New on Shelves: ‘The Phoenix Rises’, ‘Gaza: The Story of a Genocide’, and more

Journalist Jyoti Yadav brings together her immersive reportage on the covid pandemic in India in this new book. Based on her extensive field trips to the remote corners of the country in 2020, along with deep dives into the nationwide health crisis worsened by dubious statistics and distorted official narratives, Faith and Fury tells the India story with courage.

‘Faith and Fury: COVID Dispatches from India’s Hinterlands’, by Jyoti Yadav, Westland Books, 296 pages, ₹599.

This collection of reportage, photography and personal testimonies brings to light the reality of the genocide being wrought upon Gaza. Edited by Fatima Bhutto and Sonia Faleiro, with contributions from leading Palestinian voices, it is an essential read to understand the geopolitical crisis from a political and humanitarian point of view.

‘Gaza: The Story of a Genocide’ , by Fatima Bhutto and Sonia Faleiro, Bloomsbury India, 304 pages, ₹1,199.

In The Phoenix Rises, Raghu and Pushpa Palat tell the story of 18-year-old Kunjipilla, who stepped in to rescue the kingdom of Cochin when it was at a critical crossroads. Under this young ruler’s reign, the state once again attained prosperity while overcoming the toxic collusion between the priestly classes and the Nair nobility.

‘The Phoenix Rises: The Resurrection of Cochin’, by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, Bloomsbury India, 224 pages, ₹499.

This book grapples with AI’s double-edged role in dealing with the climate crisis. On the one hand, smart technologies with their improved powers of prediction can enhance climate resilience. But AI-enabled technology creates an outsized carbon footprint that’s harmful to the planet. The authors explore ways of striking a balance.

‘Smarter Than the Storm’, by Amitabh Kant and Siddharth Sinha, HarperCollins India, 288 pages, ₹799.