Geek Nation: How Indian Science is Taking Over the World

Saini, a British science journalist, investigates India's burgeoning scientific industries in her debut%E2%80%94part travelogue, part social commentary. Though the South Asian nation can proudly claim to be the birthplace of the number zero and numerous other mathematic basics, the country has since fallen behind the technological and scientific innovations of the western world. But Saini suggests that this is changing. The first stop on her journey is the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, where she muses that "India is being pulled out of poverty and transformed into a technological giant." Indeed, when India decided in 1991 "to open up to the world%E2%80%A6[m]iles of bureaucratic red tape were ripped away," paving the way for what one man called "Gen Why," a "generation that questions," invents, and seeks to solve many of the country's endemic problems, including tuberculosis, poorly connected communication systems, and resource shortages. Perhaps most indicative of India's dynamic progress is the annual Indian Scientific Congress, which Saini describes as "the wackiest" convention of its kind, one that features "agriculturalists, software engineers and rocket scientists all on the same bill." More than just a treatise on an up-and-coming scientific powerhouse, Saini's engaging narrative takes readers through India's colorful streets and gives a face to the problems%E2%80%94and more importantly%E2%80%94the solutions its "geeks" are eagerly exploring. (July)