Khushwant Singh

That rare thing—a memoir that reads like a novel.

The versatile Sudhir Kakar’s autobiography is without conceit, and dissects the self with professionalism

In this etymological treasury of words, I found the chapter ‘How Nations Insult Each Other’ the most amusing

Granta luxuriates in the remarkable flourish in English writing from a land divided by the faultlines of extremism

Pungent criticism, great reviews and diaries. Pays well, too!

Piety and prurience, medicine and court intrigue crowd Kakar’s richly-felt tapestry set in Shah Jahan’s India

The Man in the Bulb meditates on the dying of the light

Another biography of Gandhi justifies itself by homing in on its subject’s sexual oddities. He is flawed, but is lit up from within by an unembarrassed lust for truth.

Fatima Bhutto’s impeccable prose looks her family’s tragedies steadily in the eye, but turns a blind one towards the excesses of her beloved grandfather

Outlook asked an eminent panel of writers and critics to come up with their choice of the best books of 2009 across different categories. Here’s their take.

"I had even written my own obit in 1943 when I was still in my twenties. It later appeared in a collection of short stories"