From Golden Roads to AI Nexuses
Right from childhood we are taught to cultivate the habit of reading as a foundation for lifelong learning. Personally this habit has stayed with me and in many ways helped me make sense of the world around me. Even as social media fragments our attention and trains our thumbs to scroll faster than our minds can absorb, books remain my anchor. Screens may dominate our hours, pages still shape our thinking.
As Naval Ravikant has said, “I always spent money on books. I never viewed that as an expense. That’s an investment to me.” I have also long followed my father’s advice that a person who reads grows wiser, more thoughtful, and better prepared for life.
I bought scores of books but managed to read only six books which interested me and were unputdownable once I started reading and flipping the pages. These six books navigate from ancient trade to philosophy, war, how civilisation rise, clash and and collapse through networks, myths and human choice. The ideas in these books challenge modern assumptions about progress and growth and urge rethinking of power, sustainability and culture in today’s divided world.
- The Golden Road
William Dalrymple’s work traces ancient India’s cultural export via Silk Road spreading Buddhism and Sanskrit from the Red Sea to the Pacific, portraying India as a soft-power giant. The book reminds us that India was not merely shaped by the world it once actively shaped it influencing cultures and empires including China under the Tang and Wu Zetian.
- Nexus
Yuval Noah Harari charts information networks from Stone Age scripts to pigeons and to AI revealing how communication systems underpin politics, wars and control from ancient roads to digital platforms that could liberate or enslave. The book urges readers to consider the ethical responsibilities of a hyper-connected world.
- The Clash of Civilizations
This influential work of Samuel P. Huntington argues that future global conflicts will be driven more by cultural and civilisational differences than ideology or economics. Huntington divides the world into major civilisations and narrates tensions between them. Many would agree that Clash of Civilizations remains a significant book for
understanding post Cold War geopolitics and continues to spark debate among scholars, policymakers and geopolitical experts.
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Eric Jorgenson compiles the wisdom and insights of entrepreneur Naval Ravikant, covering core themes such as wealth, judgment, happiness, decision-making and self-awareness. It emphasizes long-term thinking, leveraging time and labour and personal growth. The precise and practical book serves as a modern guide to live thoughtfully in a fast-paced world.
- Ishmael
Ishmael, a philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn questions humanity’s relationship with nature and modern civilisation. Through a dialogue between a man and a telepathic gorilla, Quinn challenges the belief that humans are meant to dominate the Earth. Thought-provoking and unconventional the book encourages readers to rethink progress, sustainability and the future of humanity.
- Age of Revolutions
Fareed Zakaria examines transformative eras such as the Dutch Golden Age, French Revolution and Industrial Revolution alongside modern upheavals in technology, identity and geopolitics. It argues that these forces drive progress but also create backlash, revive liberal order, contribute to populism and amidst declining US dominance. Zakaria calls for pragmatic reform and stronger governance to ensure stability in the era of constant change.
From golden roads to AI nexuses and revolutionary backlashes, these books reveal history’s relentless cycles of ideas spreading, cultures clashing and myths crumbling under human choices. In this fast-changing geopolitical order the ideas in these books give us a choice to empower with Naval’s wisdom, revive India’s soft power and embrace Ishmael’s concern for the Earth. It is upto us that will we rewrite the story as shaper or let the revolutions repeat.
I sign off with a hope and promise to share a longer list of books at the fag end of 2026.
Happy New Year.
Arun Manhas, Director Industries & Commerce, Jammu.
