May 12, 2002 Welcome to a generous selection of articles from DAWN's Weekly Books & Authors. This page is updated every Sunday. For current issue Click here New hope for Kashmiris? GIVEN the irreconcilable positions of the Indian and the Pakistani governments on Jammu and Kashmir and the rejection by both New Delhi and Islamabad of the third option — independence — the difficulty of putting in place a peace process which would include... EXCERPTS: How Swat has changed WITH urbanization extending to the lower reaches of the valley, the eating habits of the people have changed tremendously and are now more similar to those of the people in urban areas (meat, pulses, vegetables and milk products... EXCERPTS: At its best, at its worst SUFISM at best and Sufism at its worst were worlds apart. Admittedly this would be true of any system of beliefs and practice, but in Sufism the difference becomes pertinently conspicuous because of its original grounding in ethics... ARTICLES: Whither books? SOME years ago the chief guest at a book launching ceremony asked a very pertinent question, “Why do people write books when very few people actually read them? What is it that motivates writers not only to write one book but continue to write many more when they get nothing out of it? It is both bad economics... ARTICLES: I’m really not that hungry after all IF you read Eric Schlosser’s book Fast food nation: what the all-American meal is doing to the world (Penguin), I defy you to eat a mass-produced hamburger again. This columnist had... ARTICLES: Through the prism of Hindi: Urdu in India IS Urdu a dying language in India? While introducing the film “In custody” (by Ivory & Merchant), the host at Public Broadcasting Service pronounced the demise of Urdu and assigned it... ARTICLES: A murder and the OED A MYTH satisfies one’s taste for the extraordinary. Without a predominant mythical element, many an account of historical events would have been lifeless and colourless, for instance, what makes the... ARTICLES: Harry Potter on top THOMAS Taylor, the young graduate artist who decided what Harry Potter ought to look like, made only two or three hundred pounds for his first drawing of the boy hero in... AUTHOR: This is my life... MAVIS Cheek is not normally thought of as an impassioned writer. Her style is more clever comedy of manners, turning what she calls ‘a beady eye’ on the mixed achievements and... SYNDICATED: Rout of Africa V.S. NAIPAUL, in his 1971 Booker Prize-winning novel In a free state, offered a vision of the future for whites in sub-Saharan Africa in his portrayal of a European couple in... SYNDICATED: Heart and craft IN his preface to this large, handsome book, Seamus Heaney sets out to emphasize the continuity and coherence of his prose writing. He reprints words from the foreword to Preoccupations (1980)... REVIEW: Rewriting history IT is a historical phenomenon that neighbouring countries not only fight wars against each other but at times also cooperate on economic matters and share cultural experiences. History records all the... REVIEW: Military briefings THE book A concise encyclopaedia of military facts has a rather impressive title and the author is eloquent in self-praise when he describes in the Preface his work as “so comprehensive... REVIEW: With a new perspective AT a time when scholars are focusing on the role of religion in world affairs, Francis Robinson’s abiding interest in the study of Islam should attract much attention. After his three... REVIEW: Doing the unspeakable THIS poetic and moving new novel is remarkably prescient dealing as it does with two of the hottest topics of the moment - terrorism and gormandising on gorgeous food. The protagonist... REVIEW: Loss of a dream IN the twentieth century, the universalist socialist ideal and the egalitarian ethos of the communist revolution inspired thinkers and intellectuals across the globe. Individuals were caught up in great, passionate battles... REVIEW: How the other half lives THERE is not much to cheer about when the state of the mega-cities of the world is under discussion. The quality of life of the majority of city dwellers has worsened... REVIEW: Will it really work? SARDAR SHAUKAT Ali, the author of the book under review, is a diehard communist, who suffered great hardship on account of his ideological beliefs. The book under review contains thirteen articles...

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