What to read this week: 5 new books worth your time

There's much happening in India and the world right now, the conflict in the Middle East, a tragic air accident, and more. When bazillion things are happening at once, books can be a useful way to make sense of at least some of them.

Here, The WEEK has curated a list of five new books that are worth picking up:

Indira Gandhi and The Years That Transformed India by Srinath Raghavan (Published by Penguin Random House India)

The legacy of former PM Indira Gandhi is annually discussed around this time of the year because it was on June 25, 1975, that she imposed the Emergency, suspended fundamental rights, and arrested Opposition leaders. In this book, historian Srinath Raghavan maps Gandhi's journey and sheds light on how politics doesn't develop in a silo but is shaped by national and international events.

The Elsewhereans by Jeet Thayil (Published by HarperCollins India)

This genre-defying fiction melds travelogue, memoir, a family saga, and photographs and maps lives that are shaped through separation, both those who leave as well as those left behind. The book threads through migration, loss, and the fragility of identity.

Shattered Lands by Sam Dalrymple (Published by HarperCollins India)

Since its launch recently, the book has already garnered widespread attention. The premise is interesting, which is how the Indian Empire, commonly known as the Raj, under the British, spanned from the Red Sea, and comprised countries such as Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, till the jungles of south-east Asia. This was the case as recently as 1928, all of which was undone in a mere 50 years. Also, the Indian Empire underwent five partitions, not the two that many generally know about.

All in the Ring: Decision-Making in Critical Times by General NC Vij (Published by Bloomsbury)

General NC Vij was the Chief of Army Staff from 2003 to 2005, during which crucial decisions were made that continue to influence national security. In this book, General Vij looks back at the choices made, which is crucial, especially in the context of the ever-changing geopolitical situation, which is turning all the more uncertain.

Raj Khosla: The Authorized Biography by Amborish Roychoudhury with Anita Khosla, and Uma Khosla Kapur (Published by Hachette India)

Despite his oeuvre of work, not many know about Raj Khosla. An aspiring filmmaker, he made versatile films including thrillers (CID), family dramas (Do Raaste), timeless romances (Do Badan), and action spectacles (Dostana), and gave songs such as Lag ja gale', 'Jhumka gira re' and 'Jaane kya baat hai'. This book maps the life of this filmmaker, who gave us timeless classics both in films and songs. 

Society