2023 - Books I recommend

Off the 50+ books I read this year, here are the ones I enjoyed reading

I used to make a list of all 50-60 books that I read during the year. I feel it makes it counter-productive to have to go through a list of that many books and find the good ones.

I am just going to list 10 books I really loved reading this year.

Masala Lab by Kris Ashok - The book is about the chemistry lab that each of us has at our homes called Kitchen. He explains the process of cooking and the reactions that take place especially when making Indian dishes. I got to learn a lot about cooking and chemistry and it has changed the way I approach it.

Red Earth, White Lies by Vine Deloria Jr - This is quite an old book published in the 90s it questions many of the assumptions that are made about the settling of the Americas. A lot of science around this can only be referred to as stories concocted to fit the prevailing thought pattern. I loved how provocative this book was.

Why We Fight by Christopher Blattman - This book goes into every fight as a question of game theory. Why and when do people, gangs or even nations enter into a fight? The explanations and permutations are intriguing and interesting.

Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich by Harald Jahner - The Second World War was over. In the corridors of power, the question of how to handle Germany was being pondered but the people had lives to live. Where did the bread come from the next day? How was the milk delivered? Where did returning soldiers who were fighting as far away as Eastern Europe and North Africa go?

The Democracy Project by David Graeber - Another feat of provocation by David where he questions if democracy is what it is made out to be at all. Are we all just fooled into going and voting while the powers that be are dividing up the nations and the wealth amongst themselves using a police state in the name of law?

Tremors in the Blood by Amit Katwala - A cop in San Francisco wanted to make the process of eking out a confession more scientific. He partnered with a young researcher and they started looking at possible physiological signs and thus was born the lie detector. This book chronicles the story of the invention.

Exactly by Simon Winchester - Precision engineering has taken leaps over the years that have made things possible for us. Real-world needs such as weapons and clocks and space travel forced these leaps upon us. The author does a remarkable job of taking you through the journey.

Indica: The Deep Natural History of the Indian subcontinent by Pranay Lal - You often read about prehistory from the perspective of Africa or the Americas. This book dives into the formation of the Indian landmass from Gondwanaland and then the subsequent fauna that emerged on the continent.

The Bin Ladens by Steve Col - How a Yemeni immigrant, Mohammed bin Laden in the 1920s ingratiated himself to the Saudi King and built a construction empire. His greatest contributions were the renovation of the Masjid al-Haram (Mecca), the Prophet’s Mosque (Medina), and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (then Jordan). His life and the lives of the 41 sons and daughters of whom Osama was one, intermingled in ways that led eventually to 9/11.

Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv - This book digs into the effects that trauma, crisis and distress have on our minds and how we change as we deal with them. She follows the lives of various people who have been through challenging lives and how that affected their worldview and made them who they became.

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond - How can the richest country in the world have more poverty than any other advanced nation in the world?

Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang - This is not an easy book to read. It is a gruesome chapter in the Second World War that has been swept under the rug for all intents and purposes. I think if you are even remotely interested in history and don’t know much about Japan’s action in the Second World War, do read.

Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo - The story of a couple from Georgia who decided to escape to Boston and break the shackles of slavery. A gripping tale of their escape and what happened thereafter.