Arts

The Future of the image / Ranciere, Jacques. --London: Verso, 2007

The author develops a new concept of the image in contemporary art and film, showing how art and politics have always been intrinsically intertwined. Covering a range of art movements, filmmakers such as Godard and Bresson, and thinkers such as Foucault, Deleuze, Adorno, Barthes, Lyotard and Greenberg, author shows that contemporary theories of the image are suffering from religious tendencies.

The book is a compilation of the most interesting and spectacular places to see- a combination of natural wonders and man-made structures from all around the world. The ancient Greeks started the idea off with the original seven wonders of the World. Their choice was determined by many factors-spectacular engineering, of course; undoubtedly beauty; height also seems an important factor but the main issue was the awe that these buildings engendered.
 

Biography

A revelatory account of Tony Blair's tumultuous leadership, this biography gathers extracts from the diaries of the man who knew him best: Alastair Campbell-Blair's spokesman from 1994 to 2003, his press secretary, strategist, and closest confidant. It is a compelling chronicle of contemporary British politics and the rise of New Labour, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in Britain's history.

Dalai Lama: man, monk, mystic / Chhaya, Mayank. --New York: Doubleday Broadway, 2007

This is a biography by an Indian journalist who did research homework and had access to the Dalai Lama. The author also brings a familiarity with Asian politics, an essential frame of reference for understanding the complex situation of the Tibetan spiritual and political leader who has spent close to fifty years in exile in India. This biography is both a compelling profile of a remarkable spiritual leader and his mission and an engaging look at how the current unrest in his country will affect its future.

Collected Works

This is the true story of a super star whose career has been interspersed with brilliant performances and unseemly scenes. The book takes the reader to the thick of action, be it on the lush green astro turf, or in the middle of an enthusiastic crowd, or at the highly charged press conferences. Precise, objective and highly readable, the book succeeds in not only presenting the enigmatic legend Dhanraj Pillay in all his fame and fury, but also documents the tumultuous journey of Indian hockey during the time he played.

This book, concentrating on a selection of Kahn's most successful built work, is an attempt to bring the architect forward as an individual-deeply complex as a man, supremely talented as an artist and designer, mesmerizing as a teacher, and a monumental figure in the history of architecture. This first in-depth biographical study of the brilliant architect who fundamentally redefined twentieth-century architecture draws on more than one hundred interviews with colleagues, coworkers, clients, and family members and is illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs documenting the American rise of a poor immigrant to the pinnacle of the architectural world.

Economics

The present book attempts to trace the quality of life as enjoyed by an average citizen of India after more than fifty years of independence. Beginning with the pre-independence era, the book analyses India's steady progress in the diverse areas- agriculture, industry, infrastructure, education, health, rural development to name a few in the light of progress made by countries like South Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, etc., which judged by any standards are far ahead of India socio-economically.

Education

This book outlines the key elements of a system which focuses primarily on its economic aspects. It presents a framework to help identify and understand the demands being placed on the education and training system and the services that various education providers can supply, highlighting several policy approaches to building an effective and efficient lifelong learning system. The book was developed by the World Bank Institute in collaboration with the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Region and Human Development Network

History

The book discusses the Gandhian legacy and the proposed conference which took place at Sevagram in March 1948, and how to further it, is discussed threadbare from numerous perspectives. Industrialisation, militarization, communalism, and the plight of refugees from Pakistan are among the subjects discussed.

The author assesses the origins, potential, and limitations of this potent force, confronting such burning contemporary issues. A historically informed, thoughtful, and balanced account and anyone interested in international relations, global history, human rights, or the future of humanity will find this a fascinating book.

The book depicts the epic sweep of events that ripped apart the greatest empire the world has ever seen, and saw one million people killed and ten million dispossessed. It reveals the secrets of the most powerful players on the world stage: the Cold War conspiracies, the private deals, and the intense and clandestine love affair between the wife of the last viceroy and the first prime minister of free India. The book places the stories of Nehru, Gandhi, Jinnah, and the Mountbattens within the larger canvas of the postwar disintegration of the British Empire, weaving a story that is both personal and epic.

International Relations

Human and environmental security: an agenda for change / Dodds, Felix, ed. --London: Earthscan, 2007

This book authored by prominent international decision makers, tackles the global human security problem across the range of core issues including terrorism, nuclear proliferation, access to water, food security, loss of biodiversity and climate change. The authors identify the causes of insecurity and outline an agenda for engaging stakeholders from across the globe in building the foundations of genuine and lasting human security for all nations and all people.

Law

The present book deals with Intellectual Property which was a critical area in the negotiations. Intellectual Property Rights was one of the most difficult issues in the Uruguay Round which involved confrontation between the developed and developing countries. The evolution of the World Trade Organisation after immense discussion over eight years has generated great interest the world over.

Management

The purpose of this book is to provide a more socialized account of firm behaviour and outcomes by introducing a network perspective to the study of inter-organisational ties. Today's firms are increasingly embedded in networks of alliances and other ties that influence their behaviour and performance. In this book on the subject, author examines the network resources that arise from these ties, how successful firms manage these, and how they influence strategy, access to material resources, and perceptions of a firm's legitimacy held by key external parties such as investors and banks.

Political Science

This volume situates Indian democracy in the context of the basic principles of democratic theory and discusses its relationship with civil society, cultural diversity, and development. The essayists explore a variety of themes, including the colonial lineage of democracy in independent India and its inherited contradictions; the complex relationship between the state and democracy. The volume also assesses India's unique experience of negotiating cultural diversity through democratic institutional mechanisms.

Planet India: how the fastest- growing democracy is transforming the World / Kamdar, Mira. New York: Scribner, 2007

The author explores India's astonishing transformation from a developing country into a global power-house. The author reports on the people, companies, and policies defining the new India and reveals how it will profoundly affect our future. The world's fastest-growing democracy, India has the youngest population on the planet, and a middle class as big as the population of the entire United States. Not only the ideal market for the next new things, but with a highly skilled, English-speaking workforce, elite educational institutions, and growing foreign investment, India is emerging as an innovator of the technology that is driving the next phase of the global economy.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy in the Sunderbans / Chaudhuri, S.P. Gon, ed.--New Delhi: TERI, 2007

This book provides a detailed insight into the entire renewable energy programme in the Sundarban islands. Beginning with the conceptual stage, the book goes on to describe the programme in its entirely, aided by interviews and visuals. Sundarbans is a region that stands out as being vulnerable to the impacts of climate change including drastic sea level rise.

Sociology

The book fills a major gap in the study of human development in India by addressing the role of social sector planning in alleviating deprivation. It highlights the extent of deprivation across states and amongst social groups. It also analyses the causes -inadequate allocations, wrong prioritization, bad targeting, unimaginative design and insensitive delivery.

The author highlights the many images of the country, India as the land of the meek; India as inheritor of the earth; India gherao-ed by distinctly unfriendly neighbours; Indians fleeing to jobs in the West and then racing right back to a better life; Indians who ape their erstwhile colonizers and yet cling irrationally to tradition. The author pointing out country's historical failings and equally historical glories.

Water Resources

The author redefines the projected water crisis as one of mismanagement rather than scarcity, and calls for a more equitable, harmonious and sustainable management of the resource. Water-related conflicts are also discussed, including the Indus treaty, the differences over Baglihar, the Cavery and Ravi-Beas disputes, and rehabilitation problems in the Narmada valley. The inadequacies of India's water laws and policies are examined and a case made for a constitutional declaration on water and a national water law.

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