Friday July 31, 2009
Hopes for the nation
Complied by ROUWEN LIN
Moving Ahead
Author: Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak
Publisher: MPH Publishing, 244 pages
THE sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia introduces his concept of 1Malaysia and his aspirations to serve the country.
In this compilation of speeches made this year and during his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister, he makes known to citizens that he is committed in providing strong leadership to weather the current economic situation. The book also highlights his efforts in strengthening international relations, with focus on Malaysia-China ties.
The War Within
Author: Bob Woodward
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 487 pages
WASHINGTON Post reporter Bob Woodward conducted 150 interviews, including three hours with President George Bush, to write this book – the fourth in a series of books on Bush and his administrative foreign policy. It delves into controversial matters of the United States’ political and military involvement in Iraq and draws conclusions about Bush’s intolerance of dissent and poor management of the Iraq policy.
This book provides the reader with an invaluable record of what was said and done at pivotal junctures during the Bush presidency.
The book also presents a chronological weekly account of events and their consequences from the post-9/11 attack in Afghanistan to the Iraq surge strategy implemented in 2007.
Living On The Periphery
Author: Nobuta Toshihiro
Publisher: Centre for Orang Asli
Concerns, 370 pages
WHAT started out as a study on the survival strategies of the orang asli in Malaysia escalated into something bigger when the author found himself being confronted with a religious element influencing their social and economic relations. This book offers an insight into a different world view of the orang asli in the wake of state-led development: their control of local resources, the consequences of Islamic pressure, and their close relations with both Chinese and Malays, including intermarriage, over many generations.
How I Caused The Credit Crunch
Author: Tetsuya Ishikawa
Publisher: Icon Books, 356 pages
A YOUNG Oxford graduate finds himself in command of vast sums of other people’s money despite being a newcomer to the mysteries of hedge funds and subprime mortgages. He fixes deals worth billions of dollars in bars, brothels and trading floors of London, New York, Frankfurt and Tokyo. The book traces seven years at the forefront of credit markets and analyses the worst recession the world has known since the 1930s. Financial instruments associated with the credit crunch are discussed at length and the collective folly and greed at the heart of the banking crisis is exposed in this book on 21st century banking excess.
Eat This, Not That!
Authors: David Zinczenko and
Matt Goulding
Publisher: Rodale Books, 336 pages
YOU are faced with food decisions every day, whether you are in your kitchen, a restaurant, or the supermarket.
This book provides the reader with instant access to insider information that will help you make the right nutritional choice each time. It sports colourful illustrations of food brands (available in American supermarkets) accompanied by calorie information and data on transfats and other things you might want to keep tabs on. Tips on misguided taglines and hidden calories are also highlighted for the savvy consumer who is concerned about the neglect of proper nutrition in our hectic lives.
Believe Me
Author: Nina Killham
Publisher: Plume, 291 pages
THIRTEEN-year-old Nic Delano has a lot of questions, but his mother, Lucy, an astrophysicist and atheist, doesn’t like the answers he has been getting since he started hanging out with a group of devout Christians. As far as she is concerned, the bible embraces a contradictory view of the heavens that she has raised Nic on.
Things could hardly get worse after an enthusiastic African pastor settles into their guest bedroom and insists on saying grace at the dining table. But when unexpected tragedy strikes, Lucy and Nic’s beliefs are put to the test. Where faith meets science in a clash of wills, which will ultimately stand the test of time?
A Buddhist Disciple Muk Tho’s Journey Of Spiritual Mystic
Author: R. Sharma
Publisher: Pristine Books, 159 pages
WHEN one experiences a mystical encounter at the age of five, it is termed a magic trick. But as the author gets older and becomes more in touch with his spiritual side, he realises that there is more than meets the eye than mere trickery and coincidences.
According to Sharma, spirituality cannot be intellectualised as it transcends values, cultures, philosophies and doctrines – it can only be learned, understood and put into practice in everyday life.
RSS
