Book review: Probably the most important book you will ever read - China Syndrome

 

China Syndrome
by Karl Taro Greenfeld
Genre: Non-fiction
2006, Harper Collins

“He then announced a new policy called “The Three Nos,” which came straight from the Communist Party Publicity Department: no talking to the media about the nature of SARS, no talking to the public about doctors’ personal experience treating the disease, and no communicating with the WHO about anything to do with SARS." - China Syndrome

This is the most important book you can ever read possibly in this century about the SARS coronavirus. Armed with detailed research and personal experience, the author takes you through the politics, economics, cultural and environmental parts of the epidemic which is continuing to this day in its mutated form. It includes what had been the behavioral or environmental change that had created the right circumstances for coronavirus to jump species - urbanization, consumerism, so called "development" and globalization.

While the world was watching and debating the War on Iraq and eyeballs worldwide were glued to TV screens on what was happening in Iraq, the world was facing a deadly global outbreak as the coronavirus had jumped species and human - human transmission was happening in what was then termed SARS. Just when the whole world was questioning the use of the existence of UN because the Iraq war was taking place, the health arm of the UN namely the WHO was working hard trying to get the Chinese government to open up. It was coordinating with multiple countries where the disease outbreak  was seen like US,Vietnam, India, Thailand, Japan, Mongolia, and of course the originator, China.While American CDC discovered it was the coronavirus that caused SARS, the Chinese CDC did too but the the Chinese government gagged them from announcing it apart from indulging in under reporting of deaths, closing of industry which led to migrant worker problems and super spreading as they arrived back in remote parts of China. All the politburo did was try to save face and made it illegal to even share samples inside China  which doctors from Hong Kong managed to smuggle in at great personal loss to identify. The whistle blower was Dr.Jiang Yanyong who was placed under house arrest for sending letters to the Chinese media and Communist party that they needed to inform the world and did through the TIME magazine website. Then there was Dr. Guan Yi who identified the virus and the animal which was spreading it namely the masked palm civet which is popular food in the wet markets in Shenzhen,China and Vietnam apart from SriLankan Dr. Malik Peiris who was working with Yi in HongKong.

It led to the fall of Jiang Zemin and rise of Hu Jianto. By making China, especially Southern China the global manufacturing hub for all things as the whole world chanted the mantra of "More but Cheap" during the Era of Wild Flavor and wet markets created conditions for the virus to jump species. Development and globalisation which leads to cramped work environments is perfect for the virus as it aids in  speeding up replication.With globalisation in travel, we ensured the virus could be in all parts of the world within a day's time.

The writing is crisp, factual and has the humane touch which is hard to come by in this genre. It reads like a thriller which keeps

bringing the line "Truth is stranger than fiction" to mind repeatedly The last words are ominous in the book as the world is now seeing so called waves of the coronavirus aka Covid-19. Greenfeld writes about how it  had already spread from civets to chickens to pigs in 2004 itself and how it was contained and treated. The virus was still among us and while the infectious disease network kept track of it, the rest of the world went back to its merry self pretending the virus is not mutating or doesn't exist.

If only this book had been made mandatory reading for all medical students worldwide, we might have been able to control the

outbreak in 2019 instead of repeating the mistakes the Chinese government did in 2002 which was replicated  by governments

worldwide thanks to international flights and forgetting the SARS outbreak that was contained initially by massive killing of

certain animals. Media and social media failed to spread awareness during SARS, avian flu, swine flu and now Covid-19 - which

seems to be a mutated form of the same virus  which in 2003 was termed "Breath taker" before it was given the term SARS.

 

Failing to review this book and following it up with stories on the ground seems to be the massive mistake that the world media has made and concentrating on the so called "War on Terror" experiences. If only there had been awareness, research for vaccines could have begun almost 20 years ago and millions of lives would have been saved and we would have been relatively less likely to be in this mess we are in now worldwide.

Buy the book here

The Vault of Vishnu - book review

The Vault of Vishnu
by Ashwin Sanghi
Genre : Fiction

"One cannot avoid death unless one is already dead.Even then one cannot avoid the endless cycles that follows." 

The above quote from the novel is so apt and comforting in these Covid-19 time.

The novel starts brilliantly in Doklam and with a lot of promise. But Sanghi doesn't meet the reader's expectation as the pace just doesn't slowdown but almost stops before it picks up for a while before it is again brought down to a painful trot. The author kills you slowly as he strays away from the main story to narrate  Xuanzang's travels to India which lasted for over 19 years. This completely breaks the pace of narration as it keeps to start,long stop, start, long stop formula.  Sanghi could have easily used a single sentence or at the maximum a paragraph or even a page to reveal why Xuanzang's  travel was important just as he did it for Faxian's travel to India or Bodhidharma's travels to China.

I had hoped this novel would beat his Chanakya's Chant but it is worse than his Krishna Key where at least the pace was good with extremely well formed characters. Also, the author doesn't understand the difference between AI and genetic mutation which he seems to confuse while writing the book. I laughed out loud when I came across his explanation of the name Ikoalikum, the head of the mysterious tribe. Sanghi must have used Google translate to translate I Akankaramazhikum would have made more sense but I had to remind myself Sanghi probably doesn't know Tamizh or have Tamizh friends. Also he has hurriedly tried to cover everything just because of Doklam conflict and Xi's visit to Mahabalipuram.

The only good thing about the book is Hanuman. Strange I should be writing this on Hanuman Jayanti. The ending is almost satisfactory but getting through the book was a challenge. If you like challenges and since we are in a lock down, you might try reading the book.

Keepers of the Kalachakra - book review

Keepers of the Kalachakra
by Ashwin Sanghi
420 pages, Westland
Genre: Thriller

Leaders and people holding important positions in governments die  across the world in a mysteriously similar manner. No one understands how this is happening. Simultaneously sinkholes are appearing world wide killing ordinary people. One secret organization appears to be responsible for it as they believe in eliminating liberals and promoting right wingers while  working in tandem with an a Islamic fundamentalist who is the fountainhead of  spreading radical Islam worldwide. Both believe the clash of civilizations is inevitable and has to be hastened Can they be stopped ? Ashwin Sanghi asks and answers these questions in his novel, Keepers of the Kalachakra.

Zigzagging from the lawns of the Whitehouse US to mysterious labs in India, from  Russian secret service  to facilities in China, Sanghi begins well. Once inside the secret lab facility and in trying to explain the Tibetan Book of the Dead, he loses pace. He picks it up again with action sequences but frankly it is a bit disappointing when he tries to explain Hindu and Buddhist philosophy as well as Christian, Jewish and Islamic history as it stretches the reader's patience as so much info is dropped in, especially in the middle of an action sequence.

All said and done, the ending will leave you stunned if you read the book completely. I will say a brisk beginning, intriguing center that slowly drops into a winding read and a fast and stunning end that will leave people wondering if this is what is really happening as it is too close to actual political events.

Don't include all your research Mr. Sanghi in your books. Fascinating as it is, it slows down the thriller.

If you wish to buy the book, go here  Click to buy it from Amazon

The Dalai Lama : Is the world okay with double standards on violence?

Why is it that we remember names of terrorists and so called "freedom fighters" who use violence? Why do we ignore people who not only teach or preach but actually practise non-violence ?

The Tibetans and the Dalai Lama have continue to wage a non-violent struggle against China for over 50 years. Somehow they seem to escape the notice of the media and the people worldwide.
It seems to me that we consider non-violence stupid. As China waits for the Dalai Lama to die and also has the gall to introduce new rules on how a Dalai Lama is to be selected, the world media doesn't think it is worth the space and uses it provide us "news" about the latest in Angelina Jolie or George Clooney's life.

Media --- all sorts include a "news in brief" when the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize or says something. It seems they have more important things like covering violence. Maybe if the Tibetans resorted to violence, then their cause would be worth covering! Currently, they are non-violent and not worth the media space according to most media moghuls.

This is a sad commentary on today's media. Violence sells or so they say.

For those interested in Tibet, human rights, Tibetans, non-violence, peace, Tibetan customs and culture, this book will be worth the read. After all, the Dalai Lama's life is completely intertwined with the history of Tibet.

The book review below is about Dalai Lama and Tibet.

Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic
By Mayank Chhaya
342 Pages, MapinLit (An Imprint of Mapin Publishing)
Rs.595 (Hardcover)
Genre: Non-fiction/Biography
ISBN: 81-88204-88-5

Engaging, interesting and informative, this is the only authorised biography of the Dalai Lama written by an Indian. The life of the current Dalai Lama (Lama means teacher and Dalai means ocean like wisdom) is intertwined with that of Tibet – his country, people, religion and culture, especially its current history. Tibet is the fountainhead of all the “holy” rivers of India (Sindhu, Ganges, Sutlej and Brahmaputra) and China (Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and the Yellow rivers) and is where Mount Kailash (holy for Hindus as they believe this is where where the Hindu God- Lord Shiva resides) is located.

It is amazing how people worldwide, especially Indians have been blind to the only non-violent struggle currently going on Earth, a struggle by Tibetans for retaining their culture, traditions, and country for over 57 years though the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugees have been in India for almost 48 years. Tibet has been colonised by China except colonial powers don’t usually come in droves, massacre the local population and occupy the land thus making the locals a minority in their own country. According to United Nations (UN) charter, this is a form of genocide. Having his picture in Tibet is a punishable offence according to Chinese law.

The current Dalai Lama is the 14th of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet. A refugee from his country, the author examines the various facets of monk, mystic and the man -- intelligent,funny and gentle. As you read this book, you’ll have “I didn’t know that” moments. While presenting a balanced account of one of the world’s greatest leaders, probably the greatest in today’s world, we are also given an insightful history of Tibet and Tibetans. However, at the end, one is left wondering given the complexities of global politics and economy, will this wonderful 72-year-old human ever return to his beloved Tibet?

Copyright © 2007 by Deepa Kandaswamy