Patriots and Partisans

Author - Ramachandra Guha
Genre - Politics, Society, Academic, Research, Media, Magazine, Congress, RSS, Communist Parties, BJP, Nehru, Gandhi, Mahatma, MK Gandhi, Press.
Source - Print
Rating - 4
Read - July 2015

The gift of Ramachandra Guha is to present serious academic discussions to us, reasonably well-read non-academics, in a tone that is neither academic nor over-simplistic. It is to his great credit that the reasonably well-read non-academic can actually read his points-of-view, and digest them well enough to create a coherent opposing view. Reading Ramachandra Guha is a gift - even if one disagrees vehemently. I was about to point out a few chapters that are must-reads, but there are way too many. Buy it. Read it.

Wolf Hall

Author - Hilary Mantel

Genre - History, Politics, Non-Fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

December 2013

This is an incredible achievement. Really one of the books where even while reading it you know that this is a piece of high art. Hilary Mantel is a genius. How many book have you encountered where in the middle of an exciting passage of events you suddenly stop to marvel at a piece of sparkling prose? And you are never over-burdened by the literariness of the piece (something that, I must agree, happens to me often), the book, all 24+ hours of it in Audible, flows through. I am not the Booker-prize-reader kind, in fact, I am the exact opposite. This however was brilliant. Will have to start on the next part in a few days.

India After Gandhi

Author - Ramachandra Guha

Genre - History, Politics, Society, Non-fiction

Source - Print

Rating - 5

November 2013

Re-read. This should be re-read once every year. Masterful. A page-turner, it reads like a thriller. Even on the second read.