"Turning Points" by APJ Abdul Kalam: Glimpses of a People's President (Book Review)

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was India's eleventh President of India and also recepient of Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and also Bharat Ratna. Like Abraham Lincoln of the United States, he was famous even before he ascended to the Presidency, first as a rocket-missile man and later as an upright President - probably, the best the country has ever known. It was also one of the rockiest tenures for any President with the exception of probably Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and Babu Rajendra Prasad.  Now, after serving as one of India's best-loved Presidents, APJ Abdul Kalaam has released a highly-readable memoir of his journey through the greatest challenges of his life and career - "Turning Points". Its a worthy sequel to "Wings of Fire"  - the first book that created publishing history. The royalties that acccue from the time the book was released can make it one of the best-selling books by a public figure in India - reaching the commanding heights of success.

"Turning Points" is a sparkling and stimulating read from APJ. In less than two hundred pages, the books covers all the milestones of his remarkable career without repeating much of what he said in earlier books - some of which are million-dollar best-sellers. He covers in fourteen chapters all that he wanted to say with a simplicity that marks his personality that now bears his writing out. Eight turning points, seen before Presidency and one after demitting his office, are covered in one chapter with a childlike innocence. Most of the facets that are covered only go to highlight and extend his astonishing ability to connect to the masses - especially middle-class, elites and children of India. He toured 21 states during his Presidency with the exception of only Lakshadweep, has brought Rashtrapathi Bhavan into the e-governance framework that he had grander designs to revitalise and recast for bringing greater accountability.

Its meant to be a tell-all, threadbare account of some of his most controversial decision - the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly, the returning of the bill relating to Office of Profit, the capital punishment decisions of Afzal Guru (on which he was silent), the decision to invite Dr.Singh in 2004 when it could have swung in favor of a foreign citizen Sonia Gandhi. Again, APJ is stoically brief in his analysis of those days that set the country's opposition on fire against Sonia's nomination to the Prime Ministership. Some of these chapters are weakest - in the sense that the ex-President tries to put a non-controversial treatment, choosing to be concise rather than be elaborate and hence, controversial.

History will always remember Presidents and Public figures who are courageous and sterling torch-bearers of integrity, honesty and competence. On that count, APJ scores the finest in recent memory of how a President has conducted himself in public life. Whether it is in meeting more Parliamentarians, State Ministers and Governors, or returning every gift, every single gift he ever received. Talking about why he is reluctant to receive gifts from anyone, he recalls the lasting influence in this matter was his father.  Quoting extensively from Manu Smrithi and holy works of Musllim saints, he quotes that, "When the Almighty appoints a person to a position, He takes care of his provision. If a person takes anything beyond that, it is an illegal gain." He paraphrases Manu again on why one must not accept gifts: No individual must accept gifts for the reason that it places the acceptor under an obligation to the giver and ultimately results in making a person commit immoral or illegal acts. Thats an exceptional value system for any Public figure and APJ has inspired a generation with his behaviour at Rasthrapathi Bhavan.

"Turning Points" is sure to climb the top-seller list because of a very balanced and yet erudite rendition of a productive and inspirational life. APJ has been engagingly fluent in many aspects that are seldom discussed by one public figure - be it education, technology, scientific pursuits, religious tolerance, raising standards of governance and accountability for Parliamentarians and Ministers, Anna Hazare movement, world peace and disarmament. He has a view on most aspects that are bordering on world citizenship and egalatarianism and altruism. All this, with a sense of humility and positivity thats infectious. Even if he hasn't been re-considered for the post of Presidency this time around, APJ's words of wisdom and his vision for making India a Developed Superpower by 2020 resonate well with India's public. I only wish his books get widely translated and read in all languages of the country. The books is not perfect to a fault, but it will not disappoint you, dear reader, whatever be your age or qualification. More power to you, APJ.

Turning Points: A Journey through Challenges by A.P.J Abdul Kalam. Pub: Harper Collins, pp.182, price Rs.199.00

Hitler's Private Library - the books that shaped his life by Timothy W.Ryback

I don't believe this  - but Hitler who is better known for burning people and books - was actually devouring one volume per night - and amassed a library collection of no less than 16000 volumes. And so, timothy W.Ryback for the first time, offers a systematic examination of all th books that shaped Hitler's life. The volumes in his library spring to life in this sparkling book - because of th exhaustive notes captured - those made by Hitler on the marginalia - the comments, the exclamation marks, the questions and underlinings, even the dirty thumbprints from the remains of the First World War - which are so revealing. Written with verve, the book gives us a superb view of Hitler's evolution - and unparalleled insights into his emotional and intellectual world. Must read, even if you have read Mein Kampf.

Book review: “Don’t sprint the Marathon” by V Raghunathan

This is one breeze of a book – in just under 170 pages, V Raghunathan, author of Games Indian Play has written a timely book for everybody wagging about reforming Indian Educational System. This one is a delightful read which exhorts parents to let children be childlike, creative, spontaneous and happily wanton in their pursuit of things in the years of growing up because V Raghunathan says life is not a sprint, a hundred meters race but a marathon with lots of ups and downs, curves and alleys and zig-zagging turns which require stamina, patience, hardwork, understanding  and passion rather than short-termism, strength, roteful understanding, and exam-oriented competitiveness. He says children must be allowed to discover themselves  and be intrinsically curious, follow their passions and follow their mojo  - this alone makes them grow up as adults with dynamism, interesting personality and sure-fire accomplishments. Parenting geared toward sprint coaching will be dangerous and short-term because in the long-run, life is a great leveller. In driving home these points, he underlines many inter-related concepts which beautifully summarise the wisdom of approaching life like a marathon indeed instead of  as a sprint. He draws many examples to illustrate how late-starters and not-so-lucky nor prodigious nor even smart alecks have made it big in the world of business, or any other field of endeavor. Examples include N R Narayana Murthy, Dr K Anji Reddy,  G M Rao, Ila Bhatt, Ashwini Nachappa and others. What I like about the book is that enormous lifetime wisdom of the author has been capsuled in concise chapters, each well-illustrated and leading to the next chapter with a thought-provoking missive. The language is also amply elegant while accessible to anybody with a 2000 word vocabulary, probably less.

The book should be compulsory reading for all educators, parents and pupils and seriously anyone who thinks that the passport to sprinting ahead is to  grab admissions into the best school, college or job as starters. In reading the book, the style of the author works to your advantage; its interesting, anecdotal and not really didactic, but  drawing plenty from personal experience and knowledge. Having read the author’s previous books and also well acquainted with his own career – which has many interesting twists  - Graduate at 17, Professor at IIM-A,  Multiple stints in corporate world in  Asset Management, Banking, and now  with GMR, besides hectic lecturing, authorship, Masterly Writer on Financial Literacy, and one of the country’s biggest collector of locks, I can safely say Raghu is well qualified to talk about Outliers who make it in life never mind, lack of pedigree, initial push, luck or precocious academic dazzle. I have  met him a couple of times in the last two decades, every time, I crossed his path, he went in a different direction creating a blaze, whether it is in First India Mutual Fund, ING Bank, IIM-A or CSR.  In this smashing book which will  not leave you untouched or uninspired, Raghu has delivered greatest value  - if only that can be perceived by today’s generation and all those who believe in life after a rat-race.  Read and Get Inspired! 

For more about Raghu, visit : www.vraghunathan.com

"50 Economics Ideas you really need to know" by Edmund Conway

Economics has of late become a popular topic for discussion, thanks to a series of apocalyptic crashes and news flows dominating our daily lives from crude oil to subsidies to budget, TARP, warts and all.In this book, m       Edmund Conway, economics editor of the Daily Telegraph, introduces and explains the central concepts of economics in a series of 50 accessible and engaging essays. The essays range from discussion on theories such as Adam Smith's "invisible hand" and the law of supply and demand, linkages between wealth and happiness and the shape of current thinking on economics. It takes some interesting topics and gives a crystalline glimpse on topics that influence every aspect of our lives from buying a house to what you ate for breakfast this morning - Which country will be the world's leading economy in 10 years' time? What exactly is a credit crunch? Irrespective of what you do for a living, this is one book that's sure to come handy when you are set among people conversing on the land prices, international airports, entertainment economy, or why subsidies won't go away.

"Discover the Diamond in You" by Arindam Chaudhuri

Arindam Chaudhuri, one of those shameless self-promoters who forays into everything from politicking to Bollywood to B-School management apart from writing Alternative Budgets and Full Page Advertorials in all ABC certified newspapers (Who's financing them? Who's Reading them?), is out with a new book - Discover the Diamond in You (A pot-pourri of success literature in rapid text).But due to paucity of time, he says he composes the whole book on SMS.(We can make out). So, it reads very short and tweet-like and should be done away with in less than an hour, including Introduction by mind-alike Shah Rukh Khan. If you have never been exposed to any self-help book, and if your vocabulary is below 350 words, this book will suffice, I mean, do. Read it, if you, like me, are getting a foot pedicure and a shampooing of the hair simultaneously, and have some time to kill.

Book Review: Tales From the Bench and the Bar by Vicaji J.Taraporevala

There are over 47,000 pending cases in Supreme Court, over 3.7 million in High Court and around 26.3 million in subordinate judiciary. Amidst all this insurmountable volume of work, black dress, uniform, countless PILs (Public Interest Litigation)  being filed every day, and cases for bringing lawyers' assets to book under Right To Information Act, one wonders whether a lawyer's life is all about serious stuff! Not so, according to the book - Tales from the Bench and the Bar by Vicaji J Taraporevala. Its a delightful insider's account of life on the Bench and the Bar giving some refreshingly light moments that liven up the often stern and forbidding proceedings in our courts. The author himself is a senior advocate in the Bombay High Court and has been practising for sixty two years. He gives some glimpses of sharp wit and humor, of legendary lawyers like Nani Palkhivala, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, M R Jayakar. The book is a good read and I have been distributing to a few lawyer friends and wannabe lawyers since.

Here's a sample: "A member of the Bar carrying a number of law books was greeted in court by his client with the words. "I thought you lawyers knew all the law." "Yes, we do", said the lawyer. After a pause, he continued: "Oh, these books  - they are for the judges."