Bibliofile

Parvathi, of course, is outraged and has vowed to write another biography in revenge. But Dr Subbarao's ghost writer, Arun Tiwari, who has also written a biography of Dr A.P.J. Kalam, titled Wings of Fire, describes the doctor as "blunt, fearless and brutally factual".

Few Indians dare to bare all, but India has more than its share of quickies. Remember the Kandahar hijack which spawned no less than four books in quick succession. The author of one of the hijack quickies is at it again with the latest sensation: the royal murders in Kathmandu. Neelesh Misra's End of the Line: The Story of the Killing of the Royals in Nepal will be out in a record two months and offers, according to his publisher, Penguin, "for the first time the true story behind the massacre".

Move over, Cold War. For thriller writers all over the world, it's Kashmir that is the happening place in the new millennium. And as if to prove them right, veteran journalist Eric Margolis is out with a new book, War at the Top of the World, that contends that this neglected part of the world with 25 per cent of the world's population could be the next flashpoint for a nuclear war. More chilling than fiction.