The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Khaled Hosseini is a distinguished writer from Afghanistan and founder of Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help the refugees and downtrodden of his country.

The Kite Runner is a book based on two young boys who lived together but were never close to each other due to their social status.

Storyline: Amir, the son of a rich man in Kabul, Afghanistan is befriended by Hassan, a boy who is born to a low caste Hazara. Hassan, though is the servant’s kid, is allowed to play, dine and assist Amir in his daily routine. The innocent loyalty of Hassan towards Amir is so high that Amir’s father treats him as his second son and never treated him like a servant. But Amir does not replicate the same to Hassan many times, particularly one day when Hassan was attacked by a group of anti-Hazara boys from the neighborhood, when Hassan runs to fetch the kite struck and won by Amir in the famous Kite Festival of Kabul. This guilt of betrayal makes Amir to distance himself from Hassan though the later never minded it. This leads to Hassan leaving Amir’s home forever. Amir and his father later migrate to America after Afghanistan was taken over by the Russians. Hassan is forgotten by Amir in due course. After some years, Amir gets married in America and decides to visit Afghanistan followed by a phone call by his uncle Rahim. There he comes to know of his life secret that Hassan is non other than his half brother born to his father and the servant maid. Hassan dies in a Taliban attack trying to protect Amir’s house in Kabul a little earlier and is survived by his son, Sohrab. This child of Hassan is abducted by the Talibs from an orphanage and sexually abused. Amir takes the responsibility of rescuing Sohrab from the Talibs and adopts him, as a remorse to all his sins of betraying his father. Moreover Amir himself is childless. But the emotionally insecure Sohrab will not be able to gel into the new family as he misses his parents and freedom. After Afghanistan is freed from the Talibs, Amir and his family re-visits his homeland to do some charity activities. During one such activity, Sohrab takes interest in flying a kite and Amir flies the kite for him just like the way Sohrab’s father used to do for Amir. The story ends with Amir cutting the opponent’s kite and running for the severed kite just like the way his brother Hassan, used to do for him.

Pros: A great emotional story of live of two happy kids from different social strata, transformed into a tragedy for no fault of theirs. A story which shows how millions of lives have tragic endings due to an unexpected turmoil in the form of constant war, killings of the innocents and suffering of the survivors. Lucky were the one who were dead and dilapidated were the lives of the left behind. A highly emotional writing with apt usage of classic prose that will leave no reader tear-less while reading this book. I would recommend this book to every reader to know how some lives end up in tragedy simply for no fault of theirs. I appreciate the author’s talent in highlighting the Afghan culture and tradition in the most desirable way.

Cons: Child abuse was the point I hated to read in this book. Though this was the most disturbing fact of the day and ever growing menace in today’s world, I could not stand the way Hassan and his son were abused sexually by the upper caste during their childhood days. How can one do it to a kid? Disgusting!!! No wonder such kids will grow with extremist ideas and replicate the same after they grow up, inculcating the mindset of violence in their behavior..

My rating is 4.25 out of 5


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Strip Me Bare Plus Free Bonus Book: Cheat by Mia Perry
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A book of super strong adult dirty talk, that arouses every male or female as long as he/she is reading through. The book takes the reader through a variety of sexual experiences of young girls right from their school, hostel, work and strange highway encounters with physically attractive males sometimes much older than them.
One would get the right understanding as to how far a young girl can go when it comes to satisfying her physical needs. It also gives a warning signal to those parents who have daughters studying or working, staying far off from them with respect to the kind of men they are exposed to and the potential threat that might arise in future regarding their safety, keeping in view the present trend of sexual abuses on young girls across the world. Young girls must be more careful and not just get attracted and get used to such brief physical encounters with strangers.
The author might have earned many laurels for having written such erotic books with grand imagination but such books might pollute the thoughts of the already disturbed youth, and also the adults, making them more and more prone to abandonment of cultural values and traditions of their respective societies. The danger of replication of the stories in the book in real life is all the threat I foresee whenever such books enter the market.

My rating is 1 out of 5


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WORLD WAR Z (HOLLYWOOD ACTION MOVIE)

Directed by Marc Forster, Produced by Brad Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner and Ian Bryce. Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge and David Morse. Music by Marco Beltrami. Distributed by Paramount Pictures

Storyline: Gerry (Brad Pitt), a UN investigator is forced to investigate a deadly zombie outbreak across the world, through his superior at UN headquarters. He finds that the entire population in his city is fully infected with a strange rabies like infection which when bitten by the infected turns into a zombie within seconds. This pandemonium spreads fast across the world and Gerry’s family narrowly escapes the zombie attack. Gerry sets off to World Health Organisation’s Research facility at Cardiff to find a solution to the epidemic and in the meanwhile visits Jerusalem to find out how Israel was able to contain the zombies and protect the un-infected. There he discovers that the zombies only bite the healthy and not the diseased and feeble. He reaches the WHO facility with great difficulty and takes the risk of getting himself injected with an unknown deadly disease which can later be cured, from the facility’s lab. His daring attempt of trial and error goes successful as the zombies in the lab ignore Gerry’s body. He, then takes the vials of the curable disease and spreads it across the world only to protect them from zombies temporarily while zombies are eradicated slowly by the world military. The story ends with a happy re-union of Gerry with his family, who thought that Gerry was dead in his mission.

Pros: The screenplay was at its best in this movie. One would get many hair-raising moments and horrified by the way the infected zombies bite the healthy population who in turn get turned into zombies within seconds. Brad Pitt’s un-paralleled performance need not be mentioned. The emotional separation of the family when Gerry leaves to investigate the epidemic is captured very well.

Cons: Didn’t get the fact how the soldiers escaped from the zombies who were lurking everywhere and why other animals were not shown to be bitten by the zombies. There seemed to be something lacking in the direction which could not give the required punch in the climax.

My rating is 2.75 out of 5

The Symposium by Plato
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This great work of Plato is a recording of a philosophical discussion and debate of Socrates and his contemporary philosopher friends at a banquet held by Agathon at his residence over the subject called DOCTRINE OF LOVE.

One would get mesmerized by the different opinions about love by some of the greatest Greek minds.The discussion and debate proceeds one after the other with each of the great persons like Agathon, Aristodemus, Eryximachus, Pausanias, Aristophanes and finally Socrates describe love in all possible permutations and combinations. Each of them have their own versions which might appear true to every reader in some context or the other. But the one given by Socrates was of course the best! His version of love is that of immortality through beauty. According to him every living thing loves to be immortal and eternal and hence it re-creates itself through an emotion called love. Hence according to Socrates, love is nothing but one’s affinity for eternity or immortality of body and fame, which is attained through this complex psychological emotion.
At one point in the book, the reader gets an impression about the speakers favoring homosexuality as some of them argue about the purity of love more in the same sex rather than opposite sexes. One gets a feeling that even Socrates favored this in his opinion. But we are not sure of how it got contemplated later.
One can get the best of philosophical definitions and derivations about love in this book right through some of the greatest minds of Greek philosophy.

My favorite quote in the book
“Evil is the vulgar lover who loves the body rather than the soul, in as much as he is not even stable, because he loves a thing which is in itself unstable, and therefore when the bloom of youth which he was desiring is over, he takes wing and flies away, in spite of all his words and promises; whereas the love of the noble disposition is life-long, for it becomes one with the everlasting”

My rating is 3.75 out of 5


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Wedding at King's Convenience by Maureen Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author is a native American writer who loves writing happy ended love stories.

Storyline: Maura Donahue, owner of a large picturesque farmland in Ireland, one day is encountered by the owner of a large film studio from New York, Jefferson King, in order to hire her farm to shoot his forthcoming film. Though initially Maura declines the huge commercial offer from Jefferson, she later budges to the same, when she finds that she is in love with the handsome and powerful King. She signs a contract with King after an irresistible sexual encounter with him. Jefferson leaves, having got his job done. Maura becomes pregnant later but will be unable to reach Jefferson at New York due to his busy schedule. One day, Jefferson learns that Maura is not cooperating with his crew for the shoot at her farm as per the contract signed and so decides to visit Ireland to know the reasons personally. There he discovers the truth of Maura’s pregnancy. Maura in the meanwhile develops deep hatred towards King as he refuses to love her but offers to marry her, just as an obligation, due to his past failed love story. Eventually, with the intervention of King’s family, both of them realize that they are in deep love with each other and cannot live without each other. King, then proposes his love to Maura and offers to marry her and also start living with her in Ireland to which Maura accepts.

Pros: It’s a cool love story of a self centered woman with a highly successful man. The strength of a woman when she wants to be what she is, has been elicited with magnificence here. The truth that even an Alpha male would succumb to a mentally strong woman is well written. Suppressing one’s egos sometimes to continue a relationship is very much necessary nowadays for the benefit of the family as well as society. This is the only link to extension of human race for some more centuries….probably!

Cons: I doubt whether such powerful and successful businessmen nowadays succumb to sentiments like love and marriage. Maura could have avoided the trauma if she was strong enough to avoid the physical contact with Jefferson. Her mental stubbornness was not gelling with her physical intentions….a clear reason for all the woes of her kind.

My favorite quote in the book

“ If every woman waited for a man who was worthy of her, there did be no marriages, would there?”

My rating is 3.5 out of 5


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The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A classic worth reading that tells everything about TEA and its origin. ‘Tea’, a native drink from China has reached all over the world and is now considered as the most highly consumed liquid after water, by human beings. This Oriental drink is considered sacred by the East due to its colour, odour, taste and medicinal characteristics. It was officially introduced to the European countries in the sixteenth century. It is surprising to learn through this book that teaism has its own schools of evolution, The Boiled Tea (Caked Tea), The Whipped Tea (Powdered Tea) and The Steeped Tea (Leaf Tea), representing the spirit of age they prevailed during the Tang, The Ming and The Sung dynasties of China respectively. Also called as Tou, Tseh, Chung, Kha, Cha and Ming, this drink was highly prized for possessing the virtues of relieving fatigue, delighting the soul, prevent drowsiness, strengthening the will, repairing the eyesight and alleviate rheumatic pains. “Chaking” – the Holy scripture of Tea, written by the famous Chinese poet Luwuh, details everything about the tea plant and its leaves, method of identifying an gathering the suitable leaves for best quality tea and finally the making of the beverage from how to boil to how to drink.
Tea has become a religion of the art of life in Japan also, where it grew to be an excuse for the worship of purity and refinement. Both Taosim and Zennism are said to be associated with the spirit of Tea and entire Chinese ideology seemed to have been influenced by this golden beverage. Finally, the importance and sanctity of a Tea Room (the Sukiya) in the Chinese and Japanese cultures is very impressive. Flowers and their arrangement in the Oriental homes also is linked to the great spiritual depths of knowledge nurtured by great emperors of China like Huensang. The birth and the Art of Flower Arrangement has been simultaneous with that of Teaism in the fifth century. The link is well established by the great Tea masters of China and Japan as a distinct religion by itself.

Pros: The philosophy entwined behind the great history of Tea is mind boggling. No one would ever think that a whole set of ideologies revolved around Chinese dynasties through the influence of Tea. The simplicity of the Oriental cultures is attributed to the doctrine of Teaism in contrast to the explicit display of riches in Western culture. The beauty of flowers and their service to mankind was really fantastic. It is astonishing to learn that all the celebrated gardens of Japan were laid out by its tea masters once upon a time. Even great arts like pottery, textile designing, cooking, serving, painting etc were linked to the involvement of the tea masters of the Orient – simplicity and naturalistic being the catchwords. Nice to learn about the Tea Conferences of Japan.

Cons: There is a lot of philosophy and spiritual teachings included in this book which doesn’t seem to have much relevance to Teaism. It only seemed to have been fitted in for better presentation of the book.

My rating is 2.5 out of 5


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Rendezvous With Hymera by Melinda De Ross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This Romanian author is a journalist who has a passion to write Romantic Suspense. This is her first book in her career.

Storyline: Clara, a writer by profession decides to spend a vacation in a countryside resort for about a month along with her Golden Retriever, Tony. There she encounters her teenage crush Colin, who now is a successful journalist. They fall in love with each other once again. Meanwhile, Clara experiences some strange feelings of seeing a ghost of a young girl in the resort lake and will be able to feel her presence once in a while. Colin and Clara investigate this mysterious girl and find that this girl named Eva Aris disappeared from this same resort some years ago and her missing case is still unsolved. After more inquiry they arrive at an astonishing fact that there exists three worlds
1. The material world (the one we live in)
2. The Astral World (which corresponds to purgatory) and
3. The spiritual world (Heaven).
This girl Eva died while practicing some dangerous stages of Yoga that could give some paranormal powers if mastered, but at the same time could prove fatal if the practicing person is indecisive, undisciplined and untrained. Eva’s soul which was trapped between some two worlds of existence unable to pass through, has made her soul wander between these worlds unable to get released. Finally, her soul gets released by the Yoga teacher who used to train her in her initial yoga training.

Pros: A good mix of romance with suspense. The story of Eva Aris gives a great moral of the superior and fatal affects of Yoga, unless practiced under able guidance and will power. Many aspects of spiritual interest have been highlighted by the author, with simultaneous insights about the Eastern cultures and her inclination to respect ideologies of other religions other than Christianity. It is nice to read philosophy in-between a Romantic Suspense, a rare phenomenon in many such books. I would like to credit this book as more of knowledge-based than a simple romantic suspense.

Cons: The ending of the story was quite abrupt and simple. The reader might have expected a rather little more longer and sophisticated closing arrangement.

My favourite quote in this book :
“I think being romantic is the capacity to turn an ordinary moment in something dream-like”

My rating is 3 out of 5


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Beneath the Clouds by Shane Goetze
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A fiction from China comprising of a story of some mysterious flying men who inhabited Southern China many thousand years ago, but now face extinction by the Communist Government of China, who see them as a threat due to their democratic style of living.

Bill Jacks, a journalist in Hong Kong one day receives a SOS email from one of the flying woman of the mysterious flying men called the HU, seeking help to save their species by reporting their story to the world. At the same time, surprisingly, the historic relics of the chief of HU, comprising of his bones, gets stolen from the local museum. Bill Jacks along with the Hong Kong police officer Allen sets off to mainland China to investigate the case and meet the woman who sent the email, with the help of the museum in-charge Chun and a ruthless Russian businessman Petrov. In China, Bill and Allen get duped by Chun only to be saved by Yin Ying, the flying woman of the HU. Petrov actually signs a deal with Chun to sell the HU bones in international market for a huge price, so that the DNA of the same can be used to develop similar flying men across the world and used for any kind of combat including terrorism. Later he discovers that Chun and Petrov used Bill and Allen to trace out the long hidden sanctuary of the HU species somewhere in the cold mountains of Northern China, which remained as a secret till date, in order for them to wipe out the remaining HU species from the face of the earth. Bill somehow with the help of Yin Ying and her remaining HU army will be able to save themselves and remaining flying men from Chun and his bad communist counterparts only to regain their lost glory with the remaining HU army get incorporated as the Flying Guard of Hong Kong Police as special secret forces.

Pros: A good mediocre science fiction that takes into account the unheard flying ability of some men of China. A sincere attempt to elicit the wish of many Chinese provinces, to democratize their country or atleast grant independent self government out of the Communist purview of this great country. The ill affects of the rapid industrialization of China and the kind of huge destruction the country is heading towards is well brought out. The book also portrays the inefficiency of the Chinese Government to contain the internal unrests in many of its provinces spread across its huge mainland.

Cons: The author seemed to have undermined the military and intelligence power of Chinese Army in this book. China is said to have one of the toughest border controls in the world, and hence the ease with which Bill and Allen enter Chinese mainland from Hong Kong cannot be as easy as it was written. It seemed very unreal as very little is known about the HU in world media. The book was quite boring at times.

My favourite quote in the book:
“ China may be better positioned economically than the Soviet Union before its collapse. But it is no less fragile as a country, socially speaking “

My rating is 2 out of 5


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Ajaya: Roll of the Dice by Anand Neelakantan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The second book of the famous Indian author, who also brought “Asura, the Tale of the Vanquished”.

Another great experience of the other side of Indian Mythology. The author seems to have been a born rebel as I see a kind of great zeal in him to investigate and bring to light the aspects that would have been hidden in the great epics of Hinduism on which the entire ideology of the religion is based upon.

This is the story of Suyodhana, the great king of the Kuru clan, who is said to be the reason for the great Kurukshethra war and the greatest villain of the Indian mythology after Ravana of Ramayana. In this book, the author has made great effort to reverse the image of Suyodhana and his clan who were pictured and framed as villains against the good Pandavas, who have a common wife Draupadi. Suyodhana’s kind heartedness and his rebellious nature towards the vehement Brahmin dominated caste system in the then India probably has made him a villain and social disgrace to many vernacular kingdoms of India at that time. His affiliation towards the poor and needy made the higher castemen of the society turn against him and befriend the Pandavas, who were more inclined towards usurping the throne rather than being interested in the welfare of the downtrodden of the vast and powerful Hastinapura kingdom. Taking this as an opportunity, Suyodhana was cleverly dragged into a dispute with his cousins (Pandavas) by his cunning uncle Shakuni, who vowed to destroy India as a vengeance for the destruction of his Gandhara kingdom and assassination of his father by the Grand Regent of the Kurus, Bhishma. The book ends at the point where Pandavas lose their entire kingdom along with their wife in a clever game of dice, planned by Shakuni in revenge for Suyodhana’s insult in Pandava capital, Indraprastha, after umpteen number of twists and turns in the tussle for upper hand between Suyodhana and the Pandava brothers. The story is to be continued in the sequel “AJAYA II”

Pros: The best part of the author is that he always sees good in bad and a possible bad in good. The genetic lineage presented in a diagrammatic form at the beginning shows the effort the author has put in to create this book. The story of Suyodhana, just like Ravana, in the author’s previous blockbuster, reveals so many hidden and twisted facts that every Indian grows up to listen as bed time stories from their parents and grandparents. Every minute story of great characters of Mahabharata epic like Suyodhana, Sushashana, Aswathama, Ekalavya, Karna, Takshaka, Guru Drona, Guru Kripa, Parashurama, Lord Krishna, Balarama, Jarasandha, Subhadra, Draupadi, Kunti etc have been exquisitely captured from Kaurava side, rather than the usual Pandava side which almost every Indian heard right from his/her childhood. The author’s ability to create an unparalleled fiction without disturbing the true meaning, from Kaurava point of view is highly commendable, and requires a standing ovation. At the same time, the high handed approach of Brahmins and Kshatriyas in those days over the downtrodden Shudras is well criticized and tactfully opposed. The reader would be highly mesmerized over the facts produced by the author through his extensive research of various books. One would get kindled and angered by the atrocities and inhumane behaviour of the upper castes on the lower castes just to protect their identities and lifestyle, in the name of ‘Dharma’. Even the beloved God of the Hindus, Lord Krishna was not spared for his cunning and tricky methods of proclaiming himself as an Avatar of Vishnu, and favoring the caste system through Pandava affiliation. I really felt glad for having not being born in those days of Mahabharata, described by the author in this wonderful book….that was the kind of effect this book brought upon me. The scientific explanation of the birth of hundred and one Kauravas to a single couple in connection with modern science is mind boggling.

Cons: I bet that there will be scores of young minds that imbibe the author’s books seriously and develop a kind of hatred towards their deep-rooted beliefs on the ideology itself. I also have a feeling that any foreigner who gets a hand on Ajaya and Asura will start mocking at the great Indian culture and tradition, which is greatly influenced by its epics.
Coming to the story, there seems to have been some characters that disappeared suddenly in between, like Guru Drona and no mention of him in the later stages also. The violation of some of the codes of conduct by pious women in Hinduism had been brought out in a raw and unacceptable form, like Kunti bearing one child before marriage and three children through some other men after marriage, whatever may be the reasons, underlying.

My rating is 4.5 out of 5

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Inferno by Dan Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The favorite author of the new generation readers has once again struck with his powerful pen, a mesmerizing and wonderful fiction, worth reading many times.

Robert Langdon, the American professor, highly talented and expert in mythological symbols of the old world is called upon by the World Health Organization (WHO) to break the secret code of the famous painting of Dante’s Map of Hell also referred as La Mappa dell’Inferno, to unveil a dangerous plot by a renowned genetic engineering scientist Bertrand Zobrist, to destroy human race. The plot opens in Florence, Italy and winds up in Istanbul, Turkey passing through a series of twists and turns in tracing the final destination of the secret place and date where the scientist proposes to release the dangerous virus to the world, in a Sunken Palace somewhere in the middle of the world. In this journey, the reader is taken through a beautiful journey in gaining exquisite knowledge of Dante Alleghieri’s famous work “The Divine Comedy” composed in early 1300s, wherein he describes his great journey through the various stages of the so-called Hell in Christian religion. This great composition is the most widely read and respected in the world. Dante’s interpretation of his Hell and the Great Plague of Europe in the 1300s (also referred as Black Death) were contemplated to arrive at a disturbing fact that the World is over-populated as of now and needs to downsize the existing population by some means as fast as possible to help the human race to continue for some more centuries. This called for Bertrand’s wild and brilliant idea of creation of highly virulent air-borne vector virus that if enters the human body renders him/her infertile forever. This according to the scientist is the only immediate solution to curb the ever increasing human population that shall lead to widespread calamities, famines, starvation deaths and disasters in the near future. His great leadership on the Transhumanist movement whose fundamental tenets is that we as humans have a moral obligation to participate in our own evolutionary process and use our technologies to create healthier, stronger and intelligent human beings without waiting for the long periods of natural evolutionary process. However, Robert Langdon with the help of WHO and Sienna Brooks, lover of Bertrand Zobrist and a highly intelligent doctor do find the place and date of the release of virus. But will they be able to save the world? One must read this wonderful work of Dan Brown to catch the excitement!

Pros: Some of the greatest places of interest in art and architecture across Italy, Venice and Turkey have been widely described with a lot of information on the history and significance of each and every great monument built that stands as a mark of human intelligence in the ancient period. The author’s outstanding talent in his research abilities and zeal to pursue world history through art and architecture is absolutely unmatched as of today. The reader will remain hypnotized and carried right into the middle of the scenes as long he/she is reading the book.
The description of Piazza Del Duomo, the statue of David, Vasari’s paintings, cylinder seals, Death masks, the Medici, Palazzo Vecchio’s Hall of Five Hundred, Boboli gardens, Buontalenti Grotto, the Vasari Corridor, Uffizi Gallery, Mappa Mundi, the church of Dante, the Baptistry of San Giovanni, Gates of Paradise, The Rod of Asclepius, the grandeur of Vatican city, the Doge’s Palace, St.Mark’s Basilica, the Transhumanist Philosophy, the cupola of San Simeone Piccolo, story of St. Lucia’s bones, the origin of the word ‘quarantine’, the Grand Canal of Venice, the Venetian Gothic Architecture, the Byzantine architecture, the history of Horses of St.Mark’s, the Pala d’Oro, the Bosporus Waterway of Istanbul, the mosque of Hagia Sophia (considered as the eighth world wonder), Istanbul’s 300 yr old Spice Bazaar, the tomb of Henricus Dandalo, the Sunken Palace and finally the Dante Symphony by Franz Liszt are some of my interesting topics for study in this book.

Cons: The fact that the great American professor was mentally manipulated through a series of illusions by the World Health Organization to help them decode the secret lying behind in Dante’s painting to save the world was not acceptable to me. Though Bertrand’s vision and cause is worth a standing ovation, the means he chose to achieve the goal seemed to be wrong.

My favourite quote in the book :
“The decisions of our past are the architects of our present”

My rating is 5 out of 5


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The Gardener by Rabindranath Tagore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great collection of beautiful hymns and poems written by the great writer poet of India, Shri Rabindranath Tagore.

Though most of the poems written in this book are related to nature and its beauty in the simple encounters of our daily life in our garden, village and countryside, the poet seems to have drifted towards reality of life secrets and philosophy towards the end. The mention of flute (a special music instrument) in many of the poems gives us the feeling of reference to Lord Krishna who is most associated with this musical instrument in Indian mythology. The writer’s inclination towards Indian customs and traditions is well reflected in this book as mannerisms and behavioral patterns were mentioned in his poems.
The best part is that my reading of this book almost one hundred years after it had been written in 1915 is beautifully mentioned in his last poem of this book beginning with the words
“Who are you, reader, reading my poems an hundred years hence?..............................”. A stark and astonishing coincidence, as if the poet was mentioning me in the book.
Again I would recommend the reader should also listen to each of the poems in audio form simultaneously while reading the book in order to have pristine enjoyment.

My rating is 4 out of 5


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DAWN OF THE PLANET OF APES (A Hollywood Science Fiction Movie)

Directed by Matt Reeves, Produced By Peter Chernin/Rick Jaffa/Dylan Clark/Amanda Silver, Music By Michael Giacchino, Cinematography By Michael Siresin, Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Starring Andy Serkis (as Caesar), Toby Kebbel (as Koba), Jason Clarke (as Malcolm), Keri Russel (as Kelli, Malcolm’s wife)

Storyline: Caesar, the leader of the Ape population living in Muir Woods, away from the virus destroyed human world, comes across Malcolm, his wife and son who come into the woods to restore an old hydroelectric power house for electricity, in order to save the remaining human population living in a secluded place in a city faraway.
Though Caesar doesn’t like it first, he agrees to allow them into their world, provided the humans do not encroach into their territory. Koba, the second in command of the Apes, does not like this deal. Koba, in vengeance, tactfully destroys the living quarters of the Apes, shoots Caesar and makes them believe that it is the deliberate act of the humans. Thus a war is waged against the humans by the Apes in the city, under the forced leadership of Koba. Later, Malcolm discovers the wounded Caesar in the jungle and treats him medically to bring him back to normalcy. Caesar along with his son and loyal apes, encounter Koba in the battle and kill him in a hand to hand combat. The Apes, delighted to see their beloved leader back, stop the battle. But, the humans already make their arrangements to defend themselves by calling for military help from somewhere else. The movie ends with Caesar recognizing the impending danger and asking Malcom and his family to leave, so that he and his remaining army would fight the humans on his own as it was the Apes who started the war.

Pros: One of the best screenplay and cinematography ever filmed and viewed off late. Sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with the same taste of pure entertainment. The jungle atmosphere and the Ape costumes were so real that one would have the feeling of being amidst the Apes as long as the show is on. A very sentimental story, that really connected to the audience of the entire world. The entire movie was based on the Apes’ point of view. One would really feel how wrong humans can sometimes be in their decisions. A must watch and definitely a product that deserves to be in your video library. Do not forget to watch this lovely visual treat in a 5.1 surround audio system on big screen.

Cons: The emotions and intelligence of Apes was shown on par with the humans, which in real might not be true. The true inherent animal instinct is visible only in Koba but not in any of the other Ape population, which again cannot be true. A little over kindness displayed in Caesar, which I feel is the result of destruction of his entire race.

My rating is 4.5 out of 5

Poisoned Heart by Jason Blacker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A rather simple murder mystery, that could be read in just over an hour. The story starts and ends in the Abernathy Castle of England, whose owner Godfrey Apleby is in deep financial crisis after the World Wars. The small get together arranged by the Aplebys inviting the famous lady detective Frances Marmalade and Mr. Mountbatten, the future representative of the British Crown to India, leads to the murder of the housemaid Christine through cyanide poisoning. Frances, with the help of the Police Inspector Pearce cleverly investigates the brief encounter of Christine’s son and ex-husband along with the butler to dig out a secret relationship between Christine and Godfrey, which resulted in Christine blackmailing Godfrey for huge money. Godfrey ultimately confesses that he was the one who killed Christine because of her pressure to shell out more and more money.

Pros: It’s quite a simple story that involved only few characters and moreover the solution was predictable. The story portrayed the English way of living.
Cons: Did not like the way Indian climate and their habit about drinking tea even in hot summers was being looked down upon by the British, forgetting the fact that Indian tea is world famous and soothing even in hot weather. Can be read once but not a library stuff.

My rating is 2 out of 5


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The City Of The Sun by Tommaso Campanells
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short book is written in the form of a poetical discussion between the Grand Master of Knights Hospitallers and a Sea Captain of Genova of Italy, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.
It can be taken as a discovery of a Sea Captain (probably Christopher Columbus) of a totally different civilization somewhere in his voyage, which is practicing most of the modern life practices right from birth to death. The minutest detailing of each and every aspect of life regarding the birth, education, marriage, old age, love, warfare, protection, laws and wisdom of this civilization is awesome. Though this city is quite small, there seems to be perfection imbibed in the blood of each and every individual dwelling in the city. The perfection lies in every walk of their life irrespective of sex, colour and age. One could learn how in the olden days people perfected life and why there were no differences amongst them despite there were other cities around which were suffering with internal strives.

Pros: It is great to understand the fact that in this City of the Sun, there were no names to the citizens nor does it practices any caste system. A nice learning about the best practices of life, which could be imbibed into almost all the cultures and civilizations of the world today. The story seems to be inclined towards the cultures of some civilization which was related to India. The exact base on which the principle of Communism was developed upon seems to have been reflecting in the lifestyle of this City of the Sun.

Cons: The name of the City was not disclosed, nor was the place of its existence.

My rating is 3 out of 5


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TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION (HOLLYWOOD SCIENCE FICTION)

Directed by Michael Bay, Produced by Don Murphy/Tom DeSanto/Lorenzo De Bonaventura/ Ian Bryce, Music By Steve Jablonsky, Visual Effects By Wayne Bilheimer, Cinematography By Amir Mokri
Starring Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager, Stanley Tucci as Joshua Joyce, Niclola Peltz as Tessa Yeager and Kelsey Grammar as Harold Attinger

Storyline: This is the fourth of the movie series TRANSFORMERS. Optimus Prime the main Autobot created earlier along with its co-Autobots rescue the human race from Galvatron, a specially created Transformer by a CIA assisted private defence agency KIS owned by Joshua Joyce. Though Galvatron was made with a special unstable metal, called Transformium, that has the capacity to transform itself into any thing on earth, it goes out of control of KIS and is all set to transform the organic matter on earth into its own kind leading to extinction of life on Earth. This attempt of Galvatron is foiled by Optimus Prime and its team with the help of Cade Yeager, his daughter Tessa thus terminating Galvatron and its team. Finally, Optimus Prime foresees danger to the human race if it stays on Earth and leaves Earth to space along with a Seed that has the capacity to transform any area of land into metal and cyber form.

Pros: An exquisite visual treat to the audience on big screen. An opportunity to take one’s fantasies to the extreme to learn how machines might control the universe in the future. An wonderful display of graphics technology used in production.

Cons: It was too heavy on display of war machinery that seemed to be literally impossible even in the future. The machines shown are too loaded with so many imaginary features that is difficult to absorb. Lengthy and dragging. Not much of human sentiment attached to the story due to which there is not much interest to know what next. Not much of talent in action and drama of the cast involved is observed. Though the movie might be a commercial success, I consider it as a failure personally. Can be watched once for sound and light effects but not a library product.

My rating is 2 out of 5

When The Eagle Screams by Stephen Bowman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

How many of us knew that there was a bombing of World Trade Center in New York on Feb 26th 1993, much before the same bombing on Twin Towers on Sep 9/11, 2001?
Yes, this wonderful book written much prior to 1993 disaster gives a clear insight to its readers as to how vulnerable is the so-called Super Power of the World is to terrorism and internal strives.

The author has made an extensive research on each and every terrorist act across the world and identifying almost all the major terrorist and extremist organizations of the world which have spread their tentacles and just waiting to strike at the right moment. I have observed that the author has been quite unbiased in his approach towards terrorism and the simple reasons which have led to the birth and growth of the same. One needs to appreciate his daring attempt to accuse United States of America of being the main cause in allowing terrorism to grow and become a threat to its own existence. USA seems to be falling into the same ditch dug for someone else !

The following main points have been elaborated in the entire text with so many details and examples that need to be applauded.
1. Terrorism is a symptom of political, social and religious issues basically ignored by the Governments.
2. Terrorism can no longer be taken for granted as terrorists now have access to weapons of mass destruction.
3. National infrastructures like energy grids, oil reserves, transportation networks, communication grids etc are at great risk
4. Stricter measures in Immigration, Foreign Policies and lesser dependence on foreign countries required to counter the threat.
5. Terrorism is ineffective against a stable society and active involvement of people.

The author seems to have neglected his detailed study on the aspects which gave birth to terrorism. The subject was only superficially scanned.
What made the Middle East, Latin America, North Korea and East Bloc countries turn against USA? Who is actually responsible for today’s situation and why? How can the West protect itself from the horror of being terminated by its own selfish motives? All these questions find an apt answer in this book.

This book is a must read and library item for all those who are looking for a safer and peaceful world to live in. At the same time, the need for the West to respect the cultures and importance of the East is very much required for softening of the impending threat to world safety.


My rating is 3 out of 5


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10 Sexy Stories Thank You Our Readers Erotica Bundle by Candy Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A high voltage pack of ten short sex stories filled with extreme lust and fantasies. A small collection of testosterone generating stories, comprising of men and women having sex, over unimaginable relationships and places. I would recommend this book only to those who have the nerve to read this book in isolation or else it is quite possible that they end up wetting their pants and embarrassing themselves in public.
The book comprises of some of the best ever erotica written by V,R,Dunlap, Lolli Love, Candy Young, Wanda Blackwood, Sara Sweet, Jessie Carson, Kitty Sexton, J.C.Wilde, Sky Ashton and Carmen Cox. Hats off to their imagination!
Can never come across another book of widespread erotica and it’s a must have in your secret library, if at all you are looking for an alternative to Viagra.

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Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

No wonder why this great poet and literature genius has been awarded the Nobel Prize. Anyone who reads this book clearly gets an understanding as to how much this author has studied human mind and its social aspects that had been troubling the humanity ever since power and materialistic possessions have taken over spiritual freedom.
The book is divided into three parts- Nationalism in the West, Nationalism of Japan and Nationalism in India.
Rabindranath’s idea about a Nation is that of an evolution of a great organization of human mind, wealth, machines and power to control the minds and bodies of all that is surrounding this great artificial body. As per him, Power is a scientific product made in the political laboratory of the Nation, through the dissolution of personal humanity. As per him the West is necessary to the East and vice versa. His main target is the British (whenever he referred as Nation) rule in India and its ill effects on the moral and spiritual efficacies of the people of India. He ripped apart the cruel motives behind the industrial, economic, educational, social and political policies of Europe against all those countries it invaded and captured with main focus on how it affected India, whose history has been made across different races over centuries of suffering and learning not by material organization but by natural social cooperation and spiritual freedom.
He praises Japan and America for its different approach towards Nationalism unlike Europe. He appreciates the ideology of these Nations which imbibed power and wealth through love and admiration but not through ambition and greed. He warns the forces of Nation against the creation of politicians, soldiers, manufacturers and bureaucrats which he says shall bring down the entire gigantic organization of the Nation one day to bite the dust. That would be the day when the East would come back into its hay days and start a new history. He appeals to Japan and America to view the ideologies and histories of many countries like India which cannot be called as Nations due to their diverse coexistence of different races with respect and positive approach instead of insulting them and treating them as beggars.

The reader would be awestruck to come across such a vast expanse of usage of English verbatim in this book. I am totally perplexed by the way European organization has been constructively criticized apart by the author at the same time warning it of the detrimental effects it would have if they force upon spiritual countries like India.

The author seems to have totally targeted the European way of conquering the World through its massive Organization of military and commerce, but seems to have ignored the benefits it brought upon all those countries it went to. The benefits might be undervalued compared to the exploitation and conflicts it created in those Nations.

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WE'RE THE MILLERS (HOLLYWOOD COMEDY)

Starring the sexy Jennifer Aniston (as the stripper and wife), Jason Sudiekis (as drug dealer and husband), Emma Roberts (as the runaway girl and daughter) and Will Poulter (as the innocent guy next door and son). Directed by Rawsn Marshall Thurber, Produced by Chris Bender, Vincent Newman and Tucker Tooley. Distributed by Warner Bros

Storyline: David Clark (Jason Sudeikis), a small time drug dealer in Denver, gets robbed by a group of hooligans when he tries to save Cassey (Emma Roberts) from an eve teasing act. In order to repay this money to his drug supplier Brad, he is forced into a major drug smuggling activity from Mexico, for which he is offered a huge remuneration. David agrees to this deal. He hires Rose (Jennifer Aniston) his neighbor and stripper in a bar as his wife, Cassey as his daughter, Kenny (Will Poulter) his neighbour as his son and plan out a fake vacation in Mexico to get the drugs smuggled in a caravan, into USA. He makes this possible by creating fake identities under the family name Millers. How he does that the hilarious events that take place during his journey is what the movie is all about. In the end, David gets caught by the police and turns as an approval for he falls in love with his fake family. Brad gets arrested. David adopts his new family and continues to live with his new family somewhere in the outskirts of Denver under the same family name….the Millers, until he is cleared from the drug dealing case until the next six months.

A hilarious comedy once again from Hollywood with some delicious skin shows by Jennifer Anniston as stripper. Nice screenplay and the choice of Mexico for drug dealing and events following, is well justified. All characters were cleanly fit into their roles except for Brad’s over action sometimes. Emma Roberts was at her best and most beautiful in this movie. But for some adult things here and there, the movie is a complete family entertainer that can be viewed by all ages over a weekend. And definitely a must add to their video library for repeated viewings.

My rating is 4 out of 5

The Cycle Of Spring by Rabindranath Tagore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful play written by Rabindranath Tagore, the only Nobel Laureate for English Literature from India.
Though one needs a poetic bent of mind to understand the play when reading, it is understood by me as that the Spring season with all its beauty and vigor goes across the Earth to bring happiness and joy to all the living things. The season always takes over the Earth from the deadly sorrows of vindictive Winter, which always tries to subdue the happiness through its natural trait of withdrawal unlike Spring’s natural trait of always spreading spiritual and physical joy, beauty and happiness. This cycle happens every year when Winter takes over from Spring and Spring from Winter. Ultimately the home coming of April every year is always cherished across the world for it brings the beauty and joy of Spring season.
The play is divided into four Acts which are filled with beautiful songs and poems which relate to the daily life of humanity and also give many insights for the spiritual and physical enlightenment. Some of them can be exemplified as follows. “1- When we run forward at full speed, our eyes keep gazing in front of us, and we see nothing on either side of us ; 2- If things did not move on and vanish, we should see no beauty anywhere. How true !!!
Many such truths of life can be explored in this play if at all the reader takes interest in digging out the meaning of each and every poem recited.

My rating is 3.75 out of 5


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You Were My Crush!...till you said you love me! by Durjoy Datta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A typical Durjoy Datta novel, with a mixture of flings, crushes, girls, affairs, lust and love by the modern youth from Delhi University.
As like most of his writings, this story starts with the flings of a young adult called Benoy Roy, the only son of a rich business tycoon in Delhi. Naturally, he has beautiful girls of his college and surroundings flocking him to gain access to his lavish life in big cars. Just when his life was going on smooth, he comes across a beautiful girl (Shaina), who happens to be the sister of his classmate cum only enemy-turned friend, Diya. He falls in deep love with Shaina but will not be able to win her over like other girls as she was already in a relationship with someone else since five years and moreover she thinks that Benoy is of the playboy types. Despite his many honest trials, Benoy is rejected by Shaina not because of lack of love towards him, but due to fear of her middle class family. Finally, the story comes to a happy ending when Diya meets with a major accident and her paralytic recovery is bailed out by Benoy and his dad. Owing to this help, Shaina’s family develops a positive image on Benoy which results in her break-up with her old lover and unification with Benoy.
This book is one of the most hilarious of all from this author which I read, till now. It also makes one feel that the difference between true love and infatuation (crush) is the never understood subject of today’s youth until they face a situation which breaks them physically and mentally.
Reading Durjoy’s novels gives me a feeling of how easy it is to convince a girl for make outs nowadays, without much effort like in olden days, where we had to marry the same if anything of that sort happened. I wonder if pure love is still hanging around in the air or it is the ever eternal infatuation that shall rule the young minds forever.
My million dollar question for today’s youth is still the same….How will they handle the situation when their married partner gets to know of their sexual encounters before marriage? Probably, the main reason why the divorce rate, depression deaths and unfaithful marriages are increasing day by day even in India, thanks to the so-called Western culture.

My rating is 3 out of 5


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Creative Unity By Rabindranath Tagore

Creative Unity by Rabindranath Tagore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A literary extravaganza from Rabindranath Tagore - the one and only English literature Nobel laureate, from India. His extensive knowledge on every subject with regard to the spiritual and physical aspects of nature and man, which according to him, exist for the sole purpose of creation rather than production is the idea behind this wonderful book.
His literary meaning to some of the great poems by Keats, Wordsworth and Shelley in conjunction with God’s creative unity of nature’s own beauties, are to be well noted. His emphasis on poetry and literary art skills of our ancestors in paving the way for a harmonious existence with nature’s beauty and God’s love is well brought out by the author. The author’s rich knowledge about the importance of birth, childhood, adulthood, womanhood, and old age with respect to their inherent strengths, weaknesses and their synchronization with nature’s own creative ability is the main objective of the author. The influence of Western education on the Eastern value system and its detrimental effects on the thinking capacities of the students of the East can never be better explained. Finally, the need to create a versatile World University to receive and impart education from both the hemispheres and its ability to create learners and teachers that can constructively unify the different varieties of creative thinking into a single unified strength for the benefit of the world citizens is called upon.

A rich celebration of classic literature and the heights of English word experience, in this book. Hats off to the vision and knowledge of this great author from India, who has taken the pride of his country, to every shore of this world. One must read this book to experience the joy of English literature in context to God’s creation and the purpose of its unification with man’s learning.

Speaking about the darker part of this work, the author has very cleverly put forward his hatred towards Western culture and Christianity. Simultaneously he took care in praising its roots of becoming the basis of empowering the West with useful knowledge and creative abilities, probably to avoid the wrath of the British who were ruling India at that time.


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I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Pristine” is the word I would like to use to describe this book. A honest revelation of a young girl called Malala from Swat Valley of Pakistan with respect to Muslim culture and Talibanisation of Swat Valley after the massive earthquake in 2005.
It’s all about how the women and young girls of Swat Valley who were not wanted to be going to schools and pursue education, by a terrorist outfit, Taliban, who took control over Swat Valley and were running a parallel Government. A neat, chronological detailing of each and every event, as to how the peaceful Swat valley was converted into a dangerous place to survive, over a period of time. The complete picture of Pashtun culture, customs and traditions are exquisitely brought out and never can a reader come across another book which can portray the same with such emotions blended with real life events.
Malala Yousafzai, a young girl of fourteen years shot in the head by Taliban on 9th Oct’2012, for raising her voice against the Taliban order of girls being deprived of their basic rights towards education and free life, ultimately had to leave the country, alongwith her family to pursue her dreams, in England, even though she received many awards for her efforts including the Pakistan National Peace Prize and support from UN and other world countries. Such was the power and influence of the Taliban on Pakistan internal affairs. Remarkable efforts by the doctors of Combined Military Hospital, Pakistan and Queen Elizabeth Hospital of England in bringing back Malala to normal life through some of the most complex surgeries ever performed.
Many people, who are ignorant of Islam, would come across, through this book, lot of good things about the teachings of Prophet Mohammed and the base on which this great religion was built upon. One would be awestruck to learn about how deep the religion is imbibed into the blood of Muslims due to their extreme devotion and love towards their religion and countries. One good point one would come across is that Islam never taught extremism. The Quran teaches patience, cleanliness, peace and maximum respect to women and children. Unfortunately, it has been mis-interpreted by some to form their own understanding of the teachings thus having their own fundamental laws, for which the entire population of Muslims cannot be stereotyped. This was what Malala and her father have been preaching.
I sometimes in between, felt that Malala was too obsessed with her religion and her Pashtun clan. Hence she has a much constricted view on those countries which Pakistan is opposed to due to some other broader reasons unknown to her….. Probably, since she was too young to understand them on a holistic approach.

Congratulations to Christina Lamb for excellent presentation of the book, through her elaborate research and traveling done into Malala’s life history. Nice collection of the photographs of Malala through her journey from birth to present day.
A must read by all those across the world to learn how important a family, friendship, culture, religion and government is for a normal human being to survive in some countries.
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Distress to De-stress: Understanding and managing stress in everyday life by Tim Watkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is always good to read such short, cute self help books once in order to relieve one from Stressful conditions, through really useful and simple tips. How to adjust one of our natural inborne trait ‘Flight and Fright’ through 30 quick short term de-stress methods mentioned in this book is quite useful to all those who feel stressed at some point of time, everyday.Apart from the above, the ways and means to combat stress in long term through social engagement, physical health, emotional well being, and healthy thoughts by relying on core skills, are well detailed by the author.
If you want to learn about a computerized programme (Beating the Blues) available to overcome highly stressful conditions in your life, then you must read this book. Also one gets to know about Life Surfing range of services offered by the author for better living.

My rating is 4 out of 5


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The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Herbert George Wells, a distinguished English author from UK, has always been one of my favorite ever since I started reading his books. His unparalleled skills in English language presentation have been my reason for addiction to his classics.

One more feather in his cap is this wonderful eye witness narration of invasion of Earth by Martians. The reader is taken through live experience of the mere havoc created by the Martians through merciless massacre of human race and bringing it to near possible extinction. Every minute detail of the men from Mars, right from evolution of their physical form to the description of their food habits had been penned down after great research. The fact as to how weak the human race could be against the extra terrestrial weaponry and intelligence is well elicited. But for the mass destruction caused by the Martians on London and its surrounding counties killing countless humans, they see their end pouncing on them in a quite unexpected way.
How the hell could one think that these powerful men from Mars could be killed by just the invisible microbial bacteria of the Earth, to which human race has already taken immunity? The great moral of the narration, as understood by me, is that, however strong a destroying force is, its final fate is decided by something which they can never even think of, as in this book. The possible impending danger of such extra terrestrial invasions of humanity in future is cautioned by the author for the Governments to work upon.
Somehow there was some boredom experienced in the middle of the book wherein some unnecessary characters were included to drag on. Otherwise, it is a great classic to find a place in one’s library as the reader would be triggered to learn more about such science.

My rating is 4 out of 5


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The Bride's Gift by Raine Cantrell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A peculiar story of a newly wedded couple, that came together through an arranged marriage. Nicholas Dowling, an extremely short tempered laborer working in a mining camp somewhere in Mexico, gets a new wife through his cousin Patrick from Ireland. On his first night, Nick discovers that his new Irish wife Brianna, is too young, illiterate, and not suitable for his manly figure, but too beautiful to be resisted. The entire story revolves around the couple trying to understand each other and please each other until one day Brianna decides to gift a surprise to her dear husband, given by her mother. The surprise comes in the end in the form of riches grown in a garden grown by Brianna on her self. This is when, the duo discover the immense love that each other have developed in such a brief period.

The initial hatred among the new couple during the first interaction slowly transforms into true love over a couple of days. This transformation of hatred to love is quite well paved by the author. The English language used is more that of native Irish mix and is entertaining sometimes. One wonders why the new bride was hiding the precious gift from her husband until one reaches the end of the story.


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Betrayal and Other Family Matters by Felix Bearden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

All of us know about how men working in military service of peace keeping nations strive in foreign lands on behalf of their country and sometimes lose their lives for their country. But what if their own country uses one of them as pawn against the terrorist organizations of the enemy country in order to protect their image in the eyes of the world?

This is one such story of a happy American family who served in the Marines wing of the American Army. This family, unknowingly get entangled in a suspected crime against American Government due to their Muslim neighbors who one day suddenly disappear from the neighborhood and surface somewhere in Afghanistan, due to their close ties with the Taliban. Since then this innocent American family fall under strict surveillance of the FBI. The family gives refuge to the children of the Muslim family who still oppose the ideology of the Taliban and escape to USA and in the process discover a dangerous plot of the American Government to negotiate peace terms with the terrorist outfit using one of their family friend’s son as a pawn, an American soldier, under custody of the Taliban. The head of the family, Colonel Ben cleverly rescues the soldier with the help of his friend in Afghanistan and also simultaneously fixes the vices of FBI along with the State Government in negotiating a deal not to harass them in future. One must read the book to know how he did it by using latest technology toys. Though most of the story is in USA, the tough conditions of war and lives of people, living in Afghanistan is once again exposed.

A beautiful story of a clever family who work together to get out of a serious suspicion, harassment from the FBI and at the same time teach an astounding lesson to the Government as to what it might lead to if it uses innocent servicemen as pawns for personal gains.

I would recommend this book to readers in order to salute the sacrifices of servicemen in various armies of countries and to know how their parents and well wishers react if such dedicated lives are used for selfish motives by their own Governments.

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The Communist Manifesto by Kark Marx & Frederich Engels
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Communist Ideology briefly explained in complex terminology. The reader is taken through the history of origination of Communism with emphasis on the need to stabilize the living standards of the people of the world under one common principle of equality.
Some basic principles of Communism like abolition of private property acquiring rights, abolition of inheritance rights and nationalization of production are worth noting down. The emergence of the powerful Bourgeois (middle class) from the feudal lordship and its dominance over a period of time leading to subjugation of the Proletarian (working class) has given a new meaning to Communist ideology.
The major aim of Communism is to raise the Proletarian to the stage of political ruling class thus overthrowing the Bourgeois supremacy. The Communists therefore support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things in the Bourgeois society.
The reader might not understand many terms used by the authors unless and until he has an idea about the economic scenario of his country. Quite complex at times and the ideology goes above the heads of many until read more than once. This hand book gives the basic idea of how a Communist Manifesto works but does not spell out much about the benefits of the ideology at large. It could have been better if some illustrations were included in between, for easy understanding.

My rating is 2.5 out of 5


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Olympus Rises by Jim Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the most wonderful action thriller book I have come across in recent times. One cannot stop after starting at the first page. The author has brought out the book in such a way that a serious reader can visualize the entire story in front of him in high definition images. I am sure that the reader will enjoy reading this book more than he watches this in a movie version at a later stage.

Storyline: Olympus, a secret powerful private military owned and operated by an unknown businessman develops a secret war code much more advanced than any known form of CIA’s technology, in order to take control of the entire world at one go. All this happens in a secret base in a country called Kazinistan, north of Afghanistan. NATO forces accidentally discover this secret mission of Olympus and set off a mission to capture the secret Code of War. One must read this action filled book to know whether they were finally successful in achieving their mission or not. The acts, plots, ambushes, are so thrilling that one would detach himself/herself completely from his world to finish the book at one go. It’s worth getting to know about the deadly weapons developed by CIA and Olympus to counter each other, using technology that is generations ahead. Whisper Suit (a powerful exoskeleton to enhance the physical and mental strength of the user), Volare flight packs ( a kind of jet packs armed with latest guns that can melt a man like ice), Dushka machine gun, Hyperion VTOL aircrafts, Composition 9 (C9) detonators (powerful enough to bring down an entire fortress and a near earthquake), Hind E helicopters, anti radar Black Hawk helos are some of the few wonders of latest weaponry the reader gets to learn. It’s quite terrifying to understand that such secret private military outfits can go to an extent of developing weapons much more advanced than those available with the best in class of CIA.

I strongly recommend one to read this book to get to foresee the kind of wars the future is going to witness on this earth. Weak governments of weak countries may all be the slaves of such powerful Private Militaries, if our super power nations do not curtail their dangerous progress into mass destruction weaponry.

Though the story doesn’t end with this book, I am sure that the reader would jump at subsequent books in series to know what’s next.


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Tears from Kabul by Michael P Buckley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A short story, from the land of continuous wars, where women are expected to be at home. Taliban – the most dreaded terrorist outfit of Afghanistan, goes on to terrorize all Afghan women who are either pursuing education or want to study in schools and colleges. They either kill them, gang rape them or deform them completely through brutal acid attacks. This calls for an emergency mission from NATO appointed special commandos to rescue a group of Afghan women led by a beautiful lady called Niki. The special force takes the help of the locals and relatives of these women to try and trace the leader of the Taliban group, Nasser, who is in charge of this insane murder of women folk.
The reader is taken through a lot of plots and ambushes on both sides. One gets to know how women suffer in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. One also gets to wonder whether there is any safe place in any city or town of the country to lead a peaceful life. The book ends abruptly in the middle of the mission to capture Nasser, only to be continued in subsequent serial books.
On the other hand, Taliban is said to honor the Islamic tradition of taking care of their women at home thus protecting them from foreigners and external dangers. And there are scores of Muslims who support this ideology too.
Who is right is a million dollar question.

My rating is 2.5 out of 5


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Afghanistan and the Anglo-Russian Dispute by Theo. F. Rodenbough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anyone who is interested in history and geographical representation of Afghanistan and its surrounding countries will find immense knowledge in this wonderful book.
The author very successfully brought out the unknown facts about this great country with beautiful illustrations at regular intervals.
This book is nothing but a brief account of Russia’s Advance towards India, based upon the Reports and Experiences of Russian, German and British Officers and travelers, with an elaborate description of Afghanistan and of military resources available with the Power centers concerned at that time.
Its more of a history-geographic representation of the country devastated by both Russian army on one side and the British Army on the other side just to gain access to this land locked territory and ultimately hoist their own supremacies over each other. The culture of Afghanistan over centuries and its blend with the beautiful and serene landscapes of the country is well explained. The personal experiences of many famous Russian and English Generals who lead the invasions and the way they ended up have been an exquisite reading experience. The reader will be awestruck when he/she comes to the point where the exact resources of Russia and England giving details of the number of soldiers in Cavalry, Infantry and Artillery along with number of Horses, Guns and Camels used is really awesome. The Russian intention to capture Afghanistan and gain access to Indian Ocean through Indian subcontinent seems to have taken its toll on the pristine land of Afghanistan and its people.
Also the excellent description of how the animals like camels, mules, horses and elephants used in the war used to be maintained and trained for the war is mind boggling. The author must be appreciated for his research and efforts in bringing out the minutest details of each and every part of Afghanistan along with the names of various tribes and lifestyle found in each part.
This book is a very valuable resource for all those who are interested or pursuing a career in studies related to geography/culture/history/lifestyle of Afghanistan. Particularly for guys like me who love to travel and get to know the different cultures of various countries across the globe, this book is like a ready reference.
Finally, I would like to state that reading such books would efface the myths about some countries and cultures which are carried in the minds of people and elicit the beauty of each and every religion, culture and tradition prevailing on this globe for a peaceful living by our present and future generations.

My rating is 4.25 out of 5


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The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful classic of two Englishmen, who venture into Afghanistan from India, to become Kings of a part of that country.
The story is narrated by a journalist who happens to meet two Englishmen Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, in a train in the times when India was still under the British rule. These two guys worked as sailor, photographers, petty contractors, engine drivers, boiler fitters etc and eventually come to a conclusion that India is not the place for their dream, and that is to become King of some land. Hence, they chose Kafiristan, a place in Afghanistan where they find that the place is ruled by tribes and have no proper King under one rule. They take the help of the journo to get smuggled into Afghanistan cleverly under disguise and were successful in making the people of Kafiristan believe that they are Gods in human form. The people there though innocent in the belief but were not ready to accept them as part and parcel of their tribes. All goes well until one day Daniel wants to have a female, as a wife, from among the tribes. This proposal of Daniel was opposed by Carnehan as the contract between them states that they should never touch or want any woman in foreign land, but rebuked by Daniel.. This aggravates the situation and the tribes realize the fact that these two guys were just humans cheating them as Gods. They brutally kill Daniel and crucify Carnehan. The severely injured Carnehan, somehow escapes from Kafiristan and come back to the journo to tell him what happened. Ultimately, he also dies in an asylum, repenting for what happened.

Positives: The author’s regular style of narration in poetic form is once again replicated. A man’s ability to reach his goal through will power and intelligence and the same man’s downfall due to excessive greed and wrong decisions is well brought out in this book. A must learn moral for every aspiring man and woman. The book has a wonderful poetic narration which can be enjoyed until the last page.

Negatives: The brutality of the Afghan tribes in killing Daniel who according them had cheated the people of Kafiristan, creates a kind of negative impact on Afghan way of living.

My rating is 4 out of 5


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Reckless Nights in Rome by C.C. MacKenzie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This UK based author is a professional in finance, fitness, interior design, construction and of course writer of romance filled with passion.

Storyline: Nico Ferranti, a business tycoon who has an empire of businesses in hospitality industry across Europe, acquires Ludlow Hall, a prime property belonging to the Ludlow family. He partners with Alexander, a Ludlow family member wherein he comes across Bronte Ludlow, sister of Alexander. Nico, a cut throat businessman, who grew from dust, aims at acquiring The Dower House, inherited by Bronte and also running a successful wedding cake business under the name of Sweet Sensations. He first seduces Bronte in his own style, just like any other woman whom he wants to sleep with, in order to get his job done but later passionately falls in love with her, after his unending sexual encounters with her. Bronte also initially, hates Nico knowing his intention but later falls in love with him for the same reasons. Meanwhile, Alexander meets with an accident in Rome, while on a business trip. This is where and when, Nico differentiates his love from lust with Bronte. Both of them discover that they come from similar backgrounds of being alienated and cheated by their parents with respect to their births. Finally the story comes to a happy ending with Bronte getting pregnant and Nico marrying her and later being blessed with twins.

Positives: An exquisite book of extreme lust which matures into love later. The way sexual encounters between Nico and Bronte have been explained turns on any kind of reader. Once again, it is emphasized in this book that True love wins over all other emotions in this world. A woman’s orgasm has never been so well explained in any of the books I have read till now. The termination of a powerful man’s pride and arrogance at the sight of the woman he is destined to love is well brought out.
‘Monkey sex’ – a word used to describe frequent, reckless and untamed sex is quite innovative.

Negatives: A woman is once again shown to have succumbed to lust and power of an Alpha Male like Nico. Though Bronte initially could resist Nico, her will power could not stand long in front of Nico’s maleness and seducing powers. I somehow felt that the author pressed on the fact that however mentally strong is any woman, one day, she will have to surrender to a man, Lust seems to be the main agenda in this relationship between Nico and Bronte, through which Nico seems to have achieved his goal of acquiring the Dover House, which otherwise would have been impossible with a woman like Bronte.


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Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rabindranath Tagore, one of the greatest ever multifaceted poet, writer, artist and lyricist, from Bengal was honored with a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his profound book of Song Offerings called “Gitanjali”. He thus became the first ever non European to receive this highest award in Literature in the world.

As per my understanding of the book, this is one such book that should be read and at the same time heard over in song or hymn form. It is a collection of over one hundred hymns or poems that have been converted into songs in various forms. The songs/hymns are all written in praise of the Lord and mostly waiting for His arrival to take him away with him in peace. Most of the hymns are based on the loveliness of life and its beauty enhanced by the surrounding nature unveiled through the poet’s mind and heart. One can experience peace and eternal happiness while listening to these hymns. It is said that these hymns have been recourse to the Western world which was at civil strife and under deep threat of a War. Literature has been redefined in the Western world after this book has created tremors in world of English literature. Though the personification of the singer is a female (as per my understanding) in the book, I deeply appreciate the author’s ability to produce such a wonderful experience of peace and harmony in a troubled heart and mind.

Positives: One would be called a genius if he understands the gist of the entire collection of song offerings at one go. A repeated audience to this great collection would carry the soul to an eternal happiness and make him/her devoid of all materialistic pleasures and troubles irrespective of age and sex. I would recommend a copy of this song book or audio device at one’s ready disposal to read or hear whenever he or she is off mood. A must read by every Indian and every citizen of the world who is at strife with his internal and external troubles.

Negatives: Most of the song offerings appear to be inclined towards retirement of life and appear to those who have lost everything and just waiting for God’s arrival to take him/her away from this materialistic world.

My rating is 4.5 out of 5


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What is Coming? A Forecast of Things after the War by H.G. Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

H G Wells, the prominent British writer of early 20th Century, turns out to become a prophet in this book, prophesying and forecasting the future of Great Britain and other countries that are just about to enter into the Second World War.
This book comes out just at the time when the Allied Forces of Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia and Japan were on the verge of getting at war against the so called cruel and power thirsty Germany. The author foresees a need for a common World Peace maintained by a Common State having a Common Peace agenda for all the countries of the world to avoid future wars. As per him there is a need for coming together of world super powers to form a supreme lawful organization that ensures world peace. The author strongly rebukes the blood thirstiness of Germany to attack and conquer its weak counterparts and at the same time praises their abilities to create a strong military, scientific, industrial and social solution for the world to learn. He very clearly elicits how the British at large and other countries at war have suffered and would suffer for decades even after the war, that would result in a major change in the thinking and living pattern of all classes of the society. Bankruptcy of people and nations at War, depreciation of currency, rise in prices, and destruction of valuable properties has been prophesied after the war ends. Emergence of socialism, huge changes in the industrial policies, political shift from feudal lords to the masses, empowerment and creation of modern woman, decrease in birth rate, emergence of collective power of middle class and strengthening of free Press in bringing about social changes were some of the great forecasts of the author. The author also forecasts a revolution in Germany against the tyrant Hohenzollern and dynastic systems and unfolding of a democratic republic after the War. Finally, he concludes that Nations going at war achieve nothing in the end but have to resort to reconciliation of their so-called supremacies that have been destroying the faith of their people on them and also humanity as a whole.

Positives: The reader gets to know the reasons and ills of Second World War. The woes of Allied Forces against Germany and the forecasted aftermaths of various changes that could take place in these countries and also on the countries dependant on them have been precisely jotted down. The author’s intelligence on the future scenario of Great Britain, America, Russia, France, Japan and other Third World countries after the war ends many years later, when this book was written is outstanding. If one observes, almost more than eighty percent of his forecast has turned out to be true.

Negatives: There is an influence of the British arrogance in the author’s work. His demeaning language about German internal affairs and life styles of other Third World countries like Africa, Middle East and India depicted his attitude with respect to how the British treated other people of the world before the Second World War. The failure of the author in recognizing the sovereignty of countries like India on the basis of its diverse culture and languages and his forecast that it can never become a super power has turned out to be false in today’s world. Many other forecasts like the exponential rise of America in the world economic and military strength over European union could not be assessed accurately, though some of his points are valid. His repeated criticism of German policies and kingdom could not clearly counter the argument as to why the British occupied many so-called ‘barbaric’ countries across the world. Why there were still holding on to many countries under their tyrannical rule and at the same time going at war and also simultaneously seeking peace with Germany that wanted some of the territories of Great Britain and its surrounding countries. The double standards of Great Britain have been clearly exposed here.

My rating is 4 out of 5


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