Review: Line of Control

Line of Control by Mainak Dhar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the second book of Mainak Dhar that I have read, after 03:02. As with 03:02, this has a captivating story as well.

A despot in the middle east eggs on the Pakistani ruler to take some bold steps against India. An assassination attempt of India's Prime Minister and terror attacks at multiple places happen, setting the stage for a communal flareup. This is followed by a large scale influx of terrorists into Kashmir backed by the Pakistan army with an intent to capture and hold territory. Very soon, the conflict widens with the threat of nuclear weapons lurking in the background.

The story is sadly fairly plausible, bringing out the dangers of Pakistan pursuing support to terror groups as a state policy. The pace is very good and the book is engrossing. The drawback though is that a lot of space is devoted to elaborate descriptions of warfare, with very minimal character building.


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Review: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia Puigcerver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has a lot of things going for it - it is concise, packages best known & appreciated theories on a long life & happiness and provides examples from Japan on a fulfilling life.

Ikigai is the Japanese concept of a purposeful life where what you love, are good at intersects with what the world really needs and is willing to pay for making it a winning combination which you as an individual enjoy pursuing. The authors start with Logotherapy pioneered by Victor Frankl, who after a painful period of internment at a Nazi concentration camp, outlines this concept of finding purpose to life. In contrast to traditional psychotherapy which is concerned with finding a problem, Logotherapy offers a positive outlook.

The book later explores the concept of Ikigai with a narrative on how the longest living communities in Japan spend their lives. There is a common pattern among those who live long - they mostly eat plant based food, have strong community bonds, are physically very active (primarily with light exercises like walking) and pursue hobbies or careers they are passionate about. Most of them do not have a concept of retirement and continue these practices well into old age. There is material devoted to yoga, meditation, and other practices which help strengthen the mind and lend balance to life.

This is a book which summarizes important very well. Only, I did not find too much new information except for the descriptions and voices of a new communities in Japan.

A recommended read for the importance of the subject it covers.


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Review: The Gene: An Intimate History

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

‘The Gene’ is a very informative book, and a book I believe which everyone should read, as it packs vital information on what we really are. That said, this is a big book, and is very dense in several sections.

Siddhartha Mukherjee traces the history of how we have gained better understanding of our genes since over a century. He starts with his family, many of his relatives on his father’s side suffering from mental illnesses. This is interspersed with some random musings on the impact of the partition of the country, which is largely incomplete, assuming the idea was to link it to mental health. The various experiments done by a variety of people (starting significantly with Mendel) allowing us to understand our genome & genes gradually makes for engrossing reading.

The ‘nature’ vs ‘nurture’ debate expectedly finds coverage and it was interesting to read how it is actually one reinforcing the other rather than a binary or a sum. The ethical considerations and some failed genetic treatment experiments insert a sobering caution, though the progress made has been stupendous.

The narrative could have flowed more easily - enhancing readability (also some random & sketchy non-subject references do not add much), and a possibly wider coverage of genes could have been included (the coverage is very much oriented towards disease causing genes).
This is a book of great value and certainly recommended reading!

My rating: 4.25 / 5.


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