Of Dickinson's and the Treasure Box

I remember Emily Dickinson’s poem in my high school English class in this line: there is no frigate like a book to take us lands away. But I consider book the magical gate to paradise; through reading I have gone far to Alaska, South Africa and the North Pole. Places where I could not go, but made possible through my imagination. I have seen people, both the living and the dead. Magical.

But what exactly makes a good book is not only how it stirs our imagination; it also serves as the very source of learning. It inspires us.

In time, I have acquired a few adorable reads. Here are some of my treasures:

• Courage of Their Convictions, Peter Irons 1988. Published in 1988, it is a compilation of stories of people—ordinary people who fought for their rights all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This book is a remarkable account on the legal battles that shaped, remolded, and refined fundamental rights. Normally, books today discuss only legal arguments on the most celebrated cases. Peter Irons goes beyond by touching the most personal life of the people involved in the case.

• Censorship and Freedom of Expression: Essays on Obscenity and the Law, Several authors 1971.  Covers arguments based on different perspective. Be it legal, political, ethical, religious and psychological, authors have attempted to enlighten readers on the most debatable topic of censorship and freedom of expression.

• Death Sentences, Don Watson. 2003. On the preface, the author forewarns the reader: This book was not written in behalf of the language, or by a grammarian on behalf of the grammar. Why we should read this book? It is still timely to understand how the corporate world has revolutionized the language; continuing jargons used in Politics has bred new words contributing in the decay of English language.

• One-L, Scott Turow 1977. Scott Turow in the celebrated autobiographical sketch of his struggles as first year student at Harvard Law School. Law student, lawyers, and those who aspire to become lawyer will surely love this book.

• International Ethics, Several authors 1985. Published in 1985, International Ethics is another compilation of essays from Princeton University Press Series of Public Affairs books. Authors’ expertises are on post-Vietnam war issues like the rules on the conduct of war, the significance of national boundaries and the nature of a state’s right not to be interfered with by outsiders, the foundation of international property rights, and the requirements of international distributive justice.