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March 2010 Selection

Book-139: Tamil Literature (by M. S. Purnalingam Pillai)

Previous Selections

Book-138: Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature (by Kamil V. Zvelebil)

Book-137: History of Tamil Nadu (edite by Frederic P. Miller et al)

Book-136: History and Culture of Tamil Nadu [Volume 1: Up to AD 1310] (by Chithra Madhavan)

Book-135: Studies In Tamil Literature And History (by Ramachandra Dikshitar)

Book-134: Temple Towns of Tamil Nadu (by George Michell)

Book-133: Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution (by R.B. Herath), 2006

Book-132: The Chronology Of The Early Tamils - Based On The Synchronistic Tables Of Their Kings, Chieftains And Poets Appearing In The Sangam Literature (by Sivaraja Pillai)

Book-131: Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity : The Search for Saladin (by Akbar S. Ahmed, Ahmed Akbar)

Book-130: Gandhi on Non-Violence by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (edited by Thomas Merton)

Book-129: Like Hidden Fire : The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire by Peter Hopkirk

Book-128: The Cold War on the Periphery : The United States, India, and Pakistan by Robert J. McMahon

Book-127: Kashmir in Conflict : India, Pakistan and the Unfinished War by Victoria Schofield

Book-126: The Secret Politics of Our Desires : Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema by Ashis Nandy (Editor)

Book-125: India and Pakistan : The First Fifty Years (Woodrow Wilson Center Series) by Selig S. Harrison, Paul H. Kreisberg and Dennis Kux (Editors)

Book-124: War at the Top of the World : The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet (by Eric S. Margolis)

Book-123: Engaging India : Us Strategic Relations With the World's Largest Democracy by Gary K. Bertsch, Seema Gahlaut, Anupam Srivastava (editors)

Book-122: The Secret Politics of Our Desires : Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema by Ashis Nandy (Editor)

Book-121: New Nukes : India, Pakistan and Global Nuclear Disarmament by Praful Bidwai, Achin Vanaik, Arundhati Roy

Book-120: Ethnicity, Security, and Separatism in India (by Maya Chadda)

Book-119: Divine Enterprise : Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement (by Lise McKean)

Book-118: Ambedkar, Politics and Scheduled Castes (by Prem Prakash)

Book-117: India's Nuclear Bomb : The Impact on Global Proliferation (by Philip E. Lilienthal)

Book-116: The Politics of India Since Independence: The New Cambridge History of India, No 4, Part 1 (by Paul R. Brass)

Book-115: Anatomy of a Confrontation : The Rise of Communal Politics in India (by Sarvepalli Gopal)

Book-114: Ethnicity and Populist Mobilization: Political Parties, Citizens and Democracy in South India (Paperback) (by Narendra Subramanian)

Book-113: Ethnic Warfare in Sri Lanka and the U.N. Crisis (by William Clarance)

Book-112: Learning Politics From Sivaram: The Life and Death of a Revolutionary Tamil Journalist in Sri Lanka (by Mark P. Whitaker) Mr. Sivaram Dharmeratnam was the editor of Tamilnet and he also was a columnist for Sunday Times (under the pen name Taraki).

Book-111: Temple Towns of Tamil Nadu (by George Michell)
This is a great HOLIDAY GIFT for friends, colleagues and family

Book-110: History and Culture of Tamil Nadu, Volume 2, c. 1310-1885 AD (by Chithra Madhavan)

Book-109: Tamil Language and Literature ( by S. R. Sharma)

Book-108: Tamil Alphabet and its Mystic Aspects ( by P.V.M. Naicker)

Book-107: The Politics of Nationalism and Ethnicity (by James G. Kellas)

Book-106: Stigmas of the Tamil Stage: An Ethnography of Special Drama Artists in South India (by Susan Seizer )

Book-105: Paradise Poisoned: Learning About Conflict, Terrorism and Development from Sri Lanka's Civil Wars (by John Richardson)

Book-104: Love in Sanskrit and Tamil Literature: A Study of Characters and Nature (200 B.C.-A.D. 500) (by Nadarajah Devapoopathy)

Book-103: Critical History of Jaffna: The Tamil Era (by Swamy Gnanaprakasar Nalloor)

Book-102: History and Culture of Tamil Nadu Volume I: Up to AD 1310 (by Chithra Madhavan)

Book-101: History of the Tamils (by P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar)

Book-100: Never Eat Alone : And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time This book is not about Tamil, neither is it about cooking, dieting nor nutrition. This is a book about how to succeed in your career, profession or business by making contacts with the right people. Read a description of the book and reviews by clicking on the book title and see if this book could help you advance in your career.

Book-99: India, Sri Lanka and the Tamil Crisis 1976-1994 : An International Perspective (by Alan J. Bullion)

Book-98: Ethnic Unrest in Modern Sri Lanka : An Account of Tamil-Sinhalese Race Relations (by H.P. Chattopadhyaya)

Book-97: The Tamil Veda : Pillan's Interpretation of the Tiruvaymoli (by John Carman and Vasudha Narayanan) Tiruvoymoli is one of the best loved Tamil devotional books

Book-96: The sixth genre: Memory, history, and the Tamil diaspora imagination (A history of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka) by R. Cheran

Book-95: A History of Tamil Literature with Texts and Translations from the Earliest Times to 600 AD by J. M Somasundaram Pillai

Book-94: Art and Culture of Tamil Nadu by R. Nagaswami

Book-93: India: A History by John Keay
"Compelling epic portrait of one of the world's oldest and most richly diverse civilizations." In recents years attempts have been made to falsely show that Harappan and Indus Valley civilizations were Aryan civilizations. This book starts with the "Dravidian" civilization of Harappa some 5000 years ago and brings the readers all the way to 1998. Like most history books on India, emphasis of the book is unfortunately northern India and pays only scant attention to the south.

Book-92: Everyday Life in South Asia (edited by Diane P. Mines and Sarah Lamb )
A vivid anthology on the daily lives and experiences of people living in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Book-91: Waves: An anthology of fiction and poetry translated from Tamil

Book-90: Ethnicity, Security, and Separatism in India (by Maya Chadda)

Book-88: Kural: The great book of Tiru-Valluvar (Bhavan's Book University)

Book-87: Imagining a Place for Buddhism: Literary Culture and Religious Community in Tamil-Speaking South India (by Anne Elizabeth Monius)This study argues that, in early medieval South India, it was in the literary arena that religious ideals and values were publicly contested. While Tamil-speaking South India is today celebrated for its preservation of Hindu tradition, non-Hindu religious communities have played a significant role in shaping the religious history of the region. Among the least understood of such non-Hindu contributions is that of the Buddhists, who are little understood because of the scarcity of remnants of Tamil-speaking Buddhist culture. However, the two exant Buddhist texts in Tamil that are complete - a 6th-century poetic narrative known as the "Manimekalai" and an 11th-century treatise on grammar and postics, the "Viracoliyam" - reveal a wealth of information about their textual communities and their vision of Buddhist life in a diverse and competitive religious milieu. By focusing on these texts, the author sheds light on their role of literature and literary culture in the information, articulation, and evolution of religious identity and community. (Synopsis from the Publisher)

Book-86: Poems to Siva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints (by Indira Viswanathan Peterson)

Book-85: A New History of India (by Stanley A. Wolpert) Used copies of the book may be available (if stated in the link page). Remember "buyer beware". Condition of the book may or may not be good. We suggest buying new books.

Book-84: Notes on Love in a Tamil Family (by Margaret Trawick)

Book-83: Compendious Tamil English Dictionary (by G. U. Pope)

Book-82: The Laws of Manu Some of the caste-based laws of Manu are so outrageous, how can anyone in this 21-st century praise them? But these are the types of "Indian(!) Classics" that the Government of India wants taught compulsorily in all schools (as it proposed in October of 1998)!

Book-81:Passions of the Tongue : Language Devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970 (Studies on the History of Society and Culture , No 29) by Sumathi Ramaswamy

Book-79: Daughter of the South - Biography of Jayalalitha

Book-78: Periya Puranam - A Tamil Classic on the Great Saiva Saints of South India

Book-76: The Study of Stolen Love: A Translation of Kalaviyal Enra Iraiyanar Akapporul with Commentary (American Academy of Religion. Texts and Translations Series) (by David C. Buck, K. Paramasivam)

Book-75: Hindu Nationalist Movement in India (by Christophe Jaffrelot)

Book-74: Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications, No 51) (by Pamela G. Price)
A history of how the British conquered Ramnad (Ramanathapuram) and Sivagangai of Tamil Nadu. Readers interested in the early years of the British conquest of Tamil Nadu will find this book interesting. Others may not.

Book-73: Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life (by John McCain, Mark Salter)
Very rarely do we bring a book unrelated to Tamil as a Book of the Month. But this book is worth reading. Co-authored by the popular US Senator John McCain who spent some years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Although the Vietnamese told him he could leave, he courageously refused to go free until those Americans taken prisoner before him are released.

Book-72:Sri Lanka : War-Torn Island (World in Conflict) by Lawrence J. Zwier (Reading Level: Young Adult)

Book-70: Jasmine and Coconuts : South Indian Tales (World Folklore Series) by Cathy Spagnoli and Paramasivam Samanna

Book-69: A Taste of Madras : A South Indian Cookbook by Rani Kingman

Book-68: The Rig Veda: An Anthology: One Hundred and Eight Hymns, Selected, Translated and Annotated (Classic) Read for yourselves what the Rig Veda says.

Book-67: Ethnic Conflict and Secessionism in South and Southeast Asia : Causes, Dynamics, Solutions (by Rajat Ganguly and Ian Macduff (Editors))

Book-65: Labouring to Learn : Towards a Poltiical Economy of Plantations, People and Education in Sri Lanka (International Political Economy) (by Angela W. Little)

Book-64: Motherland : A Novel (by Vineeta Vijayaraghavan, Vineet Vijayaraghavan)

Book-63: The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom (Translated from Tamil by George L. Hart and Hank Heifetz) Translation of the approximately 2000 year old Tamil poems "Puranaanooru" (contains 400 poems).

Book-62: Ancient Jaffna (by M. C. Rasanayagam)

Book-60: Arts and Crafts of Tamilnadu (Living Traditions of India) (by Nanditha Krishna, V. K. Rajamani (Photographer))

Book-59: The Poets of the Powers: Magic, Freedom, and Renewal (by Kamil V. Zvelebil)

This relatively inexpensive book on the 18 Siddhas (Siththarkal) was first published in 1973 and now reprinted. Written by the renowned European Tamil scholar Professor Kamil V. Zvelebil.

Book-58:States, Nations, Sovereignty: Sri Lanka, India, and the Tamil Eelam Movement (by Sumantra Bose)

Book-56: National Movement in Tamil Nadu, 1905-1914 (by N. Rajendran)

Book-54: Hindu Nationalist Movement in India (by Christophe Jaffrelot)

Book-53: "Lord of the Rings (by J.R.R. Tolkien)" For a change we present you a fantasy fiction totally unrelated to Tamil. This book became one of my all time favorites when I first read it many years ago. Now it is a movie too. Fantasy fiction is similar to old mythology with magic, sword and sorcery. Fantasy fiction is not for everyone. Some people like it, some people hate it. If you are a fan of fantasy fiction, you may want to read this grand daddy of modern fantasy fiction.

Book: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

VHS Tape(VCR) Movie: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

DVD Movie: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

Book-52: India 2020; a Vision for the New Millennium (by Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Y. S. Rajan)

Book-51: Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam (by Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari)

Book-47: Symbolic Heat : Gender, Health & Worship Among the Tamils of South India and Sri Lanka (by Dennis McGilvray)

Book-45: Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the Question of Nationhood (by Sankaran Krishna)

Book-44: Politics of Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka (by Ambalavanar Sivarajah)

Book-43: S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism 1947-1977 : A Political Biography (by A. Jeyaratnam Wilson)

Book-42: Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out (by Phillip C. McGraw) This book is not about Tamil but worth reading

Book-41: Arts and Crafts of Tamilnadu (Living Traditions of India) (by Nanditha Krishna, V. K. Rajamani-Photographer) This book is somewhat pricey because of the photographs (please read the description at the link before ordering). Most other books in this list are in the range of US$ 10 to 20.

Book-40: War at the Top of the World : The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet (by Eric S.Margolis)

Book-39: Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka (by Chelvadurai Manogaran)

Book-38: Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism : Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (by A. Jeyaratnam Wilson)

Book-36: Womanhood in the Making : Domestic Ritual and Public Culture in Urban South India (by Mary Elizabeth Hancock) An ethnographic study of Brahman women's ritual practice that focuses on relations between religious practice, class and caste inequalities, and nationalist discourses.

Book-35: Indo-Sri Lankan Relations : With Special Reference to the Tamil Problem (by Ravi Kant Dubey) This is an "Indian" point of view. Sri Lankan and Tamil opinions may differ from it.

Book-33: The Break-Up of Sri Lanka : The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict (by A.Jeyaratnam Wilson), University of Hawaii Press

Book-32: An Ethnography of Tamil Rituals (by Isabelle Nabokov) Hot off the press! Published in September 2000

Book-30 : The Dravidian Languages (edited by Sanford B. Steever) This is the most expensive book in our list (US$160). Most other books in this list are in the range of US$ 10 to 20. Prices are subject to change. So please check the current price at the above link before ordering

Book-29 : The Interior Landscape: Love Poems from a Classical Tamil Anthology (English translation by A. K. Ramanujan)

Book-28 : Manimekhalai : The Dancer With the Magic Bowl (translated by Merchant-Pri Shattan, Merchant Prince Shattan, Alain Danielou) One of the five great Tamil epics written some two-thousand years ago.

Book-27: Buddhist Fundamentalism and Minority Identities in Sri Lanka (edited by: Tessa J. Bartholomeusz and Chandra Richard De Silva)

Book-26: Buddhism Betrayed? : Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka by Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah and Lal Jayawardena

Book-22: India and the Bomb : Public Opinion and Nuclear Options (Notre Dame Studies on International Peace)

Book-21: Handbook of the Tamil Language

Book-20: The Sikh Diaspora : The Search for Statehood

Book-19A: Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues With Sikh Militants (hardcover)

Book-19B: Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues With Sikh Militants (paperback)

Book-18: What's Happening to India? : Punjab, Ethnic Conflict and the Test for Federalism

Book-16: Tamil Love Poetry and Poetics (Brill's Indological Library, Vol 9) by Takanobu Takahashi

Book-15: Tamil Language and Literature by S. R. Sharma

Book-14: Scarred Minds : The Psychological Impact of War on Sri Lankan Tamils

Book-11: Arts and Crafts of Tamilnadu (by Nanditha Krishna & V. K. Rajamani-photographer)

Book-10: A Classified Collection of Tamil Proverbs (by Herman Jensen)

Book-09: Extraordinary Child: Poems from a South Indian Devotional Genre (edited by Paula Richman)

Book-08: Regional Powers and Small State Security: India and Sri Lanka, 1977-90 by K. M. De Silva

Book-07:Pierced by Murugan's Lance: Ritual, Power, and Moral Redemption Among Malaysian Hindus by Elizabeth Fuller Collins

Book-06:The Image Trap : M G Ramachandran in Film and Politics by M.S.S. Pandian

You can search for any book (about Tamil or any subject under the sun) from the following site. Right Click add to Bookmark or Favorite List. BOOKS (click here)

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