New books in market

That Used To Be US Thomas L Friedman & Michael Mandelbaum
In That Used To Be US, the authors explore
the four contemporary challenges that America
faces — globalisation, the revolution in information
technology, the nation’s chronic
deficits, and its pattern of energy consumption.
The book starts with comparing a sixmonth
repair job in New Jersey and an eightmonth
construction of an elaborate convention
centre in China. Through examples like
these, the authors try to explain America’s
decline and suggest that understanding the
nation’s history is the key to coping with its
present challenges. The book is divided in
five parts: the problems that the US faces, the
education challenge, the state of science, political
failure, and the way forward.

Building The Ambedkar Revolution Gail Omvedt
Babasaheb Ambedkar always honoured
other luminaries who had championed the
Dalit cause. Besides Buddha, Kabir and
Phule, he also admired several lesser-known
ones. Among these, was a man who
Ambedkar called ‘Dadasaheb’ — Sambhaji
Tukaram Gaikwad. Sambhaji was one of the
main organisers of what Ambedkar described
as the ‘liberation movement’ of Dalits, the
Mahad satyagraha of of 1927. For those who
were later to call themselves Dalits, the event
was a landmark in their struggle. Building
The Ambedkar Revolution is about the
revolution led by Sambhaji, when Dalits
burnt the Manusmriti.

Legacy Of Darkness: The Theft Aditya Dave
Two boys, both named Ashoka, live in different
eras — one in 1806 and the other in 2010.
What they have in common is magic. The first
Ashoka, an orphaned 15-year-old prince, is on
the run from his father’s killer, Andhkar, a
master of the dark arts. Ashoka knows he
must stay hidden until the time is right and he
can avenge his father’s death. The presentday
Ashoka believes he’s an average teenager
until he finds out that he and his sister Maya
are magicians. The two must learn to control
their powers. And once they are trained in
magic, they must set off on a dangerous
quest. The Theft is the first part of a trilogy by
16-year-old Aditya Dave.

Land Of Two Rivers Nitish Sengupta
Land Of Two Rivers tries to chronicle the history
of Bengal “from the Mahabharata to Mujib”.
The confluence of two major river systems,
Ganga and Brahmaputra, created the
delta of Bengal, the centre of trade, learning
and the arts. Academician Nitish Sengupta
traces the formation of Bengal’s identity
through medieval Muslim dynasties, the emergence
of the arts, the colonial conquest in the
eighteenth century, the growth of nationalist
politics, the industrial and economic changes
in the region, and the web of events that
eventually led to the partition in 1947.
Through this book, Sengupta tries to analyse
why Bengal got divided along communal lines.

I Is For Influence: The New Science Of Persuasion Rob Yeung
Psychologist Rob Yeung believes that anyone
can be persuasive and influential if they use a
simple set of rules and techniques. In I Is For
Influence, he tries to explain the psychology
of influence, citing examples from reseach
and his own experiences. He explains how
small changes to your body language can
change the way others perceive you. He says
that more important than what you say is how
you say it. He suggests that telling people stories,
and telling these stories in a certain way
will activate people’s imaginations, giving the
storyteller a “toehold in people’s minds”.
Through ideas like these, Yeung tries to explain
how you can win people’s trust.