Indianomix - Making Sense of Modern India

Authors:       Vivek Dehejia and Rupa Subramanya

Published:   2012

Publisher:    Random House India

Hardcover:  228 Pages

Economics is not one of my favorite subjects. But this book was  pressed into my hands by a book lover who was sure that I will enjoy it. And she was absolutely right. 
I had never expected that such a dry subject like economics could be applied to understand the behavioral patterns of Indians in various situations. 
In the introductory chapter the authors who are well qualified economists, explain how in India the everyday scenarios like - people not turning up on time for an appointment; an auto driver not willing to go where you want him to go; politicians or bureaucrats  making you wait without rhyme or reason - are actually manifestations of several economic theories in action.

In the remaining six chapters of the book they explore issues like :

• Why the public is indifferent to the plight of an accident victim ?
• Why did Nehru ignore the Chinese threat in the lead-up to the 1962 war ?
• Why people take life-threatening risks while crossing a busy road or a railway track ?
• Do seatbelt laws really save lives in India ?
• Will India be better off under an autocratic rule as compared to a democratic setup ?
• What  was the reason for BJP's defeat in 2004 General Elections ?
• What role does myths and superstitions play in influencing the economics and politics of a country like India ?

This book is not a conventional economics book since it borrows liberally from other disciplines like history, political science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, evolutionary biology, religion etc.to explain these issues. This is because the authors firmly believe that the "richness of India - which to some people may appear as mere messiness - deserves, indeed demands, such an interdisciplinary approach. When you dig below the apparent chaos of India, and get to the deeper mechanisms hidden below the confusing patterns on top, India makes sense after all".

A very entertaining  and enlightening read ! I am glad that I read this book.

Links: 
Goodreads Rating - 3.50  ·  rating details  ·  16 ratings  ·  4 reviews 

•  Excerpts from the following chapters of the book
• What if...?
• Heads or Tails ? 
• Mythical or Modern
   

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Teach Yourself Astronomy

Author:      Sir Patrick Moore

Published: 2008

Publisher: Hodder Education

Paperback: 256 pages

My first attempt to learn  Astronomy was when I enrolled myself in Coursera's free online course "Introduction to Astronomy" . That was a disaster. The lectures were overwhelming and too fast paced for my comfort . So one fine day I just dropped out of the course.
And then a month later I picked up from the library  this book by the world renowned astronomer Sir Patrick Moore. This time my experience was definitely better.
The book is written in a very simple easy to understand manner with a sense of humor at places. Many of the concepts are well explained.
However you tend to loose your way in the maze of  jargons and names of countless stars, constellations and galaxies. 
It seems to me the subject of astronomy is such that it can't be grasped in a single reading, however much the author tries to simplify it.

But overall a fairly good book to get started on astronomy.

Contents: 
Chapter 1: Introducing Astronomy - Basic facts about astronomy; definitions of  the most important terms.
Chapter 2: The Spinning Sky - The celestial sphere; how the positions of celestial bodies are given in the sky; the celestial equivalents of latitude and longitude on the Earth.
Chapter 3: Sky-watchers - The history of astronomy from the old sky-watchers to the huge telescopes and space-probes of today.
Chapter 4: The Astronomer's Telescope - The various types of astronomical telescopes; how the telescopes work; how to choose a telescope for yourself.
Chapter 5: Into space - Space-craft, from early Earth satellites to international space-stations
Chapter 6: The Sun - How the Sun's distance was measured; the Sun itself and how it produces energy; solar eclipses.
Chapter 7: The Moon - The Moon, its phases an its effects on our tides; the Moon's surface and how lunar craters were formed; the eclipses of the Moon.
Chapter 8: The Sun's Family - The members of the Solar System; how the members of the Solar System move and how they differ from each other.
Chapter 9: The Inner Planets - The three planets which, together with Earth, make up the inner part of the Solar System viz; Mercury, Venus and Mars.
Chapter 10: The Outer Planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Chapter 11: Minor Members of the Solar System - Asteroids, Comets, Meteors and Meteorites.
Chapter 12: The Stars - The stars, and what they are; how we measure the stars' distances; how stars are divided up into constellations.
Chapter 13: Pattern of Stars - How to identify the various constellations at different times of the year.
Chapter 14: Double and Variable Stars - About double stars and variable stars.
Chapter 15: The Life and Times of a Star - Stellar evolution for low-mass and high-mass stars.
Chapter 16: The Star-clusters and Nebulae - Clusters of stars, both loose and globular; planetary nebulae.
Chapter 17: The Depths of the Universe - Galaxies; how the whole universe is expanding.
Chapter 18: Into the Future - New investigations into the possibility of life on other worlds. 

Links:

• Goodreads Rating - 4.17 of 5 stars  (25 ratings)
• The Sky at Night - Video clips  -  Sir Patrick Moore presented this program in BBC TV from 1957 till his death last year (2012).  ·
  

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