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The Corruption Conundrum And Other Paradoxes And Dilemmas V Raghunathan Penguin Portfolio
222 pages
Rs450
Paradoxes can be delightful. Consider the two envelope paradox, which V Raghunathan elaborates on in his latest book, The Corruption Conundrum And Other Paradoxes And Dilemmas. You are on a game show and are offered two envelopes to choose from. One envelope has twice the amount of money as the other. Say you select an envelope which has Rs1,000 in it. You can either keep or switch it.

The Monochrome Madonna(A Lalli mystery) Kalpana SwaminathanPenguin
252 pages
Rs 250
“I’ve always known I’d be stuck with a corpse someday, probably in the first week of October.” With this cryptic line, Kalpana Swaminathan sets the stage in The Monochrome Madonna, her third novel featuring Lalli, a retired police detective.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand Helen SimonsonBloomsbury
370 pages
“I was raised in a library of a thousand books,” recounts Mrs Ali, a Cambridge-born who has lived all her life in England. When her academician father migrated from the subcontinent to England, he carried with him just trunk-loads of books.
What it takes to be a ‘good’ firm Ethics, Business And Society
Edited by Anand Das Gupta
Response
212 pages
Rs395
Targeted at scholars and practitioners of corporate social responsibility, this compilation of essays analyses the differences between social responsibility and business ethics. The book attempts to bridge the gap between ‘conceptual’ and ‘grounded’ theory, ethical norms of a ‘Western society’ and cultural norms of Indian society. Through examples and cases of CSR, the book tries to demonstrate what is a ‘good corporation’ in the Indian context.
Teenage wizards save the sea Pearls Of Wisdom
Sonja Chandrachud Puffin
189 pages
Rs199
Neptune, the protector of the oceans, has allowed the pearls of wisdom to fall into the hands of the Black Magi, giving them the power to rule the water world. Since top-notch secret service vampire agent Count Drunkula was supposed to be guarding the powerful pearls, he now faces execution for treason. To clear her father’s name, Koral must get through a 1,000-headed serpent, the turncoat commander of the ocean and a new Black Magi leader.
Behind Goa’s hippie beaches Dancing With Kali
Lalita DasNiyogi
292 pages
Rs295
Anu, the daughter of a Hindu landowner, fell in love and got married to Alec, an English lawyer holidaying in Goa. Eighteen years later, Ronnie visits the beach in Goa where his mother drowned. There he meets Meera, who’s also lost her mother, and lives with her grandmother Maushi — Anu’s mother. Through Hindu and Christian philosophies, the author highlights repressive traditions in villages not far from hippie beaches.
Re-analysing Bollywood Reframing Bollywood
Ajay GehlawatSage
165 pages
Rs450
The book analyses various theories to provide a new perspective on the Indian film industry. It covers five areas of research in Bollywood, including religion and sex, attempting to deconstruct each and reshape how Bollywood is understood from the points of view of film and theatre studies, post-colonial studies, and queer studies. It tries to show how a variety of approaches enable a more comprehensive reading of films.
Hitch-22 Christopher Hitchens
Atlantic Books
Pg 422
Rs 599
Alook at the index of author, journalist and polemicist Christopher Hitchens’ memoir is enough to convey that the man wants you to know he’s rubbed shoulders with the famous and infamous, been friends with the who’s who, and travelled to more countries than you can point to on an atlas. Famous for his shift from the Trotskyite Left to the American right and his abrasive opinions on a variety of subjects from Mother Teresa to the non-existence of the Almighty, his Hitch-22 is a capacious volume that unpacks an incident-filled life.
The Great Depression Of The 40s Rupa GulabPenguin
214 pages
Rs250
Age is not just a number, no matter how desperately you want to believe otherwise. You may have a youthful mind and vibrant personality but your body will eventually remind you that your ‘age’ is the real deal. In The Great Depression Of The 40s, Rupa Gulab brings out the angst, confusion, loneliness, sadness and the perks of being 40-something.
From the home of the Taliban My Life With The Taliban
Abdul Salam Zaeef Hachette India
331 pages
Rs495
The author of the book, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was one of the founders of the Taliban in 1994. He joined the fight against the Soviets when he was only a teenager, even fighting alongside Mullah Omar when the future Taliban leader lost an eye. The book is a fascinating account of Zaeef's remarkable life. It also gives real insight into why the Taliban was formed, what motivates it, and what it is now trying to achieve.
A story of closeted lives Valmiki's DaughterShani MootooPenguin
398 pages
Rs299
Valmiki's Daughter is set in Trinidad and, as the title suggests, focuses on that island's Indian community that VS Naipul has made familiar to readers internationally. At the centre of the novel is a well-off doctor named Valmiki Krishnu. Krishnu is a closeted homosexual who has two daughters. Krishnu is both guilty and ashamed of his sexuality. And when it is learnt that one of his daughters is a homosexual, he is unable to support her.
Revisiting history India DividedRajendra PrasadPenguin
566 pages
Rs499
India Divided by Rajendra Prasad which was first published in 1946 was an important book of its time. It examined the theory that Hindus and Muslims belong to two different countries. The book has now been reissued. According to Prasad, the solution of the Hindu-Muslim conflict should not be the creation of two different states but rather the formation of a secular state, with cultural autonomy for the groups that make up the nation.

An officer and a gentleman The Honest Always Stand Alone
CG SomiahNiyogi Books
271 pages
Rs395
CG Somiah had a distinguished career in the civil services, and was considered to be an officer of unshakeable integrity. There are many interesting anecdotes in this autobiography that show the reader how tough it is for an honest officer to survive in a corrupt system: right from his first posting as an assistant collector in Orissa to the hectic days of fighting terrorism as home secretary in Punjab.