Write a review and win Prizes

Write Reviews and Win Prizes

THE LAST DATE OF THE MOUTHSHUT.COM BOOK FAIR IS SEPTEMBER 24, 2009.

RESULTS WILL BE DECLARED ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2009.

Write a review on any book which you have loved or hated and you will be a winner. Remember, you do not have to win a Contest to become a winner of the MouthShut.com Book Fair. How?

CoralHub.com, India’s ATM for books has offered a 10% discount on books which are already cheaper than the existing market rate. To avail this exclusive and snazzy discount all you have to do is write a book review. It is really as simple as that.

Apart from this, three super reviews will win Gift Vouchers sponsored by CoralHub.com.

First Prize: Gift voucher worth Rs 1000/-

Second Prize: Gift voucher worth Rs 750/-

Third Prize: Gift voucher worth Rs 500/-

Be a winner. Click here to write your book review now!

Remember the last date – SEPTEMBER 24, 2009.

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Jasmine Ahuja
Head – Member Support
MouthShut.com

Jinnah : India Partition Independence

Jinnah : India Partition Independence

Author: Jaswant Singh

Publisher: Rupa publications

Format: hardbound

No of pages: 674

Lord Mountbatten: I tried every trick I could play… to shake Jinnah’s resolve.Nothing wouldmove him from his consuming determination to realise the dream of Pakistan…The date I chose (for Independence) came out of the blue. I was determined to show I was master of the whole event.

The partition of India 1947 some call it vivisection as Gandhi had has without doubt been the most wounding trauma of the twentieth century. It has seared the psyche of four plus generations of this subcontinent. Why did this partition take place at all? Who was/is responsible — Jinnah? The Congress party? Or the British? Jaswant Singh attempts to find an answer his answer for there can perhaps not be a definitive answer yet the author searches. Jinnah’s political journey began as ‘an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’ (Gopal Krishna Gokhale) yet ended with his becoming the ’sole spokesman’ of Muslims in India; the creator of Pakistan the Quaid-e-Azam: How and why did this transformation take place?

No Indian or Pakistani politician/Member of Parliament has ventured an analytical political biography of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah about whom views necessarily get divided as being either hagiographical or additional demonology. The book attempts an objective evaluation. Jaswant Singh’s experience as a minister responsible for the conduct of India’s foreign policy managing the country’s defence (concurrently) had been uniformly challenging (Lahore Peace Process; betrayed at Kargil; Kandahar; The Agra Peace Summit; the attack on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and the Indian Parliament; coercive diplomacy of 2002; the peace overtures reinitiated in April 2003).

He asks where and when did this questionable thesis of ‘Muslims as a separate nation’ first originate and lead the Indian sub-continent to? And where did it drag Pakistan to? Why then a Bangladesh? Also what now of Pakistan? Where is it headed? This book is special; it stands apart for it is authored by a practitioner of policy an innovator of policies in search of definitive answers. Those burning ‘whys’ of the last sixty-two years which bedevil us still. Jaswant Singh believes that for the return of lasting peace in South Asia there is no alternative but to first understand what made it ‘abandon’ us in the first place. Until we do that a minimum a must we will never be able to persuade peace to return.

About the Author :

Jaswant Singh has come a long way from his home in the desert districts of Rajasthan. Commissioned in the Indian Army when barely nineteen he went through two wars whilst in service (1962 and 1965) before resigning his commission to pursue a political career. He has served seven terms in Parliament and in the BJP-led governments of 1996 and 1998-2004 held charge of six ministries of the Government of India including External Affairs Defence and Finance. Regarded as an authority on Indian foreign policy and national security Jaswant Singh is among the most respected names in the country’s public life and in the world of diplomacy. He is deservedly given credit for dexterously steering India out of the turbulent diplomatic seas encountered in the aftermath of the nuclear tests.

The Enchantress of Florence

A book by Salman Rushdie

Author: Salman Rushdie

Publisher: Vintage Books

Format: Hardcover

No of pages: 368

A tall yellow-haired young European traveller calling himself ‘Mogor dell’Amore’ the Mughal of Love arrives at the court of the real Grand Mughal the Emperor Akbar with a tale to tell that begins to obsess the whole imperial capital. The stranger claims to be the child of a lost Mughal princess the youngest sister of Akbar’s grandfather Babar: Qara Koz ‘Lady Black Eyes’ a great beauty believed to possess powers of enchantment and sorcery who is taken captive first by an Uzbeg warlord then by the Shah of Persia and finally becomes the lover of a certain Argalia a Florentine soldier of fortune commander of the armies of the Ottoman Sultan. When Argalia returns home with his Mughal mistress the city is mesmerized by her presence and much trouble ensues.’The Enchantress of Florence’ is the story of a woman attempting to command her own destiny in a man’s world. It brings together two cities that barely know each other – the hedonistic Mughal capital in which the brilliant emperor wrestles daily with questions of belief desire and the treachery of sons and the equally sensual Florentine world of powerful courtesans humanist philosophy and inhuman torture where Argalia’s boyhood friend ‘il Machia’ – Niccolo Machiavelli – is learning the hard way about the true brutality of power. These two worlds so far apart turn out to be uncannily alike and the enchantments of women hold sway over them both. But is Mogor’s story true? And if so then what happened to the lost princess? And if he’s a liar must he die?

Chetan Bhagat

Author: Chetan Bhagat

Publisher: Rupa & Co.

THE 3 MISTAKES OF MY LIFE:

In late-2000, a young boy in Ahmedabad called Govind dreamt of having a business. To accomodate his friends Ish and Omi’s passion, they open a cricket shop. Govind’s wants to make money and thinks big. Ish is all about nurturing Ali, the batsman with a rare gift. Omi knows his limited capabiltiies and just wants to be with his friends. However, nothing comes easy in a turbulent city. To realize their goals, they will have to face it all – religious politics, earthquakes, riots, unacceptable love and above all, their own mistakes. Will they make it? Can an individual’s dreams overcome the nightmares offered by real life? Can we succeed despite a few mistakes?

FIVE POINT SOMEONE

Five Point Someone is a story about three friends in IIT who are unable to cope.

The book starts with a disclaimer, ‘This is not a book to teach you how to get into IIT or even how to live in college. In fact, it describes how screwed up things can get if you don’t think straight.’Three hostelmates – Alok, Hari and Ryan get off to a bad start in IIT – they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse. It takes them a while to realize- If you try and screw with the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you. Before they know it, they are at the lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point-something GPA out of ten, ranking near the end of their class. This GPA is a tattoo that will remain with them, and come in the way of anything else that matters – their friendship, their future, their love life. While the world expects IITians to conquer the world, these guys are struggling to survive.

ONE NIGHT AT THE CALL CENTRE:

The novel revolves around a group of six call center employees working in Connexions call center in the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon in Haryana. It is filled with a lot of drama with unpleasant things happening to all of the leading characters. The story takes a dramatic and decisive turn when they get a phone call from God.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Author: Covey, Stephen R.

Publisher: Running Press Book Publishers

Format: Hardcover

No of pages: 95

The priceless wisdom and insight found in Covey’s bestselling original is now distilled in this palm-sized edition. The book is full of advice on taking control of your life teamwork self-renewal mutual benefit and other paths to private and public victory.

INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE: The Case for Reform

Experience has shown that the Indian Administrative Service could neither work like the Indian Civil Service nor define on ethos for itself even when in the same administrative pattern. After the enactment of the Constitution, the contradictions between the inherited colonial administrative pattern and the parliamentary system of government would become more sharply defined with the passage of time. Indian Administrative Services, The Case of Reform, analyses the inadequacies under which the Indian Administrative Service is expected to deliver today and contains suggestions for reforms needed to make it a more a positive instrument of executive administration.

About Author
B.K. Misra
B.K. Misra is an alumnus of Canning College, Lucknow University, where he read English Literature and Hinstory. He was appointed to the newly created Indian Administrative Service in March 1947, as a War Service entrant. Having held posts at the Centre and the state level, he demitted office as Chairman, Board of Revenue on superannuation on 30 June 1982. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy on his dissertation, ‘The Indian Administrative Service: A Study in Erosion of the British Pottern of Administration in India’.

Buy INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE: The Case for Reform

THE POLITICS OF CHANGE : A Ringside View

A Book by N K Singh

Author – N K Singh
Publisher – Penguin Books India

‘The economic policy changes of the past decade and a half have unleashed a side of India that has taken the world by storm. But the current growth trends are not sustainable without further reforms.’

As additional secretary (economic affairs), expenditure secretary, revenue secretary, secretary to the prime minister and later as member, Planning Commission, N.K. Singh has navigated the system to help steer India’s economic liberalization from 1991 to 2004. In his weekly column ‘From the Ringside’, written for the Indian Express, Singh has dissected, explicated and critiqued the infrastructure, centre–state relations, the opening up of the insurance sector, petroleum prices and their deregulation and changing global perspectives on India.

The Politics of Change draws on N.K. Singh’s experience to give the reader a window into Indian politics and economy, providing incisive insights into the realities of coalition politics and international fault lines. The analyses help understand why some initiatives have succeeded in transforming the economic landscape while other bills, schemes and initiatives which were launched with good intentions have either floundered or eventually emerged with scars after years of tussle. The book also highlights the challenges that India must face as its institutions evolve to keep pace with the task of governing and supporting the rapidly changing economic and social landscape.

Go Kiss The World: Life Lessons For The Young Professional

Go Kiss The World: Life Lessons For The Young Professional ‘Go, kiss the world’ were Subroto Bagchi’s blind mother’s last words to him. These words became the guiding principle of his life. Subroto Bagchi grew up amidst what he calls the ‘material simplicity’ of rural and small-town Orissa, imbibing from his family a sense of contentment, constant wonder, connectedness to a larger whole and learning from unusual sources. From humble beginnings, he went on to achieve extraordinary professional success, eventually co-founding MindTree, one of India’s most admired software services companies. Through personal anecdotes and simple words of wisdom, Subroto Bagchi brings to the young professional lessons in working and living, energizing ordinary people to lead extraordinary lives. Go Kiss the World will be an inspiration to ‘young India’, and to those who come from small-town India, urging them to recognize and develop their inner strengths, thereby helping them realize their own, unique potential.

source : FLIPKART

see also : About this book

Married But Available

Married But Available By: Abhijit Bhaduri

BOOK SUMMARY

The much awaited sequel to the bestselling Mediocre But Arrogant

The first ten years are the most eventful, they say, in anybody’s working life. They certainly are in the case of Abbey, who walks into a job at Balwanpur Industries, fresh from B-school. Working in HR is fun, he soon discovers. What isn’tis  the fact that there’s hardly anybody in the company who doesn’t have a view of who Abbey is and what Abbey does-or should do.

Add to this the complications of being newly married to a woman more successful than he is, a crusty boss, and a sudden turn in the company’s fortunes that catches Abbey unawares. It’s up to him now, to apply all that HR wisdom learnt in business school to the dilemmas confronting him at work and in love. Can he hold down his job or will it end the way his marriage threatens to-rapidly and without too many regrets?

The White Tiger

Arvind Adiga wins Man Booker Prize 2008 for his debut book The White Tiger.

Arvind got the 50,000 Pound prize for a book described by the chairman of the judges as revealing “the dark side of India” at a glittering ceremony Tuesday night in London’s Guildhall attended by the literary who’s who of the British capital.
The 33-year-old former journalist said his book – the story of Balram Halwai, a village boy who becomes an entrepreneur through villainous means – aimed to highlight the needs of India’s poor.
Chairman of the judges Michael Portillo said Adiga – only the third debutant to win the award in its 40-year-history – won because judges felt that his book “shocked and entertained in equal measure.”

“It is a fact that for most of the poor people in India there are only two ways to go up – either through crime or through politics, which can be a variant of crime,” Adiga, the fifth Indian-origin writer to win the prize, told the BBC.
He is the fifth Indian-origin author to win, joining V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai.
Adiga dedicated the prize to New Delhi, where he has lived for many years.
“It’s a city that I love and a city that’s going to determine India’s future and the future of a large part of the world. It’s a book about Delhi, so I dedicate it to the people that made it happen,” he said.

“It’s an attempt to dramatise this and get it into literature. It’s meant to be a fun book and to engage its readers,” said Adiga, who beat off competition from five other authors, including fellow Indian Amitav Ghosh, nominated for his “Sea of Poppies”.