Experimental Blog #31

Comments on 2 books

"Maharanis" - The Extraordinay Tale of Four Indian Queens and Their Journey from Purdah to Parliament by Lucy Moore

This book covers the lives of 4 queens, Maharanis, of India who lived in two small and one large Princely States in the northern part of India. The first lady was born in 1865, and the last of the 4 was still living in 2004 when this book was published.
The book also provides a very interesting and informative description of the history and society during this period of the British Raj, or rule, and the earlier years of independence.
Everybody has heard about the Brahmins of India, but not so many outsiders remember the Kshatriya, or warrior caste, who were probably the real rulers of India before the arrival of the British, and in tandem with them, but not quite equal to them, during the British colonial period.


"How Capitalism Will Save Us" - Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy by Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames

It seemed that at least one half of the time I did not really understand very well what these authors were writing about; that is, all the many details and specifics of modern American finance and computer tecnology.
Besides that, the principle title of the book, that is, without the subtitle, can hardly be taken entirely seriously; and, at times, the writing seemed even somewhat peculiar.
However, these things notwithstanding, the authors took up at least 77 questions in economics, business, and government. And always refering to their "Real World" way of evaluation, it seems that they answered them all very expertly and persuasively; often surprisingly demolishing long and widely held, maybe even "sacred", liberal political views on these matters.