Inside the crime world, exploring the Silk Route, eradicating poverty, a dose of mythology (IANS Books This Weekend)

New Delhi, Nov 17 Embark on a thrilling journey with inside stories of Mumbai’s mafia world — of fearless hitmen from the city who have got haunting stories of themselves to tell; explore the Silk Route and the eight countries it traverses.
Next up, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus pens his ideology and his manner of eradicating poverty. And finally, a dose of mythology — Kartikeya, the mysterious and misunderstood son of Mahadeva. There is nothing more diverse that the IANS bookshelf could offer this week. Read on.
1) Book: The Dirty Dozen; Author: Gabriel Khan; Publisher: Westland: Pages: 226; Price: Rs 350.
When it comes to crime thrillers, Mumbai has always been the backdrop and in Gabriel Khan’s latest book, the city is again witness to the crimes happening in its shadow. Here’s the story of Munna Jhingada, Farid Tanasha, Baba Reddy — hitmen and executioners all — and each with haunting tales to tell.
These executioners have no remorse; they are the men who strike fear of their boss in everybody’s heart. In their short reign of terror, they leave a trail of devastation in their wake. In this no-holds barred book, undercover reporter Gabriel Khan, backed by years of behind-the-scenes work, provides an insight into the lives of 12 of the most vicious and fearless hitmen of Mumbai.
2) Book: Seyyah; Author: Gautham Reddy Nallavari; Publisher: Notion Press; Pages: 359; Price: Rs 526.
Just as Marco Polo, Alexander and Chenghis Khan set out on a road journey to explore places, author Gautham Reddy Nallavari too went along the Silk Road and visited eight countries — Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Hong Kong.
The book explores the adventure of travelling by land and re-exploring the paths of ancient traders and conquerors and also observing the diverse cultures, ideas, religions, food and customs along the Silk Road. Part travelogue, part historical interpretation and part geo-political and economic investigation, the book moves between various schools of thought, observations, analyses and perspectives regarding the Silk Road.
3) Book: A World of Three Zeros; Author: Muhammad Yunus; Publisher: Hachette India; Pages: 288; Price: Rs 599.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who works for alleviating poverty, thinks that the capitalist engine is broken and will lead to massive unemployment and environment destruction. And he believes that there is need of a new economic system that unleashes altruism as a creative force.
In his new book, Yunus describes the new civilisation emerging from the economic experiments his work has helped to inspire. He also invites young people, businesses, political leaders and ordinary citizens to join the movement and help create the better world we all dream of.
4) Book: Kartikeya The Destroyer’s Son; Author: Anuja Chandramouli; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 230; Price: Rs 295.
Born from the flames of a desperate need, an ardent desire and an utmost devastation, Kartikeya was distilled with the terrible powers of Mahadeva, making him the fiercest and most deadly. Many were the wars he fought and the tyrants he slew, yet his gifts to humanity have always been those of mercy, compassion and love.
What makes this possible? For Kartikeya, there have always been more questions than answers. Did he really walk away from his family over a piece of fruit? What of the women in his life? Was he the ravisher he is sometimes accused of being, or the protector of women? Author Anuja Chandramoul weaves together myth, imagination and folklore while looking to answer these questions and recreates for modern readers the story of one of the most enigmatic gods — Kartikeya.
–IANS