Buddhist Fundamentalism is a series of essays edited by Tessa Bartholomeusz of Florida State University and Chandra de Silva of Old Dominion University in Virginia. The editors use the Fundamentalism Project of Marty, Appleby and others to describe fundamentalism as a reliance on religion as a source of identity; boundary setting that determines who belongs and who does not; dramatic eschatologies [stories which give meaning]; and the dramatisation and mythologisation of enemies, says A Jayantha

When the first American Marines marched into Vietnam in March 1965, historical consensus holds, they were there because there was no alternative. President Johnson's hand had been forced by the right-wing hawks and the Communists. The general public wholeheartedly supported defending South Vietnam, as did America's allies in Europe. That's not really the case, argues Fredrik Logevall, in his provocative thesis--that John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara, and McGeorge Bundy chose to escalate American involvement when the war could have been avoided-- which is well supported by careful archival research and newly declassified documents, writes Subir Ghosh

A lot of work has been done on the impact of rice research, but all that lies scattered. The Manila-based International Rice Research Institute and the Thailand Development Research Institute has attempted to bring together 19 such papers in one volume. The analysts assess the long-term impact of rice research on rice producers and consumers while examining the effect on equity and the environment. Excerpts

In this book, one of the world's leading intellectual historians offers a critical survey of Western historical thought from pre-classical times to the late eighteenth century. Donald R. Kelley ranges across many regions and eras, focusing on persistent themes and methodology and examining how later historians have viewed their predecessors through history, reviews Subir Ghosh

Time is a precious commodity these days. And so when I do get time to read a book, I pray and hope that it will not be a wasted effort. It is a fine balance; staying with trusted authors versus trying out new authors. Over the past few months I have been reading many Indian English authors and I am getting more and more convinced that more often than not I am wasting my time, feels MFM