Review: The Man Who Loved Wasps by Mary Alice Evans

The Man Who Loved Wasps (Image source: Amazon)

On a balmy Saturday morning in my hometown I drew out from my collection a tiny book with an astonishing cover page illustration of an antelope’s head and a body comprising of various species of wasps and even birds. Tiny books have most often disappointed me not because of the lack of intellect emanating from the pages, but because more often so much ground is covered within pages so few! So when I got my copy of this book I was skeptical and was wondering if this book will be like some of its tiny predecessors within my library. One book which had been an exception to this case was Dog Man, which was just the right size for the breadth it covered, for a few more pages would have rendered it repetitive. The tile The Man Who Loved Waspsattracted me like a wasp to nectar. It would have made a good companion to Life on Air.

And what a book this has been! It is a collection of essays probably by both Mary Alice Evans and her husband Howard Ensign Evans. It is full of rich and wonderful anecdotes from the insect kingdom, chiefly from the empire of wasps. But more than being just a random assemblage of essays, each chapter is a treatise on a variety of topics, people, insects and birds. Within the pages also figures the sad story of man deliberately destroying the natural habitat with caution thrown to the wind. In the first chapter titled Discovering Life on Earth the author, Howard, poignantly brings out the vagaries of ‘human’ spirit by writing “in a culture obsessed by with comfort, it is doubtless simpler to look at the sterile Martian rocks on television than to become one’s own astronaut, picking one’s way across the incredible plains and forests of Earth”.  And in one of the chapters strikingly brings forth the point that we are spending billions of dollars for finding life on other planets, all the while destroying life on Earth! The human, alas, couldn’t have evolved worse.

One interesting story from the book concerns the elephant Jumbo bought by P.T. Barnum from the London Zoo. He was fatally wounded by a locomotive and was later mounted after its hide was stuffed and the heart sold off. And I couldn’t help being amused by the fact that the harmless bumblebee is able to achieve and maintain a temperature 0f 30 degree Celsius by vibrating its muscles without moving the wings even when it is freezing outside. But the most interesting chapter is eerily titled The Intellectual and the Emotional World of the Cockroach. It is abound with experiments which were successful in teaching them complex pathways inside a caged. And how, apparently, when the head is cut off they die only because of starvation and even in beheaded state are able to respond to external stimuli and learn! And how the roach Gromphadorhina Portentosa “not only produces an odor but makes a loud, hissing sound when disturbed”.

Also covered are a lot of great pioneers and their works and lives in this lesser known field of insects and plants. The most thought provoking however was the one which discussed, briefly though, the concept of sociobiology. A lot of social conceptsbelieved by humans to be uniquely theirs have already been there since millions of years in lot insects and animals and how ants already have been practicing sacrifice for the larger community.

There are books which are to be read and those which are to be bought, and this one belonged to the latter category. A must have for anyone remotely interested in the realliving world. However it made me reflect on our actions and their irreversible impact on the surroundings. Over billions of years the living life has evolved, while within a few hundred years the savage butchery has begun at the hands of an ‘evolved’ animal. The gene is much more intelligent than the brain.

Review: All the Shah’s Men by Stephen Kinzer

All The Shah’s Men (Image source: Amazon)

When I came across this book as a suggestion by an online retailer, I couldn’t be happier. It fitted perfectly as the missing first part of my trilogy of books on Iranian politics, with the other two being The Oil Kings and The Guests of the Ayatollah. Unwittingly though, I have read these three books in the reverse order from the chronological perspective. Though I hadn’t ever heard of Stephen Kinzer, but the reviews were good enough apart from the description to lure me into buying it. However, since I read the reviews of In the Name of Sorrow and Hope on Amazon (http://goo.gl/exbfD) I have begun to trust reviews with a less trusting eye, and more so after reading an article on Forbes about fake reviews (http://goo.gl/sJY0R).

 

The golden shiny cover of the book gave it a look of a classic book, but it also had an ugly red colored circle proclaiming it to be a ‘national bestseller’. I personally like books which don’t proclaim what praise they have got on the front page. On the back cover is fine, but on the front page is being superabundant. Books usually by universities like Oxford, Cambridge etc. don’t indulge in such foolish and naive braggadocio. The preface to the 2008 edition told me how “more than half a century had passed since the United States deposed the only democratic government Iran ever had” and how Iran would have been different had the “United States not sent agents to depose” Mohammad Mossadegh and how “the United States deposed a popular Iranian nationalist” in 1953. It continued to explain how “the British secret service worked with the CIA to depose Prime Minister Mossadegh” and that the “United States  violently interrupted Iran’s progress toward freedom by overthrowing Prime Minister Mossadegh in 1953” and how Akbar Ganji, an Iranian dissident, reported “Iranians will never forget the 1953 U.S.- supported coup that toppled the nationalist, moderate, democratic government of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh” and that “Operation Ajax, as the CIA plot to depose Prime Minister Mossadegh was code-named, brought immense tragedy to Iran“. After such tortuous harping about the “deposition of Mossadegh” I wondered how could this book make it to the list of “national bestseller”; and it made me think about the state of the “nation” where it was so!

 

I did not buy this book to know “how” it was done, but rather “why” it was done. But hope was not in sight especially after reading what was coming up. The author intelligently suggests that the current Iranian crisis can be handled with negotiations just like the way it was done with China and North Korea. Yes, that sounded like a baritone amongst a barrage of squeaks. But it died down when he goes on to say that “in the interest of the United States to promote all manner of social, political, and economic contacts with people” the United States should “invite as many Iranians as possible to the United States and flood Iran with Americans, ranging from students and professors to farmers and entrepreneurs to writers and artists“. People don’t go and settle down in other countries to promote goodwill amongst two arguing nations, but rather as an after effect of goodwill between two countries. It left me wondering what else I could have done with Rs. 996/-.

 

The author, being a journalist, expectedly starts with events on 15th of August, 1953 and rewinds back to give a fascinating yet somewhat aloof overview of the history of Iran. He starts from how “migrants from Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent began arriving in what is now Iran nearly four thousand years ago“, continues to Darius, Cyrus and Xerxes and the fights of the Zoroastrians with the Arabs and the ultimate triumph of a different form of Islam, Shia Islam, in the region. He explains how the British imperialists exploited the region for oil and power and how ultimately the United States, resisting earlier under Harry Truman but gave in under Dwight D. Eisenhower, became a party to overthrow Mossadegh. The book covers how the Qajar dynasty was thrown out with the rise of Reza Khan and the later ascent of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It ends with a very fleeting view of the Iranian revolution. Completing this book gave me a better understanding of the 1979 revolution’s roots and would recommend it to be read as a beginner’s book on understanding West Asian politics.

 

At last I am convinced that I could have done nothing better with those Rs. 996/-. And also to never judge a book neither by its cover, nor by its preface!

Sesquicentennial Celebrations of the Bombay High Court

I have always had immense respect for lawyers, judges and all things judicial. This is because of three reasons. First being that my father himself has done LL.B when he was working with state electricity board as an engineer. And the sort of books he used to read even otherwise like Companies Act, Constitution of India and other law related books used to make me wonder what is it that interests him to read such things? I still remember when a lot of his other colleagues used to visit our home and huddled up in a room to discuss the intricacies of various cases – probably as a part of the course which they were pursuing. It made for an interesting scene – all men above the age of forty pouring over books late into the night and animatedly discussing law cases! There must be something interesting about law, I thought. The second one
is that in Hindi cinema so many movies depict honest lawyers fighting cases defending the innocent with such verve that it is difficult not to be overwhelmed by them – the lawyers. There used to be an interesting lawyer based serial that used to come at prime time and was one of my favorites because of its different theme. And lastly, because people like Arun Jaitley, Kapil Sibal and others who regularly appear on televised debates all have been lawyers. And they used to puncture the opposition’s arguments in a debate like a needle piercing a balloon.

Some days ago I happened to read in a local paper that the Bombay High Court was holding an exhibition open to the public celebrating its 150 years. And it had various interesting items on display. Despite of holding lawyers and all things judicial in high honor, I never had really enjoyed going to courts for stamp papers, affidavits for passports and the like. There used to be so much chaos, the constant clutter of typewriters and the ‘agents’ who could get things done for you. But this provided an opportunity for a different experience like a visitor and not for a purpose. I headed to the Bombay High Court on a Saturday morning. They police was camped near the barricades serving as an entrance. After passing through a detector I asked for directions. The exhibition was on the second floor. The whole court building has got this old British look which many buildings in the south of Bombay have. As I neared the entrance there was a register in which I had to enter my name, address and phone number.

As I entered I somehow got reminded of the permanent Indian historical exhibition at Nehru Centre, Worli. Inside there were few large portraits of the people related to the history of the court and huge display boards. On one side there were innumerable legal papers on display. Some old land deeds of 19^th century, some agreements, their peculiar stamps, the circular punches in them so that they couldn’t be re-used – I noticed it all. There was also created a court like appearance with a judge’s chair, witness stand etc. In one of the glass casings there was an ‘Advocate’s Roll 1924-1949’ having entries and signatures of Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala dated 6^thSeptember, 1946. It also had those of Taraporewala dated 15^th July 1946. A little ahead it had the ‘attorney’s roll 1824-1976’. One of the names was of Darius Jehangir Kakalia dated 21^st October, 1976. Another one had a ‘Letters Patent’ of King George III of 1797 establishing recorder’s court.

Near the exit was another long display of fiscal of princely states of India, namely: Baroda state, Benares state, Gwalior state, Mysore state amongst many more. Because of the not so orderly arrangement and no directions whatsoever I somehow ended covering the middle of the exhibition towards the last. And it was the best. It had the application of 1923 for admission as advocate of Mr. Ambedkar signed ‘I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant’. That sign was humbling enough. Then it had a gem. The application of Mr. M.K. Gandhi dated 16^thNovember, 1891 for admission. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at it for minutes together. It was like seeing a small part of history live. And I did notice the three tiny slanted lines for cancelling an incomplete letter between the alphabets of ‘c’ and ‘t’ in ‘practise’. That was monumental I would say. A cancellation signaling he almost committed a spelling mistake in his application and was right in front of me!

Few more wonders followed. The order or whatever it was admitting Mr. Vallabhai Javerbhai Patel as an advocate date 14^thFebruary, 1913. I couldn’t help but make a mental note of the spelling of ‘Vallabh’ mentioned below the display. Then there was a request by Mr. B.G. Tilak for supply of prints of evidence. It was followed by an application dated 18^thAugust 1896 of Mr. M.A. Jinnah for admission as advocate. And most surprisingly, there was an order dated 17^th January, 1923 for “removal of the name of – Prisoner M.K. Gandhi from the, Roll of Barristers”. This was exactly what was mentioned on the old paper. The huge but spartan chandeliers had large spherical glass coverings seeming like orbs of clairvoyance.

After viewing all of this I went for a second time near the application of Mr. M.K. Gandhi. I stood so near to it that had it not been for the glass separating me from it I could have smelled it. Whenever I get my hands on a book I first smell it. It gives me a sense of pleasure. Then I headed towards the exit and there were hundreds of photographs in black and white of people of Bombay – of tailors, washer men, fishermen, monkey charmers, women, and nurses and alike. And finally before exiting I went near Mr. M.K. Gandhi’s application for a third time to bask in the palpable greatness emanating from that withered paper. ‘Withered Papyrus’ may I mention…

Review: Arab Spring, Libyan Winter by Vijay Prashad

Arab Spring, Libyan Winter

Vijay Prashad is one of my favorite columnists. He writes regularly in Frontline magazine. Only a recent search on Wikipedia made me realize that he is bigger than he seems. He has written a lot of books and regularly contributes to various journals and magazines. My first reaction when this book was recommended to me was that I got to have this book. After all Vijay has been writing fantastic articles in Frontline and I read them with utmost attention. But that is where the analytics based recommendations fall short. The description said it has 271 pages so it must not be a huge book but definitely should make good for understanding the recent political upheavals in Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia and Syria.

I could see the book only when I went to my hometown because that’s where I got it delivered. And the book is so tiny that it fits along the length of my palm! And the font is quite small for a comfortable read or I felt so because of the small sized pages. The appearance, the font, and the dull front cover seemed prophetically ominous. But the only saving grace was the author himself. Had it not been for him, I probably wouldn’t have bought this book. And when I started reading it the rundown editing stared back at me. There are a lot of places where words are missing. It looks like the book was hurriedly published lest it becomes outdated given the fact that the region’s changes are happening at an alarming speed.

This book is full of glaring and interesting facts. I didn’t know that the United States gets most of its oil “not from the Middle East. Rather, it gets its oil from the Americas (Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and domestic production), from Africa (Nigeria and Angola), as well as from Saudi Arabia and Iraq”. And that “it is not the physical delivery of Middle East oil to the United States that is the issue, simply that the oil must be kept flowing to maintain low oil prices and to enable industrial society to proceed at its exponential pace”. All of this is followed by the commendable analysis of the United States’ four pillars in West Asia. The first one being the reliance of US on the region’s oil – as mentioned earlier not in terms of physical reliance, but economic one as the global economy is interlinked. The second one is that “the allies of the Arab world must stand firm with Atlantic powers in its war on terror”. The third one: “Arab allies have to tether their populations’ more radical ambitions vis-à-vis Israel”. And lastly “to circumvent Iranian Revisionism against the status quo”.

On the front cover ‘Arab Spring’ is smaller than ‘Libyan Winter’, and so is the coverage of these two topics, though the latter is not entirely independent from the former. The author gives solid background for the events that took place in Egypt and Tunisia, but lesser so about Bahrain and Yemen, and none about Syria. It proves how Muslim Brotherhood’s gains in Egypt given headaches to America and Israel. And then starts the Libyan part. It brings out surprising facts and almost awes you with the personality and rule of Muammar Gaddafi. But when the author starts writing about the current events and sets up a context for it, that is when this book loses its charm because so much is covered in a few pages. From this point onwards it seemed like you are reading a journal of entries stating what all important events have taken place rather than detailed commentary by the author. After one point it becomes too much to make sense of. Before the complexity of the last line is gulped down, the reader is bombarded with darker implications of the current one and only to be caught unawares in the web of the next one. Honestly speaking, I couldn’t understand much in the latter part of this book. There are too many individuals named, too many places, too many correlations to events of the past – not that they are not required – it is surely something you expect out of a good book – but here you are pushed into the quagmire without a helping hand.

I cannot truthfully review a book unless I understand it completely. Hence, I will read this book once more – real slow this time – to make sure I understand most of what it is saying. Should you read this book? Probably yes but only after reading something else which is better edited and has more of commentary than plain facts.