With India much in the news in the last months, there is no better time to read MEENAKSHI AHAMED’s new book, A Matter of Trust, a history of India-U.S. Relations from Truman to Trump. A journalist who was born in Calcutta and divides her time between the two countries, Ahamed draws on newly declassified documents, memoirs, and interviews with officials involved in the events to give us a compelling and detailed history, but also deft and humanizing portraits of the leaders and diplomats who managed the relationship. She will talk about the two countries she calls home, about the personalities and prejudices of people like Prime Minister Nehru and President Truman (the owner, she tells us, of 96 pairs of shoes, including 21 pairs of slippers), and why personal chemistry—or lack thereof—between leaders dictates history.

Read more about Meenakshi Ahamed here.