Apr 14, 2012 Posted by daktre

Aloha Oe: A review

  Aloha Oe is a short story by Jack London, an American author. The story is set in the wharf of a Hawaiian Island, where a ship is just departing with the coterie of a Senator who is just winding up a junketing trip to the island. The senator is accompanied by his daughter, Dorothy. The entire story is set among the festivities surrounding the departing ship on one hand and Dorothy’s reminiscences... read more

Apr 7, 2012 Posted by daktre

Of scorpion stings and antivenoms

I was quite puzzled by the general lack of information and clarity over treatment of scorpion stings. A phone call from a friend requesting urgent help from a remote forested area triggered me to put together this blog on scorpion sting response. Medical school text books are quite confusing. The ones that we hold holy are mostly US or European in origin. Although many of them are quite globalised, the... read more

Dec 4, 2011 Posted by daktre

Review of Mission song by John le Carre

Superb novel, but perhaps needs at least some understanding of global politicking and/or African politics and neo-colonial narratives – at least if the reader is informed a bit on these, s/he will love the book. Intense and like many of le carres, fast-paced. Yet differs from most of his other spy thrillers in the fact that it delves much more into few characters and their personal lives. It reads... read more

Oct 21, 2011 Posted by daktre

The emperor of all maladies: a review

This is one of the best books I have read. Depressing, intense, detailed, thorough, free-flowing and reflective. The book pulls the people from the history of medicine (or sceince itself) into a living narrative putting together pieces of apparently disjunct and inconspicuous and serendipitous events in the lives of cancer patients, researchers, doctors, surgeons, scientists and poets and presents it as as... read more

Jul 12, 2011 Posted by daktre

Review of Confessions of an economic hitman

A fast-paced and often repetetive ramble on the experiences of an EHM – economic hit man – working in a “firm” that the author suggests had direct links with NSA. The book blends the author’s recollection of events with detailed history of the fall of several democratically elected governments and dictatorships world-wide. While the history is informative, the facts (if they... read more