India, Myanmar & Medicine on bookshelf

New Delhi -  The book cart this week is substantive, diverse and cerebral. Browse with IANS... 1.Book: "Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century"; Written by Shashi Tharoor; Published by Penguin India, Priced at $32.75 (Rs.1,821)

The book is a comprehensive account of India's international relations, starting from Independence and looking forward to the next few decades of the new millennium. Full of the foreign  affairs' veteran incisive insights and original perceptions, and marked by his trademark wit, Shashi Tharoor explains why foreign policy matters to India and focused on its own domestic

transformation. The writer looks at India's major international relationships in detail, evokes the country's soft power and its global responsibilities, analyses the workings of the country's

foreign affairs wings and probes how public opinion shapes polity. He says India must jump beyond non-alignment to multi-alignment to play a crucial role in a new world order.

2.Book: "Sexy @ Sixty: Health and Beauty at Every Age"; Written by Namita Jain; Published by Westland Ltd, Priced at Rs.200

Sexy at sixty. Is that possible? Namita Jain, the wellness expert shows readers it is possible to stay young and connected to one's own physical self at 60 and celebrate the wondrous phase

of life. She offers many helpful tips on lifestyle, food, exercise and staying positive, to slay bugbears that threaten to rain on your parade. Aimed at the modern not-so-young man or woman,

the book is full of practical and easy-to understand information.

3.Book: "Translation Legend: The Life and Times of India's Finest: The Life and Times of India's Finest Transplant Surgeon, Dr.Raj Vir Singh Yadav"; Written by Krishna Yadav; Published by

Rupa & Co; Priced at Rs.150

A skilled surgeon. A medical professional with an extraordinary vision for making kidney transplantation available to masses. A pioneer. A caring husband and father. A loyal and trusted

friend. A steadfast and compassionate human soul. These are but a few qualities that made Raj Vir Singh Yadav the exceptional man that he was. Responsible for setting up kidney transplant

centres across India, training many young surgeons in this specialty, and starting the first ever transplant games in India at the PGIMER Chandigarh, Yadav is remembered with reverence

and affection by all who knew and worked with him. The book, written by his wife Krishna Yadav and Jehanara Wasi, narrate the life and multiple facets of Yadav - the story of his transition

from the younger son of a feudal family to the globally-renowned 'Father of Transplantation', who changed the face of transplant surgery in India.

4.Book: "Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads"; Written by Roger Benedict; Published by Random House; Priced at 12.99 pounds (Rs.1,134.90)

For more than 50 years, Burma has been ruled by a succession of military regimes which rank among the most oppressive dictatorships in the world. Accused of crimes against humanity, they

have brutally mistreated their people. But in the last couple of years, the pace of change in Myanmar has been breathtaking. Much is now hoped for. However, Myanmar is one of the most

ethnically diverse nations in Southeast Asia: there are roughly seven major ethnic groups living along its borders.

They have a long history of conflict with the government and have been cruelly treated by the current regime. Their future affects the country as a whole, as Benedict Rogers explains.

Drawing heavily on his many fact-finding visits both inside Myanmar and along its frontiers, he gives a unique appraisal of the current ethnic situation and its implications for the nation as a

whole.

5.Book: "77, Shadow Street"; Written by Dean Koontz; Published by Harper-Collins-India, Priced at Rs.325

Heart-stopping thriller from the master of suspense. Bad things are starting to happen at the Pendleton, an eerie building with a tragic past.

The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill, a palace built in the late 19th century as a tycoon's dream home. But its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide and

mass murder. Since being converted into luxury apartments in the 70s, however, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents - among them ex-marine Bailey Hawk,

songwriter Twyla Trahern and her young son Winny - the Pendleton is a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten. But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay

impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. It seems that whatever drove past

occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. As nightmare visions become real, a group of extraordinary individuals hold the key to humanity's destiny.