Introducing Sociology - A Graphic Guide

Authors:     Richard Osborne & Borin Van Loon
Published:  2009
Publisher:   Icon Books Ltd.
Paperback: 176 pages






This book aims to introduce the subject of Sociology through comic book style narration.
It traces the origins of sociology from Enlightenment thought and the pioneering work of Auguste Comte to subsequent developments by Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber.
It also explores the rapid expansion of sociology in 20th-century America and Britain, the post-Second World War dominance of Talcott Parsons, the Chicago School and the rise of structuralism.

The narrative in spite of being propped up by illustrations is quite dull and I could not  go beyond reading 8-10 pages in a single stretch.
Besides too much stuff is crammed into this pocket size book of 170 odd pages. For subjects as abstract as Sociology, it would have been better if the authors have chosen a few key topics and explained the concepts at length. 
While this book may be OK as a quick brush up on certain concepts and topics, I don't consider it as a good introduction to Sociology. There may be better books in the market.

Links:

• Goodreads Rating - 3.55 out of  5   (58 ratings)
• Browse through a selection of pages from this book
  

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Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Authors:    John Bessant and Joe Tidd 
Published: 2007
Publisher:  John Wiley & Sons Ltd. ;
Paperback: 478 pages

The authors who are experienced academicians have written this book to provide an accessible and highly structured introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship for students of business and management.
A very comprehensive text book which admirably serves the purpose for which it has been written ! 
Read more about this book at my professional website.

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The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium

Author:      Gerald Durrell

Published: 2006

Publisher:  Westland Ltd.

Paperback: 244 pages

The author Gerald Durrell was a well known naturalist and conservationist. He was also  a zookeeper and wrote lots of books based on his experiences with animals. Now I am not a great animal enthusiast but I had really enjoyed one of his stories which we studied in high school. It was really a very humorous piece of writing.
So I couldn't resist picking up this book at Landmark when they were selling it at a bargain price of Rs.99.  
This book does not have any animal stories (but I am not complaining !) but has six pieces on  different pandemonic ( utterly confusing and chaotic) situations which he encountered.
The stories are about - a picnic with his family;  then a cruise with his family; a chance meeting with his ex-girlfriend  during his holiday in Venice; the impact of his reading a textbook on sexuality, on the staff of the hotel he was staying; the origins of a exotic dish served by a restaurant in France; spooky mirrors. 
Stories have a great sense of "Wodehousian" humor (except one which though well written  is a horror story) and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
A great read to lighten up your mood and enjoy all the good and bad things in life !



Links:

• Goodreads Rating - 4.12 out of  5   (275 ratings)

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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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Stories We Need to Know

Author:          Allan G. Hunter

Published:    2008

Publisher:     Findhorn Press

Paperback: 240 pages

There are many people who suffer from soul starvation at some point of time in their lives. Soul starvation is a continuous feeling of boredom, discontentment and a sense of disengagement from the world.  

According to the author the remedy to overcome this malaise lies in reading and benefiting from the wisdom embedded in our literature - folk tales, stories,myths, legends.

 

These literature through their characters,  suggest that as we go through our lives each one of us can expect to come across six distinct stages of personal development, which always occur in the same order. Each stage needs to be well understood to achieve peace of mind. 

 

The six stages along with their main attributes are:

1. Innocent - defenseless, undefending, trusting, accepting, loving and feeling loved
2. Orphan - sense of abandonment, looking for someone to take care of us, or someone to identify with
3. Pilgrim - trying to find out what one's capabilities are
4. Warrior-Lover - passionate commitments to one's own interests,values, family, etc. and fighting to sustain them.
5. Monarch Pair (the King and Queen) - serving and protecting something larger than one's immediate turf with a balanced mix of pride and humility; toughness and softness.
6. Magician - making things happen while seeming not to do anything much at all

 

In this book the author discusses how each one of us can embark on our own journey through these six stages and what are the pitfalls to watch out for as we do so.

To support his discussion, he explains the archetypes of each of these stages drawing examples from three thousand years of Western literature.

 

Just to cite a few of those - 

• The Odyssey, The Illiad - Homer
• Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus - Sophocles
• Oresrteia - Aeschylus
• The Bible
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Plays of  William Shakespeare
• Dr.Faustus - Christopher Marlowe
• Novels of Charles Dickens
• Books in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowlings

The book is structured systematically and  well written in a manner which fairly easy to understand. But it may not appeal to those who are on the lookout for a conventional self-help book or to those who are not much interested in English Literature.

It was an  interesting read for me nevertheless !

Links:

• Goodreads Reviews - 4.24  ·  rating details  ·  17 ratings  ·  6 reviews 
• Author's Website 

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Practices of An Agile Developer

Authors: Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt 
In this book the authors present 45 practices which a software developer need to follow to derive maximum benefit out of the Agile way of working. The book is written in a very elegant, reader friendly manner, peppered with case studies drawn from authors' experience and garnished with ample doses of humor. 
An indispensable book for every developer starting on their agile journey and a sanity check for everyone who claims to be Agile !
Read more details about this book in my business blog.
  (Price : Rs 300/- only) 

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