The list of recommendations for August includes A Moveable Feast, where luminaries like Pico Iyer, Andrew Zimmern and the late, great, Anthony Bourdain regale you with their tale of glorious repasts, Red Sky Over Kabul, a story of escaping strife-ridden Afghanistan, and Stet, an absolutely brilliant memoir of a life spent in publishing. For aviation fans, there’s 747, a book that tells the story of how the world’s first jumbo jet was built, Heartfelt, which is all about the life and times of one of India’s best cardiac surgeons, and My Passage from India, which describes eminent filmmaker Ismail Merchant’s journey from Bombay to Hollywood. Last and most certainly not the least there is All the Beauty in the World, which provides an insider’s take – and a most interesting one at that – on what it’s like to work in one of the world’s most famous museums.
A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Adventures Around the World, by Anthony Bourdain, Pico Iyer, Andrew Zimmern and others
‘From Bat on the island of Fais to chicken on a Russian train to barbecue in the American heartland, from mutton in Mongolia to couscous in Morocco to tacos in Tijuana – on the road, food nourishes us not only physically, but intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually too. It can be a gift that enables a traveller to survive, a doorway into the heart of a tribe, or a thread that weaves an indelible tie; it can be awful or ambrosial – and sometimes both at the same time. Celebrate the riches and revelations of food with this 38-course feast of true tales set around the world. Features stories by Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, Mark Kurlansky, Matt Preston, Simon Winchester, Stefan Gates, David Lebovitz, Matthew Fort, Tim Cahill, Jan Morris and Pico Iyer,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘Travel and food are inseparably intertwined, and sometimes, the lessons their intertwining confer are complex. But one truth is clear: Wherever we go, we need to eat. As a result, when we travel, food inevitably becomes one of our prime fascinations – and pathways into a place. In fact, many of my finest memories revolve around food; biftek-frites in Paris, ouzo-fuelled nights in Athens, sacher-torte in Vienna, boeuf bourguignon in the US… so many meals, so many memories,’ says Don George in the book’s introduction. He adds that the tales in this book illustrate the many roles that food plays in our lives, that food can be an agent of transformation and, for travellers, can lead to a deeper, most lasting understanding of, and connection with, a people, a place and a culture.
Get your copy of A Moveable Feast
Format: Paperback / Kindle
Number of pages: 296 / 298
Price: Rs 3,900 / Rs 732
Available on: Amazon
Also see: Lonely Planet Travel Literature Series
Red Sky Over Kabul: A Memoir of a Father and Son in Afghanistan, by Baryalai Popalzai and Kevin McLean
‘Red Sky Over Kabul is the deeply personal, moving and dramatic story of a royal Pashtun family – the Popalzais – intimately connected with Afghanistan’s history from the 1800s. After the Soviet invasion in 1980, the narrator, Baryalai – Bar – is forced to leave his beloved country as National Security guards carry out a house-to-house search for young men who refuse to fight for the Russians against their fellow Afghans. He flees to Pakistan, where he is imprisoned as a spy, eventually making his way to the US, to make a new life for himself. He returns twenty years later, to reclaim his family homes in Kabul and Jalalabad, only to find them occupied by drug dealers and warlords,’ says the publisher’s note. ‘This memoir is as much a story of Bar as it is a story of Afghanistan: Bar’s father, Rahman, was tutor to Zahir Shah, who would become the last king of the country after the assassination of his father in 1933; Rahman Popalzai continued to serve Zahir as his advisor and confidant for 40 years. At the heart of this book is the relationship between a father and son – Rahman and Bar – who share a fierce love for their homeland, but whose paths diverge. Red Sky Over Kabul is also a vivid portrait of a vanished Afghanistan – a world of kite flying, duck hunting and sitar lessons; a world lost to unending, horrific violence. But even in loss and tragedy, the human spirit finds hope and resilience – which is Afghanistan’s triumph, as it is Bar’s,’ it adds.
‘We drove Baba’s black Mercedes into the frosty October dawn, towards the airport on the other side of Mount Asmai. The life that I had know till that moment was behind me now. What lay ahead was completely unknown. We had no plan of escape beyond flying to Jalalabad. We could make no plan because we could trust no one. The division and mistrust that had overtaken Afghanistan had infected friends, neighbours, cousins, brothers, fathers, sons. Relatives might turn you in because they had been threatened, or because they believed the communists were here to stay, or were tempted by the rewards offered to those who would identify the ‘enemies of the people.’ Many refused to do so. The problem was, one could never tell who had sold out,’ writes Baryalai, describing the time when he decided to get out Afghanistan. An exciting tale, packed with adventure and intrigue.
Get your copy of Red Sky Over Kabul
Format: Paperback / Kindle
Number of pages: 288 / 277
Price: Rs 388 / Rs 368
Available on: Amazon
Stet: An Editor’s Life, by Diana Athill
‘In an insightful memoir of life in a publishing house, the author guides readers through the corridors of literary London, illustrating the portraits of some of the century’s most fascinating writers from her unique perspective of editor, friend, and observant insider,’ says the publisher’s note. ‘For nearly five decades, Diana Athill [who passed away in 2019] edited – nursed, coerced, coaxed – some of the most celebrated writers in the English language, among them V S Naipaul, Philip Roth, John Updike, Jean Rhys, Mordecai Richler, Molly Keane, and Norman Mailer. A founding editor of the prestigious publishing house André Deutsch Ltd., Athill takes us on a guided tour through the corridors of literary London, offering a keenly observed, devilishly funny, and always compassionate insider’s portrait of the glories and pitfalls of making books – spiced with candid insights about the type of people who make brilliant writers and ingenious publishers, and the idiosyncrasies of both,’ it adds.
‘Some years ago, Tom Powers, an American publisher who is also a writer and historian, kindly told me I ought to write a book about my fifty years in publishing. Why am I going to write it? Not because I want to provide a history of British publishing in the second half of the 20th century, but because I shall not be alive for much longer, and when I’m gone all the experiences stored in my head will be gone too – they will be deleted with one swipe of the great eraser and something in me squeaks ‘Oh no, let at least some of it be rescued.’ By a long-established printer’s convention, a copy editor wanting to rescue a deletion puts a row of dots under it and writes ‘Stet’ (let it stand) in the margin. This book is an attempt to ‘Stet’ some part of my experience in its original form,’ the author says. So, Stet it is and we may as well add here that it’s one brilliant book, rich with anecdote and alive with the author’s love for the world of publishing. An absolute must-read.
Get your copy of Stet: An Editor’s Life
Format: Paperback / Kindle
Number of pages: 256 / 260
Price: Rs 699 / Rs 252
Available on: Amazon
747: Creating the World’s First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation, by Joe Sutter and Jay Spenser
‘747 is the thrilling story behind the Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747, as told by Joe Sutter, one of the most celebrated engineers of the twentieth century, who spearheaded its design and construction. Born in 1921 in Seattle, Sutter grew up on a hilltop overlooking the Boeing plant and flying field. It was a thrilling era of open cockpits, silk scarves, leather helmets, and goggles. After serving in World War II, Sutter joined Boeing, then a small company, eager to build airplanes. In July 1965, he was asked to lead the large Boeing team designing the new 747. Pan Am wanted a new airliner as quickly as possible. This all-new transport had to be far bigger than anything in service or even on anybody’s drawing board. To make it fly, Sutter and his team would have to push far beyond the technological boundaries of the late 1960s,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘Almost everything about the 747 would be unprecedented. Its cabin would be so wide that it would need two aisles. Its horizontal tail would be bigger than the wings of most airliners ever built. Jet engines big enough to lift it off the ground didn’t yet exist. Runways at the world’s airports couldn’t handle it, and neither could Boeing’s factories. They had to erect the world’s largest building just to produce it. A truly mammoth undertaking, the 747 became one of the most successful airplane models ever. Sutter’s vivid narrative takes us back to a time when American technology was cutting-edge – the 747 came on the market the same year that men first set foot on the moon – and jet travel was still glamorous and new. With wit and warmth, Sutter gives an insider’s sense of the larger-than-life-size personalities in the aeronautical world. Ultimately, 747 is an inspiring story of grit and glory,’ it adds.
‘I was born in Seattle in 1921 and grew up thrilled by aviation. My friends all wanted to fly airplanes but I set my heart on designing them. The futuristic flying machines I sketched as a boy would carry passengers in safety and comfort to the far continents, conquering oceans in a single flight. Little did I know I would grow up to realise these dreams. Starting at Boeing right after WW II, I participated in the design of this great US company’s pioneering 707 and other early jets. After two decades of work, the opportunity came my way to lead the team designing the new Boeing 747. It was the most challenging and thrilling job in the world,’ the author says. A fascinating read for anyone who loves aviation history.
Get your copy of 747: Creating the World’s First Jumbo Jet
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 288
Price: Rs 12,664
Available on: Amazon
Heartfelt: A Cardiac Surgeon’s Pioneering Journey, by P Venugopal and Priya Sarkar
‘The memoirs of Dr P Venugopal, the man who performed India’s first heart transplant, trace his never-told-before journey from a small town to being the director of India’s premier medical institute, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). For the first time, an intensely reticent, world-renowned surgeon speaks of his personal and professional trials and tribulations, his crowning achievements in the field of healthcare, and the controversies that surrounded him during his career. Dr Venugopal is credited with introducing advanced Western concepts of cardiac surgery in the early 1970s in India. He has more than 50,000 heart surgeries to his credit, was Head of the AIIMS cardiothoracic centre, and later its Dean and Director. In his four-decade-long tenure, he has had a ringside view of some of the most impactful medical and political developments of the time,’ says the publisher’s note. ‘Dr Venugopal has achieved an iconic status owing to his landmark contributions to medicine, surgery and research, and as someone who on the strength of his moral convictions took on the might of the government. He enjoys the trust of his patients and the people who worked with him, as a man who has steadfastly committed himself to his profession and to his patients, eschewing all personal gain. For his patients and students and for aspiring doctors in general, these memoirs provide insights and inspiration from a remarkable life,’ it adds.
‘AIIMS was Dr Venugopal’s karambhoomi for over 40 years. In the course of his long and distinguished career as a cardiac surgeon, Dr Venugopal brought life and hope to countless individuals. I think his memoirs will find resonance with the country’s large medical fraternity. I’m very happy that he has chosen to write about his life and about matters close to his heart,’ says former PM, Dr Manmohan Singh in the foreword he’s written for the book.
Get your copy of Heartfelt: A Cardiac Surgeon’s Pioneering Journey
Format: Paperback / Kindle
Number of pages: 280 / 285
Price: Rs 384 / Rs 279
Available on: Amazon
My Passage from India, by Ismail Merchant
‘My Passage from India describes Ismail Merchant’s extraordinary journey from his start as an aspiring filmmaker in Bombay, scraping together a meagre production budget for his first short film, to his triumphant arrival at the Oscar podium. Internationally celebrated for such cinematic masterpieces as Heat and Dust, A Room with a View, Howards End and Remains of the Day, Ismail Merchant [who passed away in 2005] is today regarded as one of the world’s leading producers of independent films. His story, however, begins not in the English countryside or along the Arno in Florence, but in India, where he grew up. At the age of thirteen, sharing a triumphal gala entrance with Nimmi, a family friend and Indian film star, he had his first taste of cinema’s allure and realised that he would spend his life making movies,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘In 1958, the young Indian filmmaker arrived in New York to pursue a master’s degree at NYU. While landing a job in advertising, he kept his focus on his dreams, winning a place at the Cannes Film Festival for his first short film, Creation of Woman. His passion for film was relentless, helping him leap over obstacles with humour, guile and infectious enthusiasm. In 1961, he was introduced to a kindred spirit, James Ivory, and together they established Merchant Ivory Productions. Along with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, their partnership would result in more than forty extraordinary films. Including seventy-five photographs of his life, My Passage from India is a sumptuous feast of the stories, sights, sounds and larger-than-life characters that have been part of his remarkable world, in India and around the globe,’ it adds. For anyone who’s ever been enthralled by Merchant’s movies, here’s your chance to get to know the man himself. At a mere 149 pages, the book isn’t nearly substantial enough but, hey, sometimes you just have to take what you can get.
Get your copy of My Passage from India
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 149
Price: Rs 796
Available on: Amazon
All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me, by Patrick Bringley
‘A fascinating, revelatory portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard. Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They’re the guards who roam unobtrusively in dark blue suits, keeping a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasure house. Caught up in his glamorous fledgling career at The New Yorker, Patrick Bringley never thought he’d be one of them. Then his older brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer and he found himself needing to escape the mundane clamour of daily life. So, he quit The New Yorker and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew. To his surprise and the reader’s delight, this temporary refuge becomes Bringley’s home away from home for a decade. We follow him as he guards delicate treasures from Egypt to Rome, strolls the labyrinths beneath the galleries, wears out nine pairs of company shoes, and marvels at the beautiful works in his care,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘Bringley enters the museum as a ghost, silent and almost invisible, but soon finds his voice and his tribe: the artworks and their creators and the lively subculture of museum guards – a gorgeous mosaic of artists, musicians, blue-collar stalwarts, immigrants, cutups, and dreamers. As his bonds with his colleagues and the art grow, he comes to understand how fortunate he is to be walled off in this little world, and how much it resembles the best aspects of the larger world to which he gradually, gratefully returns. In the tradition of classic workplace memoirs like Lab Girl and Working Stiff, All the Beauty in the World is a surprising, inspiring portrait of a great museum, its hidden treasures, and the people who make it tick, by one of its most intimate observers,’ it adds.
Describing his first day at work at the Met, the author says, ‘I am not entirely alone, of course, but passing strangers don’t feel very much like company, and the museum is so rambling (the size of about 3,000 average NY apartments) that a gallery like this one is seldom crowded. For several minutes, I stand on my C post, feeling time creep forward at a pace that might be confused with its standing still. I fold my hands in front of me. I fold them behind. I try them in my pockets. I lean back inside of a doorway, pace awhile, and then lean against a wall. In short, I’m restless, apparently not read for the abrupt transition to standing watchfully still. The only thing to do is keep my head up. Keep the watch. Let my hands remain empty and my eyes stay wide while my inner life grows all mixed up with beautiful works of art and the life that swirls around them. It is an extraordinary feeling. After several long minutes more, I begin to believe this truly can be my role.’
Get your copy of All the Beauty in the World: A Museum Guard’s Adventures in Life, Loss and Art
Format: Hardcover / Kindle
Number of pages: 224 / 223
Price: Rs 1,160 / Rs 1,111
Available on: Amazon
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