By Christopher Andrew Rs 1118
To mark the centenary of its foundation, the British Security Service, MI5, has opened its archives to an independent historian, the first time any of the world’s leading intelligence or security services has taken such a step.
“The Defence of the Realm”, the book which results, is an unprecedented publication. It reveals the precise role of the Service in twentieth-century British history, from its foundation by Captain Kell of the British Army in October 1909 to root out ‘the spies of the Kaiser’ up to its present role in countering Islamic terrorism.
“The Defence of the Realm” now describes this previously extremely secretive organization more fully than any previous book - and identifies all its main buildings on the end papers.
The Festivals of Nepal
By Mary M.Anderson Rs 400
When Mary Anderson began her five-year residence in Kathmandu as the wife of diplomat, she attended the frequent Nepalese festivals up and down the Valley because they were mysterious, colourful and great fun. She came to see that for these people the continuous flow of interrelated festivals throughout the years is literally a way of life, reflecting their joys and fears, dreams and sorrows.
The festivals of Nepal are too many for any writer to produce a complete record, but this book describes that most important of them, which have been arranged according to the ancient Nepalese calendar, beginning with the New Year in mid-April. The author provides, moreover, a brief introductory sketch of Nepalese geography, history, religion and culture, to give background to what follows.
Paradise Lost: State Failure in Nepal
By Ali Riaz and Subho Basu Rs 632
Ali Riaz is professor and chair of the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University. Subho Basu is associate professor in the Department of History at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. In this book Paradise Lost?
Writers examine the state-society relationships in Nepal and demonstrates that the nature of the state, disjuncture between the state and the society, and the rupture of the ideological hegemony of the ruling class of Nepal have created a situation where existing institutional frameworks are disintegrating and the state is unraveling rapidly.
Available at:
Mandala Book Point, Kantipath,
Phone: 4227711
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