Livelihoods Management Programme. (An e-course by Akshara Network) October e-livelihoods learning course. Capsule No :

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1 Livelihoods Management Programme e-livelihoods learning course Capsule No: No: Livelihoods Management Programme (An e-course by Akshara Network) e-livelihoods learning course Capsule No :

2 Capsule No: e-course; Capsule No-369: Classic Book: Arthashastra: Author: Kautilya The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. The Arthashastra describes political realism and the workings of the political world It discusses the ethics of economics and the duties and obligations of a king. Also touching upon statecraft, the legal and bureaucratic framework for administering a kingdom, on issues of the collective ethics that hold a society together, maintenance of law and order and efficient administrative machinery. Along with descriptive cultural details on topics such as mineralogy, mining and metals, agriculture, animal husbandry, medicine etc. It is a good book for people who have a keen interest in history. e-course; Capsule No-370: Classic Book: To Kill a Mockingbird: Author: Harper Lee In the book Harper Lee writes wonderfully, in the voice of a Southern child. The story is easy to read and the action is entertaining. While all these characteristics would qualify the book as a good read, they do not necessarily indicate a classic. What moves it to a classic status is its morality and ability to draw sympathy out of the reader. Though, it deals with heavy issues such as racism, oppression, injustice, it is able to handle these deep and sensitive areas without being depressing or preachy. Lee's writing makes it is easy to enter the world of the depression era Alabama. If you have not yet read this book, you will not regret picking it up. e-course; Capsule No-371: Classic Book: Rights of Man Author: Thomas Paine Rights of Man is one of the most influential books across the centuries. It is one of the foundational and decisive documents of modern liberalism. Paine wrote this book in the context of giving answers to the British politician Sir Edmund Burke, who criticized French revolution and supported hierarchical government. The book defends democracy and self-government. He elaborately explains the principles of the government and advocates the need of the constitutional republic. He argues that reason, rather than force, should guide the principles of the government. He recommends taxes on the rich to prevent the emergence of hereditary aristocracies. It is a good book for those who want to understand democracy and human rights. e-course; Capsule No-372: Classic Book: War and Peace: Author: Leo Tolstoy War and Peace delineates in graphic detail, events surrounding the French invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, as seen through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families. The entanglements of their personal lives with the then contemporary history of 1805 to Tolstoy spent years researching and rewriting the book. He worked from primary source materials, as well as from history books, philosophy texts and other historical novels. Tolstoy also used a great deal of his own experience in the 2

3 Crimean War to bring in vivid detail and first-hand accounts of the structure of the Russian army. War and Peace is well known as one of the best insights into the mental processes of a great novelist. e-course; Capsule No-373: Classic Book: Introduction to Sociology: Author: Anthony Giddens Anthony Giddens is one of the most famous and influential sociologists of recent decades. Largely credited with the concept of the "Introduction to sociology", is generally presented as an exponent of liberalism and socialism. This book provides an excellent work, covering the wide range of his writing from theory to selfreflexivity, modernity and politics, placing them all within the illuminating framework of a historical context. Giddens' book is best understood through the social context in which it was written. This is the provide a systematic and assessment of Giddens' work. It includes eleven critical essays specially commissioned from contributors who are well known in their own fields. Giddens responds to the criticisms raised by these and other authors, and clarifies and elaborates on his current views. e-course; Capsule No-374: Classic Book: Panchatantra: Author: Vishnu Sharma The Panchatantra is one of the most popular collections of Indian tales, influencing literature all over the world. It is a collection of folktales and fables that were believed to be written more than 2500 years ago in Sanskrit by Vishnu Sharma. The main characters of these tales are animals, each of which are associated with certain qualities of human beings. According to the tales, the book was written when a King approached a learned Pandit to teach the important lessons of life to his ignorant and unwise sons. The wise Pandit understanding that the royal princes could not understand complex principles in an ordinary way, devised a method wherein he would impart important knowledge in the form of simple and easy-tounderstand folktales. This particular version of the Panchatantra was translated by G L Chandiramani. Panchatantra refers to two words pancha meaning number five and 'tantra' meaning ways strategies related to inner fulfillment. e-course; Capsule No-375: Classic Book: Book Name: An Art of Living: Author: Andre Maurois This book was written by Andre Maurois, who was an erudite, an acclaimed scholar, a historian, and a deep observer of human nature and psyche with much insight. 'An Art of Living' is a very fine collection of five essays: The Art of Thinking, The Art of Loving, The Art of Working, The Art of Leadership, and The Art of Growing Old. Each section contains very profound, timeless, wisdom about the most important aspects we face in life. Maurois dwells on the necessity of slow change in human customs and attitudes as a key to lasting changes; the inner virtues to cultivate in order to successfully overcome the adversities of life; the qualities to seek in order to maintain stable, loving, relationships etc. This book caters to people interested in self-improvement and personal growth. 3

4 e-course; Capsule No-376: Classic Book: The Story of Philosophy: Author: Will Durant 'The Story of Philosophy', written by Will Durant ( ), an American author, philosopher, historian, and teacher, was published in This book introduces us to the great philosophers of all time in a single compilation. It is a brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers from ancient Greek to recent Continental and American philosophers. Durant writes as an objective historian of personal facts, stories and philosophies of these philosophers. The book has detailed profiles of nine philosophers, namely Plato, Voltaire, Friedrich Nietzsche, Immanuel Kant, Baruch Spinoza, Herbert Spencer, Francis Bacon, and Arthur Schopenhauer; and short profiles of some twentieth century philosophers Bertrand Russell, Benedetto Croce, Henri Bergson, John Dewey, William James, and George Santayana. It gives each philosopher a position in reference to one another, thus linking all the diverse realms of thought together and concluding with a summary and criticism of the major ideas of each philosopher. It is a key book for any reader who wishes to survey the history and development of philosophical ideas in the Western world. e-course; Capsule No-377: Classic Book: The Wonder That Was India : Author: AL Bashim The Wonder That Was India is a two volume book. The first volume, written by AL Bashim in 1954, covers the period between ancient India and the arrival of the Muslims; the second volume, written by S.A.A. Rizviin 1986, covers the period between 1200 and 1700 AD. AL Bashim, a noted historian and professor, has done massive research on India and it is reflected in this book. Bashim gives an insight into how modern Indian society and culture became a confluence of different influences. It covers every aspect of the Indian history, society and culture including religion, governance, social evolution, literary traditions, philosophy, languages and science. The book starts with the Indus valley Civilization and goes into a detailed account of Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro. It explores the possible reasons for the decline of the Harappa civilization. Bashim discusses in depth about the Aryan invasion theory, the evolution of Hindu religion and on the mutual influence Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism had on each other. This book is recommended as a trusted source of Indian History and is a must-read for history enthusiasts. e-course; Capsule No-378: Classic Book: A Brief History of Time": Author: Stephen Hawking A Brief History of Time" is a popular science book written in 1998 by Stephen Hawking, a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology in University of Cambridge. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein. 4

5 This is a pioneering book that looks into intense issues related to the universe, time travel, light-speed travel, and a range of subjects in cosmology, including the big bang, black holes, light cones, wormholes, anti matter, quarks, arrows of time etc. Hawking helps non-scientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today with a minimum of technical jargon: how did the universe come into being, does time always flow forward, is the universe unending or is it defined by limitations, what is the extent of space etc. This book is recommended to those interested in physics, cosmology, natural philosophy or the history of science. e-course; Capsule No-379: Classic Book: Book Name: What is History? Author: E.H. Carr The book, what is History? is the collection of six lectures given by E.H. Carr, deals with the methodology of the profession of a historian and philosophical foundations. It was published in Carr studied the method of 19th Century history and found overemphasis of historians on data and missing the meaning behind the data. Writer says that studying history means studying the historian who interpreted it. He says that history is a science and that history is the continuous process between the historian and the facts and unending dialogue between past and present. He explains that any answer one gives, reflects the context of time and society which they live. He says that history is not only learning the facts, but learning about the bias in the records and interpreting the importance of events in their social context. He describes that history consists of seeing the past through eyes of the present. Writer shows the relation between historians and facts, society and individual, history, science, morality and causes in history. The last two chapters he explains the notions of progress and objectivity of history and the historians moral judgments based on the values of their own era. He gives many examples about how the historians interpret the same period of history differently. He says that the main work of historian is not recording facts, but evaluating it. He challenges the traditional method of historians and believes that a more balanced approach is required to study history. He shows what historians can and cannot know about history. It is the most influential book on the science of history. This is the best book for historians, students and those who love history. e-course; Capsule No-380: Classic Book: The Making of the English Working Class: Author: E. P. Thompson The book The Making of the English Working Class is an influential and pivotal work of English social history. It concentrates on English artisan and working class society in its formative years from 1780 to The book starts with a description of "Dissent", discusses the influence of the French Revolution on that tradition and the effect of the industrial revolution on the lives and lifestyles of the workers in industrial England. 5

6 It narrates how the working class took part in its own making and recreates the whole life experience of people who suffered loss of status and freedom, who underwent degradation and who yet created a culture and political consciousness of great vitality. It also describes the agonies, heroisms and illusions of the working class as it made itself. The book focuses on the study of class and looks closely at the lives of ordinary people such as Luddites, weavers, early Methodists, papists, artisans, agricultural workers, etc. It also looks at how disparate groups of lower-class Englishmen not just workers in the new steam-driven industries, but artisans, small farmers, skilled craftsmen and small shopkeepers came to see themselves as part of a working class, defined by wage labor and social instability, a group that self-consciously saw its interests as separate from the mill owners and landlords, who governed England. This is an enormously powerful book that helped reshape British social history, refocused English labor history, and shifted Marxist British history in fundamental ways. It is a key book for anyone interested not just in English history but in economic change. e-course; Capsule No-381: Classic Book: Book Name: 12 years a Slave: Author: Solomon Northup The book 12 years a Slave narrates the true story of the author Solomon Northup, who was born and raised as a free black man in New York, but was kidnapped and forced into slavery. The book can be broadly divided into 5 phases of the author s life. In the first phase, Northup talks about his birth, education, work and skills, marriage and children etc. He also narrates how he met two white men who offered him a lucrative work with a circus if he would travel with them to Washington, D.C. In the second phase, Northup describes how he found himself as a prisoner in the slave pen of James H. Burch, a brutal slave trader in Washington, D.C., who behaved in a cruel manner whenever Northup begged for freedom. In the third phase, he talks about his experience of working as a slave of William Ford, who was given to generosity towards his slaves. However, Northup's fate is unkind to him again, as he is sold to a cruel carpenter. In the fourth phase, Northup explains how he lived under the tyranny of Edwin Epps. He narrates how a whip was Mr. Epps constant companions; and abuse, humiliation, and deprivation were meted out to all the slaves. After suffering for many years under Epps sadism, he narrates how he meets a carpenter named Bass, who upon learning his story, decided to send a letter send to Northup's friends, asking them to rescue him from his captivity. 6

7 In the fifth phase, he narrates how he escaped from captivity with the support of his friends and finally reunited with his family. This book is a must-read for people to understand how racism and slavery are not only barbaric, but also utterly inhuman. Northup s story finds resonance even in our current society, where caste replaces the colour of the skin as the basis for doing injustice. 7