Archive for June, 2006
Book Review: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
My friend Bidisha, over in Frankfurt, is a prolific reader with books plastered on her every wall. So when she gifted me Richard Feynman’s The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, I had to take the tiny book seriously.
I never read Feynman in high school, even when I was fascinated by physics and wanted to pursue [...]
To What End Travel?
On ne voyage pas pour se garnir d’exotisme et d’anecdotes comme un sapin de Nöel, mais pour que la route vous plume, [...]
A Book on Development Aid
So, international development assistance and aid does not work. Surprise, surprise! Now, we have a book - The White Man’s Burden - to tell us why.
I learnt of it in today’s International Herald Tribune. With little pressing work at the office, I read some more and finally found this review that for me is authoritative [...]
Israel’s Beach Massacre, and a question for Europe
The NY Times explains how this photo made one girl a symbol of the Palestinian struggle. The Americans are always eager for symbols, but I see this in the context of a recent Financial Times article titled the issue is not whether Hamas recognizes Israel (reproduced on the Council on Foreign Relations). To quote:
Why should [...]
Book Review: Out of Africa
I picked up Karen Blixen’s book, Out of Africa at a flea market the other day. At 2CHF it was a bargain, even for someone that avoids books that are far too popular for logic. And this book has certainly carved a name in history, romanticizing Kenya to so many that followed Karen to her [...]
