Helping us learn what Iraqis go through in their beleaguered land merely to get hold of a book, the author reminisces about growing up with books in India and the central position of classics like the Mahabharata in developing his own literary identity. It also includes the author's views on Salman Rushdie and India's love for P G Wodehouse

An elected Member of Parliament, former Minister of State for External Affairs and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Shashi Tharoor is the prize-winning author of twelve previous books, both fiction and non-fiction. A widely-published critic, commentator and columnist, he served the United Nations during a twenty-nine-year career in refugee work and peace-keeping, at the Secretary-Generals office and heading communications and public information. In 2006 he was Indias candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General, and emerged a strong second out of seven contenders. He has won Indias highest honour for overseas Indians, the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, and numerous literary awards, including a Commonwealth Writers Prize.