Disclaimer: These books were recommended by Guha in various interview and tweets. 

1. Telling Times: Writing and Living 1954 to 2008 by Nadine Gordimer The book is a comprehensive collection of Nadine’s nonfiction writings with insightful witness to the forces that have shaped the last half-century. The book also includes reports from events such as Soweto during the 1976 uprising and Zimbabwe at the dawn of independence, among others. Buy here.

2. Autobiography of an Unknown Cricketer by Sujit Mukherjee The autobiography of writer Sujit Mukherjee tells the tale of a different kind of cricket – the one that is played in schools, colleges and universities. Guha called it a “delightful book” in a tweet. Buy here.

3. The Remembered Village by M N Srinivas First published in 1978, the book narrates in rich detail the village life and the lives of several individual villagers, while discussing the operations of caste in the countryside. The book also gives the readers valuable insights into the nature of ethnographic research. Buy here.

4. Everybody Loves a Good Drought by P Sainath In Everybody Loves a Good Drought, Sainath writes about his research findings on poverty in the rural districts of India. It contains 84 articles written between 1990 to 1992 and Guha describes the book as “a book on survival and struggle in rural India”. The book also won him the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2007. Buy here.

5. Tagore’s University: A History of Visva-Bharati 1921–1961 by Swati Ganguly In this book, Ganguly explores the many achievements of what Tagore called his “life’s best treasure”. The book contains archives, memoirs, official documents, and oral narratives telling the story of the little-known history of an institution that once redefined tradition and modernity. Buy here.

6. Covid-19: A View from the Margin by Yogesh Jain and Sarah Nabia With contributions from doctors, public health professionals, scholars, social workers and journalists, the book is a detailed archive of the people of India during the pandemic. It is also an archive of memories and lessons crucial to building more resilient, equitable and just systems in the post-COVID-19 era. Buy here.

7. Kabir, Kabir: The Life and Work of the Early Modern Poet-Philosopher by Purushottam Agrawal. The book describes the relationship between Kabir and his guru Ramanand. “It is utterly absorbing, both about the poet and the society that shaped him, and which he shaped in turn,” tweets Ramachandra. Buy here.

8. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya: An Autobiography by Jamila Brijbhushan The autobiography of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya narrates her personal life and professional life where she blazed the trail for women in many fields such as theatre, cooperation and handicrafts. Buy here

9. Essays: George Orwell This anthology of essays, reviews and articles showcases the life and work of one of the most celebrated English writers of the century. Orwell unfolds his views on varied subjects ranging from the revaluation of Charles Dickens to the nature of socialism. Buy here.

10. A Life in Two Worlds: Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi’s English Disciple by Sarla Behn The autobiography covers several aspects of Sarla Behn’s life, especially why she became a part of the independence movement despite being raised in England. Impressed by the teachings of Gandhi, she moved to India and decided to become his disciple.