Recently, I was forced to spend 10 days away from technology. I was on vacation in Chennai and I couldn't get an internet connection up and running from my house. After brooding and sulking about being cut off from email for a few hours, I wandered into the nearest Landmark and bought a few books. Reading them, I realized how much I missed reading non-technology books. When I got back to Hyderabad, I've been on a book-buying spree, and spending far more money than I should at Crosswords :-).

Of late, I've been worried that I'm not doing enough non-technical reading. So, resisting the temptation to buy the latest Ruby book available, I went and bought a few books which had nothing to do with computers.

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The Argumentative Indian - Amartya Sen

Of all the books I read during my self-imposed break, this left the biggest impression on me. 'The Argumentative Indian' is a collection of essays, penned over the last decade by Amartya Sen.

The central theme running through the book is the rich tradition of argument and debate in India and the dangers of moral policing, religious fundamentalism and other issues facing modern India. Using this as the platform, Sen weaves together a set of beautiful essays, my personal favourite being the one on Tagore and the one on Indian 'identity'.

Amartya Sen writes like the true scholar he is. Reading his work painfully reminded me of how bad my writing is.

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Next - Michael Crichton

Words cannot begin to describe how disappointed I am with this book. I'm a huge Michael Crichton fan and eagerly look forward to every new book. The last book, 'State of Fear' was below par. Yes, it had the usual in-depth research and science but the plot was non-existent.

'Next' is worse. The book is about Crichton's take on the current state of genetic research, with a spotlight on the dangers of gene patents and the moral issues involved. The science was impeccable as usual. But that's the only good part. There are an insane array of characters, so many that you're never really sure whom you're reading about. The plot is disjointed and jumps around too much for comfort.

The only interesting bit for me was the similarities between the state of gene patents and software patents. The patent system is obviously badly broken. I only wonder when the powers-that-be wake up and realize the damage that is being caused.

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Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond

I bought this book on a whim and it didn't disappoint. Diamond examines human evolution and tries to find out 'why'. Why did humanity evolve in different way in different places? Why did certain races domesticate certain crops?

The book's central premise is that humanity evolved differently in different geographic areas primarily due to the surrounding environment, rather than due to differences in the races themselves.

There are some gems in this book - like an explanation of why cheetahs were never domesticated (male cheetahs need to chase female cheetahs for several days before they can mate - kind of difficult in a zoo) or first hand accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Incan empire, which has to be one of history's greatest David vs Goliath stories ¹.

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Losing my Virginity - Richard Branson

Richard Branson. Balloons. Wild antics. Virgin. That's pretty much all I knew about the man before reading this book. This is a fascinating autobiography of how he built Virgin.

When I finished this book, I called up a friend and said "This guy has b*lls". I was amazed at his attitude and more importantly, his fortitude. Here's a guy who plunges into new ventures for the sole reason that he thinks it is fun. Even though he knows nothing about the business.

There are some great anecdotes in this book. Branson's near-death experiences on his balloon trips. Branson starting Virgin Airlines though he knew little about the airline industry. Why Branson likes Japan so much (a very pleasant night spent with 2 Japanese women in a Tokyo hotel seems to be the root cause).

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Truth, Love and a Little Malice - Khushwant Singh

I've never seen anyone be so brutally honest. Be it his fondness for whiskey, women or gossip, Khushwant Singh bares it all. This book pretends to be an autobiography but it is more of 'Khuswant writing down all the gossip and dirt he can remember'. Great fun!


Notes:

1. Francisco Pizarro and his army of a few hundred soldiers managed to defeat an army of over 50,000 Inca soldiers. In the process, they extracted one of the greatest ransoms of all time - a room filled with gold. They didn't exactly play nice or fair - they lied to the Inca king about his safety and killed him even though the ransom was paid in full.