This is an unusual memoir. Unusual because it isn’t archetypal, not old-fashioned nor even written in a sequential order. The autobiography is set apart into personal and professional years, covering all that happened in a long and distinguished career. ‘The Brass Notebook’ By Celebrated economist-writer Devaki Jain (Speaking Tiger, New Delhi) is structured in such a way that it is no-holds-barred and edifying. In the brilliant life account, she recounts her own story and also that of an entire generation and a nation coming into its own. Born in 1933, in Mysore, Karnataka, Devaki Jain’s father was a dewan in the Princely States of Mysore and Gwalior. Student of Mysore University, where she studied Mathematics and Economics, she later studied in St Anne’s College, Oxford University and graduated in Economics and Philosophy, where she is now an Honorary Fellow. Devaki Jain made significant contributions to feminist economics, social justice, and women’s empowerment in India. ...