Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review




Well written but woefully inaccurate , November 30, 2008
By bick (usa)
Amazed though I am about how author tried to fit all stuff about Mumbai in this book the cost is that- without even reasoning and just mentioning facts it shows a level of inability to understand the actual ground facts and false of authority which is immature though not wrong. Being a Mumbai native does not give any one right to mention or come to indigenous conclusions with stated sense of accuracy. One needs high level of maturity and thorough knowledge to mention facts briefly but with sense of comprehensive authority.Mr.Mehta is seriously lacking these abilities and writing a book does not make one a master of subject as is understandable from this experience.Mr.Mehta needs to update his woefully inadequate sociopolitical knowledge and rewrite this book for everyone's sake and for accuracy.



For anybody who enjoys a dose of harsh realism., November 23, 2008
By B. Sanni (Finland)
I knew tons about Bombay, its history and its present; the gangs, the Hindu-Muslim tensions, the problems it has in its infastructure. But Mehta's book brought all of these things to life, the different levels of society (from the slums to the socialite parties of the rich) and how corruption and violence show themselves in the lives of people. It's just a fascinating account all around, and his writing depicts both a story of a city and that of himself. As the reader is caught up in the world of underworld dealings, Mehta also finds himself sucked into the circles of these awful killers.

I haven't visited Bombay but if I ever will, I think this book has made a little more prepared for things I will probably witness there.



Some Great Stuff Buried in a Mountain of Unedited Prose, July 29, 2008
By A. Ross (Washington, DC)
Having recently read several books about the explosion of unregulated urban development in the second and third world, I was eager to check out this well-reviewed book about Mumbai and its 18+ million residents. Written by an "NRI" (non-resident Indian) who grew up there, and then spent majority of his adult life in New York -- the book kicks off with the author relocating his wife and young children to Mumbai in his attempt to rediscover the city he'd been away from for twenty years. Unfortunately, this is as close as the book comes to having any kind of framework, and as a result, it rambles on for almost 600 pages where 300 would do nicely. If ever a book needed a firm editor to shape and slash it, this is it.

The format largely involves Mehta hanging around various people and places he finds interesting, and then reporting back in excessive detail. To be sure, most of his subjects are inherently interesting, such as the Indian film industry, the hidden lives of bar girls, the murky world of gangsters, hit men, and the colorful cops who battle them, the sordid side of sectarian politics, and Jain mystics. However, his encounters with each of these are largely formless and meandering, further confused by leaps in chronology. This is exacerbated by the time lag between his research and the book's publication, since the fortunes of a number of his subjects had shifted considerably even by the time the book came out.

As a reader, one struggles to tease out the golden nuggets from the mountain of prose, some of which is repetitive, and much of which is simply not very interesting. He's also far too willing to let his subjects go on extended monologues, failing to ask many difficult questions or challenge them on their assertions. The result is lengthy reportage and description with little to no analysis or synthesis. Meanwhile, other than a few anecdotes about daily life, his own family concerns are left unexplored. The raw material is mostly there, but it lacks a form editorial hand to give it shape and purpose.

The best parts of the book are those concerning the city's 1992-93 sectarian riots and bombings, which threatened to spark widespread Hindu-Muslim violence. This is also what puts him in contact with the police and the underworld, and the influence of the gangs on daily life is somewhat eyeopening. On the other hand, the datedness of the material makes it hard to know to what extent life has moved on in the intervening decade. Ultimately, it's hard not to suspect that one might get a more complete understanding of Mumbai's police and thieves material -- and perhaps the city itself -- in Vikram Chandra's sprawling novel Sacred Games. Which is kind of funny, since Chandra is referred to several times by Mehta as a friend and fellow researcher of the underworld.



The Best, June 12, 2008
By Mandar K. Nayak (CT, USA)
Fantastically written...In no better way could have the author penned down his feelings for Bombay!



Maximum City delivers in a Maximum Way, April 23, 2008
By mary greenwood (Miami Beach)
Author of .How to Mediate Like a Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputesand How to Negotiate Like a Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes
I just got back from a trip to Mumbai, specifically looking at the Art Deco architecture. Even though we saw a lot of Mumbai and learned a lot from our guide, I had a lot of questions and Maximum City answered them for me. I liked the way Mehta broke it down into various topics: the water, the sewers, the mafia, development, police corruption and honesty, Bollywood, garbage, beliefs, education, religions,and prostitutes. No one topic can be looked at in a vacuum. I am still processing my visit in my mind. Mumbai was my favorite city in India and that is partly because I have some understanding after reading Mehta's book. I hope he writes an update soon on the latest developments