Book Review [56] : Rubicon

I read 'Julius Caesar', a play of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in my 11th standard (UP Board) and immediately i was bitten by the highly Republican character of Marcus Brutus, whom Mark Antony called "noblest man of them all" after his death in 42 BC. Rome was an eternal idea in the mind of humankind and its a really not a mean achievement that Roman Republic flourished for more than 500 years when everywhere Monarchy was the norm (except in NW and Eastern pockets of India). 

I have read a number of books (fiction/non-fiction both) on Roman History  but Tom Holland's book "Rubicon" stands in a different league. The way he introduces and builds the characters is a piece of Art and i was able to finish the book in less than 4 days and i never got bored. Its a story of the decline and destruction of the "Roman Republic" from the lethal  attack by Sulla (83-81 BC) to the ultimate destruction by Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Antony and Gaius Octavius within a span of 20 years (49 BC - 30 BC). The great Republic that was founded on the principles of freedom and balance of power was destroyed by the intrigues of powerful senators and ambitions of the Generals. 

Caesar and Pompey were great Generals but very bad Republicans, both of them were dictators and wanted to rule the Rome as virtual Emperors but both of them faced able adversaries in the form of Marcus Cato, Marcus Brutus, Cicero etc. Such was the fate of Rome that the great Republicans like Cicero, Brutus and Cato had to support haughty Pompey in order to save the Republic from almighty Caesar who had threatened the Republic by crossing the Rubicon river on 10th Jan, 49 BC. Caesar was able to defeat mighty Pompey in 48 BC at Pharsalus (Greece) and Cato in 46 BC and by 46 BC Caesar had become the dictator for 10 years (later extended to life time) of Rome. He was murdered by the Liberators led by Brutus, Cassius etc on Ides of March in 44 BC. This was last hope for Republic but his last hope was soon extinguished by the defeat of Liberators at Philippi (Macedonia) in 42 BC. The Republic was divided among Antony, Octavius and Lepidus and by 30 BC Octavius became the sole ruler of Rome after defeating the alliance of Antony and Cleopetra at Actium in 31 BC. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide in 30 BC. This is a great book, the only issue with this book is that it has given less pages to the likes of Brutus and Antony and the last wars of the Republic. Because of this book, Cato has become one of my heroes.

Highly Recommended (9/10) 

Book Review [55] : A History of God

Karen Armstrong has a great name in 'theological works and history of religions', she has written good books on Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism and her treatment to all these religions appears very liberal and unbiased to a layman like me. Its a not a categorical denial that she is devoid of any prejudices or biases. 'A History Of God' is one of her classical works but being a Hindu i could not appreciate this work to a great extent because she did not write anything significant on oriental religions or Gods in this book so the comparison that i was looking for was not there in detail. 

A History of God is a well researched (with some embedded inaccuracy as well, like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was written as Pakistani in this book) work on the history of three great religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it also gives attention to a large number of theologians of these creeds, philosophers and scientists. The only problem with this work is that you need to know in advance the philosophies of Aristotle, Plato, Hegel, Pascal, Descartes, Nietzsche, Freud, Calvin, Luther, al-Ghazali, Voltaire, Kant, al-Kindi, ibn-Arabi, al-Wahab etc else you will not appreciate the essence of this book. I am deeply impressed by the Aristotle, ibn-Arabi, al-Ghazali, Voltaire and Freudian concept of God in western and semitic philosophy. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) says that Religion has already played its role in the development or evolution of mankind and now mankind has reached a stage of maturity its the time to kill the God and Religion. He further adds that every society has its own pace to reach to that mature stage and any attempt to accelerate that pace would be destructive. This can be seen in the case of Iran when Shah of Iran tried to impose western values the people revolted and became more conservative instead.

Overall its a good book and should be read to do an objective inquiry in the universe of religion.   

Recommended (7/10) 

Book Review [54] : The Great War for Civilisation

Middle East fascinates me more than any other subject apart from India. Here lies the seeds of almost all the geopolitical problems World is facing right now. From the days of Hammurabi to Achaemenid Empire, from Alexander to the conquest of Islam, from Crusades to the end of WW2 and from the establishment of Israel to the ongoing civil war in Syria, Middle East has never been in peace. Wars, genocides, ethnic cleansing, riots, dictatorships etc have never left this ancient land that many people call as Cradle of human Civilisation. Robert Fisk has been a superbly talented Foreign Correspondent and a writer and no one tells the story of middle-east better than him. He writes with amazing authority and neutrality that one often thinks or mis-assumes him as an Arab. In this great book, aptly titled "The Great War For Civilisation", he talks about the legacy of World Wars, forgotten genocides, persecution, double standard of western powers and reconquista of middle east by the Neo-Crusaders. 

Arab people and countries are paying a heavy price for the sins committed by Nazi Germany. Hitler killed millions of Jews but instead of creating Jewish homeland in Germany and forcing Germany to give "compensation", Arab land of Palestine has been acquired for the Jews based mainly on the Biblical right of the Jews on the land of Palestine. Millions of Palestinians are now living in the neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria etc and in the pseudo-ghetto of the impoverished Gaza strip. And the remaining land of Palestine i.e West Bank and Gaza Strip are also getting illegaly encroached by the Israeli settlements and the World is sleeping.

He also talks about the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and post Revolution killings, the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88, Gulf War 1990-91 and the final Gulf War of 2003. US supported Saddam like its baby until he invaded Kuwait. US even condoned the use of Chemical weapons on Iranian Army and the northern Kurds in late 1980s. The way US manufactured the consent for its Iraq war is also written very arty. He also talks about the USSR involvement in Afghanistan and its eventual withdrawal and disintegration, and his meeting with OBL first in Sudan and later in Afghanistan. 

He talks in detail about the "first" genocide of the 20th Century during first World War. In this genocide about 1.5 mn Armenian Christians were murdered by the Ottoman Turks and their hangmen the Kurds. Even today, Turkey denies this Holocaust and its a great shame that even Israel takes it lightly.

This book is a very good source for all the people who are interested in world politics and in the history causing the current turmoil.  
Highly Recommended (9/10).

Forgotten People

The last century was perhaps the most bloody, brutal and war prone century of the human history although 21st century is not devoid of the violence. There is a tendency among historians, Journalists, media houses, agencies etc to distort the facts by omission or by selective magnification or belittlement. We all know about the great Holocaust in which about 5-6 mn Europeans Jews were massacred in worst possible example of a genocide in world history. But i did not know few things before reading Robert Fisk great book "The Great War for civilization", the very first thing that there is an unwritten rule that says only 'Jewish Holocaust' will have Holocaust word starting with capital 'H' and all other Holocaust will have to use smaller 'h'. Is not this utter idiocy or lack of sensitivity on part of the Intellectuals of the world. 

World has mostly forgotten the genocide of Armenian people by the Ottoman Turks in 1915 (also known as leftovers of the sword). In this genocide close to 1.5 mn Armenian Christians were brutally murdered by the Turks and their hangmen, the Kurds. Turkey has the audacity to deny this genocide and calls it as the propaganda of western powers. The survivors of the Holocaust (with capital H ) i.e, the Israeli Jews denied this in order to make friendly relation with the Turkey (the only friend of Israel in middle east until the Mavi Marmara incident of May 2010), western nations are also not vocal mainly to have friendly relationship with Turkey (Turkey is a NATO member and a regional power of West Asia). Why cant the UN create a Holocaust memorial in the memory of all the people killed in these holocaust irrespective of the color of their skin, religion, nationality or language? 

Similar genocide was perpetrated by the Pakistani Army and their hangmen in  Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) in 1970, 1971. Millions of Bengalis were killed in this genocide and Millions of Women were raped and raped. Read Anthony Mascarenhas works for detailed and vivid description. Among those killed and raped, Hindus were in disproportionately very high numbers.  Pakistan still denies it, India is not vocal and Indian intellectuals don't utter a word and US supported the Pakistan regime of Yahya Khan in that brutal genocide. There were no Nuremberg court after the 1971 war perhaps these lives were not worthy enough for these courts. Some Holocausts start with capital 'H', some with small 'h' and some simply vaporize in history books. This is the irony of human civilization.

Book Review [53] : No Easy Day

'No Easy Day' is a much sought out book these days as the writer (former US Navy Seal Member) claims that he participated in the operation that killed enemy number of US on 1/2 May 2011 in Abottabad, Pakistan. This book is the story of US SEAL and in a way its an autobiography of Mark Owen (the former SEAL), written in a bit amateurish style and sometimes even usage of English is pretty ordinary. The first half is a boring read while the second half is a fast track action movie script. It also gives in detail about the various aspects of the operation, specially about the plan/elevation of the 1 acre compound in Abbotabad and various stages of the operation in detail upto minute level. It looks and sounds really strange that the entire operation took less than 4 hours from Jalalabad to Jalalabad, and it took less than an hour to finish the combat operation in Abbotabad. To an Indian this book may not appeal much but to an American this book can soothe many wounds. So depending on allegiance and nationality this book may appeal or repel your attention. To me it was an OK kind of read.

Time-pass Read (5/10)