ChhaunkA sparkling book of essays by Nobel Prize winner Abhijit Banerjee Chhaunk, oil infused with different spices, lies at the heart of Indian cooking. It is just a few teaspoons, but it finishes a dish and gives it its particular piquancy. The pieces in this delightful book can be seen as a literary chhaunk a sprinkling of ideas and arguments around the social sciences, which imparts its own distinct flavour. Part memoir, part cookbook, Chhaunk playfully

showing how a ruler can shape history as much by incompetence as brilliance

That is just the book's magic

a widow since childhood

to divine the secrets of the universe

winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award

and landed a coveted job on Wall Street

This handy cookbook will make your time in the kitchen the most fun

The Big Book curates essays

A book about managing disappointment

rowdy parties with the team

Julie Burchill

But why is the former form of Noritoshi Kamo there