Sun-tzu ping-fa (Sun Tzu The Art of War) is one of those rare texts that transcends time. Though it was written more than 2,000 years ago, it is arguably still the most important work on the subject of strategy today.

Written by Sun Wu, Chinese general to the state of Wu, The Art of War was intended only for the military elite of his time period. However, this treatise would later be absorbed by others of influence - from the fearless samurai in feudal Japan to the shrewd tribal leaders of the 22nd century.

Indian literature encompasses much more

"In The Vintage Book of Modern Indian Literature" author Amit Chaudhuri makes a couple of significant assertions: First, contrary to Western perception, Indian writing extends far beyond the recent spate of Western-style writers. And second, Indian literature encompasses much more than just Indians writing in English. To underscore his claims Chaudhuri has assembled works dating from the mid 19th century to the present, including the translated works of eminent vernacular writers.

Like Hindi (Urdu) pioneer Premchand´s "The Chess Players," a romp about a pair of nobles so obsessed with checkmating one another, "no yogi could have been more profoundly plunged in trance." And "The Postmaster," Rabindranath Tagore´s heart-wrencher about a young mail clerk´s tender relationship with an orphan servant girl. Other writers include Pather Panchali author Bibhuti Bhushan Banerjee and the venerated Kannada author U.R. Anantha Murthy.

Among the English-language writers: Graham Greene favorite R.K. Narayan, renowned curmudgeon Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Amitav Ghosh, Pankaj Mishra, and a host of lesser-known talents, including Dom Moraes and Ruskin Bond. The few women writers include Urdu poet Qurratulain Hyder, whose diary-like "Memories of an Indian Childhood" sparkles with the intricacies of everyday life in an Indian hill town, and the redoubtable Bengali litterateur and activist Mahashweta Devi, who tells a touching story of fleetingly victorious tribals who connive to save a tree in "Arjun." And just like the arjun tree, whose leaves "are like the tongue of man," this collection is an eloquent tribute to a literary heritage that runs wide and deep.

Edinburgh is City of Literature

Edinburgh, UK, is named the world´s first City of Literature by the United Nations´ cultural body Unesco.

Scottish Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson expressed delight at the decision and said it confirmed the city´s literary credentials. Leading writers, including JK Rowling, Dame Muriel Spark and Ian Rankin, had backed the campaign. The bid was put to Unesco officials in Paris on October 13th and a formal announcement was made on 14th.

The city could point to literary greats including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns, who all lived and wrote in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh has been named as the world's first City of Literature in a decision likely to bring even more arts tourists to the Scottish capital. The title could attract about £2.2m to Edinburgh and £2.1m into the Scottish economy through tourism and literary festivals. It is thought that Edinburgh could officially receive its title in April 2005.

Who is Elfriede Jelinek?

Readers are eager to learn more about Austria’s Elfriede Jelinek, who was virtually unknown in the United States before the announcement that she had received the Nobel Prize for literature.

Within 24 hours of Thursday’s citation by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on 8 Oct 2004, four of her books had jumped into the top 70 on Amazon.com’s list of best sellers. The ranking of The Piano Teacher, a novel adapted into a 2001 movie starring Isabelle Huppert, soared from position 1.1 million early Thursday to No. 9 early Friday (9 Oct 2004). Other books selling strongly include Lust, Women as Lovers and Wonderful, Wonderful, Times. Although a celebrated and controversial author in Austria and Germany, the 57-year-old Jelinek doesn’t even have a publisher in the United States, an increasingly tough market for books in translation. English versions of a handful of works have been released by the London-based Serpent’s Tail, which specializes in experimental and political works.

A rare book of Shakespeare sold

This rare 400 years old book inherited by a Bramhall housewife from a relative she never knew brought £160,000 when it went under the hammer. An unnamed businessman from the Far East snapped up the book when it went on sale at Bloomsbury Auctions, in London.

It had been rumoured that the 1623 First Folio of the Comedies, Histories and Tragedies - a collection of 36 of the Bard´s plays - could have been sold for millions. The 900-page book was one of only six in private hands and the last such copy, although in better condition, was sold for £4.1m in 2001.

Despite the much lower price, mum-of-three Anne Humphries, 48, from Bramhall, was delghted and even turned to Shakespeare to express her joy. "All´s well that ends well," she said. "I never ever expected it to go for the millions that were being reported. "We´d been told that, because of its condition, it was more likely to go for about £80,000. I´m not disappointed and will probably invest the money. But owning the book has been absolutely tremendous. It´s been a lovely experience and I´ve got precious memories."

Bloomsbury spokesman Richard Caton said: "This book was always unlikely to be sold for millions because of its condition. It did have some pages missing. "But saying that is still extremely rare to find these things. Mr and Mrs Humphries were absolutely ecstatic. "The buyer wishes to remain anonymous." The book belonged to Mrs Humphries´ cousin, Frances Cottle, from Tottenham, who died in 2002.