Indian Preview: Our Top New Releases from November

1. Don’t Tell the Governor by Ravi Subramanian

On 8 November, when the clock strikes 12, your money will be no good. Somewhere on the India-Nepal Border, a car full of passengers swerves off a highway and plunges into a valley, its trunk full of cash. In the UK, a Bollywood starlet wins Big Survivor, the most popular reality TV show in the country. In Panama, Central America, a whistle-blower at a law firm brings down billionaires across the globe. And in India, a new RBI Governor is appointed. Aditya Kesavan is dynamic, charismatic and ambitious. And he’s been handed the reins of the RBI on a platter. His only job: to make sure he doesn’t rock the boat. But, unknown to him, the wheels have begun to turn, as the country

heads towards the biggest financial event in modern Indian history. And

Governor Kesavan is about to carry out the most brazen act of his life – and, perhaps, his most foolish. Will he be able to pull himself out of the mess he has got into or will he have to surrender to the manipulative forces behind the scenes? Running desperately out of time, the Governor must set things right.2. Numbercaste by Yudhanjaya WijeratneWhen Patrick Udo is offered a job at NumberCorp, he packs his bags and goes to the Valley. After all, the 2030s are a difficult time, and jobs are rare. Little does he know that he’s joining one of the most ambitious undertakings of his time or any other. NumberCorp, crunching vast amounts of social network data, is building a new society – one where everyone’s social circles are examined, their activities quantified, and their importance distilled into the all-powerful Number. A society where everything depends on an app that states exactly how important you are. As NumberCorp rises in power and in influence, the questions start coming in. What would you do to build the perfect state? And how far is too far?3. Free Hit by Suprita DasThe 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup saw the Indian team make it to the finals, and although it lost the game, the tournament marked an unprecedented high for viewership for women’s cricket in India. The ensuing euphoria that followed, including the announcement of two film-deals with the team’s leading stars, ensured that the only direction where Indian women’s cricket could go from there was up.Free Hit is the untold story of how women’s cricket in India got here, and casts light on the gender-based pay gaps, sponsorship challenges, and the sheer indifference of cricketing officials it faced along the way. Focusing on Mithali Raj, the world’s greatest female batsman, and Jhulan Goswami, the leading wicket taker in women’s cricket, author Suprita Das takes us into the lives of the spirited bunch of women who, across the years, just like their male counterparts, also brought home laurels that are worth celebrating3. How to Rig an Election by Brian Klaas and Nic CheesemanIn How to Rig an Election, Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas show how elections enable authoritarian leaders to hold on to power, revealing the reasons behind this seeming paradox. They develop the idea of a ‘dictator’s toolbox’ to uncover the six main strategies – including gerrymandering, vote buying and ballot-box stuffing – that enable authoritarian leaders to undermine the electoral process and guarantee victory. By setting up flawed elections, leaders gain the benefits of holding elections, such as greater legitimacy and international financial support, without the costs. This engaging and provocative book draws on global examples of election rigging, from Azerbaijan and Belarus to India, the United States and Zimbabwe.How to Rig an Election reveals the limitations of holding elections as a means to promote democratization, and provides new ideas about how democracy can be better protected from authoritarian subversion.5. Building the Perfect Beast by Neil GeorgeBuilding the Perfect Beast captures the exciting and often difficult life and career of a brand marketer inside the fictional world of Golden Globe Consumer Products, an FMCG company that makes shampoos and cosmetics. Set in the company’s headquarters in London, the protagonist, Don George and his four freshman colleagues on joining the firm, are immediately confronted with a very difficult lady boss, tight deadlines for a new product launch and an office eco-system made up of an intriguing, suave international workforce that loves to work hard and party hard. Early missteps and naivety of this group of new hires quickly gives way to a more confident and colourful take-off for their careers.