Cynical, snooty spoilsport, Sonia hater, socialite-masquerading-as-a-journalist. These are just some of the titles which Tavleen is usually complemented with. But just by reading her columns in INDIA TODAY you will have to confess that whatever she writes makes sense. This book is based on Tavleen's experiences while she was conducting interviews with politicians, filmstars and likewise for her T.V programme "Ek Din Ek Jeevan". She has decried almost everyone. Be it Vajpayee, Advani or Rabri Devi. Only exception being George Fernandes. But the best pieces are on Sonia Gandhi, Chandrashekhar and V.S Naipaul. The book is as good as Tavleen's earlier one on Kashmir. Well almost! Must buy.

Clarity and logical explanation of the modern theories of language and linguistics is this book's strength. I exhaustively covered this book because of a college class that it was required for. Much about language that is basic for moving on from elementary linguistics is covered in this book.

Contemporary classic theories of language are included (ie Saussure's theories, Sapir-Whorf, etc) which sets the reader off into a fascinating discovery of how language promotes or inhibits one's power in modern society.

In such contemporary issues as political correctness and the Standard American English debate, a slightly more leftist view is employed in the writing of the book than I would've preferred, but nonetheless, there is a suffice and clear explanation of the information throughout.

A quality book. Check it out!

Its a nice piece of work. Each and every detail about the life of Guru Nanak is explained properly.I think its a masterpiece in itself.

Beware, the book does not give a quick guide to tune your database applications. It is a complete introduction into and discussion of materialized views - including backgrounds, algorithms, tests, etc.

I find the book's approach very good. I did not miss anything. The vendor dependent implementations of mv are not really discussed, but you can find information on that topic from the vendors themselfs quiet easily anyway.

If you are interested in the topic and are familiar with relational algebra and sql this book is worth a look.

This book covers topics in modern physics that are the most important for the engineer. It makes an equilibrated use of figures, tables and conceptual diagrams, thus providing a clear guideline for the student. It also provides small but interesting historic introductions in some chapters, that also help to understand why different theories appeared. This could all be done without forgetting the necessary theoretical and mathematical rigorousness. A very good book for engineers.

When I picked up this book at my local bookstore, I had no idea what to expect. The title was strange enough, and the cover did not provide any hints. A figure of Krishna on a blood red background, Rajasthani dolls at the back. The story outline did not help me at all, and I was left puzzling over what it could possibly be about.

"Sammie, the coke snuffing international wanderer who moves from a small town childhood in Varanasi to Mexico, is linked inextricably to mythical women like Kunti, Draupadi, Suneeti, Meera and Padmini." That really didn't help at all. I thought about it, and finally took the plunge. I mean, I wasn't breaking the bank, was I?

I must admit, hesitant though I was, I am really glad I bought the book. It is one of the best pieces of Indian fiction in English I have read for a very long time. The writing is smooth and fluid. The transitions are made effortlessly, and the really weird thing about the book is how connected everything seems to be.

The story traces the life of a young girl, Mini, who grows up with her grandmother, an enigmatic woman who can heal people and enter dreams. The narrative is in three parts. One is about Mini, the other about the grandmother, and the third about the mythical women. Each chapter deals with one theme, and the narrative moves easily between the sections. The striking contrasts between the girl in Mexico and her grandmother in Bihar, and not to mention the mythological characters are some of the main features of the story. But what is even more striking is the similarities all three share. The basic, primeval emotions of all three are the same; only the spaces and times change.

The stories are harsh, unforgiving, and blunt. But there is honesty in the cruelty all the characters inflict on themselves and their loved ones. The writing is fast paced and vivid. Descriptions are oddly always more emotive rather than sensory. The scene in the boxing ring in Mexico does not dwell on the dimensions and numbers of the hall, it is more about what it feels like to be in a very male environment as the only female.

With so many characters on the palette, the narrative could have slipped and descended into confusion and chaos. Thankfully, the writer does not lose control. The transformations are organic and almost effortless. Each segment seems unique, but at the same time an integral part of the whole.

All in all, a book I would definitely recommend to all lovers of good books. Sunny Singh impresses with her first novel, and I will look forward to the second. A breath of fresh air in the hot, humid climes of Indian literature, Singh demonstrates her talent, and excels in her work. She is truly a new entrant to be reckoned with. Go read the book, and you will see what I mean.

Punjabi Identity: Continuity and Change is a collection of papers presented at the 13th European Conference of Modern South Asian Studies. Although the conference was held in France, the book reflects the UK-centric nature of current European research on the Punjab and Punjabis: only one contributor, CNRS Research Director Denis Matringe, is based outside the British Isles. Nonetheless, in issues addressed if not contributors' geography, this is a wide-ranging attempt to 'promote an integrated study of the "three Punjabs"' (p.1) of pre-independence, India and Pakistan, and the diaspora.

The book begins with two studies of colonialism's impact on Punjab. First is co-editor Ian Talbot's 'State, Society and Identity: The British Punjab, 1875-1937', an examination of the conflict between urban and rural political traditions in Punjab in which he succinctly describes the surprising success of the latter in resisting the torrent of modernising tendencies unleashed by the British, at least until faced by developments from outside the state during the Second World War. British and European influences are seen to have received a happier welcome in Matringe's 'Punjabi Lyricism and Sikh Reformism: Bhai Vir Singh's Poetry in the 1920s'. Here, the author reveals how local poets created a Punjab 'dripping with love and mysticism...[despite the] explosions of communal and political violence' (p.52) more commonly recorded-and therefore remembered-by the political authorities of the day.

The next five essays take up post-independence developments in a partitioned Punjab. In 'Pakistan or Punjabistan: Crisis of National Identity', Yunas Samad argues that the creation of the former was accompanied by the establishment of a still seemingly unshakable Punjabi hegemony. However, in the following essay, 'Punjabis in Sind: Identity and Power', Sarah Armstrong is at pains to point out that Punjabi identity in Sind is qualitatively different and must be understood as a mix of both Punjabi culture and, typically, resistance to local pro-Sindhi policies. The book's focus then shifts to East (Indian) Punjab. In 'Re-examining the Punjab Problem', co-editor Gurharpal Singh focuses on 'Sikh ethno-nationalism' (p.118) as a means of understanding the 1980s' outbreak of violence in Punjab. As such, he continues, India itself is best understood as an 'ethnic democracy in which 'hegemonic control and [violent] control is exercised over ethnic and religious minorities...' (p.122). Both Joyce Pettigrew and Shinder Singh Thandi then delve deeper into the actors involved in the recent violence afflicting Punjab. In 'The State and Local Groupings in the Sikh Rural Areas, Post-1984', Pettigrew reveals that most militant groups' concentration on vertical rather than horizontal loyalties and associations condemned them to isolation and eventual demise. In 'Counterinsurgency and Political Violence in Punjab, 1980-94', Thandi argues that only by returning to attempts at political and socio-economic rather than militaristic solutions will lasting peace be achieved in the region.

The concluding two essays look outside South Asia to the Punjabi diaspora. In 'Interrogating Identity: Cultural Translation, Writing, and Subaltern Politics', Arvind-pal Singh uses the experience of this particular diaspora to illustrate our need to 'rethink the colonial experience in a radically different way: namely in terms of what remains unthought in the process of cultural translation-indeed of translation as an interpretive process-given that language is the site of production of culture as a text' (pp.223-224). This is followed by 'The 1990s: A Time to Separate British Punjabi and British Kashmiri Identity', a study by Nasreen Ali, Pat Ellis and Zafar Khan which argues for just what the title suggests; the need for British policy-makers and others to differentiate between these two immigrant groups and, thus, the perception and treatment of their respective needs and agenda.

Most collections of essays stand or fall on the editor's critical faculties of selection. Many such works are too often self-selecting, a round-up of papers only tenuously related to one another, published together quickly and cheaply by contributors keen to get into print and publishers hopeful of catching readers of the latest trend. On the other hand, many readers are too often dissatisfied if virtually every article in a collection does not appear relevant to their particular area of interest.

Happily, Punjabi Identity is mostly successful in avoiding the pitfalls listed above. This reader found virtually every article strong enough to stand on its own and together-with one or two exceptions-helpful in trying to understand how the divergent historical experiences, competing religious traditions and geographical differences of Punjabis both 'home and away' are all contributory parts of a common contemporary Punjabi identity. As such, the book succeeds in it stated aim of promoting an integrated study of the 'three Punjabs'.

Yet, just what Punjabi identity is (or may be argued to include) remains unanswered, and this collection would have benefited greatly from a concluding overview/exposition by co-editors Singh and Talbot. Nonetheless, students and scholars of this highly visible and vitally important community, both in South Asia and around the world, will find reading Punjabi Identity a rewarding experience.

This volume has indeed taken a very unique approach to quantum mechanics, and I liked it very much. However, a few things may need to be improved: 1) I have noted that a significant portion of this volume is clearly taken directly from the excellent Q.M. book of Schiff. It would be nice if the author could give a little bit more of his own explanations and insights to make the volume even more original and useful. 2) I felt that too little emphasis was given to the matrix approach to Q.M., making some materials difficult to follow when the matrix formulation is invoked. 3) The application sections really linked well Q.M. to real-life problems. Being a devices physicist myself, the topics of these application examples suited my taste well. However, some example details were simply too brief, turning them into a source of confusion rather than clarification (e.g. "Excitons in Semiconductors." More words should be said about the "Central cell nature..."). - S.C. Ph.D.

i think this book is a good book with with many underling meanings as to what hemingway was trying to say to his readers.

he wrote this book as a story and then added his hidden meanings

This book exemplifies the plight of the South Asian Society in the 21st century. It is an excellent overview and depicts something which can be related to anyone living in South Asia. Very Well Done Khushwant Singh!