Category Archives: Books

Books

In My Hands Today…

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The Venetian Betrayal – Steve Berry

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Locating Alexander the Great’s final resting place-unknown to this day-remains a tantalizing goal for both archaeologists and treasure hunters. Now the quest for this coveted prize is about to heat up. After narrowly escaping a fire that consumes a Danish museum, Cotton Malone-former U.S. Justice Department agent turned rare-book dealer-learns from his friend, the beguiling adventurer Cassiopeia Vitt, that the blaze was part of a campaign of arson intended to mask a far more diabolical design.

From the ashes of the U.S.S.R., a new nation has arisen: the Central Asian Federation. At its helm is Supreme Minister Irina Zovastina, a cunning despot with the single-minded desire to surpass Alexander the Great as history’s ultimate conqueror. The Federation has amassed a harrowing arsenal of biological weapons, and only one thing keeps Zovastina from setting in motion her death march of domination: a miraculous healing serum, kept secret by an ancient puzzle and buried with the mummified remains of Alexander the Great-in a tomb lost to the ages for more than 1,500 years.

Together, Cotton and Cassiopeia must outrun and outthink the forces allied against them in order to unravel a riddle whose solution could destroy or save millions of people depending on who finds the lost tomb first.

In My Hands Today…

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The Concubine’s Daughter – Pai Kit Fai

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Lotus Feet. He would give his daughter the dainty feet of a courtesan. This would enhance her beauty and her price, making her future shine like a new coin. He smiled to himself, pouring fresh tea. And it would stop her from running away…

When the young concubine of an old farmer in rural China gives birth to a daughter called Li-Xia, or “Beautiful One,” the child seems destined to become a concubine herself. Li refuses to submit to her fate, outwitting her father’s orders to bind her feet and escaping the silk farm with an English sea captain. Li takes her first steps toward fulfilling her mother’s dreams of becoming a scholar — but her final triumph must be left to her daughter, Su Sing, “Little Star,” in a journey that will take her from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Hong Kong on the eve of World War II

In My Hands Today…

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The Martian – Andy Weir

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Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get the word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

In My Hands Today…

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The Taj Conspiracy – Manreet Sodhi Someshwar

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Mughal scholar Mehrunisa Khosa stumbles on a conspiracy to destroy the Taj Mahal when she discovers the murder of the Taj supervisor, and the Quranic calligraphy on the tomb of Queen Mumtaz altered to suggest a Hindu origin of the Taj Mahal….

That urban legend had always existed. Now, though, someone was conspiring to make it come true. In the case of the famed marble monument, all was not on the surface. A vast labyrinth ran underneath closed to visitors where Mehrunisa was trapped once.

In a series of suspenseful twists and turns, the action traverses from the serene splendour of Taj Mahal to the virulent warrens of Taj Ganj, from intrigue-laden corridors of Delhi to snowy Himalayan hideouts….

As a right-wing Hindu party ratchets up its communal agenda and Islamic militants plot a terror attack, in the dark corners of his devious mind a behrupiya, a shapeshifter, is conniving to divide the nation in two. To save the Taj Mahal, Mehrunisa must overcome a prejudiced police and battle her inner demons as she sifts the multiple strands that lead to the conspirator.

In My Hands Today…

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Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

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Authored by the most influential Indian President yet, this book delves into the obstacles that are preventing India from rising up to the challenge of development. India has unmatched talent and ambition with an inherent tendency to work hard, then what is it that keeps India from overtaking the world. Why does India as a nation settle for the ordinary when the extraordinary is well within the reach?

Dr. Kalam shares his dream of a nation that is unrivaled, he discusses how he has, from his experience, met such skilled people whose visions can transform the nation. It is imperative that one searches for own solutions and find role-models in countrymen instead of looking towards the other nations. India must not strive to be the next America or Japan but has to be the strong nation that she is capable of becoming. For this, all the trapped energies and initiatives need to be freed instead of suppressing them.

In the book, we are introduced to numerous role models that are hiding amongst us. Words of wisdom from saints and seers that the author encountered through his life have been quoted. The book proceeds to address the issues at hand and mentions some reforms that have to be incorporated in politics and policies. The policy making procedure of the nation requires major reforms. The youth has to be given a stage and the reins of the nation need to be passed on. The book motivates the young minds and forces the positive auras together to build the face of a new nation.