DAWN - Books and Authors; April 13, 2008

April 13, 2008

Welcome to a generous selection of articles from DAWN's Weekly Books & Authors.
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COVER STORY: From Mughal courts to Pakistan politics His engaging smile, an abundance of wit and a forthright manner complement William Dalrymple’s standing as an eminent scholar of history and an acclaimed travel writer. While the Scotsman exhibits a casual and easy going manner to the public, there are obvious signs that....		REVIEW: Living on a highway A couple of years ago I was approached by two Pakistani journalists who suggested that I let them translate into Urdu the articles I had written over the years for Dawn and publish them as a series of books. By then I had written some 500 articles with close to a million words.....

ARTICLES: Beautiful Indeed In some places sheets of yellow flowers bloomed in plots; in others sheets of red (arghwani) flowers, in some red and yellow bloomed together. We sat on a mound near the camp to enjoy the site There were flowers on all sides of the mound, yellow here, red there, as if arranged regularly....		Magic mountains From whence hath the spring again returned unto us, Which hath made the country round a garden of flowers There are the anemone and sweet basil, the lily and thyme The jasmine and white rose, the narcissus and pomegranate blossom....

REVIEWS: Memories of Agra When we think of Taj Mahal we think of Agra and when we think of Agra we think of the great Taj; both have become more or less synonymous. But the fact is that there is much more to Agra than the Taj Mahal. Though it is because of the wondrous Taj that Agra is recognised worldwide...		REVIEWS: Lady Bountiful Historians, as Karl Kraus once remarked, are prophets who look backwards; we are only interested in the past if it shows us how the present came into being. In Booth Tarkington’s novel The Magnificent Ambersons, the affluent splendour of Renaissance Florence....

REVIEWS: As the Romans were The Roman Empire is well-known for the various conflicts of interest between several of its key political members. Though most have been for the purpose of ultimate power over not only Rome, but through it the better part of the world; another conflict that brewed just below the surface...		REVIEWS: Starbook This eye-glazingly dull book from Ben Okri, winner of the 1991 Booker Prize for The Famished Road, is apparently trying to be some sort of fable, or parable. Or something. God knows; I sure don’t. Whether Okri is trying to be intentionally obscure, or whether things just worked out that way....

AUTHOR: To change the world Concerned about the prospects of peace and dilemmas of global security, Waris Shere discusses his past and present Please tell us something about your latest book....		ARTICLE: When Camus crashed NO other death would have sufficed; it had to be the most beautiful and fast car of the age. It had to be a Porsche and it had to be at 200 mph. He was always ahead of his peers, always more dynamic. However, it doesn’t change the fact that he crashed out, and now that seems like.....

REVIEWS: For lasting peace The book centres round Indo-Pak relations in a bid to find out ways for lasting peace between the two countries The plea for friendly relations is advanced on different grounds. One of the arguments....		LITERARY NOTES: Some thundering ideas College University in Lahore is fast developing into a hub of scholars and writers, who have found here a forum for discussing problems pertaining to literature and other branches of knowledge. Last month, a seminar on the topic of language, literature and culture was held here....

At a glance Baghdad Burning, as the title reveals, is a categorically narrated nightmare of Iraqi society. It portrays the harsh realities of extreme brutality and inhuman attitude of America and its allies in Iraq. The writer has focused on the actual happenings of the ‘war on terror’, which the western...