Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) One of the best ways to chill out in summer is with a book and here is a pile that provokes and excites:

1. “Flashback: My Life and Times in Bollywood and Beyond”; Written by Bob Christo; Published by Penguin India; Price: Rs.399

Bob Christo played Bollywood baddie scores of time, including in hit movies like “Qurbani”, “Namak Halal”, “Mard”, “Mr India” and “Agneepath”. If there was a fight to be picked up with the hero, a village to be terrorised and an immoral foreigner to rule the underworld in snazzy suits and expensive eye shades, it would be Bob with his beefy shoulders.

Bob had 200 movies and 15 television serials in his kitty in a career spanning 20 years. The book is a memorable autobiography of the journey of a civil engineer from Australia who travelled all over the world and wrestled with his demons to become one of Bollywood’s most prolific villains.

2. “The Corner Office: How Top CEO’s Made It and How You Can Too”; Written by Adam Bryant; Published by Harper-Collins India; Price: Rs.399

What does it take to reach the top in business and to inspire others? The writer, a deputy national editor of The New York Times, decided to answer this and other questions by sitting down with more than 70 CEOs and asking them how they do their jobs and the most important lesson they have learnt as they rose through the ranks.

He demystifies the art of leadership and shows how executives at the top of their game get the most out of others.

3. “Figure It Out: The Ultimate Guide to Teen Fitness”; Written by Namita Jain; Published by Penguin Books India; Price: Rs.199

A healthy lifestyle, glowing skin and a well-toned body: the new mantra for the fit and fab teen! Who doesn’t want to look good? And what if you could also learn the secret to a healthy lifestyle?

Fitness expert Namita Jain tells readers how to fight the fat, rate your fitness quotient, remodel your body, build up stamina, snack sensibly, tackle body changes during puberty, get the coveted six-pack abs and stay fit even if you hate exercising!

4. “Granta 115: The F Word (an anthology)”; Distributed by Penguin Books India;
Price: Rs.962

From Ghana to Great Britain, New Delhi to New York, the balance of power remains tipped towards men. “Granta 115: The F Word” explores the ways in which feminism continues to inform, address and complicate that balance. Women in the 21st century - from Kent to Accra - still live in a world in which the balance of power remains tipped towards men.

This bold, political issue of Granta will explore this dynamic from a wide variety of literary genres and perspectives. The high point of the book is a story by Indian publisher and author Urvashi Butalia, about a trans-sexual in India who discovers the obstacles of her adopted sex.

5. “Guaranteed to Fail: Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac and the Debacle of Mortgage Business”; Written by Viral V. Acharya, Matthew Richardson, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Lawrence J. White; Published by Harper Collins India, Price: Rs.399

The financial collapse of enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008 is one of the most sweeping government interventions in private financial markets in history. The bailout has already cost American tax payers close to $150 billion and substantially more will be needed.

The book explains how poorly designed government guarantees for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led to the debacle of mortgage finance in the US, weighs different reform proposals, and provides sensible practical recommendations.