5 NEW NON-FICTION RELEASES TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS MONTH

Autumn means a harvest of new books the world over. While novels and short stories continue to sweep through shelves, this past month has brought about an especially exciting basket of non-fiction releases, covering history, politics, reportage, and literature. Stay tuned for Daily Star Books' reviews and interviews on some of these new books in the coming weeks! Read more about each book on the online version of this article.

A PROMISED LAND

Barack Obama

Crown Publishing, Penguin Random House 

In this first volume of presidential memoirs, Barack Obama revisits his political education and landmark moments of his tenure as President of the United States. He comments upon the reaches and limits of presidential power, and the dynamics of international diplomacy and partisan politics in the US.  

THE BATTLE OF BELONGING

Shashi Tharoor

Aleph Book Company

In his latest book, bestselling author and politician Shashi Tharoor explores what it means to be Indian, parsed through the lenses of nationalism, democracy, citizenship, and belonging, juxtaposed against divisive sectarian sentiments. 

VOICES OF DISSENT

Romila Thapar

Seagull Books

Historian and writer Romila Thapar's essay prods at the definitions of what it means to argue, agree and disagree, tracing the long history of dissent in the Indian subcontinent as shaped by religion, politics, and public action. 

THE NINE LIVES OF PAKISTAN

Declan Walsh

W W Norton

Journalist Declan Walsh recounts his decade-long experience of reporting from Pakistan, from the ports of Karachi to lawless Waziristan. On this journey, he met crusading lawyers who risked their lives for the marginalized, imperious chieftains with a penchant for poetry, and a spy who might hold the answer to why he was suddenly expelled from Pakistan. 

THE AGE OF PANDEMICS (1817-1920)

Chinmay Tumbe

HarperCollins India 

Cholera, plague, and influenza pandemics claimed 70 million lives between 1817 and 1920, an age otherwise known for massive industrial, imperial, and revolutionary shifts. In The Age of Pandemics, Chinmay Tumbe documents the causes and their impacts—lockdowns, migrations, vaccinations—on India, a region that was at the epicenter of the devastation at the time. 

HUMAYUN KE NIYE

Hasan Shawon

Avayaa Ltd 

With a cover and introduction by Ahsan Habib, writer, cartoonist, and younger brother of Humayun Ahmed, Humayun Ke Niye addresses 'Humayun's generation'—children of the 1980s and '90s who grew up reading Himu, Rupa, Misir Ali, Baker Bhai, and others. Author and journalist Hasan Shawon compiles his essays on the enduring experience of reading Humayun Ahmed's fiction.