Flood of Fire - Amitav Ghosh

It is 1839 and China has embargoed the trade of opium, yet too much is at stake in the lucrative business and the British Foreign Secretary has ordered the colonial government in India to assemble an expeditionary force for an attack to reinstate the trade. 
Among those consigned is Kesri Singh, a soldier in the army of the East India Company.
He makes his way eastward on the Hind, a transport ship that will carry him from Bengal to Hong Kong. 
Along the way, many characters from the Ibis Trilogy come aboard, including Zachary Reid, a young American speculator in opium futures, and Shireen, the widow of an opium merchant whose mysterious death in China has compelled her to seek out his lost son.  
The Hind docks in Hong Kong just as war breaks out and opium "pours into the market like monsoon flood." 
From Bombay to Calcutta, from naval engagements to the decks of a hospital ship, among embezzlement, profiteering, and espionage, Amitav Ghosh charts a breathless course through the culminating moment of the British opium trade and vexed colonial history. 
With all the verve of the first two novels in the trilogy, Flood of Fire completes Ghosh’s unprecedented re-envisioning of the nineteenth-century war on drugs. 
With remarkable historic vision and a vibrant cast of characters, Ghosh brings the Opium Wars to bear on the contemporary moment with the storytelling that has charmed readers around the world.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ]
Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.1 out of 5 (3,345 Ratings, 465 Reviews -As on Feb 19 2018)
My Rating:   3 out of 5
My Comments:
The concluding part of Ibis Trilogy is quite interesting but nothing exceptional. I found the first part of the trilogy - The Sea of Poppies the best among the three novels.
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Alex Haley's Queen - Alex Haley & David Stevens

The Story of an American Family

Once in every generation, there is a landmark book that adds a new richness to all our lives. 
For millions of people of all colors, that book was Alex Haley's Roots. Roots was an instant success, winning a Pulitzer Prize and spawning the most-watched miniseries in television history. 
Alex Haley's legacy has had as great an impact on American families as any story in the twentieth century.

Now, from the author of Roots, comes Alex Haley's Queen - the saga of his father's family.
Lovers of sweeping generational epics will find much to rejoice in here. Once again, this is a personal saga, but one played out against the broad canvas of American history. 
The story begins in Ireland, where Haley's white great-great-grandfather, James Jackson, Sr., is born. 
From there we travel with Jackson to Nashville, where he meets Andrew Jackson, the future president of the United States. 
The two men become business partners, and James Jackson makes his fortune. 
He establishes his grand plantation, The Forks of Cypress, in Alabama, while Andrew ascends to the White House, and the rumblings that will explode into the Civil War gather force.

James's son Jass Jackson inherits the plantation just as the genteel, well-ordered antebellum world begins to crumble. 
His adolescent attraction to the beautiful and strongwilled slave named Easter blossoms into a powerful and lasting love, and from their passionate union comes Queen - the heroine of the tale, Alex Haley's grandmother.

This is history at its most compelling - from the Irish sod to the settlement of the South; from the Trail of Tears to the battlefield at Manassas; from the agonies of slavery to the tribulations of freedom - all rendered with the eye for telling detail and the sense of historical significance that readers have come to expect of Haley. 
In this, his final book, Alex Haley has created a truly multicultural family saga, the capstone to one of the great, classic American stories.

The television miniseries of Alex Haley's Queen electrified and engrossed a nation. 
But that was only part of the picture; here now is the whole story, fleshed out in all its vivid detail and human drama - the journey of an American family as only Alex Haley could tell it.
[Book Description Source: Inside Book Jacket]

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.21 out of 5 (2543 Ratings ,104 Reviews -As on Dec 27 2017)
My Rating:   3.5 out of 5
My Comments:
Very picturesque and dramatic description  about the lives of slaves and slave owners in southern states of America during 1800s. Though the book is titled Queen after the author Alex Haley's grandmother, I found  the story of his great grandfather and great-great grandfather the Jacksons more gripping and interesting.

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A Guide to Fort St. George by Sriram V.

The oldest Anglican church east of the Suez, the first British inscription in India, the tallest flagstaff in the country and the only surviving national flag among those hoisted all over India on August 15, 1947,

These are but some of the treasures that Fort St. George, Chennai, holds within its precincts.

This is a guide that tells the visitor what to look for in this citadel, and where.
 

[Description Source: Back cover of the book]


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3 out of 5 ( 1 Ratings , 0 Reviews  - As on July 7 2017)
My Rating:  3 out of 5
My Comments: Quite interesting. A handy book to take along when you visit Fort St. George ,Chennai.



 
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The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (author), Otto Frank and Mirjam Pressler (editors), Susan Massotty (translator)

The single most poignant true-life story to emerge from the Second World War In July 1942, Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation, hide in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse.

For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered there.

Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.

In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. 

By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
Her diary ends abruptly when she and her family are discovered by the Nazis in August 1944. Anne died while imprisoned at Bergen-Belsen, three months short of her sixteenth birthday, but this acute account of her life and the world around her reveals her as more human, more vulnerable and more vital than ever. 

Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.  
 

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com & www.amazon.in]


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.1 out of 5 ( 1,983,692 Ratings , 20,491 Reviews  - As on June 17 2017)
My Rating:  5 out of 5
My Comments: A very touching autobiographical account of two years spent in hiding from Nazis. Makes us realize how precious are the things which we normally take for granted in our daily life. The narration is full of hope , inspiring and at times even humorous despite the grim circumstances in which Anne lived. Sad that she could not come out of the ordeal alive.



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Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh

This is the story of the puzzle that had confounded mathematicians since the 17th century. 
‘I have a truly marvellous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.’
It was with these words, written in the 1630s, that Pierre de Fermat intrigued and infuriated the mathematics community. 
For over 350 years, proving Fermat’s Last Theorem was the most notorious unsolved mathematical problem, a puzzle whose basics most children could grasp but whose solution eluded the greatest minds in the world. 
Many people had tried and failed, including an 18th-century philanderer who was killed in a duel. 
An 18th-century Frenchwoman made a major breakthrough in solving the riddle, but she had to attend maths lectures at the Ecole Polytechnique disguised as a man. 

In 1963, a schoolboy Andrew Wiles browsing in his local library stumbled across Fermat's Last Theorem. Aged just ten, he dreamed he would crack it.
In 1993, after years of secret toil, Andrew Wiles  announced to an astounded audience that he had cracked Fermat’s Last Theorem. 
The solution of the Theorem was one of the most important mathematical developments of the 20th century. 
In ‘Fermat’s Last Theorem’ Simon Singh has crafted a remarkable tale of intellectual endeavour spanning three centuries, and a moving testament to the obsession, sacrifice and extraordinary determination of Andrew Wiles: one man against all the odds.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com  and www.amazon.in] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.21 out of 5 (17,874 Ratings; 739 Reviews - As on February 18 2017)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments:  Gripping narration about an esoteric mathematical subject. Not a single dull moment throughout the book.


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Finding Forgotten Cities - Nayanjot Lahiri

How the Indus Civilization was Discovered

Just a century ago, scholars believed that civilization in the Indus Valley began three thousand years ago during the Vedic Age. 

But in the autumn of 1924, John Marshall made an announcement that rocked the understanding of the ancient world and pushed back the boundaries of Indian history by two thousand years more: the discovery of the civilization at Harappa, located in present-day Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan. 

A sophisticated culture dating back to 2600 BCE, this ancient city was notable for its well-planned streets and for having the oldest known urban sanitation system.

Based on previously unknown archival materials, Finding Forgotten Cities not only details an archeological discovery on the same scale as Troy, but introduces us to the colorful cast of characters who made it possible and overcome the challenges and travails of this colossal excavation. 

Nayanjot Lahiri’s fascinating history includes tales of self-taught archaeologists like Charles Masson, the collector who first described an ancient Indus Valley culture, as well as Alexander Cunningham, the archaeological pioneer who first excavated Harappa with diggers Daya Ram Sahni, Rakhaldas Banerji, and Madho Sarup Vats in the 1850s.  

And, at the center of Lahiri’s story is John Marshall, a Cambridge classicist brought by Lord Curzon to India to lead the Archaeological Survey of India and the man who finally pieced together the truth about this long-forgotten civilization.

Spanning nearly a century, Finding Forgotten Cities presents a powerful narrative history of one of the key sites of the ancient world offers interesting insight into the origins of modern civilization.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.0 out of 5 (25 Ratings; 6 Reviews - As on December 23 2016)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments: A fascinating narrative of how Indus Valley civilization was discovered. 
Some digressions from the main story line though equally interesting breaks the flow. 
These details could have been provided as separate appendix chapters. 
Apart from this it is an excellent read!


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Balaji-Venkateshwara, Lord of Tirumala, Tirupati - Nanditha Krishna

The Temple of Balaji or Venkateshwara on Tirumala hill above the town of Tirupati in India has become a focal point of contemporary religion attracting crowds of all ages,faiths and nationalities.
However,not much is known about the God,except his ability to answer prayers and perform the most improbable miracles.
Not many people are aware that the sanctity of the God and the hill is over two thousand years old.
What makes the temple so popular,and what are the beliefs of the people,are the questions that this Book has tried to answer. 

This Book is a collection of the folk legends about Venkateshwara,the sacred Tirumala hill and it's many lakes and waterfalls,his miracles,and the beautiful rituals and festivals associated with him.
He is a manifestation of Vishnu the preserver,and his association with the other incarnations is well documented. 

There are rare photographs of the God,his gold and diamond jewellery,the various other bronzes and sculptures contained in the temple and the images of the festivals for which Tirumala has been famous from time immemorial.
The illustrations of the stories have been executed in the Tirupati style of drawing. 

This Book should be of equal interest to to the layman,the scholar and the devotee,and a valuable addition to every home and library.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4 out of 5 (1 Rating; 0 Reviews - As on November 26 2016)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments: Very beautifully illustrated pictorial guide with lots of interesting information.


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The Buddha and Dr Fuhrer by Charles Allen

An Archaeological Scandal
This true account of the scandal that enveloped the discovery in 1898 of an inscribed casket said to contain the ashes of the Buddha, is set against the background of the high noon of the British Raj. 
In January 1898 a British landowner, William Claxton Peppé, excavated a large Buddhist brick stupa on his estate close to India’s border with Nepal.
 At a depth of 24 feet he uncovered a huge stone coffer containing a number of reliquary vases together with jewels and gold offerings. 
This discovery was followed by the opening of the Piprahwa stupa near the birthplace of the Buddha, Lumbini, and the legendary city of Kapilavastu where he had grown into manhood as Prince Siddhartha. 
But more importantly, an inscription had been discovered on top of one of the caskets, declaring it to contain the ashes of the Buddha left there by members of his own Sakya clan. 
This news aroused world-wide interest since no other so well authenticated relics of the Buddha had ever been found. 
But almost immediately it became known that a German archaeologist, Dr Anton Führer, working nearby at the same time had not only made bogus claims and faked his results but had also been associated with the dig.  
Führer was quickly unmasked by a British magistrate who himself had a stake in the excavation. 
Renowned India expert Charles Allen tells this fascinating story, weaving in the results of a conference held at Harewood House in June 2006 on the Piprahwa dig with those of recent carbon dating.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.in ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.78 out of 5 (9 Ratings, 2 Reviews)

My Rating:  3 out of 5 
My Comments: Interesting read for archaeology enthusiasts! 


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A Strange Kind of Paradise - Sam Miller

India through Foreign Eyes

A Strange Kind of Paradise is an exploration of India's past and present, from the perspective of a foreigner who has lived in India for many years. 
Sam Miller investigates how the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese, Arabs, Africans, Europeans and Americans - everyone really, except for Indians themselves - came to imagine India. 
His account of the engagement between foreigners and India spans the centuries from Alexander the Great to Slumdog Millionaire. 
It features, among many others, Thomas the Apostle, the Chinese monk Xuanzang, Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Vasco da Gama, Babur, Clive of India, several Victorian pornographers, Mark Twain, EM Forster, Allen Ginsberg, the Beatles and Steve Jobs. 
Interspersed between these tales is the story of Sam Miller's own 25-year-long love affair with India. 
The result is a spellbinding, 2500-year-long journey through Indian history, culture and society, in the company of an author who informs, educates and entertains in equal measure, as he travels in the footsteps of foreign chroniclers, exposes some of their fabulous fantasies and overturns long held stereotypes about race, identity and migration. 
A tour de force that is at once scholarly and thought-provoking, delightfully eccentric and laugh-out-loud funny, this book is destined to become a much-loved classic.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.in ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.96 out of 5 (69 Ratings, 13 Reviews)

My Rating:  4 out of 5.  

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