Start the Week - 20/04/2009

Andrew Marr sets the cultural agenda for the week. Software entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani believes that India is at a critical point in its history. The country needs to harness the power of its wealth of young people and build up the infrastructure of its cities and welfare state, but this is all dependent on the outcome of the general election. Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century is published by Allen Lane. Andrew Feinstein was elected as an ANC Member of Parliament in South Africa's first democratic elections, but later resigned in protest. He discusses how the post-apartheid democratic dream came under pressure and considers the prospects for the country as it goes to the polls to elect a new government. After the Party: Corruption, the ANC and South Africa's Uncertain Future is published by Verso. Writer Petina Gappah is optimistic about Zimbabwe's future. In a collection of short stories she highlights the many sides of Zimbabwe which are not depicted in the news headlines, and shows their humour and resilience. An Elegy for Easterly is published by Faber and Faber. Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the same day in 1809. Author Adam Gopnik believes that this is more than an 'intriguing coincidence' and that the similarities between the two men tell us much about the mid-19th century. Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life is published by Quercus.