Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal

Title: Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal

Author: George Michell

Publisher: Jaico Books, 2014 (First published 2011)

ISBN: 978-81-8495-600-9

Pages: 144

The state of Karnataka in India renowned internationally for the excellent architecture and sculpture of its ancient temples located at Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, Hampi, Belur and Halebid. These are only the major attractions and there are numerous minor installations crisscrossing the breadth and width of the state. A visit to the sites offers immense opportunities to the traveler to absorb the spirit and essence of the artistic merit portrayed in stone. This requires guidance from professionals, but sadly, the local support one may manage to avail is woefully inadequate and error some to be of any practical use. Jaico guidebooks on such heritage sites come in handy in these situations and this one is the definitive guidebook on Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal in North Karnataka. The author, George Michell trained as an architect in Melbourne, Australia and then obtained a PhD in Indian Archeology. He has carried out research at numerous historical sites and monuments in India. Many books have been authored and co-authored by him in association with other experts. The superb photographs reproduced in fine quality paper were taken by Surendra Kumar, who works partly as a photographer specializing in panoramic topographic views. This book would be of great help to anyone planning to visit the places mentioned.

Michell establishes the historical background in the first chapter in a succinct way. In line with the nice, handy format of the book, the history is also condensed, but without losing any of the finer points. It is said that engravings in Badami constitute some of the earliest known inscriptions in the Deccan. While Michell says thus, we wonder why Ashoka’s inscriptions in the form of rock and pillar edicts are not in the reckoning. Badami came under the sway of Early Chalukyas in the 6^th century CE. The earliest temples of this era were constructed in rock-cut pattern; sculptors chipped away the unwanted portions of a solid monolith. The next stage was construction using stones in the modern way. Architects constructed buildings from specially fashioned stone slabs as in the modern fashion. Both these styles are visible in the temple towns of Badami and Aihole. Another crucial branch in the evolutionary line of Indian temple architecture is the divergence between the South and North Indian tower styles, called the Dravida and Nagara respectively. All three sanctuaries provide examples of temples in both styles. It seems that ancient Badami was a great melting pot of cultures and the two competing, yet equally elegant styles competed for royal patronage here. In the same vein, it may be thought that the Dravida style captivated the imagination of Chalukya and Rashtrakuta rulers, as we see no representation of the Nagara tower in the later monuments. We are yet to encounter such a syncretistic ancient city in North India where a similar competition ended in the adoption of Nagara architecture.

The religious structures mentioned in the book were constructed between the 6^th and 12^th centuries CE. True to India’s assimilative tradition, we see shrines dedicated to Hindu, Jain and Buddhist pantheon here. In this regard, those times were model abodes of religious tolerance where the temples of these three sister religions shared the same compound and most probably, the same devotees too! Compare this to the indescribable acts of intolerance we see around us today where armed hoodlums gun down innocent school children in cold blood. However, unmistakable signs of violence displayed towards Jain and Buddhist shrines among the monuments stop us from painting a too idealistic picture. When we see acts of mutilation on all three types of temples, the assailant must be Muslim, as the area came under the reign of Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur in the 16^th century. On the other hand, we see specific instances of vandalism on Jain and Buddhist temples and idols. The perpetrator in this case must surely be Hindu! But the author does not make any guess in this regard. He simply records his observation and moves over to the next item with the studied disregard of a diehard professional well versed in his art.

This book is an unavoidable companion to anyone planning to visit the architectural treasure house of Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal. Michell’s narration includes the serial order in which a visitor should move around the monuments, and the things they must look for. If the article of interest is located in a poorly illuminated niche, he indicates that a torch light would be required. The colour photographs accompanying the text are excellent in composure and truly do its job in bringing out the detail faithfully to the reader. The book is graced with a glossary, which is mandatory as the author has used many terms related to architecture and mythology, without pausing to explain it in mid-text. A good index and suggestions for further reading completes the list. Treat this book as a guide to the places mentioned, and it does a perfect job. It is also intended to be carried by the visitor, since the pages are of good quality paper having enough thickness to stand the travails of walking.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star

Edakkal Caves & the History of Wayanad

Title: Edakkal Caves & the History of Wayanad
Editor: O K Johnny
Publisher: Mathrubhumi Books, 2008 (First)
ISBN: 978-81-8264-642-1
Pages: 224

Both domestic and international tourists visiting the idyllic hilly district of Wayanad in Kerala make a beeline to Edakkal Caves, where a reportedly prehistoric engraving on the wall arouses interest. Though not yet completely undeciphered, some of the pictures represent scenes from hunting and tribal customs. Most people would find their interest waning within a few hours. But there might be a few people, whose curiosity would be aroused by the mysterious pictures and considerations about the equally mysterious artists who wrote the pictures on the cave wall in a distant past. This book is intended for exactly those, and the brief history of Wayanad adds icing on the cake. The author is a noted journalist, documentary maker and writes on film and cultural history. He is an editor of Mathrubhumi Publishing, this book’s publishers. Johnny has compiled in this book a few essays written around a century ago, and adds his own contribution on the inscriptions in Edakkal and Thovari caves. This chapter alone is in Malayalam and written in a scholarly and well researched way.

The chapter on Edakkal rock carvings by Fred Fawcett published in Indian Antiquary’ in 1901 brings to light the early work done by British administrators around 1890s in cataloguing and disseminating information about the carvings. Fawcett himself was the Superintendent of Police of Malabar district. Though he assigns the Neolithic age (4000 BCE – 1700 BCE) for the inscriptions we may leave it to professional archeologists for making a more intelligent guess on the time period. However, it doesn’t mean that Fawcett’s exposition is below par with that of professionals. It is very precise, but brings out all salient points, along with graphical illustrations. Not for nothing is the exam to admit aspirants to the Indian Civil Service kept so tough. Those who get past it must be capable of faithfully representing more than one field of academic knowledge with some authority. However, ordinary people may not find the description appealing. Fawcett has only reproduced the pictures, without hazarding to suggest its meaning. As such, the narrative is of interest only to the professionals.

Chapters on the history of Wayanad are simple and easy to read by, but lack any depth or insight. References are taken from government gazettes and even hearsay or local legends. It is highly doubtful whether the story of Vedar chieftains taking a Kshatriya king captive and forcing him to marry a princess of their clan, is authentic. The rebellion of Pazhassi Raja, for which Wayanad is rememberd in Kerala history, is rather neatly presented, though there is repetition of Thomas Harvey Baber’s memoirs in two chapters. Excerpts from the letter of Baber, who was the assistant collector of Malabar to his superior and under whose leadership the British intercepted the Raja and killed him, makes the reader stand in awe at the mutual respect commanded by the rebel and his pursuer. This narrative also brings to light the strict rules of caste in force at that time. We read that Pazhassi Raja, even when he was shot and was dying, asked his assailants not to come near him lest he should be ceremonially defiled! We need not judge the Raja’s action contemptuously in the light of the moral enlightenment of a future era. He was simply following the moral codes in force in the kingdom and that he was not above the intellectual horizon of the times.

The chapter by Rhodes Morgan, who was the forest officer and a commendable ornithologist titled ‘A journey through the forests of Wayanad’ offers a lovely description of his entourage’s journey from Kozhikkode to an assignment in the deep forest. Morgan paints the entire flora and fauna of the district in a humorous and absorbing way, by carefully describing the birds, animals, trees and flowering plants. The reader feels like travelling along with Morgan. This captivating narrative indirectly points to the imperativeness of deputing people having a genuine interest in the fields of wildlife and botany in the forest department.

The book, especially its latter half, is littered with a disgustingly high number of typos. It may safely be asserted that some of the pages were not even submitted to proof reading, as the meaning is obscured by indecipherable errors. We expected something better from Mathrubhumi Books, which is a leading publishing house in Kerala. The good numbers of photographs, even though monochrome, add convincing visual detail to the text.

A curious point to note is that in the excerpts from William Logan’s Malabar Manual is the point of time when the Nair community was identified and assimilated by the British into their bureaucratic cadre on account of their submissiveness and help in hunting down Pazhassi Raja. He says, “The Sudra or Nair part of the community were more to be depended upon; there was an honest frankness about them which you could not but admire, and which is a surety that in proportion to our increasing influence, these people will prove themselves worthy of the confidence of the government” (p.124).

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star

A Study of History, Vol 8

Title: A Study of History, Vol 8 – Contacts Between Civilizations in Space – Heroic Ages

Author: Arnold Joseph Toynbee

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1985 (First published 1954)

ISBN: 978-0-19-215216-9

Pages: 732

In this eighth volume of the series on ‘A Study of History’, Toynbee analyzes the contacts between civilizations in the Space domain, that is, the contacts between those societies that are separated by a frontier in the form of a geographical barrier like the sea or desert. The contacts between contemporary societies may take the form of a military invention through the contraption of war, or in the spiritual domain in the form of religion, literature or art. Whenever there is a contact, intermingling between the opponents is bound to take place on the cultural plane. The author describes a mechanism through which the cultural assimilation is germinated on the soil of the assaulted society and the way in which it spreads its roots. The defeated society first tries to imitate the military techniques of the victor, by employing the same weapons, modes of combat and drill of the soldiery. But this token adoption comes at a cost. A society is proved to be incapable of copying only one aspect – in this case military – of an alien civilization. The paraphernalia on other related spheres gradually makes an entrance on the imitator’s bosom. Several examples are cited to illustrate the point in a convincing manner. This volume is also an excellent preface to the next one in which the contacts between civilizations in the Time domain, in the form of Renaissances, are elucidated.

The interactions in the space domain begins when a society in growth transmits its institutional ideas in the spheres of culture, politics, economics and warfare towards the barbarians who lie at the other end of a permeating border through which they willingly assimilate the rays of civilization. This border, or limit, is not static. It moves at the expense of the outsiders, as more and more of them will be incorporated into the ambit of the growing civilization. Toynbee calls this border a ‘limen’, and bestows on it the status of a benevolent feature of the growth phase of a society. But when disintegration begins to set in, the initiative is lost on the part of the parent society’s creative minority which will be usurped by a dominant minority who will move the border outward again, but this time, by the use of coercion through force of arms. This move is bound to generate opposition from the barbarians, but the dominant minority continues to a stage where the border could just be maintained inviolate through a long route of supply chain from the heart of its domain. This border, being supported militarily, has to be constantly on the guard against invasion from outside the pale. This static border is called a ‘limes’. Eventually the barbarians acquire the art and technology of military science from the society and conquer the parent society through forced annexation. Thus, the first stage between the interactions of two societies over the geographical domain is very succinctly spelt out.

About half of the volume is concerned with the intercourse between modern Western Christendom and other living specimens of the species called civilizations. The modern era was inaugurated with the voyages of Columbus in 1492 and subjugation of the New World. At that time, the West was culturally in a disadvantaged position, but as the 20^th century dawned, it spread its tentacles far and wide and there was literally no society on the face of the earth that was not influenced in some way by the West. There is no comparison between this comprehensive domination by a particular civilization with anything that went before it. In that sense, setting aside a large chunk of the available space is justifiable. Toynbee identifies the turn of the 18^th century as the tipping point, when the Western Civilization began to win the hearts of other peoples. This was also the chronological point when religion took the back seat for the first time. Religious schism in the 16^th century between the Protestants and Catholics resulted in a series of religious wars for about 150 years since, at the end of which both the contenders arrived at a modus vivendi of the right to coexist. The failure of religion to assert itself, coupled with the resurgence in scientific pursuits helped create a secular outlook. It was only when the Western culture divested itself of the burden of an intolerant religion in the flavours of Catholicism and Protestantism that they could prompt people all over the planet to emulate their ways. The author gives a detailed ringside view of the societies of Orthodox Christendom, Ottoman Islam, Hindu and the Far Eastern Civilizations that came in contact with the West and the thorough transformation each of these societies underwent as a result of that crucial encounter.

The rendezvous between Medieval Western Christendom and the Eastern Orthodox and Islamic civilizations during the crusades helped to transfer the relic of Hellenic cultural artefacts and works of literature, which was preserved in a medium of the Syriac and then in Arabic language, to the West, where it flourished to perfection in the form of the Renaissance that enlightened it two centuries later. A catalogue of fruitful encounters in the ancient period is also listed. Toynbee further categorizes the nature of response on the part of the assailed society as a result of intrusion from the other. There are two kinds of options usually seen exercised by people, which are termed Herodian and Zealotist. Both the terms are borrowed from Jewish history and their rejoinder to their subjugation by Hellenism in its Roman incarnation through force of arms. Herod, who ruled Palestine at that time, exhibited a conciliatory mindset in which he cooperated with the aggressors without seriously undermining the basic Jewish tenets. On the other hand, the Zealots opposed the Romans tooth and nail and isolated themselves against the rays of cultural dissemination that followed the conquest. In the end, the violent ways of the Zealots undermined their, as well as the peace-loving Herodians’ overtures and caused devastation to descend on their holy land.

There are a few curious points to note in this long volume. His intellectual antipathy to Edward Gibbon has been made more than exposed in previous volumes, and it is no different in this one too. This time, he accuses Gibbon ‘to be fooled by Heroic poetry (of barbarianism) describing Romans as pigmies and Northern Barbarians as giants”. This volume also contains a scathing indictment of Zionism in establishing the Jewish home state of Israel on Arab soil, by displacing the lawful inhabitants of Palestine. He accuses Jewry of inflicting the same hard punishment which they themselves received from Nazis. This passage is a shot in the arm of Palestinian fighters opposing the installation of a Jewish state in their midst.

An insightful discussion on the change of attitude of Englishmen stationed in India in the 18^th century who were at home in the country and shared its customs, to the ruling elite of the next two centuries who maintained aloofness on all grounds. The early English were indistinguishable from the Indian elite, and shared in their culture, art and debauchery. They held durbars, maintained zenanas, raised children by Indian wives and educated them in England. A romantic description of the state of affairs is presented in William Dalrymple’s ‘The White Mughals’ (reviewed earlier inthis blog). But all this changed, around the turn of the 18^th century, when Wellesley began a campaign for suzerainty in the subcontinent that culminated in 1858, when the Crown took over the administration of the country from commercial entrepreneurs of the East India Company. Toynbee ascribes many reasons for this change of heart. The superiority complex of the victors in a military conflict naturally comes to mind. The reduction in traveling time between England and India through the opening up first of a land way in Egypt and then through the opening of Suez Canal in 1869 is a factor to reckon with. Improvement in speed of communication with the home country, especially after telegraph was invented prompted many men to bring their wives to their place of employment in India. The growth in the number of English women was proportional to the rising aloofness of the white civil servant. He was incorrupt and his manners irreproachable, but the man himself was unapproachable for the native subjects. The author adds one more controversial reason of his own discovery to the above list. He says that the British were made to administer the Hindu society which was riddled with a caste system and its hierarchical discrimination. In fact, the caste system is perfect for a group of people who happens to be on its topmost echelon! Probably a whiff of that inhuman system might have seeped into the foreigners’ psyche ruling the country then. This point is further strengthened by the shown example of Indonesia where the Dutch, who were also Protestant, maintained intimate relationship with the Natives right till their ouster in the 20^th century. This aspect should form the subject of further study.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star

A Forgotten Empire

Title: A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar) – A Contribution to the History of India

Author: Robert Sewell

Publisher: Master Mind Books, 2012 (First published 1900)

ISBN: 978-81-8468-290-8

Pages: 359

Robert Sewell (1845 – 1925) was a British civil servant employed at the Madras Record Office as a Keeper entrusted with documenting ancient inscriptions and remains in the region. This book is the first ever attempt to decipher the puzzle of history hidden in the stony ruins of Hampi. Basing his research mainly on three sixteenth century historians of the region, Sewell unveils a preliminary montage of a forgotten dynasty that fired up the imagination of folklore, but hardly left any historical references of its own. The author describes the birth of the empire in 1336 and its eclipse in 1565 in which the combined military might of the Deccani sultanates comprehensively decimated them at the Battle of Talikota. The two centuries of Vijayanagara prominence was a defining point in South Indian history, though they hardly made any impact north of the Vindhyas. The entire south accepted their tutelage and consolidation of Hindu monarchs helped stem the tide of Muslim invasions to a limited extent. Sewell’s historiography might look a little odd in the light of present standards, as in its emphasis on religious differences between the winners and vanquished as the root cause of all strife. But we should not lose sight of the fact that the book was written at the height of colonial power and his natural inclination was to paint the alien rulers in a better light when the reader is indirectly to make a comparison between the times his story narrates to the then existing conditions prevailing in British India.

Mohammed bin Tughlaq’s invasion of Anegundi, which was the ancestral seat of the Sangama brothers who were ministers of the ruling monarch provided the spur for establishing the dynasty. Its early phase was marred with frequent collisions with Bahmani sultans who established their headquarters at Gulbarga. The invasions were frequent and every time we read about a debacle on the part of Vijayanagara rulers and their having to part with gold, jewels and their daughters to the sultans. The dynasty itself was also not free from internecine strife and fratricidal intrigues for obtaining the throne by deceitful means. Vijayanagara’s star turned when Krishna Devaraya ascended the throne in 1509, who ruled till 1530. His rule was legendary and completely stemmed the alien tide as long as he reigned. Personal valour, efficient military administration and liberal assistance from the Portuguese with whom the King was in cordial relations helped him vanquish the opponents. The historical sky of Vijayanagara was illuminated by the lone star of Krishna Devaraya. The empire began to crumble right from his death. His successors were either weak or harsh on the nobles which drove them to sideline the monarch with titular powers. The haughty demeanour exhibited by Krishna himself prompted the five sultanates to join forces and defeat Vijayanagara in a convincing rout in the year 1565.

The writer leans on the historical narratives of two Portuguese historians Fernao Nuniz and Domingo Paes who travelled and wrote about Vijayanagara in 1535-37 and 1520 respectively. Being chroniclers of a foreign potentate, they look at the spectacle of Indian royalty with an open mind and makes frank comparisons with what they were familiar with, in Europe and elsewhere. Vijayanagara had a monopoly on buying horses traded by Portuguese ships which transported the animals from Yemen to Goa and then overland to Hampi. It is said that the demise of the empire after 1565 was one of the direct causes of the darkening of Portuguese prominence around this period. The sudden loss of a lucrative item of trade which never regained its old scale proved to be one of the nails in the Portuguese coffin.

Nuniz’s description of the life in Vijayanagara makes interesting reading. Generally, it is believed that the upper castes among the Hindus observe a strict diet of vegetarianism. But what we learn from the traveler is quite contrary, as he asserts that “these Kings of Bisnaga eat all sorts of things, but not the flesh of oxen or cows, which they never kill in all the country of the heathen because they worship them. They eat mutton, pork, venison, partridges, hares, doves, quail and all kinds of birds; even sparrows, and rats, and cats, and lizards, all of which are sold in the markets of the city of Bisnaga (Vijayanagara)” (p.308). Would the present-day Hindu revivalists be able to ‘stomach’ these hard facts?

Other books related to Vijayanagara Empire and reviewed earlier in this blog are Vijayanagara by Burton Stein, Hampi Ruins - Described and Illustrated by A H Longhurst and Court Life Under the Vijayanagar Rulers Madhao P Patil.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star

The Clash of Fundamentalisms

Title: The Clash of Fundamentalisms – Crusades, Jihads and Modernity

Author: Tariq Ali

Publisher: Verso, 2011 (First published 2002)

ISBN: 978-1-85984-457-1

Pages: 428

Tariq Ali is a renowned Pakistani writer and journalist, now settled in Britain. Author of many books on Islam and world politics and a film maker, he is noted for his leftist leaning that reasserts itself in his writing style. Ali tries to put in perspective the new phenomenon of Islamic terrorism that devastated many parts of the globe since the fall of Communism in early 1990s. Terrorism is fuelled by fundamentalism, which is not limited only to Islam. Any religion is capable of rearing a bunch of hell hounds who would carry out any imaginable atrocity in the name of god. Not only religion, but an ideology is also capable of mimicking all the destructive proclivities of religion. In this book, the author argues with free flowing logic that American Imperialism is an equal partner in spawning fundamentalism in its mindless quest for material wealth from every corner of the planet. In a bid to keep one step ahead of rivals, this capitalistic imperialism utilizes the harmful elements of other fundamentalisms to play them against the others. Though the author does not state as such, Communism has been another instance of imperialism - and the fundamentalism such an intolerant philosophy would no doubt produce – till its unexpected though long due demise in the last decades of the previous century. Thus, when one rival suddenly left the fray, the remaining players, who had worked hand in glove till then, turned against each other. What we see today is a clash of fundamentalisms, and forms the core idea of the book. The cover page is also cleverly conceived, with the former U.S. president Bush Junior portrayed in the garb of a hardline Muslim cleric. The book is easy to read and noted for the clarity of its arguments, even though the reader may not agree with him. His balanced views on South Asia is especially noteworthy, as the author is himself a Pakistani and thoroughly knowledgable about what goes inside the nation. Indians should learn from his criticism of the Pakistani establishment and not repeat the same mistakes on home ground.

The book presents a picture oscillating between truth and falsehood through its chapters. There are many sections that paints a down to earth portrait of how things actually happened, especially early Islamic history where the author’s irreverent style helped narrate the events truthfully without offending the sentiments of even diehard adherents of the faith. But on Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, such neutrality and objectivity is thrown to the winds. Again and again, we see justifications for Saddam’s fateful incursion against his weaker neighbour. We hear Ali say, “Kuwaitis were very provocative in their oil disputes against Iraq” (p.142), “Democratic elections in Kuwait immediately after occupation would have ensured massive support (to Saddam Hussein)” (p.143), “venal rulers of Kuwait became part of Western propaganda offensive” (p.143) and “Iraqi occupation of Kuwait was no exceptional outrage in either the region or the world at large” (p.147). Isn’t this sufficient to prove the hollowness of his arguments elsewhere about freedom and progress? The author’s strong tilt towards the political left must have dislodged the rational thinker in him to churn out unwarranted indictments against the victim, while at the same time condoning the aggressor. Thankfully, the book came about before the U.S. toppled Saddam. Otherwise, we would have witnessed more gruesome and vocal condemnation of the West.

A noteworthy feature of the book is its candid exposure of the state of affairs in Pakistan. Being the arch-enemy, Pakistan has been a country of interest to most Indians evoking a mixed feeling of hatred, mistrust, enmity and all those emotions that one should not be proud of possessing. We think Pakistan to be a country of evil, but this book presents a different picture. Ali declares Pakistan to be a failed state, where the Military calls the shots and politicians have lost all credibility due to widespread corruption. Unlike its eastern neighbour, this country is not seen to be wedded firmly to democracy, as four military takeovers have already marred its chequered history that spans seven decades. However, reading between the lines, we see that not all military establishments had been detrimental to the long term interests of the country. The most corrosive of them all was Gen. Zia ul Haq’s regime in 1977 – 1989. He brought in the hardline militant into the ranks of the army, which was as professional as any other army in the Islamic world up till then. Pakistan’s downward slide to a theocratic state, thus initiated by the unscrupulous Haq, continued unabated. Now, many parts of the state has become lawless, with brainwashed fanatics from madrassas becoming a law unto them. As usual, Tariq Ali blames the responsibility for this metamorphosis on America, especially its Afghan War, in which it trained, armed and paid for the Mujahideen to combat Soviet troops. Osama bin Laden arrived there to supervise the action on America’s behalf, as the author says. But there is something fundamental that is flawed in this ‘blame-it-all-on-America’ attitude. Soviet occupation lasted barely ten years, ending in 1989. But Afghanistan has not been able to stand on its feet for 25 years thereafter, till the time of this writing, and there is no hope that peace would return to the rugged country in the foreseeable future. True, there was an enemy and it was routed. But why do the combatants are not able to sit around a table and exchange ideas, instead of bullets and bombs? This issue is not addressed by the author.

The book offers an enjoyable experience, but the readers should never lose sight of the fact that the author is a Leftist, and none of his words are to be accepted at face value without ascertaining its truth. He waxes eloquent on the political murders in Indonesia and Vietnam, where the Communists were heavily oppressed, but keeps silent on Stalin and Mao’s equally bloodthirsty pogroms. The author’s ideas are liberal, but he should owe them to the permissive culture of the West where he sought and obtained asylum. Pakistan would not have tolerated his unorthodox ideas. Many a people have been executed in that country for the offense of harbouring even less revolutionary thoughts. When the time came to emigrate, Ali had no hesitation about which country to choose. There was Soviet Union, China and a few dozen Communist havens, but he promptly found his nest in Britain. Ever since his life was assured, he turned against the society that provided him with shelter and this book is another example of the ungrateful tirade.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star