This is Orson Welles
Orson Welles and Peter Bogdanovich
Da Capo (paperback), 1998
PRs 2900
Innovative film and theater director, radio producer, actor, writer, painter, narrator, and magician, Orson Welles (1915–1985) was the last true Renaissance man of the twentieth century. From such great radio works as “War of the Worlds” to his cinematic masterpieces Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Othello, Macbeth, Touch of Evil, and Chimes at Midnight, Welles was a master storyteller, as expansive as he was enigmatic. This Is Orson Welles, a collection of penetrating and witty conversations between Welles and Peter Bogdanovich, includes insights into Welles’s radio, theater, film, and television work; Hollywood producers, directors, and stars; and almost everything else, from acting to magic, literature to comic strips, bullfighters to gangsters. Now including Welles’s revealing memo to Universal about his artistic intentions for Touch of Evil, (of which the “director’s edition” was released in Fall 1998) this book, which Welles ultimately considered his autobiography, is a masterpiece as unique and engaging as the best of his works.
The Strength to Say No: One Girl’s Fight against Forced Marriage
Rekha Kalindi with Mouhssine Ennaimi
Penguin Viking (paperback), 2015
PRs 500
Growing up in a remote village in Bengal Rekha Kalindi was always made to believe that being born a girl was a burden. A feisty intelligent child she was aware of the horrific consequences of forced marriages on the young girls in her village. Having observed how her friends were married off and sent to live with their mothers-in-law where they were often treated like slaves she was determined not to suffer the same miserable fate. At the age of eleven Rekha caused a sensation when she refused to be a child bride. Furious her mother locked her up and even starved her but the young girl s spirit could not be broken. It took an incredible amount of bold determination for Rekha to persuade her family not to marry her off against her will. Ever since she has actively campaigned for the rights of young girls and has emerged as a crusader for justice. She also went on to become a recipient of India s National Bravery Award in 2010. The Strength to Say No is a powerful portrait of one girl s monumental struggle against oppression as well as a heartrending and inspiring story about the triumph of the human spirit.
About the Author
Rekha Kalindi was born in a remote village in Bengal 100 miles from Kolkata. Since her story was revealed she has travelled all over India to speak and her international profile continues to grow. She is the recipient of India’s National Bravery Award.
Ghaffar Khan: Nonviolent Badshah of the Pakhtuns
Rajmohan Gandhi
Penguin (paperback), 2004
PRs 650
Born into the Muhammadzai tribe, from the Charsadda valley in the Pakhtun heartland, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a passionate believer in the nonviolent core of Islam and sought to wean his people the fierce warrior Pakhtuns or Pathans of the North-West Frontier Province from their violent traditions and fight for a separate Pakhtun homeland that would no longer be a buffer between Russia and Britain in the Great Game.
In 1929 came Mahatma Gandhi s call for nonviolent resistance against British rule and Badshah Khan, responded by raising the Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God), an army of 1,00,000 men who pledged themselves to the service of mankind and nonviolence as a creed. For this, and for his steadfast devotion to his principles, this towering figure was imprisoned for a total of twenty-seven years, first by the British and later by the Pakistani government.
This is a perceptive biography that offers fresh insights into the life and achievements of an extraordinary man, drawing close parallels with the life of Mahatma Gandhi, his brother in spirit.
Politics of Identity: Ethnic Nationalism and the State in Pakistan
Adeel Khan
Sage (hardcover), 2015
PRs 1800
A major challenge Pakistan has been confronted with since it came into existence is the self-assertion of various ethnic groups, which have actively contested the legitimacy of the state structure. However, despite the seriousness of this ethnic challenge, there exists no detailed study of these movements—Politics of Identity fills this vacuum.
Highlighting the role the state plays in the lives of individuals, the book studies both the pre-colonial and colonial state system in India and the changes it effected till India’s independence and the creation of Pakistan. It assesses the state in Pakistan and explains its role in giving rise to ethnic discontent, and studies four ethnic movements—Pukhtun, Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir—demonstrating how proximity to or distance from state power have influenced their politics.
The book critically reviews some influential theories of nationalism and shows how they have not adequately explained ethnic nationalism in some parts of the world.
The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini: His Life and Films
Tag Gallagher
Da Capo (paperback), 1998
PRs 3800
Roberto Rossellini (1906–1977)—movie-maker, bon vivant, and passionate intellectual—was the key figure of Italian neo-realism, the godfather of the French New Wave, and a television pioneer; the maker of such classics as Open City, Paisan, Stromboli, Flowers of St. Francis, Voyage in Italy, and Louis XIV; Anna Magnani’s lover; Ingrid Bergman’s husband; and Isabella Rossellini’s father. Continually enmeshed in controversy, perhaps no other figure in the history of world cinema has been so reviled—and so revered. Tag Gallagher’s masterful biography of Rossellini, the first in any language, was fifteen years in the making. It is the result of assiduous research, lengthy interviews with almost everyone who knew him, and investigations into the making and reception of his films. The cast of characters includes Vittorio Mussolini, Il Duce’s son and Rossellini’s Fascist-era producer; Howard Hughes, who produced Stromboli and then, in a fit of jealousy over Ingrid Bergman, butchered its American release; and dozens of other people. Combining a portrait of a dynamic and daring man with brilliant discussions of his work, Tag Gallagher tells a story as rich and moving as Rossellini’s miraculous films.