WHAT'S being read around the world International Bestsellers
It's not just McDonald's hamburgers in Prague. The effects of globalization are obvious in these lists of bestselling nonfiction from around the world: Indians are crazy about Alan Greenspan; Brazilians can't get enough of the Dalai Lama; and Germans want Dale Carnegie's popularity.
GERMANY
HISTORY OF A GERMAN, by Sebastian Haffner (DVA).
An eloquent and absorbing memoir by one of postwar Germany's most influential political and historical writers, spanning the tense decades between World Wars I and II.
THE HOLOCAUST INDUSTRY, by Norman G. Finkelstein (Piper)
In this controversial - and, some say, anti-Semitic - new study, City University of New York professor Norman Finkelstein argues that some who demand financial reparations for the Holocaust's atrocities are exploiting its memory.
CULTURE, by Dietrich Schwanitz (Eichborn)
Schwanitz, a high school teacher, takes a witty (but rather lengthy) look at what he sees as the cultural illiteracy of young Germans.
THE STOCKMARKET SWINDLE, by Guenter Ogger (Bertelsmann)
Ogger writes a detailed and candid examination of the "Golden Goose," better known as the stock market.
GENERATION GOLF, by Florian Illies (Argon)
This is a sumptuous (and probably presumptuous) encyclopedia of the ups and downs of German culture over the last 30 years.
THE STRENGTH OF FREEDOM, by Hans-Olaf Henkel (Econ)
Henkel, an executive manager at IBM for 30 years, discusses his career, his memories of Germany in the '50s and '60s, and his involvement in the country's economic and political life.
PRUSSIA'S LOUISE, by Guenter de Bruyn (Siedler)
A biography of a charismatic monarch - the mother of the first German Kaiser, Wilhelm I - and an exploration of how her early death and the fall of Prussia in 1918 made her a legend.
DON'T WORRY, LIVE! by Dale Carnegie (Scherz)
The man who taught Americans how to win friends and influence people tackles the nagging problem of worry.
THE WAY TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM, by Bodo Schaefer (Campus)
Schaefer offers advice about how to find financial security - and make millions in the process - through increased self-discipline and self-trust.
MY DIARY, by Helmut Kohl (Droemer)
Former German President Helmut Kohl defends himself against what he believes was a conspiracy to force him out of office in disgrace. He takes no responsibility for his notorious donations scandal.
BRAZIL
THE ART OF HAPPINESS, by Dalai Lama (Martins Fontes)
Psychiatrist Howard Cutler poses enduring spiritual conundrums about love, death, and suffering to Nobel laureate and spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, during an extended series of interviews.
THE BOOK OF WISDOM, by Dalai Lama (Martins Fontes)
With humor and down-to-earth advice, one of the world's most popular spiritual leaders offers insights about how to bring more wisdom, understanding, and compassion to everyday life.
CARANDIRU STATION, by Drauzio Varella (Cia das Letras)
This moving memoir chronicles a physician's experiences volunteering in Carandiru, Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest correctional facility, doing AIDS prevention work.
THE FANTASTIC HISTORY OF SILVIO SANTOS, by Arlindo Silva (Editora Do Brasil)
Written as a novel, this biography chronicles the life of a Brazilian businessman from a low-income-family upbringing to financial success.
THE WAY OF TRANQUILITY, by Dalai Lama (Sextante)
The Dalai Lama compiled this collection of daily quotations from his own and others' writings about inner tranquility, which he believes is the key to happiness.
THE GOLDEN BOOK OF MYTHOLOGY, by Thomas Bulfinch (Ediouro)
A new edition of Thomas Bulfinch's classic retellings of famous myths and folk legends, accompanied by interpretive essays.
READING PEOPLE, by Jo-Ellan Dimitrius (Alegro)
A professional jury consultant reveals the secrets of her trade - anticipating human behavior by studying body language, vocal patterns, and more - in this readable, but almost anthropological, how-to guide.
MY YEARS AT GENERAL MOTORS, by Alfred Sloan Jr. (Negocios)
Discusses the history, organization, and operation of GM, from the '20s - with Sloan as its president - to his retirement in 1956.
DIRTY HEARTS, by Fernando Morais (Cia das Letras)
The story of a secret Japanese military force, Shindo Renmei, which came into being in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after Japan's surrender to the Allies in 1945.
ETHICS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM, by Dalai Lama (Sextante)
The Dalai Lama argues that universal human aims - contentment, meaningful relationships, and an end to suffering - can be the key to developing an ethical code for all.
INDIA
MAESTRO: ALAN GREENSPAN'S FED AND THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC BOOM, by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster)
A biography of the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, by a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer at The Washington Post.
WHEN WAS MODERNISM?: ESSAYS ON CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL PRACTICE IN INDIA, by Geeta Kapur (Tulika)
A collection of 13 essays by modern Indian art expert Geeta Kapur, spanning the last decade, and particularly attentive to historical influences on Indian art.
CITY OF DJINNS: AN ALBUM OF PHOTOGRAPHS, by Agnes Montanari (HarperCollins) Art historian Nathalie Trouveroy's French translation of selections from William Dalrymple's "The City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi" (1993), with black and white photos by Montanari.
INTIMATE WORLDS, by Alvin O Bellak (Mapin)
Companion book to a current Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition of five centuries of Indian miniature paintings, from the collection of museum trustee Dr. Alvin O. Bellak.
SELECTED POEMS, by Kaifi Azmi (Viking)
A new collection of the poems by renowned Indian writer, activist, playwright, and screenwriter Kaifi Azmi (the pen name of Akhtar Hussain Rizvi).
THE MILLENNIUM BOOK ON NEW DELHI, by B.P. Singh, Pavan
K. Varma (Oxford) Set against 1,000 years of Indian history, this book explores how an intended seat of colonial power became the cosmopolitan capital of an independent and democratic republic.
SUBHAS: A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY, by Sitanshu Das (Rupa)
A biography of the veteran Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who disappeared mysteriously in 1945, written by a senior Indian journalist.
ARAFAT: FROM DEFENDER TO DICTATOR, by Said K. Aburish (Bloomsbury) A scathing political biography, chronicling the damage Yasser Arafat has done to his people and the Middle East, by an internationally respected Palestinian political analyst.
S. HUSSEIN: THE POLITICS OF REVENGE, by Said K. Aburish (Bloomsbury) A biography of the Iraqi president - from his early orphanhood to his dictatorship - by a London-based journalist who worked with him in the 1970s.
PUNJABI SAGA 1857-2000, by Prakash Tandon (Rupa)
This revised and updated edition of the Punjabi Saga, a classic Indian trilogy about the Tandon family, is a rich blend of autobiography and national history and culture.
Sources: Germany, Der Spiegel; Brazil, Saraiva; India, The Asian Age
Translations help from: Leide Lessa-Jordao, Judy Huenneke, Lori White, Martje Hoogendij, Hannelore Horn
(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor
