Anuj Ghai (Author of The Divine Pantheon)

Anuj liked Lucy Buchanan's review of The Monastic World: A 1,200-Year History:
Feb 16, 2026 12:15PM · see review
Anuj liked Ankita’s status update Ankita started reading Intermezzo
Feb 16, 2026 12:15PM
Anuj made a comment on Stella’s status in Thinking the Twentieth Century " Wonderful book! "
Feb 16, 2026 12:15PM
Anuj liked Stella’s status update Stella wants to read Thinking the Twentieth Century
Feb 16, 2026 12:15PM
Anuj rated a book really liked it God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England by Bijan Omrani (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Bijan Omrani’s God Is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England is a persuasive and elegantly written reminder of something that modern conversations about national identity often forget: England did not simply become Christian, it was, ...more
Feb 16, 2026 09:52AM · like · see review
Anuj rated a book it was amazing Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Hamnet is one of those novels that stays with you as a mood rather than an argument. When I finished it, what lingered most wasn’t an idea so much as a wash of emotion and imagery — breath, touch, illness, absence. I loved it, but more than that, I a ...more
Feb 07, 2026 11:58AM · like · see review
Anuj rated a book liked it A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 01, 2026 03:10AM · like
Anuj rated a book it was amazing Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI by John Cassidy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Capitalism and Its Critics: A Battle of Ideas in the Modern World, by John Cassidy, is an ambitious and impressively accessible survey of the long intellectual struggle over capitalism’s moral, economic, and social legitimacy. Rather than offering a ...more
Jan 29, 2026 01:49AM · like · see review
Anuj rated a book it was amazing All That Remains: A Life in Death by Sue Black	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
All That Remains is a quietly powerful meditation on death, humanity, and what it means to bear witness to the dead. Drawing on decades of experience as one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists, Sue Black takes the reader inside the mortua ...more
Jan 21, 2026 10:51AM · like · see review
Anuj rated a book really liked it Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present by Fareed Zakaria	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present is a sweeping, accessible history of the political, economic, and social revolutions that have shaped the modern world, from the early modern period through to today’s fractured globa ...more
Jan 18, 2026 06:46AM · like · see review

Anuj liked Lucy Buchanan's review of The Monastic World: A 1,200-Year History:

Anuj liked Ankita’s status update

Ankita started reading Intermezzo

Anuj made a comment on Stella’s status in Thinking the Twentieth Century

Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt

" Wonderful book! "

Anuj liked Stella’s status update

Stella wants to read Thinking the Twentieth Century

Anuj rated a book really liked it

God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England
by Bijan Omrani (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Bijan Omrani’s God Is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England is a persuasive and elegantly written reminder of something that modern conversations about national identity often forget: England did not simply become Christian, it was, Bijan Omrani’s God Is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England is a persuasive and elegantly written reminder of something that modern conversations about national identity often forget: England did not simply become Christian, it was, in large part, formed by Christianity.

Omrani argues convincingly that Christianity was foundational to England’s political and cultural development. The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, the organisation of the Church, the intellectual world of the monasteries, and the shared rhythms of worship all helped knit together what might otherwise have remained a loose collection of competing kingdoms. The Church was not a decorative feature of early England; it was structural.

What makes the book particularly effective is its accessibility. This is narrative history at its best, clear, elegant, and engaging without being dense or overly academic. Omrani doesn’t bog the reader down in historiographical battles. In fact, he doesn’t engage modern secular scholarship in a particularly confrontational way at all. Instead, he simply tells the story in a way that makes the Christian foundations of England feel obvious again.

The chapters on Bede are especially strong. Omrani shows how Bede didn’t just record England’s early story — he helped shape it. His Ecclesiastical History gave the disparate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms a sense of shared identity and destiny. The treatment of the Reformation is also convincing, presented less as a clean break from the past and more as part of a long and continuous Christian story.

If I have one reservation, it’s that Omrani’s sympathy toward Christianity is clear throughout. That conviction gives the book coherence and warmth, but at times it feels like a deliberate correction of contemporary secular narratives, perhaps even a slight overcorrection. That said, it never descends into polemic.

The thesis itself isn’t especially surprising and perhaps that’s the point. Omrani isn’t trying to shock; he’s trying to restore perspective. In that, he succeeds. For anyone interested in how religion shaped national identity, or in understanding England before modern secular assumptions took hold, this is a thoughtful and rewarding read. ...more

Anuj rated a book it was amazing

Hamnet
by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Hamnet is one of those novels that stays with you as a mood rather than an argument. When I finished it, what lingered most wasn’t an idea so much as a wash of emotion and imagery — breath, touch, illness, absence. I loved it, but more than that, I a Hamnet is one of those novels that stays with you as a mood rather than an argument. When I finished it, what lingered most wasn’t an idea so much as a wash of emotion and imagery — breath, touch, illness, absence. I loved it, but more than that, I admired how carefully and confidently it’s put together.

Agnes is very much the heart of the book, and for me that choice works beautifully. She feels fully realised without ever being overworked or turned into a symbol. The characters in general are one of the novel’s great strengths: they feel solid, lived-in, and believable. Making Agnes the centre of gravity is also what makes Shakespeare’s near-absence feel not like a trick but the right decision. Keeping him unnamed and largely in the background is clever and powerful, and it sharpens the emotional impact rather than dulling it.

The way the book handles grief is what really sets it apart. It’s uncannily precise — not loud or melodramatic, but deeply accurate in how it shows loss changing the texture of everyday life. Reading this as a new parent made parts of it hit especially hard. What I admired most is that the novel manages to be about both a child’s death and what continues afterwards. It doesn’t collapse into despair, but it never offers easy consolation either.

O’Farrell’s prose is mannered and immersive, full of recurring motifs that slowly knit the story together. The non-linear structure took a bit of getting used to, especially on audiobook, but once I settled into it, it felt natural. The style never got in the way of the story for me. If anything, it deepened the sense of being inside these lives.

Although the book plays freely with historical fact, it feels historically alive rather than decorative. And the final connection to Hamlet, which could easily have felt too neat, genuinely feels earned.

If you’re into literary fiction, historical fiction, or Shakespeare, Hamnet is easy to recommend. It’s heart-wrenching, honest, and quietly beautiful, and it’s absolutely a book I’d reread, not because it’s comforting, but because it feels so true. ...more

Anuj rated a book liked it

A Guardian and a Thief
by Megha Majumdar (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Anuj rated a book it was amazing

Capitalism and Its Critics by John Cassidy

Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI
by John Cassidy

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Capitalism and Its Critics: A Battle of Ideas in the Modern World, by John Cassidy, is an ambitious and impressively accessible survey of the long intellectual struggle over capitalism’s moral, economic, and social legitimacy. Rather than offering a Capitalism and Its Critics: A Battle of Ideas in the Modern World, by John Cassidy, is an ambitious and impressively accessible survey of the long intellectual struggle over capitalism’s moral, economic, and social legitimacy. Rather than offering a defence or a demolition of capitalism, Cassidy sets out to map the terrain of its critics, from early moral philosophers and social reformers to Marxists, Keynesians, environmentalists, and contemporary sceptics of neoliberalism, showing how each emerged from specific historical pressures and anxieties.

One of the book’s great strengths is its balance. Cassidy treats his subjects with seriousness and sympathy, even when he ultimately disagrees with them. He is particularly good at identifying the internal tensions and blind spots in many critiques of capitalism, noting where critics underestimated capitalism’s adaptability, overestimated the coherence of their own alternatives, or ignored uncomfortable trade-offs. At the same time, he avoids complacency: a recurring theme is that many older criticisms, about inequality, instability, financial excess, and the corrosive effects of markets on social life, remain stubbornly relevant today, even if their original formulations now feel dated.

The book’s panoramic scope is another major asset. Cassidy moves fluently across centuries, disciplines, and geographies, and he devotes real attention to figures who rarely appear in mainstream accounts of political economy. The chapter on J. C. Kumarappa, for example, stands out as a thoughtful exploration of a Gandhian, anti-industrial critique of capitalism that feels strikingly contemporary in an age of climate anxiety and debates about sustainable development. Throughout, Cassidy’s clear prose and journalistic instincts make complex ideas readable without flattening them.

Overall, Capitalism and Its Critics succeeds as both intellectual history and contemporary diagnosis. It does not pretend that capitalism has a single fatal flaw or a single silver-bullet alternative. Instead, it shows that capitalism has always been shaped, and often improved, by its critics, even when those critics were wrong in important ways. For readers looking for an accessible, nuanced, and historically grounded account of why capitalism remains so contested, this is an excellent place to start. ...more

Anuj rated a book it was amazing

All That Remains: A Life in Death
by Sue Black

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

All That Remains is a quietly powerful meditation on death, humanity, and what it means to bear witness to the dead. Drawing on decades of experience as one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists, Sue Black takes the reader inside the mortua All That Remains is a quietly powerful meditation on death, humanity, and what it means to bear witness to the dead. Drawing on decades of experience as one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists, Sue Black takes the reader inside the mortuary, the laboratory, and the aftermath of disasters and crimes, not for shock value, but to restore dignity to those who can no longer speak for themselves.

At its core, the book is about listening to the stories written in bones. Black explains, with remarkable clarity and restraint, how skeletal remains can reveal age, sex, trauma, disease, and sometimes even the final moments of a life. Each case becomes a human story, woven with reflections on loss, memory, justice, and the responsibilities of those tasked with identifying the dead.

A central theme is empathy, both for the deceased and for the living left behind. Black repeatedly emphasises that forensic work is not merely about facts and measurements, but about compassion: giving families answers, restoring names to the unnamed, and ensuring that even in death, individuals are treated with care and respect. Her portrayal of death is unsentimental yet deeply humane, stripping away fear while never trivialising grief.

One of the book’s great strengths is the insight it offers into the lived reality of forensic anthropology. Black conveys the emotional toll of the work alongside its intellectual demands, showing how professionalism coexists with vulnerability. She is candid about moments of doubt, exhaustion, and sorrow, which makes the book feel grounded and honest rather than heroic or detached. The writing itself is lucid, elegant, and often quietly moving. Black has a gift for explaining complex forensic processes in accessible language, while her reflective passages - on mortality, identity, and what remains after life ends - linger long after the page is turned.

Overall, All That Remains is both an illuminating account of a remarkable career and a compassionate exploration of death as a universal human experience. It is a book that informs, reassures, and, unexpectedly, comforts, reminding us that even in death, there is meaning, dignity, and care. ...more

Anuj rated a book really liked it

Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
by Fareed Zakaria

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present is a sweeping, accessible history of the political, economic, and social revolutions that have shaped the modern world, from the early modern period through to today’s fractured globa Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present is a sweeping, accessible history of the political, economic, and social revolutions that have shaped the modern world, from the early modern period through to today’s fractured global order.

Zakaria’s central argument is that modern history unfolds in waves of revolution followed by backlash. Liberal revolutions - constitutionalism, capitalism, democracy, secularism, and later globalization and technological change - have delivered extraordinary gains in prosperity, freedom, and human flourishing. But those gains are rarely linear. Periods of rapid transformation generate social dislocation, inequality, cultural anxiety, and political reaction, which in turn produce counter-movements: nationalism, authoritarianism, populism, and ideological extremism.

What makes the book particularly effective is its panoramic scope. Zakaria moves comfortably across centuries and continents, linking the English, American, French, and industrial revolutions to the twentieth century’s ideological conflicts and today’s populist moment. The through-line is not a single ideology but a structural pattern: progress creates stresses that, if poorly managed, provoke backlash.

The book is written in Zakaria’s trademark clear, engaging, and highly readable style. Complex historical developments are explained without jargon, making this an excellent synthesis for general readers. His analysis is also notably balanced. Zakaria is critical of excesses on both the left and the right - warning against illiberal identity politics and technocratic overreach on one side, and reactionary nationalism and authoritarian nostalgia on the other.

There are no real negatives to note, other than those inherent in the project. The book does not go deeply into any single episode, and many of the arguments will be familiar to readers of Zakaria’s previous work or of modern political history more generally. It is not groundbreaking in thesis. But it doesn’t need to be. As a lucid, thoughtful, and well-judged overview of how we arrived at our current moment, and why periods of progress so often trigger resistance, it is highly worthwhile and consistently engaging. ...more

Anuj’s Year In Books

Anuj Ghai’s Followers (6)

Anuj’s Bookshelves

Anuj’s Friends (88)

2026 Reading Challenge

Anuj Ghai

Goodreads Author

Combine Editions
Anuj Ghai’s books

Anuj is Currently Reading

rss
Anuj’s Recent Updates

Anuj’s Friend Comments

	The Divine Pantheon: A History of Hindu Gods 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Divine Pantheon:: A History of Hindu Gods it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Anuj’s Year In Books

Anuj Ghai’s Followers (6)

Anuj’s Bookshelves

Anuj’s Friends (88)

2026 Reading Challenge

Anuj Ghai

Goodreads Author

Combine EditionsAnuj Ghai’s books

Anuj is Currently Reading

rssAnuj’s Recent Updates

Anuj’s Friend Comments

Combine Editions
Anuj Ghai’s books

rss
Anuj’s Recent Updates