Ads #6 HOT NEW RELEASES IN BOOKS TO BUY ON AMAZON

1. Diamonds in the Dust: Consistent Compounding for Extraordinary Wealth Creation

Author: Saurabh Mukherjea (Author), Rakshit Ranjan (Author), Salil Desai (Author)

Publisher: Penguin Portfolio

Print length: 256 pages

Release date: 23 August 2021

Price: ₹467.00 (price may vary)

Review

The essential manual on generating consistent returns from the Indian stock market by Saurabh Mukherjea, the bestselling author of Coffee Can Investing and The Unusual Billionaires.

Over the last few years, there has been a growing realization among Indians that their life's savings, the bulk of which are parked in physical assets like real estate and gold, are unlikely to help them generate sufficient returns to fund their financial goals, including retirement. At the same time, many have lost their hard-earned money trying to invest in financial assets, including debt and equities. Such losses have occurred due to many reasons, such as corporate frauds, weak business models and misallocation of capital by the companies in whose shares unsuspecting investors parked their savings. What options do Indian savers then have to invest in, and build their wealth?

Diamonds in the Dust offers Indian savers a simple, yet highly effective, investment technique to identify clean, well-managed Indian companies that have consistently generated outsized returns for investors. Based on in-depth research conducted by the award-winning team at Marcellus Investment Managers, it uses case studies and charts to help readers learn the art and science of investing in the US$3 trillion Indian stock market.

The book also debunks many notions of investing that have emerged from the misguided application of Western investment theories in the Indian context.

Vital and indispensable, this book will serve as the ultimate manual on investing and provide practical counsel to readers to achieve their financial goals.

About the Author

Saurabh Mukherjea, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an alumnus of the London School of Economics, is the author of four best-selling books on subjects including investing, business strategy and self-improvement. Prior to Marcellus, he was the CEO of Ambit Capital and before that, the co-founder of Clear Capital (UK). Saurabh manages Marcellus Investment Managers.

Rakshit Ranjan manages Marcellus's flagship Consistent Compounders fund. A B.Tech from IIT (Delhi) and a CFA charter holder, he has a total experience of over sixteen years in equity investing in UK and India. He is also one of the co-authors with Saurabh Mukherjea, of Coffee Can Investing.

Salil Desai, a chartered accountant and MBA, has spent over sixteen years covering diverse sectors in the Indian equity markets, including at India's largest family investment office. He manages some of the large advisory portfolios at Marcellus.

2. Being You: The Inside Story of Your Inner Universe

Author: Professor Anil Seth

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Print length: 320 pages

Release date: 2 September 2021

Price: ₹1,434.21 (price may vary)

Review

Anil Seth's radical new theory of consciousness challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology. Consciousness is the great unsolved mystery in our scientific understanding of the brain. Somewhere, somehow, inscribed in the brain is everything that makes you you. But how do we grasp what happens in the brain to turn mere electrical impulses into the vast range of perceptions, thoughts and emotions we feel from moment to moment? Anil Seth, one of Britain's leading neuroscientists, charts the developments in our understanding of consciousness, revealing radical interdisciplinary breakthroughs that must transform the way we think about the self. Drawing on his original research and collaborations with cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, brain imagers, virtual reality wizards, mathematicians and philosophers, he puts forward an exhilarating new theory about how we experience the world that should encourage us to view ourselves as less apart from and more a part of the rest of nature. Seth's revolutionary framework for consciousness will turn what you thought you knew about yourself on its head.

About the Author

Anil Seth is a leading British researcher in the field of consciousness science. He is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex. He writes regularly for New Scientist, Guardian and the BBC, and has been interviewed on Radio 4's The Life Scientific. His TED talk on consciousness has been viewed nearly 8 million times; he is currently a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow and he tweets at @anilkseth.

3. The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War

Author: Craig Whitlock (Author)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Print length: 368 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹535.00 (price may vary)

Review

The groundbreaking investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock.

Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: to defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives.

Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military became mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory.

Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains startling revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war, from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground.

Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to make time to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.”

The Afghanistan Papers is a shocking account that will supercharge a long overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.

About the Author

Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. He has covered the global war on terrorism for the Post since 2001 as a foreign correspondent, Pentagon reporter, and national security specialist. In 2019, his coverage of the war in Afghanistan won the George Polk Award for Military Reporting, the Scripps Howard Award for Investigative Reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Freedom of Information Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for international reporting. He has reported from more than sixty countries and is a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Washington Post has built an unparalleled reputation in its coverage of American politics and related topics. The paper’s circulation, prominence, and influence continue to grow.

4. The (Im)Perfectly Zero Waste: A No-Nonsense Guide to Living Sustainably in India

Author: Srini Swaminathan (Author), Shubhashree (Author)

Publisher: Hachette India

Print length: 264 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹359.00(price may vary)

Review

Research indicates that by 2048 India is set to be the largest waste contributor in the world. The time for us to do something about it is NOW! But how can Indians, especially those living in urban areas, live sustainably? Is a zero-waste lifestyle really possible? In (Im)Perfectly Zero Waste, ardent practitioners of sustainable lifestyles Srini and Shubhashree a¬ffirm that living a zero-waste life is neither as difficult nor as pocket-unfriendly as it is made out to be!

In this refreshing, jargon-free guide, you will discover:

* how to host zero-waste events and sustainable gifting ideas;

* budget-friendly recipes and easy cleaning substitutes;

* simple and practical advice to manage and reduce the waste around your home...and more!

Filled with information on the growing garbage crisis and peppered with DIYs and easily doable tips, (Im)Perfectly Zero Waste will be the perfect companion on your journey to a more eco-conscious life and will help you contribute to the planet's well-being. After all, little steps go a long way!

About the Author

Srini Swaminathan is a Chennai-based consultant in the social development sector. Over the last seven years, he has adopted small but impactful measures in his daily life on the path to sustainable living in urban India and has regularly shared his journey via print and social media. He has been plogging (picking trash while running) since 2013 and has also launched volunteer-driven awareness initiatives like Spot Fix Chennai, which aims to clean up the city's trash filled spots.

Shubhashree is a Bengaluru-based visual artist and illustrator who, among other things, loves to write. She is currently educating herself on living a low-impact life, and as part of the Let's Talk Trash project, she has produced illustrated books for adults and children to get the conversation started about our waste footprint. When she isn't cooking, baking, eating or dreaming about a favourite meal, she is probably making an illustration of it.

5. My Own Mazagon: The History of a Little Island in the Bombay Archipelago

Author: Capt. Ramesh Babu

Publisher: Indus Source Books

Print length: 308 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹402.00(price may vary)

Review

This is the story of Mazagon, once an island inhabited by Kolis, Bhandaris and Agris. It remained so under the Portuguese, fetching them the highest revenue among all the islands of Bombay. Falling into British hands through a disputed dowry deed, Mazagon retained its identity as an island for many more years with its own fort, dock, churches and even a gunpowder factory. Then, like the other islands of the archipelago, Mazagon too got merged into a single entity called Bombay. But that did not diminish the importance of this place, which soon became a sought-after suburb of British Bombay, patronised by the rich and famous. They connected up Mazagon to the rest of their Urbs Prima in Indis with tramways and railways, and extensively reclaimed the waterfront to expand the dock and harbour to berth and build sail-ships and steamers that conveyed colonial commerce. Mazagon, which once upon a time grew mangoes for the Mughals and got attacked by Sidis on their behalf, has a history of its own. It is from here that steamers sailed with cotton and opium; and Eliza, the lover of a romantic novelist eloped with a seafarer. It is here that a hanging garden was built, and an East Indian gaothan came up. It is here that Christian missionaries set up churches, schools and orphanages, and an unlikely nawab built a mosque and a tank. It is here that justice was dispensed for crimes committed in many parts of Bombay. It is here that dockworkers built the only standing Chinese temple in Bombay, and darghas came up for saints who never came here to preach their faith. It is also here that Aga Khan, Rattanbai Jinnah and Meena Kumari were laid to rest. This book rediscovers the forgotten history of Mazagon and resurrects the identity of Maza Gaon, or ‘My own Village’

About the Author

Captain Ramesh Babu, recently retired from Mumbai after serving the Indian Navy and Mazagon Dock, lives in a Kerala village, pursuing his interests in social service, heritage conservation, horticulture and writing. His published works are Calicut Heritage Trails, a guide to the medieval port city, and After You Sir, an anthology of school stories.

6. The Feelings

Author: Prajkta Vaidya

Publisher: InkQuills Publishing House

Print length: 121 pages

Release date: 30 August 2021

Price: ₹199.00(price may vary)

Review

"The feelings" is not merely an anthology; it is a collaboration of the expressive hearts penning down their heartfelt emotions on the papers. These thinkers have poured down their thoughts and adorned them with beautiful words which will truly connect the readers with their hearts. Thus, 'The feelings' is the expression of true emotions by true hearts. A collection of poems and short letters that are expressions of our feelings from the souls of authors to your souls. Hope you will enjoy a ride of emotions via our anthology.

7. The House Next to the Factory

Author: Sonal Kohli

Publisher: Fourth Estate

Print length: 196 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹399.00(price may vary)

Review

In quietly ambitious prose, Sonal Kohli charts the turbulent three decades of a 'rising' India. ~Pankaj Mishra

[Sonal Kohli] has a way of absorbing the reader in her world, and also revealing very delicately how that world is surprising, unexpected, and in flux. ~Amit Chaudhuri

Spare yet astutely detailed ... evokes entire lives through just a few deft strokes. ~Sharanya Manivannan

One of the most pleasurable works of fiction I've read in a long time. ~Chandrahas Choudhury

Sonal Kohli tells all the truth slant and the result is a very fine collection of stories about a set of seemingly commonplace lives. ~Anjum Hasan

A paean to quiet lives everywhere and a testament to the often-overlooked power of the ordinary. ~Madhuri Vijay

Set largely in Delhi between 1980 and 2010, the nine interlinked stories in The House Next to the Factory follow Kavya and her post-Partition immigrant family, their servants, tutors, cousins and lovers, their loneliness, aspirations and small-scale ambitions.

Life in the house is humdrum and confining, but on a rare evening Kavya sets out in search of a nun; a beloved teacher is caught in the aftermath of the anti-Sikh riots; in England, an aunt reads William Trevor and pines for all that she has left behind; the family's steel utensil business blossoms, and amid the clanging of metal and the churning of machines, the household transitions from bourgeois to elite. Yet at thirty, Kavya finds herself in Paris, hoping to get past the sorrows of her young life...

Delicate and finely textured, Sonal Kohli's extraordinary debut lays bare the complexities of class and culture, even as it evokes the loves and triumphs, the pull of incongruous desires and the tragedies of everyday life.

8. This is She: ‘She’ could be anybody

Author: Abhijit Shankaran

Publisher: Notion Press

Print length: 90 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹130.00(price may vary)

Review

‘This is she’ is a multi-concept poetry album which in essence is the author’s perspective of womanhood.

‘She’ is learning to embrace uncertainty and finding inner love and healing. In the process, driving compassion and healing towards her and inspiring mankind to do the same.

Drawing themes of trauma, depression, self-care and mental health the author portrays a journey, describing in depth the gravity of the trauma as a context upon which growth and healing is weaved.

‘She’ being an inspiration not only inspires other woman but urges men to embrace their feminine side. She is strong, powerful and compassionate. ‘She’ is not just a reflection of womanhood.

‘She’ could be anybody.

9. Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing

Author: Ilana Preuss

Publisher: Island Press

Print length: 200 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹2,373.72(price may vary)

Review

Too many U.S. cities and towns have been focused on a model of economic development that relies on recruiting one big company (such as Amazon), a single industry (usually in technology), or pursuing other narrow or short-term fixes that are inequitable and unsustainable. Some cities and towns were changing, even before the historic retail collapse brought on by COVID-19. They started to shift to a new economic model that works with the community to invest in place in an inclusive and thoughtful way, with short-term wins that build momentum for long-term growth. A secret ingredient to this successful model is small-scale manufacturing. In Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing, community development expert Ilana Preuss explains how local leaders can revitalise their downtowns or neighbourhood main streets by bringing in and supporting small-scale manufacturing. Small-scale manufacturing businesses help create thriving places, with local business ownership opportunities and well-paying jobs that other business types can’t fulfil. Preuss draws from her experience working with local governments, large and small and illuminates her recommendations with real-world examples. 

She details her five-step method for recasting your city using small-scale manufacturing: (1) light the spark (assess what you can build on and establish goals); (2) find and connect (get out of your comfort zone and find connectors outside of your usual circles); (3) interview (talk to people and build trust); (4) analyse (look for patterns and gaps as well as what has not been said); and (5) act (identify short-term actions to help build long-term change). This work is difficult and sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary and critical for success. Preuss supports and inspires change by drawing from her work in cities from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Columbia, Missouri, to Fremont, California. In Recast Your City, Preuss shows how communities across the country can build strong local businesses through small-scale manufacturing, reinvest in their downtowns, and create inclusive economic opportunity. Preuss provides tools that local leaders in government, business, and real estate as well as entrepreneurs and advocates in every community can use.

About the Author

Ilana Preuss is the Founder & CEO of Recast City. Prior to that she was the Vice President and Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America and led the technical assistance program at the EPA Smart Growth Program. She is a TEDx speaker on, "The Economic Power of Great Places," and a featured keynote speaker.

  

10. I Am That: The Science of Hamsa from the Vijnana Bhairava

Author: Swami Muktananda

Publisher: Siddha Yoga Publication

Print length: 96 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹400.00(price may vary)

Review

In this commentary on verse 24 of the Vijnana Bhairava, a classic text of the nondual Shaivism of Kashmir, Swami Muktananda teaches about the power and practice of the hamsa mantra&;the mantra that arises naturally and spontaneously with the breath. Swami Muktananda reveals the mystical secrets of this form of mantra repetition and explains how, through dedicated practice, one becomes established in the unwavering experience of inner divinity. The book includes an introduction by Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, the spiritual head of the Siddha Yoga path.

About the Author

Swami Muktananda introduced the Siddha Yoga path all over the world, creating what he called a ""meditation revolution."" He is the author of Play of Consciousness, his spiritual autobiography.

  

11. Miasma: The Road Less Travelled

Author: Dr Nigam Harsh

Publisher: B Jain Publishers Pvt Ltd

Print length: 320 pages

Release date: 31 August 2021

Price: ₹245.00(price may vary)

Review

This book brings a comprehensive work on miasma, which has been one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted topic in homeopathy. Dr Harsh has meticulously and the correct analysed majority of the work done on miasma and has explained how to miasma of a patient and treat it so as to make a true cure possible. His straight forward way of explaining the aspects given by various teachers like Hahnemann, Kent, Ortega, Roberts, and alike makes the task of understanding the concept of miasma, possible. This book answers the following burning questions: Why should you know miasma; What is Miasma as per Hahnemann; What is Miasma by other stalwarts Kent, Allen, Roberts, Julian and others; Immunity and Miasma link; Miasma role in aetiology and pathology of disease; Miasma in management and prognosis of cases.

  

12. India that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution

Author: J Sai Deepak

Publisher: Bloomsbury India

Print length: 484 pages

Release date: 15 August 2021

Price: ₹420.00(price may vary)

Review

India, That Is Bharat, the first book of a comprehensive trilogy, explores the influence of European 'colonial consciousness' (or 'coloniality'), in particular its religious and racial roots, on Bharat as the successor state to the Indic civilisation and the origins of the Indian Constitution. It lays the foundation for its sequels by covering the period between the Age of Discovery, marked by Christopher Columbus' expedition in 1492, and the reshaping of Bharat through a British-made constitution-the Government of India Act of 1919. This includes international developments leading to the founding of the League of Nations by Western powers that tangibly impacted this journey.

Further, this work also traces the origins of seemingly universal constructs such as 'toleration', 'secularism' and 'humanism' to Christian political theology. Their subsequent role in subverting the indigenous Indic consciousness through a secularised and universalised Reformation, that is, constitutionalism, is examined. It also puts forth the concept of Middle Eastern coloniality, which preceded its European variant and allies with it in the context of Bharat to advance their shared antipathy towards the Indic worldview. In order to liberate Bharat's distinctive indigeneity, 'decoloniality' is presented as a civilisational imperative in the spheres of nature, religion, culture, history, education, language and, crucially, in the realm of constitutionalism.

About the Author

J. Sai Deepak is an engineer-turned-litigator, practising as an arguing counsel primarily before the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. A mechanical engineer from Anna University, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in law from IIT Kharagpur's Law School in 2009, and has carved a niche for himself as a litigator in civil commercial and constitutional matters. Over the years, he has been part of several landmark matters, such as the ones relating to the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple and Basmati Geographical Indications. In 2019, he was awarded the Young Alumni Achiever's Award by his alma mater IIT Kharagpur. Apart from delivering lectures on constitutional issues, he is a prolific writer for leading newspapers and magazines.