منگل 29 اپریل 2008Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Charlie Wilson's War
The movie is fun to watch, but it's the book that's a must read.
Continue reading "Charlie Wilson's War"
Posted by Zack at 1:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعہ 4 اپریل 2008Friday, April 04, 2008
Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children is an enjoyable, though not great, book.
Continue reading "Midnight's Children"
Posted by Zack at 3:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعہ 15 فروری 2008Friday, February 15, 2008
When Victims Become Killers
This is an academic book looking in detail at the history of Rwanda and its neighbors and how that led to the 1994 genocide. Despite being difficult to read due to dry writing, I recommend it highly.
Continue reading "When Victims Become Killers"
Posted by Zack at 12:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 27 اکتوبر 2007Saturday, October 27, 2007
god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Christopher Hitchens is a good polemicist and it shows in his book. This is not a book presenting research or theological discussion, but it does present forceful arguments against religion and the religious.
Continue reading "god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything"
Posted by Zack at 3:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
جمعرات 11 اکتوبر 2007Thursday, October 11, 2007
Spin
This is a book about the apocalypse, love, father-son conflict, ecology and the stars going out. Definitely one of the best science fiction novels written in recent times.
Posted by Zack at 12:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعہ 21 ستمبر 2007Friday, September 21, 2007
The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857
This is a great book about Bahadur Shah Zafar, Delhi and the events of 1857. It makes everything come alive. If you are interested in Indian history, it's a must read.
Continue reading "The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857"
Posted by Zack at 2:37 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
منگل 11 ستمبر 2007Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Dark Star
This is an interesting novel about espionage and history on the eve of World War II seen from the perspective of a Pravda journalist and spy.
Posted by Zack at 11:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
پیر 27 اگست 2007Monday, August 27, 2007
Religion Explained
This is one of the best books I have read. It explains the origins of religious thought based on how our mind works. Highly recommended.
Continue reading "Religion Explained"
Posted by Zack at 1:57 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
منگل 31 جولائی 2007Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Third Chimpanzee
This is a good, though somewhat dated, book about the rise of Homo Sapiens. While eminently readable and full of interesting information, I found the focus on nuclear or environmental holocaust to be a hindrance.
Continue reading "The Third Chimpanzee"
Posted by Zack at 2:43 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
جمعرات 21 جون 2007Thursday, June 21, 2007
At Canaan's Edge : America in the King Years, 1965-68
This is the last book on the trilogy about Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement by Taylor Branch. The whole trilogy is a must-read.
Continue reading "At Canaan's Edge : America in the King Years, 1965-68"
Posted by Zack at 3:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعرات 25 جنوری 2007Thursday, January 25, 2007
Before the Dawn
This is a good book by Nick Wade which covers human prehistory as seen mostly from the study of genetics.
Continue reading "Before the Dawn"
Posted by Zack at 6:22 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
بدھ 15 نومبر 2006Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
It is a book about magic and magical it is. Quite long but fun to read, Susanna Clarke has come up with a winner for her first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
Continue reading "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell"
Posted by Zack at 1:36 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
پیر 30 اکتوبر 2006Monday, October 30, 2006
The First Human
The First Human is a good and readable book about the search for the oldest hominin fossils. It describes the science, the fieldwork as well as the disputes in the field of paleoanthropology.
Continue reading "The First Human"
Posted by Zack at 2:10 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
جمعہ 15 ستمبر 2006Friday, September 15, 2006
The Rock : A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem
The Rock is a combination of history and imagination. It is fiction but uses historical events and places to weave a great tale. I think Makiya succeeds in creating an overall legend and myth for the Rock in Jerusalem.
Continue reading "The Rock : A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem"
Posted by Zack at 9:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعرات 7 ستمبر 2006Thursday, September 07, 2006
Liberty or Death
Liberty or Death by Patrick French is one of the few books on Indian independence that is not anti-Jinnah. Its portrayal of Jinnah and Mountbatten is realistic. I recommend it to anyone interested in the partition of India and Pakistan.
Continue reading "Liberty or Death"
Posted by Zack at 3:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 29 جولائی 2006Saturday, July 29, 2006
Africans: The History of a Continent
"Africans" is a good book packing a lot of information in a mere 300 pages. This density along with its dry, academic writing style makes this a slow read. But I would still recommend it to anyone interested in African history.
Continue reading "Africans: The History of a Continent"
Posted by Zack at 12:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
پیر 5 جون 2006Monday, June 05, 2006
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda
A very good read, this book is well written and researched. It horrifies the reader since it deals with the Rwandan genocide of 1994. One is further distressed at the lack of action by the rest of the world. I recommend this book highly.
Posted by Zack at 4:24 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
منگل 13 دسمبر 2005Tuesday, December 13, 2005
سرخ فیتہ
کافی عرصے بعد اردو میں کچھ پڑھا۔ اچھا لگا۔ اس مجموعے میں "یا خدا" اور "ماں جی" سب سے بہتر ہیں۔ باقی کہانیاں کچھ اچھی ہیں اور کچھ بری۔
Posted by Zack at 10:49 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
اتوار 27 نومبر 2005Sunday, November 27, 2005
Caring for Your Baby and Young Child
I have been reading this book since Michelle was born. Overall, it is a good book for new parents, though at times it is not up to the mark.
Continue reading "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child"
Posted by Zack at 1:53 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
منگل 8 نومبر 2005Tuesday, November 08, 2005
The Ancestor's Tale
A good book for the layman about evolutionary history despite some forced organization of topics and the author's few digressions into politics.
Continue reading "The Ancestor's Tale"
Posted by Zack at 3:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعرات 22 ستمبر 2005Thursday, September 22, 2005
Asimov Robot Stories
Since I had read the Foundation series a long time ago, I had been thinking of reading Asimov's robot books. I found most of them interesting, but there were a number of weak spots as well. Robots fare a lot better in Asimov's characterizations than humans and Susan Calvin fares quite badly.
Continue reading "Asimov Robot Stories"
Posted by Zack at 2:01 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
اتوار 28 اگست 2005Sunday, August 28, 2005
Transformations in Slavery
A good book dense with facts and analysis. Not for the faint of heart, but highly recommended for the serious reader.
Continue reading "Transformations in Slavery"
Posted by Zack at 11:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعرات 28 جولائی 2005Thursday, July 28, 2005
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
This is a book-cum-movie review since I read "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" not too long before the movie "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" came out. Both are highly recommended as they are very funny.
Continue reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Posted by Zack at 5:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 16 جولائی 2005Saturday, July 16, 2005
Islam by Fazlur Rahman
"Islam" by Fazlur Rahman gives an interpretive history of Islam. It is a slim volume and focuses on Fazlur Rahman's opinions of the major theological developments. It is nevertheless very readable.
Continue reading "Islam by Fazlur Rahman"
Posted by Zack at 12:18 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
پیر 13 جون 2005Monday, June 13, 2005
"Collapse: Why Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" By Jared Diamond
Overall, Diamond's latest book lacks the strength of Guns, Germs and Steel. With statements about getting to things later laced throughout the text, he seems rushed. His discussions about societies that executed face-plants are quite interesting, but the picture he ...
Continue reading ""Collapse: Why Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" By Jared Diamond"
Posted by Captain Arrrgh at 11:02 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 11 جون 2005Saturday, June 11, 2005
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda is a moving film. I would rate it 9/10. Also I need books recommendations about the Rwandan genocide.
Continue reading "Hotel Rwanda"
Posted by Zack at 12:07 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
پیر 22 نومبر 2004Monday, November 22, 2004
The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited
I read The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited before Michelle’s birth but haven’t had time to review it. It is a detailed look (640 pages) at the issue of the Palestinian refugees with more than 2,700 endnotes/footnotes. The...
Continue reading "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited"
Posted by Zack at 12:41 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
منگل 6 جولائی 2004Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Pattern Recognition
Being a DSP nerd, when I first heard of William Gibson’s science fiction novel Pattern Recognition, I thought of Pattern Classification by Duda, Hart and Stork. William Gibson has a peculiar writing style. I liked it a lot in Neuromancer...
Continue reading "Pattern Recognition"
Posted by Zack at 12:23 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
منگل 22 جون 2004Tuesday, June 22, 2004
The Da Vinci Code
I liked The Da Vinci Code quite a bit. I found it a good and gripping read in general, though at times it did stray too far in explaining some odd interpretation of history. Some people have been somewhat incensed...
Continue reading "The Da Vinci Code"
Posted by Zack at 5:59 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
بدھ 2 جون 2004Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Freedom at Midnight
Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre was recommended to me by zackq and KO (who has his own thoughts here). It is a highly readable book with a great writing style. The major fault of the book...
Continue reading "Freedom at Midnight"
Posted by Zack at 4:39 PM | Comments (21) | TrackBack
منگل 25 مئی 2004Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Mau Mau and Kenya
This is another book recommended to me by Conrad Barwa. Mau Mau and Kenya: An Analysis of a Peasant Revolt by Wunyabari O. Maloba is a good book, though it is written somewhat in an academic language and hence can...
Continue reading "Mau Mau and Kenya"
Posted by Zack at 10:46 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
بدھ 19 مئی 2004Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Africa: A Biography
One of the major faults of Africa : A Biography of the Continent is a lack of maps. I like to look at a map of the region whne reading about it and I missed that sorely while reading John...
Continue reading "Africa: A Biography"
Posted by Zack at 11:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
جمعرات 29 اپریل 2004Thursday, April 29, 2004
The Other Side of Silence
Thanks to Conrad Barwa who recommended this book to me. This is a good book which collects some stories of the riots and migrations that accompanied independence and partition of India in 1947. The book focusses on the Punjab, rightly...
Continue reading "The Other Side of Silence"
Posted by Zack at 12:10 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
بدھ 21 اپریل 2004Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Miscellaneous
I have read a number of books in the past month or so and owe you guys about five reviews. Hopefully, I’ll get to them in the next couple of weeks. Asad has informed me that he has created a...
Continue reading "Miscellaneous"
Posted by Zack at 9:55 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 24 جنوری 2004Saturday, January 24, 2004
A Peace to End All Peace
I just finished reading “A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East” by David Fromkin. The title of the book comes from a quote by Field Marshall Earl...
Continue reading "A Peace to End All Peace"
Posted by Zack at 3:14 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
جمعرات 1 جنوری 2004Thursday, January 01, 2004
History Book Recommendations
I usually alternate reading fiction and non-fiction. I have quite a few fiction books in the pipeline since I don’t care much about its standards if it’s interesting reading. However, I need to replenish the non-fiction books I plan to...
Continue reading "History Book Recommendations"
Posted by Zack at 7:19 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
منگل 16 دسمبر 2003Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Moth Smoke
Moth Smoke : A Novel is, I think, Mohsin Hamid’s first book. It is a tale of an educated middle-class guy Dara Shikoh1 who goes from a banker to a drug addict and criminal. It is a story about drugs,...
Posted by Zack at 5:38 PM | Comments (124) | TrackBack
اتوار 23 نومبر 2003Sunday, November 23, 2003
Terror and Liberalism
In Terror and Liberalism, Paul Berman has a few good ideas which either warranted a newspaper/magazine article or a much thicker book. Unfortunately, we got a 210 page book. The premise of the book is reasonable. Berman tries to compare...
Continue reading "Terror and Liberalism"
Posted by Zack at 9:37 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
جمعرات 6 نومبر 2003Thursday, November 06, 2003
Pillar of Fire
I finished reading Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65 some time ago but never got around to writing about it. Taylor Branch continues the mammoth project of writing about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement...
Continue reading "Pillar of Fire"
Posted by Zack at 5:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
White Teeth
I have finished reading White Teeth: A Novel by Zadie Smith. It is a very good and fun novel. I would recommend it highly. It has very entertaining images of the different characters and their peculiarities. The English guy Archie...
Continue reading "White Teeth"
Posted by Zack at 2:19 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
منگل 28 اکتوبر 2003Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Book Review: Paris 1919
In the foreword to Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan, Richard Holbrooke argues: In the headline version of history, the road from the Hall of Mirrors [where Versailles treaty was signed] to the German invasion...
Continue reading "Book Review: Paris 1919"
Posted by Zack at 11:59 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
جمعرات 23 اکتوبر 2003Thursday, October 23, 2003
League of Nations and Racial Equality
An interesting chapter in the book “Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World” is related to Japan. Japan was on the Allied side in World War I, though it hadn’t done much fighting. The Japanese had three goals for...
Continue reading "League of Nations and Racial Equality"
Posted by Zack at 9:08 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 18 اکتوبر 2003Saturday, October 18, 2003
What I am Reading
I am busy, so no regular posts today. However, here is some stuff I am reading: A New York Times article about the Lackawanna Six, the Yemeni-Americans in Buffalo who trained at an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. An interesting...
Continue reading "What I am Reading"
Posted by Zack at 8:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعہ 5 ستمبر 2003Friday, September 05, 2003
Woodrow Wilson
Once again Wilsonian ideas are popular, both with liberal hawks and neoconservatives. So I thought I should excerpt some comments about Wilson from the book I am reading nowadays about the Versailles Peace conference at the end of World War...
Continue reading "Woodrow Wilson"
Posted by Zack at 6:27 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
جمعرات 19 جون 2003Thursday, June 19, 2003
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63
I recently finished reading Taylor Branch’s Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63. It’s a huge book with more than 900 pages of text plus about 78 pages of notes. It took me a long time to read,...
Continue reading "Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63"
Posted by Zack at 5:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
جمعہ 11 اپریل 2003Friday, April 11, 2003
Book Review: Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam
I finished reading Gilles Kepel’s Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam recently. The author is French with a number of previous works in the area. This book was originally written in French in 2000 and was translated after the September...
Continue reading "Book Review: Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam"
Posted by Zack at 1:19 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
پیر 7 اپریل 2003Monday, April 07, 2003
Book Review: Neuromancer
I finished reading Neuromancer by William Gibson this weekend. I am a big fan of science fiction, but don’t particularly like cyberpunk. Hence, this book was a surprise for me. I liked it a lot. It definitely grabs your attention....
Continue reading "Book Review: Neuromancer"
Posted by Zack at 8:57 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
ہفتہ 8 فروری 2003Saturday, February 08, 2003
Maudoodi: According to Kepel
I have started reading Gilles Kepel’s book Jihad : The Trail of Political Islam”. It is an interesting book with a somewhat different viewpoint about political and militant Islam. Here are some excerpts about Maudoodi (for some background, read my...
Continue reading "Maudoodi: According to Kepel"
Posted by Zack at 12:28 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
پیر 25 نومبر 2002Monday, November 25, 2002
The Arab-Israel Conflict
I recently finished reading the book Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001 by Benny Morris. It’s a long read (more than 700 pages) with a comprehensive history of the conflict starting in 1881 and ending with the...
Continue reading "The Arab-Israel Conflict"
Posted by Zack at 10:29 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Posts with this logo use 
