10 books President Alvi wants people to read in 2022

Head of state says there’s no good luxury than reading a book

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday recommended 10 valuable books to readers for the year 2022, which comprise chapters full of immense knowledge and research findings.

In a short video message, the president urged the readers to continue quenching their thirst for limitless knowledge of the universe during their lifetime as Allah's universe contains massive amount of knowledge while man's life is too short.

The president opined that reading also helps in boosting intellectual capacity of a reader.

"There is no good luxury than reading a good book," he added.

Alvi said that every year he recommends a bibliography based upon his sequence of study. He mentioned that whenever he found time, he indulged in book reading, and whether he completely read a book or partially, he was sure to glean knowledge as much he could.

The president further said that in his prioritisation of books, he mainly focused on his search to get a glimpse into the creations of Allah Almighty. Citing the first book of Shah Baleeghuddin 'Tuba', he said that it covered different aspects of the life of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and the conspicuous chapters of the Islamic history.

He also said that he also focused on searching for books enveloping the history of Pakistan and the subcontinent, so that he could enhance his grasp of the contributions made by the leaders of Pakistan's movement and their guiding principles for the Muslims of the subcontinent as well as the previous rulers of Pakistan.

He also cited the book 'From Plassey to Pakistan' written by Humayun Mirza, the son of late president Iskander Mirza, covering different aspects of their family's history. He also suggested 'The End of India' by Khushwant Singh who wrote it during 2005. The author had predicted that India was passing through a phase in which it would set itself on fire. It would not be destroyed by Pakistan rather doomed by itself due to its treatment with its minorities.

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Alvi also suggested 'The Narrow Corridor' written by Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson, highlighting the issues of states, societies and the fate of liberty. He said that the authors had delineated upon the narrow corridor of democracy and challenges. The authors had cited the tight rope walking between anarchy, dictatorship and securing of liberty. Those nations made progress where the public voices had been heeded to, he added.

In 'Sapiens', the author Yuval Noah Harari had given a brief account of history of humankind, its footprints affecting the environment and the subsequent DNA changes in the human species, the president said.

Suggesting another book to the readers, he said that 'The Future is Faster Than You Think', by Peter H Diamandis and Steven Kotler, dealt with the subject of the formation of the universe, big bang theory, time-space and the rapid changes in the world due to IT revolutions and artificial intelligence.

He opined that the world was moving at a fast pace due to these changes, and it was his desire to see Pakistan taking the lead in this regard when compared with the rest of the world.

The president also cited 'Exponential', a book written by Azeem Azhar, which explains how progress in the scientific realms was made and how the society was unaware of such transformations. The society could not realise the impacts of the social media, while the changes were not being felt by the governments and the policymakers, he said, while reading out the main contents of the book. He added that during his quarantine period, he had finished reading the book within five days.

Alvi also suggested three other books, including 'The age of AI and our human future' written by Henry A. Kissinger, Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocker, 'The Pentagon's brain' an uncensored history of DARPA by Annie Jacobsen which contained material about the latest nuclear research, defence matters, cyber security and space.

He said that keeping this perspective in mind, Pakistan must also brace itself with the latest defence preparedness, especially in cyber war and cyber security.

Lastly, he referred to a book titled 'I. Warbot' by Kenneth Payen with the subject matter exploring the prospects of robotic warfare era and the gradual replacement of human functions by robots in different sectors of life.