Holi Books

For those interested in learning about the development of our national strategy and defense budget since the mid-80s and how we should direct our strategic focus and force structure towards a more economical and effective end, Dr. Cindy Williams' compilation of articles would be a superb choice.

Dr. Williams explains that neither the "business approach", the "NATO and allies burden-sharing approach", nor the "nuclear reductions approach" has achieved the kinds of defense cuts that the government is seeking.

She and six other policy experts explain why these approaches have not worked and what kinds of solutions will work for restructuring the armed forces in line with a "selective engagement" approach to internationalism and in line with reconciling policy-in-theory with policy-in-practice.

I'm only an undergraduate, so I can't speak to how well experts receive the book, but I found it to be very thorough and timely, despite having been published prior to 9-11. One would be hard-pressed to find a consolidation of the recent history and development of defense spending, budget allocations, and national strategy in another book as well-written as this.

Anyone, whether expert or non-expert, with an interest in US national security strategy, military plans and policies, or federal budget priorities more generally, is likely to find this book a very useful, enjoyable and provocative read. The book argues quite persuasively that US national security requirements can be effectively met without significantly increasing defense spending over the next decade. But one doesn't have to agree with this conclusion to find the book extremely valuable. It's nine chapters, each written by a different expert in the defense policy and budget fields, cover the key issues confronting US strategists and defense planners today. These include three different chapters dealing with how the US military should be reshaped to meet emerging new challenges--like the proliferation of cruise and ballistic missiles, and the possible rise of China or another peer competitor--without "breaking the bank." Each of these three chapters suggests a very different approach. One envisions a more dominant role for the Army, while the other two focus on enhanced roles for the Navy and Air Force. But all of them would entail shifting dramatically away from the Defense Department's current plans and posture, and living within essentially today's budget levels. One of the great features of the book is that the chapters generally combine broad policy discussions of key assumptions and issues (e.g., US national interests and the role of military force), with concrete, detailed programmatic and policy recommendations (e.g., which new weapon systems to cancel, or accelerate). In addition to the three chapters already mentioned, the book also contains impressive chapters covering the role of US allies, US nuclear forces, and the potential for making the Defense Department more efficient (including a discussion of the practical limits of such efforts). Lastly, this book comes at an exceedingly opportune time--with the new Bush Administration preparing to soon offer its own, possibly very different, and likely controversial, proposal for how the US military should be changed to better reflect post-Cold War realities.

This book is excellent. It covers a wide variety of topics and areas of interest, including the theory about finance and development, econometric evidence, and institutional issues. It is a great service to the economic profession and to any one interested in what a growing financial system means to the developing world. Unfortunately, it does not cover the important topic of financial crisis, which is clearly relevant to the developing world today; but it offers a solid and broad look at the arguments and issues of financial development in tranquil circumstances.

99

Another great holiday book from Rookie Readers! If only other book companies took time to write books about international holidays as much as Scholastic does.

This book's virtues are its simple text, interesting facts, and beautiful color photographs. There are just 1 or 2 sentences on each two-page layout, with just a couple of pages displaying as many as 3 sentences. However, with these limited words, the book educates the reader about the Hindu story behind Holi, the celebratory traditions of Holi, and the significance of Holi. I especially recommend this 31-page book for readers age 4-8; however, even adults will learn interesting facts about Holi. I never knew what the colored powder was made of, and I had never heard of Princess Holika until I read this book. I also loved the photographs of typical Indian families smiling, celebrating, and enjoying each other's company.

This book would be educational and enjoyable for both Indians and non-Indians, but it does have a couple of minor flaws. One is when the author writes, "Some people visit the temple on Holi." The accompanying photograph shows a kid wearing sneakers, so I doubt he's in a Hindu temple. It's probably some kind of community hall because Hindus never wear shoes in a temple. (However, this flaw is minor because the sneakers are in the background, and you'd have to pay pretty close attention to even notice them).

One thing that is slightly more troublesome is the repetition of 4 non-English words throughout the text; the author never indicates which language they're from. I wish the author had added one sentence like, "These words are from Hindi, the national language of India." I think this would have made things clearer for the many non-Indians who assume all Indians speak the same language, and it's called "Indian."

Minor flaws aside, I did enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it. I learned a lot and loved looking at the pictures!

My 3 year old son just loved this book, the pictures are great, very relevant, and appealing to his age group, and older(visiting 4-6 yr olds have also appreciated this book). They understand the story of good vs evil a little better than he does, but this is an indispensable addition to any S. Asian Hindu who would like to share memories, and create new festival traditions with their children.

Title: Here Comes Holi; The Festival of Colors
Author: Meenal Pandya
Publisher: MeeRa Publications
ISBN: 0-9635539-3-3
Review By: Diana Rohini LaVigne, Indian Life & Style Magazine

Here Comes Holi is a modern-day story telling of an ancient and important story. Children and adults alike will enjoy reading this colorful and easy-to-read book and get a deeper understanding of one of Hindus most celebrated holidays in the calendar year.

The colors, the illustrations and the well-worded text come together to form a beautiful introduction for children to learn more about Holi. Towards the back of the book, the author has put a quick-reference glossary and a short piece on how Holi is celebrated. These two parts are a beautiful addition to the story. `Here Comes Holi'
gives the spirit of the festival and is a great book for any child's bookshelf.

Written and illustrated by Meenal Pandya, Here Comes Holi: The Festival Of Colors retells the ancient East Indian folklore story about the young Prince Prahlad who dared to stand against his powerful and evil father King Hirnakasypu. This struggle of good and evil is associated with the annual festival of Holi that is celebrated throughout India today to welcome the spring. Vibrant color illustrations fully enhance this timeless adventure. Ideal for inclusion in school and community library multicultural picture book and folklore collections, Here Comes Holi: The Festival Of Colors is specially commended as being a most engaging and enjoyable storybook for young people everywhere.

This book presents an in-depth look into the structure and history of the IMF and Wold Bank. Through the use of case studies, the author outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the procedures and culture that have steered these organizations to their current financial and political stature. This thoroughly researched text provides the reader ample statistics and facts to back its conclusions, and stays away from oversimplifications and all-to-common ideological biases.

This book is definitely not in any way pop-nonfiction -- it is written more like a scientifical publification -- so it is tough to comprehend it at times (especially for a non-native with only average English skills). The book is highly rewarding nontheless -- the most balanced and insighting introduction of these two institutions I have read.

It studies the IMF/World Bank effect in Mexico, Russia and Africa, gives a bit of a background of the globalizers and finally comes up with actual ways in how they could be reformed.

If you don't want to be radically pro- or anti-globalization -- only know about it -- this might be the book you should get. It helps if you have some kind of a previous idea about IMF and World Bank.

History is usually written in a serious mode; the same with biography. The authors mostly take the side of their subjects, explaining sympathetically (except in the case of monstrous tyrants like Hitler or Stalin) why such and such happened or why the person did one thing instead of another. I have never come across a biography in which the main figure is treated with considerable irony and sarcasm. De Polnay, whose other works I do not know, writes of Garibaldi with tongue in cheek. Over and over again, he makes humorous comments and ironic asides at the Italian hero's expense. On page 70, the author calls Mazzini the mind and the spirit of Italian liberation. Garibaldi was the sword. "..the trouble often was that Garibaldi thought he had a mind too." p.71 Garibaldi "may have learned a lot while perusing the book of nature in his childhood, but where susceptibilities or finesse were concerned, he remained completely illiterate." p.127 Garibaldi and his forces find themselves in a trap. "Eventually he wriggled out of it, but this he achieved because luck was with him. It need hardly be mentioned that foolhardy temerity was with him too, because with Garibaldi that goes without saying." Large numbers of such comments make this entertaining reading, but when I finished, I was not at all sure that I had understood Garibaldi's place in Italian history or his role in the liberation of Italy from Austria, France, and the reactionary Bourbons. I had met a number of interesting characters, but read entirely too much extraneous material, included, I believe, because the author ran across such stuff during his research, and determined to use it regardless of whether it really added to Garibaldi's story. It is a book full of red herrings. It isn't a fishy work, if you'll pardon the pun ! It's fun to read. You will pick up a lot of knowledge about the legend of Garibaldi --his early years, his time as a sea captain, as a guerrilla leader in the interminable 19th century gaucho wars of South America, and as a fighter with one, unwavering, fixed idea---to liberate Italy and unite it. Also many of the ladies appear here--Garibaldi, at least according to our author, was a ladies' man. If you feel a mite confused at the end about the French role in Italy, about Mazzini's activities, about Cavour and the Kingdom of Piedmont, and about just why everyone was so crazy about Garibaldi, then hey, join me ! But this is history lite so it goes down well and doesn't leave you with a headache the next morning. Evviva Garibaldi !!

P.S. If you want a serious book on Italian history, better look someplace else.