Books that inspired me
KIM BY RUDYARD KIPLING
An English orphan boy in the British Raj runs ragged among the poor in the teeming streets of Lahore, surviving only by his wits and ability to become as Indian as the Indians. He grows up in the penumbra of the Great Game, the shadowy struggle with Russia for control of Central Asia. Adventures spiced with intrigue and espionage are wrapped in an extraordinarily vivid image of India, so vivid that I have been fascinated by that country ever since I read the book.
ILIAD BY HOMER
The poet calls upon his muse to sing of the terrible rage of Achilles at the injustice of Agamemnon, the commander of the Greeks who are besieging Troy in the tenth and final year of the Trojan War. Iliad means a poem about Ilium (Troy).
It’s in hexameter, displaying a metric regularity that enhances the sense of inevitability and the story’s frequent climaxes. It voices the noble and base passions of men in power, and of how their fate is ruled by outside forces. The big passions are on display here – rage, hatred, greed, fear, revenge, vindictiveness, loyalty, love, courage.  The scale of its vision triggered off in me a lifelong interest in Classics.
FOREIGN DEVILS ON THE SILK ROAD BY PETER HOPKIRK
Five adventurous archaeologists (Sir Aurel Stein being the best known) went looking for treasures along the Chinese Turkestan (Xinjiang) section of the Silk Road in the early 20th century. Â Fighting the Black Hurricanes and the Taklamakan desert they encountered numerous Buddhist caves blessed with not only priceless manuscripts but riveting murals in fresco.
They spirited away much of what they found, earning the rancor of the Chinese who call them Foreign Devils.
The book’s account enhanced my interest in this intriguing part of the world.
ON CHINA BY HENRY KISSINGER
Kissinger, who accompanied Richard Nixon in his opening up trip to China, has been there fifty-four times. Noted for his pragmatic approach to foreign affairs, influenced by Metternich and informed by raison d’etat, he gives a scholarly appreciation of Chinese cultural attitudes and history of dealing with other nations.
Recognizing that relations between the West (principally the U.S.) and China will define the future of the world, he canvasses various strategic orientations that might play out. In the end, he argues forcefully for one that is based on competition within a relationship that is flexible enough to resolve disputes short of war.
I found his analysis particularly helpful in my attempt to understand this rising power.