychology of conflict.
The commentaries in this translation by Thomas Cleary are selected from a collection of eleven interpreters. These commentaries elaborate on various aspects which include secrecy, importance of misdirection as an essential art, strategy formation, awards, punishments and psychology of soldiers.
Some of the central ideas of Tzu are:
·
“A military force has no constant formation,
water has no constant shape. The ability to gain victory by changing and
adapting according to the opponent is called genius”.
·
“The individualist without strategy who takes
opponents lightly will inevitably become a captive”.
·
“Only a brilliant ruler or a wise general who
can use the highly intelligent for espionage is sure of great success.”
Friday, June 15, 2018
Book Review: Imperial Gazetteer Provincial Series Kashmir and Jammu by Sir Walter Lawrence
The articles in this volume are written by Sir Walter
Lawrence, Bart., G.C.I.E. Physical environment, history, archaeology,
population, agriculture, forests, minerals, arts, commerce, political
relations, administration, education and means of communication are discussed
in great detail with relevant statistical data.
Back then covering long distances was a troublesome task
for any traveller. The distance from Gilgit to Srinagar was 228 miles, Srinagar
to Leh was 243 miles, and from Leh to Yarkand was 482 miles.
In this book languages, population and castes of Kashmir
and Jammu have been briefly discussed. Dogras, Gujars, Gaddis,Pathans, Galwan
and Dum presence is mentioned. Dogra is defined as a territorial name.
In the Hunza -Nagar campaign of 1891 these Dogra Rajputs rendered their
services for the Kashmir government.
In Kashmir cherry is known as gilas. Other produce includes buck wheat, rice and tobacco. The
minerals found are gypsum, limestone and gold. Kashmiri arts and embroidery are
also appreciated and its export to the west is encouraged. Srinagar which means
“Godess of God” has been described in
significant detail.
In addition to that topics relating to women of Ladakh,
history of Baltistan, end of polyandry among Baltis, importance of cow in
Astore and mountain passes in Kashmir territory have also been taken into
account.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Book Review: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
This famous bestselling book of the Lebanese American
writer Kahlil Gibran is written about a prophet who waits to board a homebound ship.There he addresses his followers. His teachings consists of 26 prose poetry
essays on themes which include children, work, clothes, crime, punishment,
reason, passion, pain, self-knowledge, friendship, time, religion and death.
The prophet addresses his followers on all these significant subjects in life.
To date this book has not lost it appeal among the readers.My favorite line
from the book is when Gibran says: “You
are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Book Review: Pakistan- A Personal History by Imran Khan
This very book written
by Imran Khan is a mix of Pakistan’s history and his own autobiography. Khan
takes a start from his childhood at Zaman Park. Moving on he covers his days at
Oxford, his cricket life, establishment of Shaukat Khanum hospital and his
entry into politics.
The author relates about
his close connection with his mother. Her practice of Islam had strong Sufi
influences which later in life was adopted by Imran. Furthermore Imran states
that at Aitchison College boys caught
speaking in Urdu were fined. The author views British to have exploited India.
He quotes GDP of India in 1700s as 25 percent of world economy. Imran believes
that British colonialism has had adverse effects on the society in Pakistan. He
severely criticizes the elite in Pakistani politics.
Imran’s spiritual mentor
Mian Bashir closely guided him in spiritual matters. In addition to that Imran considers
Allama Iqbal as his inspiration and philosophical guide. Despite being good
friends with Benazir Bhutto at Oxford, Imran disagreed with her on issues.
Imran quotes her as acting “royal”. Imran also criticizes her father as he
failed to deliver because of his feudal mindset. Moreover the author mentions about
the bomb blast at Shaukat Khanum and also critiques the establishment for
engineering past elections in the country.
Further in the book Khan
discusses the rule of Pervez Musharraf, American pressure on Zardari for initiating
operation in Bajaur and the rise of Taliban in Swat valley.
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Book Review: Sand and Foam by Kahlil Gibran
I read this book in late 2012 or early 2013 at Ewing Hall.
I borrowed it from a friend. Sand and Foam is one the books of Gibran written
about impulse of man’s heart and mind. The themes which he addresses in the
book include travel, nirvana, faith, secrecy, traits of humans, children, knowledge,
youth, dissent, greed and indifference.
At one point he says: “If you reveal your secrets to the
wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees. Furthermore he states: “You cannot have youth and the knowledge
of it at the same time; for the youth is too busy living to know, and the
knowledge is too busy seeking itself to live”.
On equality Gibran is of the following view: “Should you sit upon a
cloud you would not see the boundary line between one country and another, not
the boundary stone between a farm and a farm. It is a pity you cannot sit upon
a cloud.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Book Review: My Khyber Marriage by Morag Murray Abdullah
The first chapter
starts with the very first meeting of Morag and Abdullah. Initially Morag’s
father is apprehensive about her marriage to an easterner, but later he agrees
to the proposal. Despite caution from friends and family Morag marries the
easterner. Syed Abdullah takes his wife to his tribal country in the East where
a marriage ceremony takes place. Before the marriage, his wife takes a bath in
ass’s milk for beautification. Some of the observations of the writer stress
that all highland folks around the world believe in luck and many of the blood feuds
trace their origin to water issues.
Furthermore the author describes her life inside the fort
and the roles assigned to each gender. Adding on to that the writer discusses
various legends of the area. One of such legends is known as the white lady’s
hill. One day Morag flees from the fort and travels to the white lady on the
hill. She takes this risk to prevent a bloody fight. Later her husband
discovers this and thanks God for her safety, as she might have got killed by
gunfire.
Moreover the author mentions about the time when the
women defended the fort resisting an attack. At another instance she describes
her journey into the snake valley. This adventure is triggered by the frequent mention
of snake valley in different local stories. Morag helps in her sister-in-law’s
marriage. Furthermore Morag explains the strict moral codes of the tribal
society and the limited choices available to women.
Later Morag and her husband travel to India. They are
invited by an Indian Raja. Moray and her family leave for India. She writes a
separate chapter on her journey through ninety-nine tunnels. Their visits to
Simla and Dehli are also highlighted in later part of the book. In her final chapter
Moray compares East and West. On hearing about her mother’s illness, she
travels to Scotland along with her daughter Margaret. There she compares her
life in the Freeland and that in Scotland. Morag intends to go back home in the
Freeland where life is simple and the honor one one’s clan comes before
anything else.
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