Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil
A compelling tale of Mumbai's hazy world of opium addictionNarcotic drugs have inspired much storytelling and literary dreaming, if rather less actual writing. Of those few novels that slide out of the smoke on to paper, we assume addiction is a requis...
Travel books for your Christmas wish list
Kevin Rushby reviews three books perfect for armchair travellingCountry Driving: A Chinese Road Trip, Peter HesslerPeter Hessler's third book on modern China is arguably the best: a three-part foray into territory few travellers ever reach. The first s...
Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip by Peter Hessler | Book review
Kevin Rushby enjoys a white-knuckle ride along China's highways and byways
Imagine a place where almost every driver is a first-timer. Not only that but the roads are all new, uncharted and often unfinished, while the rules of the road are inconsistent, disorganised and universally ignored. The traffic policemen in...
Fordlandia by Greg Grandin
Kevin Rushby enjoys the cautionary tale of one man's plans for a workers' paradise
Let's go back to a time before the phrase "corporate vision" meant getting a meaningless logo on a football shirt; so far back that multinational corporations had not yet despoiled large swaths of the globe...
