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Forbidden Treasure
A cache of treasure of unimaginable value lies hidden far away in a corner of the earth, amassed over hundreds of years by the rulers of the Kingdom of Allegiance. A quirk of fate brings together a group of young patriots who in their quest to discover the hidden treasure methodically unravel the clues left behind. Will the determination of the Patriots prevail or will they fall victim to the evil intentions of the dark forces? Gripping and ridden with suspense at every turn, The Patriots Legacy: Forbidden Treasure is a maze of unforgettable adventures with twists and turns that will leave you enthralled.
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Casino Royale
'A dry martini,' Bond said. 'In a deep champagne goblet. Three measures of Gordons, one of Vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice cold, then add a thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?' 'Certainly, monsieur.' Introducing James Bond: charming, sophisticated, handsome; chillingly ruthless and very deadly. This, the first of Fleming's tales of agent 007, finds Bond on a mission to neutralize a lethal, high-rolling Russian operative called simply 'The Cypher' - by ruining him at the Baccarat table and forcing his Soviet spymasters to 'retire' him. It seems that lady luck is taken with James - The Cypher has hit a losing streak. But some people just refuse to play by the rules and Bond's attraction to a beautiful female agent leads him to disaster and an unexpected saviour ...
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From Bihar to Tihar
No one has made quite such an electrifying political debut in India in recent history. In March 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar the president of the JNU Students Union was arrested on charges of sedition, locked up in Tihar Jail and beaten up by lawyers in Patiala House court. He came out of the crisis as a young political star, dubbed by the BBC as 'India's most loved and loathed student'. This is his story - from his childhood in rural Bihar, college days in Patna, to his political coming of age in Delhi. And it is told in his extraordinary voice - colourful, witty, eloquent, and raw. Bihar to Tihar is the story of a young political star in the making and a rare window into the lives of small town young Indians and their aspirations
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You Too Can
A Velumani slept on a railway platform on his first day in Mumbai. Dhruv Shringi got fired from his job in London. And Irfan Razack was a salesman in a readymade garment store in Bengaluru. All of them went on to set up their own businesses. How did they do it? Bestselling author Prakash Iyer takes you up close and personal with twenty Indian entrepreneurs as they share what inspired them, what keeps them going and what we can all learn from them. What does Abhishek Lodha do that makes his employees want to go the extra mile? What is serial entrepreneur Meena Ganesh's secret to finding work-life balance? And what lesson did Gaurav Marya learn from a test match that ended early? You Too Can is filled with stories that celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit. Stories of success, and struggle and survival too. Stories of people starting up, making progress, enjoying the ride and hoping they will make it to the finish line. If there is one, that is. Hopefully, you will find a story that rings a bell, connects, and inspires you. There are business lessons. And several life-lessons too. Success leaves tracks. Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee, a housewife or a student, here’s your chance to learn from men and women who unleashed the entrepreneur within them. They did it. And now, You Too Can.
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Why People Give
Why do people really give? does giving indicate a kind heart? is altruism about feeling good or is there more to it? we regularly see numerous displays of altruistic behaviour and instances of philanthropy, where the beneficiaries are often complete strangers. We cannot understand philanthropy without considering the motivation for giving: why people give, their beliefs and, more importantly, the realisation that in giving we receive. This book is passionately argued, deeply researched and full of indelible stories of real people. The authors build a case for altruism and the urgent need for empathy in an increasingly self-centred and materialistic world. Through stories drawn from real life, This book will change how we look at the Act of giving. It shows that each one of us can bring about a change, if only we have the will. We don’t have to wait for governments or big corporations to act because the power lies within us—we can be the catalysts. excerpt ‘In a more cynical and brutal world, newspaper headlines no longer stun us. Our apathy is so strong. A girl is abandoned, daughters killed, women raped, and families found murdered. These stories no longer move us. Ponzi schemes bankrupt families, farmers commit suicide. Millionaires are made, and some led to prison. ‘Karma,’ we mutter ‘catching up’. ingenuous ways to multiply and quadruple wealth and dodge tax are revealed daily. All the while, the same people are seen supporting the latest causes, visiting the temples and houses of prayer, and washing their sins through giving. Is this truly charity? Is it altruism or merely selfish behaviour?’.
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Titan Inside Indias Most Successful Consumer Brand
When Titan Company Limited launched its quartz watches some 30 years ago, the founders - a merry bunch of Tata employees who started out simply wanting 'to do something different' - could not have foreseen just how completely they would capture the imagination of Indian consumers in the post-liberalization era of the 1990s. The brand they created - at first against tremendous odds and restrictive norms - injected freshness into the market and in retail spaces through its cutting-edge marketing strategy and empathetic advertising. Not only did the new watchmakers on the block transform watches from being utilitarian objects to fashion statements, but it also systematically ventured into areas untapped by corporate entities with its brands Titan, Tanishq, Titan Eyeplus, Skinn and Taneira, and established itself as a winner across multiple verticals. Titan: Inside India's Most Successful Consumer Brand takes readers from boardrooms to back rooms to reveal how a quintessential Indian brand from the house of the Tatas, not known till then for its success in the consumer goods market, reached such remarkable heights. It is a tale of innovation and fortitude, of thinking outside the box and staying the course, of obsession with detail and the courage to acknowledge failure. A story that will inspire every reader, here is the inside account of what continues to make Titan tick.
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When the Penny Drops
An invaluable source of inspiration to help leaders understand themselves and overcome their barriers to success For centuries, we have learnt what’s not taught through our own experiences and the stories of others. Even today, only 3 per cent of leadership development occurs due to classroom training. In fact, for most managers, ‘the penny drops’ only when we are at the end of our careers. In this book, R. Gopalakrishnan shares some valuable learnings from his decades of corporate experience, through a series of engaging stories. When the Penny Drops encourages you to
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The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists
So you’ve started a business or you’re planning to do it now or in the future. As an entrepreneur you’ll be busier than ever. With so many things to consider it’s a real challenge stay on top of things, let alone one step ahead. The Entrepreneur’s Book o
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Fly Hasina Fly
Meet Hasina Mansoor, vending machine attendant at the Airport Departure Lounge. From her vantage point, Hasina watches the planes take off outside the glass doors and secretly dreams of being on (even piloting) one of them. While selling overpriced tea isn't getting her any closer to that, Hasina keeps her spirits up by making friends (and enemies) among the other airport staff, including the treacherous Cookie Lady, the know-it-all Coupon Man, the beautiful Natasha Singh and her tasbih-wielding boss, Haji Osman. Home is no less mine-filled, with a twin-sister who demands money constantly, a little brother who doesn't look like he's going to pass his fourth class and parents who are more concerned with the ongoing feud with the upstairs neighbours, Laila auntie's family. Hasina's secret love affair with her cousin, Eza, is a spark of joy in this homestead of constant worry and absurdity, but can she trust him completely? A darkly humorous, touching story, Fly, Hasina, Fly (previously published as Tales from a Vending Machine) will stay with readers long after their flight has landed.
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Behold I Make All Things New
In 2015, a historic panel discussion took place at the global Festival of Theology held in Sweden. Its objective was to examine what the sacred texts of the Abrahamic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - had to say about human sexuality. Behold, I Make All Things New is the outcome of the effort. This is a landmark work that recasts religion - especially Abrahamic faiths - as an ally and not an adversary of queer emancipation, and thus significantly informs the secular and legal movements for LGBTQ rights around the world. It follows in the same vein as I Am Divine, So Are You (2017), which put forth perspectives on sexuality from the Karmic faiths of Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism, and played a small but significant role in the reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Taken together, the two groundbreaking books expand the conversation between world religions and human sexuality to a truly global level.
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Oil Politics, Poverty & The Planet
The book highlights political and social issues in the global energy sector the domestic inequality, civil conflict and widespread poverty that dependence on oil exports inflicts on developing countries and the strategies of wealthy countries (especially the United States) to control oil-rich regions. Here is a book that addresses what is perhaps the most pervasive and destabilizing of the issues facing humanity.
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Rokda How Baniyas Do Business
Baniya - a derivative of the Sanskrit word Vanij, is a term synonymous with India's trader class. Over the decades, these capitalists spread their footprint across vast sectors of the economy from steel and mining to telecom and retail. And now even e-tail. Nikhil Inamdar's Rokda features the stories of a few pioneering men from this mercantile community - Radheshyam Agarwal and Radheshyam Goenka, founders of the cosmetic major Emami, Rohit Bansal, co-founder of Snapdeal, Neeraj Gupta, founder of Meru Cabs and V.K. Bansal, a humble mathematics tutor whose genius spawned a massive coaching industry in Kota - amongst others. Through the triumphs and tribulations of these men in the epoch marking India's entire post independence struggle with entrepreneurship from the License Raj to the opening up of the floodgates in 1991 and the dawn of the digital era - Rokda seeks to uncover the indomitable spirit of the Baniya.
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Non Stop India
Jugaar can loosely be translated as muddling through, or making do. This is undoubtedly a valuable talent and has seen India through numerous crises which could have destabilized a country that is less adaptable—four wars, for example. But while jugaar can be seen to have served India well in the past, it has a downside. It has led to a dangerous complacency, the belief that as India has muddled through so many times before, there is no need for urgency in tackling the problems it faces. In Non Stop India veteran journalist Mark Tully draws on his unmatched knowledge of India, garnered from thirty years of living in, and reporting from, the country, to examine how this approach impacts on her much-touted prospects of becoming an economic super-power. From Maoist conflicts to huge industrial houses; from the Tiger project to farmer suicides; from the Ramayana to the remote valleys of the north-east, Tully examines India’s myriad negotiations with modernity and her prospects for the next century and beyond.
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Asian Juggernaut The Rise Of China India And Japan
A revelatory narrative marked by an incisive and insightful analysis of Asia's pivotal role on the world stage... A resurgent Asia is now emerging as the global pivot. With the world's fastest-growing markets, fastest-rising military expenditures and most serious hot spots, Asia holds the key to the future global order. Underpinning its renaissance, Asia has become the world's economic locomotive even as its arts, fashion and cuisine regain international recognition. Yet, with interstate competition sharpening, Asia faces complex security, energy and developmental challenges in an era of globalization, including how to move beyond historical legacies and tap its dynamism for greater prosperity and well-being. The colossal shift in global geopolitics presents new opportunities to Asia and tests its ability to assume a bigger role in international relations. This book examines the ascent of Asia by focusing on its three main powers - China, India and Japan. A qualitative reordering of power in an Asia characterized by tectonic shifts is challenging strategic stability and affecting equations between these powers. How the China-Japan, China-India and Japan-India equations evolve in the coming years will have a crucial bearing on Asian and global security. Constituting a strategic triangle, these powers are Asia's largest economies. Their interests are getting so intertwined that the pursuit of unilateral solutions by any one of them will disturb the peaceful environment on which their continued economic growth and security depend. The author analyses the ramifications of the emerging Chinese colossus. He also highlights the fact that Japan's quiet, undeclared transition from pacifism to a 'normal' state will help shape the future of Asian and global geopolitics. Even as it has reinvigorated its military ties with the United States, Japan is beginning to rethink its security and international role. The third major Asian player, India, is coming of age by displaying greater realism in economic and foreign policies and moving towards geopolitical pragmatism. India now recognizes that it can wield international power only by building up its economic and military strength. A strong China, a strong Japan and a strong India need to find ways to reconcile their interests in Asia so that they can peacefully coexist and prosper. Given that these powers have not all been strong at the same time before in history, stable political relationships between them are central to Asian security. The book sets out how all states in Asia could benefit from cooperative approaches in which China, India and Japan take the lead.
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Rigged
Rigged tells an incredible rags-to-riches story of David Russo, an Italian-American upstart from the streets of Brooklyn who claws his way into the wild, frenetic world of the testosterone-laced warrens of the Merc Exchange, the asylum-like oil trading center located in lower Manhattan where billions of dollars trade hands every week, a place where former garbagemen become millionaires overnight and fistfights break out on the trading floor. But the Merc is just the starting place of an adventure that leads David to private yachts in Monte Carlo, the gold-lined hotel palaces of Dubai, and dangerous deals in the back alleys of Beijing. Rigged tells the true story of one man's adventure to revolutionize the oil trading industry - and along with it, the world.
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Secrets of the Code
Readers of Dan Brown's extraordinary bestseller The Da Vinci Code are fascinated by the questions raised in the novel. Was Jesus actually married to Mary Magdalene? Was she one of his disciples and did she write her own gospel? Did they have a child together? Did some geniuses of art and science, people like Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton, belong to secret societies that had the most compelling insider information in history, and did Leonardo convey some of these ideas in The Last Supper and other paintings? Secrets of the Code is the definitive guide to the novel and provides the curious reader with authoritative explorations into the major themes within The Da Vinci Code. Dan Burstein has distilled the views of the experts - archaeologists, theologians, art historians, philosophers and scientists - to sort out fact, informed speculation and fiction. Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorised Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code will delight and engage everyone who finished The Da Vinci Code thinking, 'I need to know more about this book.'
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Investment Fables
The world is full of investment stories: "Buy companies trading below book value, and you can't lose." "Buy stocks that are already going up." "Buy stocks with low P/Es." "Stick with quality companies and you'll do fine." "Buy after bad news." "Buy after good news." "Follow the insiders." "Do whatever Warren Buffett's doing." Investors have heard them all--but which ones hold up to critical examination? Do any of them? In this book, one of the world's leading investment researchers identifies 14 widely touted "investment stories," and the psychological reasons that make each story so compelling. Then he runs the numbers—objectively. Has it worked over the long-term? Over the short-term? If it made sense once, does it still make sense? Are the promised benefits a statistical mirage? Can it contribute to any individual's investment strategy? Anyone who wants to make investment decisions more rationally, Aswath Damodaran's Investment Fables is utterly indispensable.
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The Duke's Stolen Bride
USA Today Bestseller! From USA Today bestselling author Sophie Jordan comes a scandalously sensual romance in her beloved Rogue Files series. “Deliciously sexy!”—Sarah MacLean, New York Times bestselling author An urgent dilemma… To save her impoverished family, Marian Langley will become a mistress. But she will not be just any mistress. Marian intends to become so skilled, so coveted, that she can set her own terms, retaining control over her body and her fate. Only one problem remains: finding a tutor… A scandalous solution… Other men deprive themselves of pleasure for propriety’s sake. Nathaniel, Duke of Warrington, would much rather be depraved. He slakes his desires with professionals who ask nothing of him but his coin. Marian’s proposal—that he train her without taking her virtue—is an intriguing diversion, until their lessons in seduction spin out of control. And a most unlikely duchess… When Marian is blackmailed into engagement by a man she despises, Nate impulsively steals her away. Though he never intended to take a wife, he can’t tolerate the idea of Marian forfeiting her freedom to another. But can he bear to give her what she demands—a real marriage?
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My Favorite Things
Three classic tales of Christmas and love, together for the first time, from New York Times Bestselling Author Lynsay Sands! All I Want With Lady Prudence’s father gambling away the family’s savings, all she wants for Christmas is to haul him away from London’s most notorious gaming hell. Yet the wickedly handsome proprietor, Lord Stockton, refuses to let a lady enter his establishment. Now Pru needs a Christmas miracle to make her wish come true—and to resist succumbing to Stockton’s charms. Three French Hens Brinna’s life as a scullery maid changes with the arrival of the castle’s newest guest, Lady Joan. Desperate to escape an arranged marriage, Joan suggests that look-alike Brinna take her place at the Christmas festivities. Suddenly, Brinna finds herself being wooed by a true gentleman, and getting the best Christmas present of all: a new life. The Fairy Godmother Odel is told by her godmother that she must marry by Christmas, and even gives her fairy dust to separate the mice from the men. But Odel has sworn off love…until kind and generous Michel catches her eye. He shows Odel how good it can feel to fall in love, but will it be enough to convince Odel to trust her heart?
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The Vault of Vishnu
A Pallava prince travels to Cambodia to be crowned king, carrying with him secrets that will be the cause of great wars many centuries later. A Buddhist monk in ancient China treks south to India, searching for the missing pieces of a puzzle that could make his emperor all-powerful. A Neolithic tribe fights to preserve their sacred knowledge, oblivious to the war drums on the Indo-China border. Meanwhile, far away in the temple town of Kanchipuram, a reclusive scientist deciphers ancient texts even as a team of secret agents shadows his every move. Caught in the storm is a young investigator with a complex past of her own, who must race against time to maintain the balance of power in the new world. Welcome back to the exciting and shadowy world of Ashwin Sanghi, where myth and history blend into edge-of-the-seat action.
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Broken Stars
A new anthology of Chinese short-fiction by award winning author Ken Liu. Here are sixteen short stories from China's groundbreaking SFF writers, edited and translated by award-winning author Ken Liu. In Hugo award-winner Liu Cixin's 'Moonlight', a man is contacted by three future versions of himself, each trying to save their world from destruction. Hao Jingfang's 'The New Year Train' sees 1,500 passengers go missing on a train that vanishes into space. In the title story by Tang Fei, a young girl is shown how the stars can reveal the future. In addition, three essays explore the history and rise of Chinese SFF publishing, contemporary Chinese fandom, and how the growing interest in Chinese SFF has impacted writers who had long laboured in obscurity. By turns dazzling, melancholy and thought-provoking, Broken Stars celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of SFF voices emerging from China. 'Dreamlike and hypnotic, evocative and inspiring' THE BOOKBAG. 'Ken Liu is a genius' ELIZABETH BEAR. 'An instant classic ... Poetry on every page' HUGH HOWEY.
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Trending in Love
Sanam is a carefree, but headstrong young girl. A spat with a politician's son pushes her take up a big challenge-to become an IAS. At the same time, a small-town boy, Aamir, is nudged into studying for the civil services too. Their hard work pays off when both become rank holders. And soon their lives come together at the IAS Training Academy, Mussoorie. Love blossoms, but when they decide to spend their lives together, all hell breaks loose. Their religious difference become a reason for clashes between the two communities, social media explodes and things take a dangerous turn. It seems hate has triumphed over love. What will be Sanam and Aamir's fate? A heady mix of dreams and desire, this is a story of undying love in the face of our society's most dangerous beliefs.
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Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master
The author Sri 'M' is an extraordinary individual. His uniqueness lies not only in the fact that at the young age of 19 and a half, he travelled to snow clad Himalayas from Kerala, and there he met and lived for several years with a 'real-time' yogi, Babaji, but also that he should undertake such an unusual and adventurous exploration, given his non-Hindu birth and antecedents. The metamorphosis of Mumtaz Ali Khan into Sri 'M', a yogi with profound knowledge of the Upanishads and deep personal insights, born of first hand experiences with higher levels of consciousness is indeed a fascinating story. Sri M was born in Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala. At the age of nineteen and a half, attracted by a strange and irresistible urge to go to the Himalayas, he left home. At the Vyasa Cave, beyond the Himalayan shrine of Badrinath, he met his Master and lived with him for three and a half years, wandering freely, the length and breadth of the snow clad Himalayan region. What he learnt from his Master Maheshwarnath Babaji, transformed his consciousness totally. Back in the plains, he, as instructed by his Master, lived a normal life, working for a living, fulfilling his social commitments and at the same time preparing himself to teach all that he had learnt and experienced. At a signal from his Master he entered the teaching phase of his life. Today, he travels all over the world to share his experiences and knowledge.
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The Endgame
‘A bold and haunting novel’ ANITA NAIR ‘[A] compelling story that reflects upon the human spirit’ RAJDEEP SARDESAI Saddam Hussein is dead, but there’s no end to war in Iraq. Armed with a reputation for daredevilry, reporter Tejaswini Ray arrives from New York to cover the conflict and is immediately enmeshed in a skirmish with Commander Luke of the US Marine Corps. Bound by Luke’s strict censorship rules, Tejaswini – Tejo – revolts, her coverage of the death of American soldiers killed by landmines draws the world’s attention to a futile war and invites the Commander’s ire. Tejo’s uneasy mission is further troubled by her chance encounter with Shabnam – a young woman trafficked from India and sold into slavery at the Marine camp. Drawn together by an unlikely bond, the two find solace amidst the carnage, but their friendship reveals a secret that links them back to the very beginning of their lives. When the war threatens their camp, Tejo and Shabnam abandon the Marines and embark on an audacious journey. But will they escape the dangers, or will their past invade the present, reversing the wheel of time to hasten the end?