Bangladesh

Popular Bangladesh Books

30+ [Hand Picked] Popular Books On Bangladesh


5/5

America for Beginners by Leah Franqui

Pival Sengupta has done something she never expected: she has booked a trip with the First Class India USA Destination Vacation Tour Company. But unlike other upper-class Indians on a foreign holiday, the recently widowed Pival is not interested in sightseeing. She is traveling thousands of miles from Kolkota to New York on a cross-country journey to California, where she Pival Sengupta has done something she never expected: she has booked a trip with the First Class India USA Destination Vacation Tour Company. But unlike other upper-class Indians on a foreign holiday, the recently widowed Pival is not interested in sightseeing. She is traveling thousands of miles from Kolkota to New York on a cross-country journey to California, where she hopes to uncover the truth about her beloved son, Rahi. A year ago Rahi devastated his very traditional parents when he told them he was gay. Then, Pival’s husband, Ram, told her that their son had died suddenly—heartbreaking news she still refuses to accept. Now, with Ram gone, she is going to America to find Rahi, alive and whole or dead and gone, and come to terms with her own life. Arriving in New York, the tour proves to be more complicated than anticipated. Planned by the company’s indefatigable owner, Ronnie Munshi—a hard-working immigrant and entrepreneur hungry for his own taste of the American dream—it is a work of haphazard improvisation. Pival’s guide is the company’s new hire, the guileless and wonderfully resourceful Satya, who has been in America for one year—and has never actually left the five boroughs. For modesty’s sake Pival and Satya will be accompanied by Rebecca Elliot, an aspiring young actress. Eager for a paying gig, she’s along for the ride, because how hard can a two-week "working" vacation traveling across America be? Slowly making her way from coast to coast with her unlikely companions, Pival finds that her understanding of her son—and her hopes of a reunion with him—are challenged by her growing knowledge of his adoptive country. As the bonds between this odd trio deepens, Pival, Satya, and Rebecca learn to see America—and themselves—in different and profound new ways.
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3.8/5

১৯৭১: ভেতরে বাইরে by A.K. Khandaker

==১ম ফলাপ== গরুপ কযাপটেন (পরে এয়ার ভাইস মারশাল) এ কে খনদকার বীর উততম মুকতিযুদধকালে বাংলাদেশ বাহিনীর ডেপুটি চিফ অব সটাফ এবং পরধান সেনাপতি করনেল এম এ জি ওসমানীর সারবকষণিক সহকারী ছিলেন। তিনি মুকতিযুদধে যোগ দেওয়া চাকরিরত বাঙালি সামরিক করমকরতাদের মধযে ছিলেন জযেষঠ। যুদধের পরায় সব নীতিনিরধারণী করমকাণডে তিনি উললেখযোগয ভূমিকা রেখেছিলেন। খুব কাছে থেকে যুদধের সফলতা ও বযরথতাগুলো অবলোক ==১ম ফ্লাপ== গ্রুপ ক্যাপ্টেন (পরে এয়ার ভাইস মার্শাল) এ কে খন্দকার বীর উত্তম মুক্তিযুদ্ধকালে বাংলাদেশ বাহিনীর ডেপুটি চিফ অব স্টাফ এবং প্রধান সেনাপতি কর্নেল এম এ জি ওসমানীর সার্বক্ষণিক সহকারী ছিলেন। তিনি মুক্তিযুদ্ধে যোগ দেওয়া চাকরিরত বাঙালি সামরিক কর্মকর্তাদের মধ্যে ছিলেন জ্যেষ্ঠ। যুদ্ধের প্রায় সব নীতিনির্ধারণী কর্মকাণ্ডে তিনি উল্লেখযোগ্য ভূমিকা রেখেছিলেন। খুব কাছে থেকে যুদ্ধের সফলতা ও ব্যর্থতাগুলো অবলোকন করেন তিনি। যুদ্ধ পরিচালনায় মাঠপর্যায় থেকে সর্বোচ্চ পর্যায় পর্যন্ত কী কী সীমাবদ্ধতা ছিল, তা-ও তিনি জানতেন। তিনি যে অবস্থানে থেকে যুদ্ধকে পর্যবেক্ষণ করেছিলেন, তা অন্য অনেকের পক্ষেই সম্ভব হয়নি। সে অভিজ্ঞতার আলোকেই লিখেছেন ১৯৭১: ভেতরে বাইরে। বইটি মুক্তিযুদ্ধের ঘটনাক্রমের বর্ণনা নয়, এতে পাওয়া যাবে যুদ্ধের নীতিনির্ধারণী বিষয় এবং তার সফলতা, ব্যর্থতা ও সীমাবদ্ধতা-সম্পর্কিত বেশ কিছু মূল্যবান তথ্য। প্রচলিত মত ও আবেগের ঊর্র্ধ্বে থেকে বাস্তবতা আর নথিপত্রের ভিত্তিতে বিষয়গুলোকে বিশ্লেষণ করার চেষ্টা করেছেন লেখক। এমন কিছু বিষয়েরও উল্লেখ আছে বইটিতে, যা নিয়ে এর আগে বিশেষ কেউ আলোচনা করেননি। লেখকের নিজের অভিজ্ঞতার সঙ্গে প্রাসঙ্গিক নথিপত্রের সমর্থন বইটির নির্ভরযোগ্যতা বাড়িয়েছে। ==২য় ফ্লাপ== এ কে খন্দকার জন্ম ১৯৩০ সালে, বাবার কর্মস্থল রংপুরে। আদি নিবাস পাবনা জেলার বেড়া উপজেলার পুরান ভারেঙ্গা গ্রামে। ম্যাট্রিকুলেশন ১৯৪৭ সালে এবং ১৯৪৯-এ ইন্টারমিডিয়েট। ১৯৫২ সালে পাকিস্তান বিমানবাহিনীতে কমিশন লাভ করেন। গ্রুপ ক্যাপ্টেন হিসেবে তিনি বাংলাদেশের মুক্তিযুদ্ধে যোগ দেন এবং ডেপুটি চিফ অব স্টাফ নিযুক্ত হন। স্বাধীনতার পর ১৯৭৫ সাল পর্যন্ত বিমানবাহিনীর প্রধান ছিলেন। বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমানকে সপরিবারে হত্যা করা হলে এর প্রতিবাদে তিনি বিমানবাহিনীর প্রধানের পদ থেকে পদত্যাগ করেন। ১৯৭৬ থেকে ১৯৮২ পর্যন্ত অস্ট্রেলিয়া এবং ১৯৮২ থেকে ১৯৮৬ সাল পর্যন্ত ভারতে বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রদূত ছিলেন। ১৯৯৮ ও ২০০৮ সালে জাতীয় সংসদের সদস্য নির্বাচিত হন। ১৯৮৬ থেকে ১৯৯০ এবং ২০০৯ থেকে ২০১৪ সাল পর্যন্ত বাংলাদেশ সরকারের পরিকল্পনামন্ত্রী ছিলেন। মুক্তিযুদ্ধে অনন্য অবদান রাখার জন্য এ কে খন্দকার ১৯৭৩ সালে বীর উত্তম খেতাব এবং ২০১১ সালে স্বাধীনতা পদক লাভ করেন। ==ব্যাক কভার== এ বইয়ে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ সম্পর্কে অজানা, কম জানা কিংবা স্বল্প প্রচারিত বেশ কিছু বিষয়ের ওপর আলোকপাত করেছেন সশস্ত্র যুদ্ধের সর্বোচ্চ পর্যায়ে দায়িত্ব পালনকারী গ্রুপ ক্যাপ্টেন এ কে খন্দকার। ওই পর্যায়ের আর কোনো সামরিক কর্মকর্তা এ বিষয়ে কোনো বই রচনা করেননি। সেদিক থেকেও বইটির একটি আলাদা গুরুত্ব আছে।
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4.2/5

The Storm by Arif Anwar

Inspired by the 1970 Bhola Cyclone, in which half a million people perished overnight, The Storm seamlessly interweaves five love stories that, together, chronicle sixty years of Bangladeshi history. Shahryar, a recent Ph.D. graduate and father of nine-year-old Anna, must leave the US when his visa expires. As father and daughter spend their last remaining weeks together, S Inspired by the 1970 Bhola Cyclone, in which half a million people perished overnight, The Storm seamlessly interweaves five love stories that, together, chronicle sixty years of Bangladeshi history. Shahryar, a recent Ph.D. graduate and father of nine-year-old Anna, must leave the US when his visa expires. As father and daughter spend their last remaining weeks together, Shahryar tells Anna the history of his country, beginning in a village on the Bay of Bengal, where a poor fisherman and his Hindu wife, who converted to Islam out of love for him, are preparing to face a storm of historic proportions. Their story intersects with those of a Japanese fighter pilot, a British female doctor stationed in Burma during World War II, a Buddhist monk originally from Austria, and a privileged couple in Calcutta who leave everything behind to move to East Pakistan following the Partition of India. The structure of this riveting novel mimics the storm itself – building to a series of revelatory and moving climaxes as it explores the many ways in which families love, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another. At once grounded in history and fantastically imaginative, The Storm is a sweeping epic in the tradition of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance by an immensely talented new voice in international fiction.
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3.8/5

Seam by Tarfia Faizullah

The poems in this captivating collection weave beauty with violence, the personal with the historic as they recount the harrowing experiences of the two hundred thousand female victims of rape and torture at the hands of the Pakistani army during the 1971 Liberation War. As the child of Bangladeshi immigrants, the poet in turn explores her own losses, as well as the comple The poems in this captivating collection weave beauty with violence, the personal with the historic as they recount the harrowing experiences of the two hundred thousand female victims of rape and torture at the hands of the Pakistani army during the 1971 Liberation War. As the child of Bangladeshi immigrants, the poet in turn explores her own losses, as well as the complexities of bearing witness to the atrocities these war heroines endured. Throughout the volume, the narrator endeavors to bridge generational and cultural gaps even as the victims recount the horror of grief and personal loss. As we read, we discover the profound yet fragile seam that unites the fields, rivers, and prisons of the 1971 war with the poet’s modern-day hotel, or the tragic death of a loved one with the holocaust of a nation. Moving from West Texas to Dubai, from Virginia to remote villages in Bangladesh and back again, the narrator calls on the legacies of Willa Cather, César Vallejo, Tomas Tranströmer, and Paul Celan to give voice to the voiceless. Fierce yet loving, devastating and magical at once, Seam is a testament to the lingering potency of memory and the bravery of a nation’s victims. Winner, Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award, 2014 Winner, Binghamton University Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award, 2015
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4.1/5

In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman

A bold, epic debut  novel set during the war and financial crisis that defined the beginning of our century An investment banker approaching forty, his career collapsing and his marriage unraveling, receives a surprise visitor at his West London town house. Confronting the disheveled figure of a South Asian male carrying a backpack, the banker recognizes a long-lost college A bold, epic debut  novel set during the war and financial crisis that defined the beginning of our century An investment banker approaching forty, his career collapsing and his marriage unraveling, receives a surprise visitor at his West London town house. Confronting the disheveled figure of a South Asian male carrying a backpack, the banker recognizes a long-lost college friend, a mathematics prodigy who disappeared many years earlier under mysterious circumstances. The friend has resurfaced with a confession of unsettling power. Zia Haider Rahman takes us on a journey of exhilarating scope, ranging over Kabul, London, New York, Islamabad, Oxford, and Princeton and dealing with love, belonging, finance, science, and war. Its framework is an age-old story: the friendship of two men and the betrayal of one by the other, both of them desperate in their different ways to climb clear of their wrong beginnings. Set against the breaking of nations and beneath the clouds of economic recession, the novel chronicles the lives of people carrying unshakable legacies of class, culture, and faith as they struggle to tame their futures.  In the Light of What We Know is by turns tender, intimate, and panoramic, telescoping the great upheavals of our young century into a first novel of rare ambition and profundity.  
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4.8/5

আধো ঘুমে ক্যাস্ট্রোর সঙ্গে by Shahaduz Zaman

বাংলাদেশের এক যুবকের কথা ভাবি যে দূরের ছোটট দবীপ দেশ কিউবার দিকে কৌতূহলে তাকায। মাতর বছর বতরিশের এক তরুণ কযাসটরো তার সহযোদধাদের নিযে পরাকরমশালী আমেরিকার একেবারে নাকের ডগায ঘটিযে ফেলেছিলেন এক সমাজতানতরিক বিপলব। তারপর আমেরিকার অবিরাম বিরোধিতা আর চোখ রাঙানির ভেতরও টিকিযে রেখেছেন সেই বিপলবের মনতরকে। একসময নদীর পাড ভাঙার মতো পৃথিবীর চারদিকে এক এক করে শোনা গেল সমাজতানতরিক চরাচরে বাংলাদেশের এক যুবকের কথা ভাবি যে দূরের ছোট্ট দ্বীপ দেশ কিউবার দিকে কৌতূহলে তাকায়। মাত্র বছর বত্রিশের এক তরুণ ক্যাস্ট্রো তার সহযোদ্ধাদের নিয়ে পরাক্রমশালী আমেরিকার একেবারে নাকের ডগায় ঘটিয়ে ফেলেছিলেন এক সমাজতান্ত্রিক বিপ্লব। তারপর আমেরিকার অবিরাম বিরোধিতা আর চোখ রাঙানির ভেতরও টিকিয়ে রেখেছেন সেই বিপ্লবের মন্ত্রকে। একসময় নদীর পাড় ভাঙার মতো পৃথিবীর চারদিকে এক এক করে শোনা গেল সমাজতান্ত্রিক চরাচরের ভাঙনের শব্দ; কিন্তু তবু ক্যাস্ট্রো তার নিঃসঙ্গ দ্বীপটিকে জ্বালিয়ে রাখলেন সেই পুরনো স্বপ্নের বাতিঘর। যুবকের জানতে ইচ্ছা হয় কী করে পারলেন তিনি? ক্যাস্ট্রোর নিজ মুখে সে তখন শোনে নাগরদোলায় চড়া তার আশ্চর্য জীবনের গল্প।
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4.2/5

Mirror City by Chitrita Banerji

It is 1973. A newly independent Bangladesh is collapsing under the weight of impending famine, unemployment and political corruption. In the midst of this upheaval, Uma, a Bengali from Calcutta, moves to Dhaka with her husband Iqbal. As the young woman learns to make the new city her home, she faces upheavals of her own. Iqbal is a changed man; their mixed marriage raises It is 1973. A newly independent Bangladesh is collapsing under the weight of impending famine, unemployment and political corruption. In the midst of this upheaval, Uma, a Bengali from Calcutta, moves to Dhaka with her husband Iqbal. As the young woman learns to make the new city her home, she faces upheavals of her own. Iqbal is a changed man; their mixed marriage raises too many eyebrows; and the charged atmosphere in Dhaka makes it impossible to trust anyone. Uma has never felt so utterly alone in her life, until she finds herself unexpectedly falling in love. Mirror City brilliantly captures the turbulent early days of Bangladesh, the slow breakdown of a marriage, and a woman’s search to find herself. Nuanced, atmospheric and full of drama, this is an utterly compelling novel.
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4.4/5

The Bones of Grace by Tahmima Anam

The much-anticipated new novel by the Granta 'Best of Young British' Novelist 'Anwar told me that it wasn't until he almost died that he realised he needed to find the woman he had once loved. I've thought about that a lot in the last few years, that if Anwar hadn't worked on that building site, he might never have gone looking for Megna, and if he hadn't done that, I might The much-anticipated new novel by the Granta 'Best of Young British' Novelist 'Anwar told me that it wasn't until he almost died that he realised he needed to find the woman he had once loved. I've thought about that a lot in the last few years, that if Anwar hadn't worked on that building site, he might never have gone looking for Megna, and if he hadn't done that, I might still be in the dark about my past. I've only ever been a hair away from being utterly alone in the world, Elijah, and it was Anwar who shone a light where once there was only darkness.' The Bones of Grace. It is the story of Zubaida, and her search for herself. It is a story she tells for Elijah, the love of her life. It tells the story of Anwar, the link in Zubaida's broken chain. Woven within these tales are the stories of a whale and a ship; a piano and a lost boy. This is the story of love itself.
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4.2/5

সাক্ষী ছিলো শিরস্ত্রাণ by Shuhan Rizwan

এই কাহিনী একটি যুদধের। সেই যুদধের দেয়ালে নানা চলকের লুকোচুরি, দেশপরেমের ঢেউ আর বিশবাসঘাতকতার চোরাসরোত, দাবার বোরডের গুটি হয়ে বহু মানুষের হাঁটাচলা। এই কাহিনী একটি যুদধোততর দেশের। সেখানে বহুমাতরিক সব জটিল গণিত, আলোকের যত অননতধারার সঙগী দুরভাগযের অনধকার। ‘সাকষী ছিলো শিরসতরাণ’ এই দুই সরপিল সময়ের পটে দাঁড়ানো একজন সরল মানুষের গলপ। এই কাহিনী একটি যুদ্ধের। সেই যুদ্ধের দেয়ালে নানা চলকের লুকোচুরি, দেশপ্রেমের ঢেউ আর বিশ্বাসঘাতকতার চোরাস্রোত, দাবার বোর্ডের গুটি হয়ে বহু মানুষের হাঁটাচলা। এই কাহিনী একটি যুদ্ধোত্তর দেশের। সেখানে বহুমাত্রিক সব জটিল গণিত, আলোকের যত অনন্তধারার সঙ্গী দুর্ভাগ্যের অন্ধকার। ‘সাক্ষী ছিলো শিরস্ত্রাণ’ এই দুই সর্পিল সময়ের পটে দাঁড়ানো একজন সরল মানুষের গল্প।
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4.7/5

ক্রেনিয়াল by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal

কোয়ানটাম কমপিউটার যুগে মানবসভযতা ধবংস হয়ে গেছে আতমঘাতী নিউকলিয়ার বিসফোরণে। বেঁচে আছে অলপসংখযক মানুষ। সেই ধবংসসতুপে তাদের হাত ধরেই শুরু হল সভযতার নতুন পথচলা। পরাচীরঘেরা শহরে শহরে গড়ে উঠল যনতরসরবসব এক অমানবিক জীবনধারা। সেখানে জঞানেবিজঞানে পারদররশী করে তোলার জনয মানুষের মাথায় লাগিয়ে দেওয়া হয় করেনিয়াল। কিনতু সে কেবলই বাধয ও অনুগতদের জনয, যদি কেউ পরশন করে বসে, তার কিনতু রেহাই ন কোয়ান্টাম কম্পিউটার যুগে মানবসভ্যতা ধ্বংস হয়ে গেছে আত্মঘাতী নিউক্লিয়ার বিস্ফোরণে। বেঁচে আছে অল্পসংখ্যক মানুষ। সেই ধ্বংসস্তুপে তাদের হাত ধরেই শুরু হল সভ্যতার নতুন পথচলা। প্রাচীরঘেরা শহরে শহরে গড়ে উঠল যন্ত্রসর্বস্ব এক অমানবিক জীবনধারা। সেখানে জ্ঞানেবিজ্ঞানে পারদ্ররশী করে তোলার জন্য মানুষের মাথায় লাগিয়ে দেওয়া হয় ক্রেনিয়াল। কিন্তু সে কেবলই বাধ্য ও অনুগতদের জন্য, যদি কেউ প্রশ্ন করে বসে, তার কিন্তু রেহাই নেই, ডিটিউন করে তার মস্তিষ্ককে অচল করে দেওয়া হয়। মস্তিষ্কহীন যন্ত্রচালিত এই পৃথিবীতে অবাধ্যতার ঢেউ তুলে এগিয়ে এল এক কিশোরী আর এক কিশোর। তিশা আর রিহি। ধুধু মরুপ্রান্তরে শুরু হল তাদের বিপদজনক অভিযাত্রা। এই বইটি সেই অভিযাত্রারই এক রুদ্ধশ্বাস উপাখ্যান। অনাগত ভবিষ্যৎকে নিয়ে এ এক অসাধারণ কল্পকথা।
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3.9/5

Djinn City by Saad Hossain

Indelbed is a lonely kid living in a crumbling mansion in the super dense, super chaotic third world capital of Bangladesh. When he learns that his dead mother was a djinn — more commonly known as a genie — and that his drunken loutish father is a sitting emissary to the djinns (e.g. a magician), his whole world is turned inside out. Suddenly, and for reasons that totally Indelbed is a lonely kid living in a crumbling mansion in the super dense, super chaotic third world capital of Bangladesh. When he learns that his dead mother was a djinn — more commonly known as a genie — and that his drunken loutish father is a sitting emissary to the djinns (e.g. a magician), his whole world is turned inside out. Suddenly, and for reasons that totally escape him, his father is found in a supernatural coma, and Indelbed is kidnapped by the djinn and delivered to a subterranean prison. Back in the city, his cousin Rais and his family struggle to make sense of it all, as an impending catastrophe threatens to destroy everything they know. Needless to say, everything is resting on Indelbed’s next move — and he’s got a new partner to help him: the world’s most evil djinn.
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4.1/5

দাস পার্টির খোঁজে by Hasan Murshed

৫ নং সেকটরের টেকেরহাট সাব-সেকটরের একটি গেরিলা দল। এঁরা সকলেই গণযোদধা। সুনামগঞজ এবং হবিগঞজের বিসতৃত হাওর অঞচল জুড়ে পাকিসতান সেনাবাহিনী ও দেশীয় দালালদের পরাসত করেছেন দুরধরষ কৌশল ও কষীপরতায়। গেরিলা দলটির পরধাণ ২২ বছরের তরুণ জগতজযোতি দাস পরাণ দিয়েছেন যুদধকষেতরে। তাঁর সাহস ও আতমতযাগ এখনও উপকথার মত ছড়িয়ে আছে এই অঞচলের মানুষের মুখে। ১৯৭১ এর মহান মুকতিযুদধ আজও এই জনপদের পরধাণ পরাণশক ৫ নং সেক্টরের টেকেরহাট সাব-সেক্টরের একটি গেরিলা দল। এঁরা সকলেই গণযোদ্ধা। সুনামগঞ্জ এবং হবিগঞ্জের বিস্তৃত হাওর অঞ্চল জুড়ে পাকিস্তান সেনাবাহিনী ও দেশীয় দালালদের পরাস্ত করেছেন দুর্ধর্ষ কৌশল ও ক্ষীপ্রতায়। গেরিলা দলটির প্রধাণ ২২ বছরের তরুণ জগতজ্যোতি দাস প্রাণ দিয়েছেন যুদ্ধক্ষেত্রে। তাঁর সাহস ও আত্মত্যাগ এখনও উপকথার মত ছড়িয়ে আছে এই অঞ্চলের মানুষের মুখে। ১৯৭১ এর মহান মুক্তিযুদ্ধ আজও এই জনপদের প্রধাণ প্রাণশক্তি। রাজনৈতিক নেতৃত্বের পরিচালনায় সবশ্রেণির মানুষের অংশগ্রহণে এটি ছিল বিশুদ্ধ গণযুদ্ধ, নিছক সামরিক অর্জন নয়। মুক্তিযুদ্ধের ইতিহাস চর্চায় অনন্য সংযোজন এই গ্রন্থে উঠে এসেছে বেশ কিছু প্রকাশিত গণহত্যার ঘটনা, অসামান্য মানবিক গল্প- যেগুলো 'তুচ্ছ' থেকেছে আমাদের নগরকেন্দ্রিক মুক্তিযুদ্ধের বয়ানে।
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4.7/5

The Colonel Who Would Not Repent by Salil Tripathi

Salil Tripathi brings together the narrative skill of a novelist and the analytical tools of a political journalist to give us the story of a nation that is absorbing, haunting and illuminating.' Kamila Shamsie, author of A God in Every Stone. Between March and December 1971, the Pakistani army committed atrocities on an unprecedented scale in the country's eastern wing. P Salil Tripathi brings together the narrative skill of a novelist and the analytical tools of a political journalist to give us the story of a nation that is absorbing, haunting and illuminating.' Kamila Shamsie, author of A God in Every Stone. Between March and December 1971, the Pakistani army committed atrocities on an unprecedented scale in the country's eastern wing. Pakistani troops and their collaborators were responsible for countless deaths and cases of rape. Clearly, religion alone wasn't enough to keep Pakistan's two halves united. From that brutal violence, Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation, but the wounds have continued to fester. The gruesome assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's charismatic first prime minister and most of his family, the coups and counter-coups which followed, accompanied by long years of military rule were individually and collectively responsible for the country's inability to come to grips with the legacy of the Liberation War Four decades later, as Bangladesh tries to bring some accountability and closure to its blood-soaked past through controversial tribunals prosecuting war crimes, Salil Tripathi travels the length and breadth of the country probing the country's trauma through interviews with hundreds of Bangladeshis. His book offers the reader an unforgettable portrait of a nation whose political history since Independence has been marked more by tragedy than triumph.
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4/5

Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam

A vibrant debut novel, set in Brooklyn and Bangladesh, Bright Lines follows three young women and one family struggling to make peace with secrets and their past. For as long as she can remember, Ella has longed to feel at home. Orphaned as a child after her parents’ murder, and afflicted with hallucinations at dusk, she’s always felt more at ease in nature than with peopl A vibrant debut novel, set in Brooklyn and Bangladesh, Bright Lines follows three young women and one family struggling to make peace with secrets and their past. For as long as she can remember, Ella has longed to feel at home. Orphaned as a child after her parents’ murder, and afflicted with hallucinations at dusk, she’s always felt more at ease in nature than with people. She traveled from Bangladesh to Brooklyn to live with the Saleems: her uncle Anwar, aunt Hashi, and their beautiful daughter, Charu, her complete opposite. One summer, when Ella returns home from college, she discovers Charu’s friend Maya—an Islamic cleric’s runaway daughter—asleep in her bedroom.  As the girls have a summer of clandestine adventure and sexual awakenings, Anwar—owner of a popular botanical apothecary—has his own secrets, threatening his thirty-year marriage. But when tragedy strikes, the Saleems find themselves blamed. To keep his family from unraveling, Anwar takes them on a fated trip to Bangladesh, to reckon with the past, their extended family, and each other.
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4.6/5

তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ : নেতা ও পিতা by Sharmin Ahmad

শৈশবে আববুকে ঘিরে আমার সমৃতি উজজবল নীলাকাশে খণড খণড শারদ মেঘের মতোই ভাসমান। তিনি ছিলেন এক বযতিকরমধরমী জীবন ও সমযের অগরপথিক। তাঁকে ভালোভাবে জানার আগেই তিনি চলে গেলেন পৃথিবী ছেডে। তিনি চলে গেলেন আমার কৈশোর ও যৌবনের সনধিকষণে। তারপরও তাঁকে আবিষকার করার চেষটা করি পরতিনিযত ঐ শৈশবের সমৃতির মেঘমালার সাথি হযে। তার মধয দিযেই বিশবকে খুঁজে দেখার চেষটা করি, কখনো বিশবের অসীম রহসযার মধযে শৈশবে আব্বুকে ঘিরে আমার স্মৃতি উজ্জ্বল নীলাকাশে খণ্ড খণ্ড শারদ মেঘের মতোই ভাসমান। তিনি ছিলেন এক ব্যতিক্রমধর্মী জীবন ও সময়ের অগ্রপথিক। তাঁকে ভালোভাবে জানার আগেই তিনি চলে গেলেন পৃথিবী ছেড়ে। তিনি চলে গেলেন আমার কৈশোর ও যৌবনের সন্ধিক্ষণে। তারপরও তাঁকে আবিষ্কার করার চেষ্টা করি প্রতিনিয়ত ঐ শৈশবের স্মৃতির মেঘমালার সাথি হয়ে। তার মধ্য দিয়েই বিশ্বকে খুঁজে দেখার চেষ্টা করি, কখনো বিশ্বের অসীম রহস্যার মধ্যে খুঁজি তাঁকে। —শারমিন আহমদ সূচিপত্র প্রথমপর্ব - যাত্রা হলো শুরু দ্বিতীয় পর্ব - অন্তর্দৃষ্টি তৃতীয় পর্ব - দুর্বার প্রতিরোধ চতুর্থ পর্ব - সেতুবন্ধন পঞ্চম পর্ব - সূর্য-বার্তা ষষ্ঠ পর্ব - ঘরে ফেরা সপ্তম পর্ব - অমর্ত্যলোকের যাত্রী সাক্ষাৎকার আম্মা ও ভাইবোনদের সাক্ষাৎকার ইস্টার্ন নিউজ এজেন্সির সাবেক সাংবাদিক সৈয়দ মোহাম্মদ উল্লাহর সাক্ষাৎকার ও মুজিব হত্যা সম্পর্কে তথ্য ব্যারিস্টার আমীর-উল ইসলামের সাক্ষাৎকার বন্ধবন্ধুর পার্সনাল এইড হাজী গোলাম মোরশেদের সাক্ষাৎকার সেই সময় : বঙ্গবন্ধুকে ঘিরে স্মৃতিচারণ : বেগম রোকেয়া মোরশেদের সাক্ষাৎকার হাজী গোলাম মোরশেদের জামাতা চৌধুরী আরশাদ হুসাইনের সাক্ষাৎকার শহীদ প্রকৌশলী এ. কে. এম নূরুল হকের স্ত্রী নাসরিন বানু এবং কন্যা হাসু আপার সাক্ষাৎকার মনিং নিউজের সাবেক সাংবাদিক জহিরুল হকের সাক্ষাৎকার
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4.9/5

A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

As young widow Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she might be forgiven for feeling happy. Her children are almost grown, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air. But no one can foresee what will happen in the days and months that follow. For this is East Pakistan in 1971, a country on the brink of war. And this family's life is As young widow Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she might be forgiven for feeling happy. Her children are almost grown, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air. But no one can foresee what will happen in the days and months that follow. For this is East Pakistan in 1971, a country on the brink of war. And this family's life is about to change forever. Set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War of Independence, 'A Golden Age' is a story of passion and revolution, of hope, faith, and unexpected heroism. In the chaos of this era, everyone must make choices. And as she struggles to keep her family safe, Rehana will be forced to face a heartbreaking dilemma.
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4.4/5

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

A captivating read from a debut novelist, Brick Lane brings the immigrant milieu of East London to vibrant life. With great poignancy, Ali illuminates a foreign world; her well-developed characters pull readers along on a deeply psychological, almost spiritual journey. Through the eyes of two Bangladeshi sisters—the plain Nazneen and the prettier Hasina—we see the divergen A captivating read from a debut novelist, Brick Lane brings the immigrant milieu of East London to vibrant life. With great poignancy, Ali illuminates a foreign world; her well-developed characters pull readers along on a deeply psychological, almost spiritual journey. Through the eyes of two Bangladeshi sisters—the plain Nazneen and the prettier Hasina—we see the divergent paths of the contemporary descendants of an ancient culture. Hasina elopes to a "love marriage," and young Nazneen, in an arranged marriage, is pledged to a much older man living in London. Ali's skillful narrative focuses on Nazneen's stifling life with her ineffectual husband, who keeps her imprisoned in a city housing project filled with immigrants in varying degrees of assimilation. But Ali reveals a bittersweet tension between the "two kinds of love" Nazneen and her sister experience—that which begins full and overflowing, only to slowly dissipate, and another which emerges like a surprise, growing unexpectedly over years of faithful commitment. Both of these loves have their own pitfalls: Hasina's passionate romance crumbles into domestic violence, and Nazneen's marriage never quite reaches a state of wedded bliss. Though comparisons have drawn between Ali and Zadie Smith, a better comparison might be made between this talented newcomer and the work of Amy Tan, who so deftly portrays the immigrant experience with empathy and joy.
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4.3/5

The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam

From prizewinning Bangladeshi novelist Tahmima Anam comes her deeply moving second novel about the rise of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh, seen through the intimate lens of a family. Pankaj Mishra praised A Golden Age, Tahmima Anam's debut novel, as a "startlingly accomplished and gripping novel that describes not only the tumult of a great historical event . . . but also From prizewinning Bangladeshi novelist Tahmima Anam comes her deeply moving second novel about the rise of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh, seen through the intimate lens of a family. Pankaj Mishra praised A Golden Age, Tahmima Anam's debut novel, as a "startlingly accomplished and gripping novel that describes not only the tumult of a great historical event . . . but also the small but heroic struggles of individuals living in the shadow of revolution and war." In her new novel, The Good Muslim, Anam again deftly weaves the personal and the political, evoking with great skill and urgency the lasting ravages of war and the competing loyalties of love and belief. In the dying days of a brutal civil war, Sohail Haque stumbles upon an abandoned building. Inside he finds a young woman whose story will haunt him for a lifetime to come. . . . Almost a decade later, Sohail's sister, Maya, returns home after a long absence to find her beloved brother transformed. While Maya has stuck to her revolutionary ideals, Sohail has shunned his old life to become a charismatic religious leader. And when Sohail decides to send his son to a madrasa, the conflict between brother and sister comes to a devastating climax. Set in Bangladesh at a time when religious fundamentalism is on the rise, The Good Muslim is an epic story about faith, family, and the long shadow of war.
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4.2/5

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

A powerful, funny, richly observed tour de force by one of America's most acclaimed young writers: a story of love and marriage, secrets and betrayals. A powerful, funny, richly observed tour de force by one of America's most acclaimed young writers: a story of love and marriage, secrets and betrayals, that takes us from the backyards of America to the back alleys and villa A powerful, funny, richly observed tour de force by one of America's most acclaimed young writers: a story of love and marriage, secrets and betrayals. A powerful, funny, richly observed tour de force by one of America's most acclaimed young writers: a story of love and marriage, secrets and betrayals, that takes us from the backyards of America to the back alleys and villages of Bangladesh. In The Newlyweds, we follow the story of Amina Mazid, who at age twenty-four moves from Bangladesh to Rochester, New York, for love. A hundred years ago, Amina would have been called a mail-order bride. But this is an arranged marriage for the twenty-first century: Amina is wooed by - and woos - George Stillman online. For Amina, George offers a chance for a new life and a different kind of happiness than she might find back home. For George, Amina is a woman who doesn't play games. But each of them is hiding something: someone from the past they thought they could leave behind. It is only when they put an ocean between them - and Amina returns to Bangladesh - that she and George find out if their secrets will tear them apart, or if they can build a future together. The Newlyweds is a surprising, suspenseful story about the exhilarations - and real-life complications - of getting, and staying, married. It stretches across continents, generations, and plains of emotion. What has always set Nell Freudenberger apart is the sly, gimlet eye she turns on collisions of all kinds - sexual, cultural, familial. With The Newlyweds, she has found her perfect subject for that vision, and characters to match. She reveals Amina's heart and mind, capturing both her new American reality and the home she cannot forget, with seamless authenticity, empathy, and grace. At once revelatory and affecting, The Newlyweds is a stunning achievement.
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4.7/5

Lajja: Shame by Taslima Nasrin , Tutul Gupta (Translator)

The Duttas - Sudhamoy, Kironmoyee, and their two children, Suranjan and Maya - have lived in Bangladesh all their lives. Despite being part of the country's small Hindu community, that is terrorized at every opportunity by Muslim fundamentalists, they refuse to leave their country, as most of their friends and relatives have done. Sudhamoy, an atheist, believes with a naiv The Duttas - Sudhamoy, Kironmoyee, and their two children, Suranjan and Maya - have lived in Bangladesh all their lives. Despite being part of the country's small Hindu community, that is terrorized at every opportunity by Muslim fundamentalists, they refuse to leave their country, as most of their friends and relatives have done. Sudhamoy, an atheist, believes with a naive mix of optimism and idealism that his motherland will not let him down... And then, on 6 December 1992, the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in India is demolished by a mob of Hindu fundamentalists. The world condemns the incident but its fallout is felt most acutely in Bangladesh, where Muslim mobs begin to seek out and attack the Hindus... The nightmare inevitably arrives at the Duttas' doorstep - and their world begins to fall apart.
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4.9/5

The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide by Gary J. Bass

A riveting history—the first full account—of the involvement of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the 1971 atrocities in Bangladesh that led to war between India and Pakistan, shaped the fate of Asia, and left in their wake a host of major strategic consequences for the world today. Giving an astonishing inside view of how the White House really works in a crisis, The Bl A riveting history—the first full account—of the involvement of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the 1971 atrocities in Bangladesh that led to war between India and Pakistan, shaped the fate of Asia, and left in their wake a host of major strategic consequences for the world today. Giving an astonishing inside view of how the White House really works in a crisis, The Blood Telegram is an unprecedented chronicle of a pivotal but little-known chapter of the Cold War. Gary J. Bass shows how Nixon and Kissinger supported Pakistan’s military dictatorship as it brutally quashed the results of a historic free election. The Pakistani army launched a crackdown on what was then East Pakistan (today an independent Bangladesh), killing hundreds of thousands of people and sending ten million refugees fleeing to India—one of the worst humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Nixon and Kissinger, unswayed by detailed warnings of genocide from American diplomats witnessing the bloodshed, stood behind Pakistan’s military rulers. Driven not just by Cold War realpolitik but by a bitter personal dislike of India and its leader Indira Gandhi, Nixon and Kissinger actively helped the Pakistani government even as it careened toward a devastating war against India. They silenced American officials who dared to speak up, secretly encouraged China to mass troops on the Indian border, and illegally supplied weapons to the Pakistani military—an overlooked scandal that presages Watergate. Drawing on previously unheard White House tapes, recently declassified documents, and extensive interviews with White House staffers and Indian military leaders, The Blood Telegram tells this thrilling, shadowy story in full. Bringing us into the drama of a crisis exploding into war, Bass follows reporters, consuls, and guerrilla warriors on the ground—from the desperate refugee camps to the most secretive conversations in the Oval Office. Bass makes clear how the United States’ embrace of the military dictatorship in Islamabad would mold Asia’s destiny for decades, and confronts for the first time Nixon and Kissinger’s hidden role in a tragedy that was far bloodier than Bosnia. This is a revelatory, compulsively readable work of politics, personalities, military confrontation, and Cold War brinksmanship. 
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4.1/5

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus , Alan Jolis

Muhammad Yunus is that rare thing: a bona fide visionary. His dream is the total eradication of poverty from the world. In 1983, against the advice of banking and government officials, Yunus established Grameen, a bank devoted to providing the poorest of Bangladesh with minuscule loans. Grameen Bank, based on the belief that credit is a basic human right, not the privilege Muhammad Yunus is that rare thing: a bona fide visionary. His dream is the total eradication of poverty from the world. In 1983, against the advice of banking and government officials, Yunus established Grameen, a bank devoted to providing the poorest of Bangladesh with minuscule loans. Grameen Bank, based on the belief that credit is a basic human right, not the privilege of a fortunate few, now provides over 2.5 billion dollars of micro-loans to more than two million families in rural Bangladesh. Ninety-four percent of Yunus's clients are women, and repayment rates are near 100 percent. Around the world, micro-lending programs inspired by Grameen are blossoming, with more than three hundred programs established in the United States alone. Banker to the Poor is Muhammad Yunus's memoir of how he decided to change his life in order to help the world's poor. In it he traces the intellectual and spiritual journey that led him to fundamentally rethink the economic relationship between rich and poor, and the challenges he and his colleagues faced in founding Grameen. He also provides wise, hopeful guidance for anyone who would like to join him in "putting homelessness and destitution in a museum so that one day our children will visit it and ask how we could have allowed such a terrible thing to go on for so long." The definitive history of micro-credit direct from the man that conceived of it, Banker to the Poor is necessary and inspirational reading for anyone interested in economics, public policy, philanthropy, social history, and business. Muhammad Yunus was born in Bangladesh and earned his Ph.D. in economics in the United States at Vanderbilt University, where he was deeply influenced by the civil rights movement. He still lives in Bangladesh, and travels widely around the world on behalf of Grameen Bank and the concept of micro-credit.
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4/5

1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh by Srinath Raghavan

The war of 1971 was the most significant geopolitical event in the Indian subcontinent since its partition in 1947. At one swoop, it led to the creation of Bangladesh, and it tilted the balance of power between India and Pakistan steeply in favor of India. The Line of Control in Kashmir, the nuclearization of India and Pakistan, the conflicts in Siachen Glacier and Kargil, The war of 1971 was the most significant geopolitical event in the Indian subcontinent since its partition in 1947. At one swoop, it led to the creation of Bangladesh, and it tilted the balance of power between India and Pakistan steeply in favor of India. The Line of Control in Kashmir, the nuclearization of India and Pakistan, the conflicts in Siachen Glacier and Kargil, the insurgency in Kashmir, the political travails of Bangladesh--all can be traced back to the intense nine months in 1971. Against the grain of received wisdom, Srinath Raghavan contends that far from being a predestined event, the creation of Bangladesh was the product of conjuncture and contingency, choice and chance. The breakup of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh can be understood only in a wider international context of the period: decolonization, the Cold War, and incipient globalization. In a narrative populated by the likes of Nixon, Kissinger, Zhou Enlai, Indira Gandhi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Tariq Ali, George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, and Bob Dylan, Raghavan vividly portrays the stellar international cast that shaped the origins and outcome of the Bangladesh crisis. This strikingly original history uses the example of 1971 to open a window to the nature of international humanitarian crises, their management, and their unintended outcomes.
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3.8/5

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England’s irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England’s irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn’t quite match her name (Jamaican for “no problem”). Samad’s late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal’s every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith. Set against London’s racial and cultural tapestry, venturing across the former empire and into the past as it barrels toward the future, White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.
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4.3/5

The Bones of Grace by Tahmima Anam

The much-anticipated new novel by the Granta 'Best of Young British' Novelist 'Anwar told me that it wasn't until he almost died that he realised he needed to find the woman he had once loved. I've thought about that a lot in the last few years, that if Anwar hadn't worked on that building site, he might never have gone looking for Megna, and if he hadn't done that, I might The much-anticipated new novel by the Granta 'Best of Young British' Novelist 'Anwar told me that it wasn't until he almost died that he realised he needed to find the woman he had once loved. I've thought about that a lot in the last few years, that if Anwar hadn't worked on that building site, he might never have gone looking for Megna, and if he hadn't done that, I might still be in the dark about my past. I've only ever been a hair away from being utterly alone in the world, Elijah, and it was Anwar who shone a light where once there was only darkness.' The Bones of Grace. It is the story of Zubaida, and her search for herself. It is a story she tells for Elijah, the love of her life. It tells the story of Anwar, the link in Zubaida's broken chain. Woven within these tales are the stories of a whale and a ship; a piano and a lost boy. This is the story of love itself.
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3.9/5

In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman

A bold, epic debut  novel set during the war and financial crisis that defined the beginning of our century An investment banker approaching forty, his career collapsing and his marriage unraveling, receives a surprise visitor at his West London town house. Confronting the disheveled figure of a South Asian male carrying a backpack, the banker recognizes a long-lost college A bold, epic debut  novel set during the war and financial crisis that defined the beginning of our century An investment banker approaching forty, his career collapsing and his marriage unraveling, receives a surprise visitor at his West London town house. Confronting the disheveled figure of a South Asian male carrying a backpack, the banker recognizes a long-lost college friend, a mathematics prodigy who disappeared many years earlier under mysterious circumstances. The friend has resurfaced with a confession of unsettling power. Zia Haider Rahman takes us on a journey of exhilarating scope, ranging over Kabul, London, New York, Islamabad, Oxford, and Princeton and dealing with love, belonging, finance, science, and war. Its framework is an age-old story: the friendship of two men and the betrayal of one by the other, both of them desperate in their different ways to climb clear of their wrong beginnings. Set against the breaking of nations and beneath the clouds of economic recession, the novel chronicles the lives of people carrying unshakable legacies of class, culture, and faith as they struggle to tame their futures.  In the Light of What We Know is by turns tender, intimate, and panoramic, telescoping the great upheavals of our young century into a first novel of rare ambition and profundity.  
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4.5/5

A History of Bangladesh by Willem Van Schendel

Bangladesh is a new name for an old land whose history is little known to the wider world. A country chiefly famous in the West for media images of poverty, underdevelopment, and natural disasters, Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's history reveals the country's vibrant, colourful past and its diverse culture as it navigates Bangladesh is a new name for an old land whose history is little known to the wider world. A country chiefly famous in the West for media images of poverty, underdevelopment, and natural disasters, Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's history reveals the country's vibrant, colourful past and its diverse culture as it navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that have created modern Bangladesh. The story begins with the early geological history of the delta which has decisively shaped Bangladesh society. The narrative then moves chronologically through the era of colonial rule, the partition of Bengal, the war with Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh as an independent state. In so doing, it reveals the forces that have made Bangladesh what it is today. This is an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people.
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3.9/5

Songs At the River's Edge: Stories From a Bangladeshi Village by Katy Gardner

Katy Gardner’s account of her fifteen-month stay in the small Bangladeshi village of Talukpur has become a classic study of rural life in South Asia. Through a series of beautifully crafted narratives, the villagers and their stories are brought vividly to life and the author’s role as an outsider sensitively conveyed in her descriptions of the warm friendships she makes. Katy Gardner’s account of her fifteen-month stay in the small Bangladeshi village of Talukpur has become a classic study of rural life in South Asia. Through a series of beautifully crafted narratives, the villagers and their stories are brought vividly to life and the author’s role as an outsider sensitively conveyed in her descriptions of the warm friendships she makes. Above all Songs at the River's Edge is written from a deep respect of Bangladesh and its country.
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4.1/5

Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood by Anthony Mascarenhas

Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood is a book written by journalist Anthony Mascarenhas. The book chronicles the bloody coups and uprisings in the post-independence Bangladesh. The book focuses on the two towering figures of Bangladeshi politics, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman. They are popularly credited as two key architects of modern Bangladesh and the rule of each wa Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood is a book written by journalist Anthony Mascarenhas. The book chronicles the bloody coups and uprisings in the post-independence Bangladesh. The book focuses on the two towering figures of Bangladeshi politics, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman. They are popularly credited as two key architects of modern Bangladesh and the rule of each was ended by assassination. The book is written in an engaging style, and treats the coups/assassinations and their plotters in great detail. A section of black-and-white photographs depict the slain Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the slain General Ziaur Rahman, plotters behind various coups, politicians and some photocopies of documents and an official gazette related to the many coups this South Asian country has suffered. In its jacket, the book promises that it has "revealed" issues like who killed Mujib (the first prime minister of Bangladesh), who was responsible for the jail killings in Bangladesh, and how General Zia was assassinated. Written in 13 chapters and an index, the book also contains a list of officers convicted by General Court Martial and hanged for the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman. In a November 1985 preface to the book, Mascarenhas writes: "This is a true story; in many ways a text book of Third World disenchantment. On the 16th of December, 1971, the state of Bangladesh (population 70,000,000) was born at the end of a nine-month liberation struggle in which more than a million Bengalis of the erstwhile East Pakistan died at the hands of the Pakistan army. But one of the 20th century's great man-made disasters is also among the greatest of its human triumphs in terms of a people's will for self-determination." Mascarenhas describes his own book thus: "This book is the unvarnished story of their (the early leaders of Bangladesh) times, essentially the sad history of the first 10 years of Bangladesh. It is based on my close personal knowledge of the main protagonists; on more than 120 separate interviews with the men and women involved in the dramatic events; and on official archives and documents which I had the privilege to inspect personally. The dialogue, whenever used, is a faithful reproduction of the words which my informants said they actually used during the events in which they were involved." David Taylor, a South Asia expert, praises the book's "attention to detail and narrative" although he suggests that it is short on interpretation and treats certain episodes of lesser importance in "excessive length". Mascarenhas is a veteran journalist, associated with Bangladesh from the start of its freedom struggle. In 1971, he left Pakistan to expose in The Sunday Times the atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army in the region now known as Bangladesh. He continued as a reporter for The Sunday Times for 14 years and subsequently as a freelancer. He was born in Goa, educated in Karachi and worked for many years as a journalist in India, Pakistan and the UK. He died in 1986 at the age of 58.[2] This book was published in 1986 by Hodder and Stoughton, with a coverprice of UKP 4.95 net in the UK. There may be an earlier printing in 1985. It is devoted "to Yvonne and our children -- who have also paid the price". A Bengali language translation of the book was released in the late 1990s in Bangladesh, with the title Bangladesh: Rokter Rin (বাংলাদেশঃ রক্তের ঋণ)
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4.3/5

The Bangladesh Reader: History, Culture, Politics by Meghna Guhathakurta (Editor) , Willem Van Schendel (Editor)

Bangladesh is the world's eighth most populous country. It has more inhabitants than either Russia or Japan, and its national language, Bengali, ranks sixth in the world in terms of native speakers. Founded in 1971, Bangladesh is a relatively young nation, but the Bengal Delta region has been a major part of international life for more than 2,000 years, whether as an impor Bangladesh is the world's eighth most populous country. It has more inhabitants than either Russia or Japan, and its national language, Bengali, ranks sixth in the world in terms of native speakers. Founded in 1971, Bangladesh is a relatively young nation, but the Bengal Delta region has been a major part of international life for more than 2,000 years, whether as an important location for trade or through its influence on Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim life. Yet the country rarely figures in global affairs or media, except in stories about floods, poverty, or political turmoil. The Bangladesh Reader does what those portrayals do not: It illuminates the rich historical, cultural, and political permutations that have created contemporary Bangladesh, and it conveys a sense of the aspirations and daily lives of Bangladeshis. Intended for travelers, students, and scholars, the Reader encompasses first-person accounts, short stories, historical documents, speeches, treaties, essays, poems, songs, photographs, cartoons, paintings, posters, advertisements, maps, and a recipe. Classic selections familiar to many Bangladeshis—and essential reading for those who want to know the country—are juxtaposed with less-known pieces. The selections are translated from a dozen languages; many have not been available in English until now. Featuring eighty-three images, including seventeen in color, The Bangladesh Reader is an unprecedented, comprehensive introduction to the South Asian country's turbulent past and dynamic present.
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