Month: May 2012

Authors: Robert Dayley and Clark D. Neher Publisher:  Westview Press (A Member of the Perseus Book Group) – 330 pages Book Review by:  Sonu Chandiram Southeast Asia, a region with about 590 million people (2011 UN population estimate) is defined by the authors of this book as consisting of these eleven countries: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. I asked myself why Hong Kong and Taiwan were not included in this group and I could not find the answer. I have visited and lived in seven of these thirteen countries and one major characteristic is ironically predominant – their diversity. The authors make this point very clear at the outset of this book. These nations of Southeast Asia are about as diverse as they can be in terms of arts, beliefs, customs, dress, economics, food, gross domestic product, human capital, income, languages, mores, natural resources, organized institutions, politics, religions, social behavior, traditions, and just about any other type of comparison. The authors point out that these nations have different cultures, histories, political systems and resource bases, both human and natural. Most people from the West however, are not able to discern these differences. (It’s funny that almost all Asians are termed “Orientals” in Western print news media. So, should all people from Europe and the Americas be termed “Occidentals”?)  That is understandable, just...

Author: Bill Vlasic Publisher: William Morrow (An Imprint of HarperCollins  – 394 pages Book Review by:  Sonu Chandiram Bill Vlasic is an award-winning reporter alright but what first struck me as I started to read this book is his ability to hold the reader’s attention. So, add narrative-writing skills to his reporting prowess. I wholeheartedly agree with USA Today’s description of his previous book Taken for a Ride as “a fascinating page-turning read.” In my opinion, that description applies to Once Upon a Car as well. This book relates the historic true story of how two of America’s largest automakers – General Motors and Chrysler – nearly went out of business but were rescued with billions of dollars of taxpayer “bailout” money, and how the third largest U.S. car company Ford was saved from asking for a bailout with thoughtful and clever management by a newly-hired executive, Alan Mulally. This engaging chronicle of events covers the period from 2005 to the recent past and it is rich in descriptions of the scenes, the people and their remarks in corporate offices, factory floors, labor union halls and places in Washington D.C., including the U.S. Capitol and the Oval Office in the White House. It includes key decisions that helped the companies stay in business and saved millions of jobs. Among them were Rick Wagoner’s forced resignation as a condition for...

Author: John Haywood Publisher: Princeton University Press – 252 pages Book Review by: Paiso Jamakar This large, colorful book provides the reader with a wondrous text-and-pictorial voyage through not just history but of pre-historic times as well. It takes you through the most significant events in our past while enabling you to actually look at people and things that symbolized them. The quality of production of this gorgeous tome amazed me at first glance and handling. To say that it is professionally designed and manufactured would be an understatement. The thick, strong cover, the exquisite coated paper, the beautiful graphics inside – of the maps, the photos of artifacts, objects, people – are so incredibly stunning. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and with the hundreds of photos in this book, not much has to be written for the reader to learn a lot just by turning the pages and looking at numerous images on the right side. But the author John Haywood also provides you the accompanying stories and descriptions on the left pages as you delight yourself with the illustrations on the right. And, he answers questions that pop up in your mind as you look at the graphics. For example right after his Introduction, John Haywood starts with the pre-historic period of six million to 100,000 years ago with the topic:...