Wings of Fire-APJ Abdul Kalam

I have been hearing about this book since a long time. But it was now that I read it. May be I was too busy in Sydney Sheldons or Ayn Rands.
This is a semi-monotonous narration of Mr. President about his journey through life; his learning experiences; his times of agony and ecstacy.

“A small boy from a small town and with a big curiosity looking at the world with his perspective” is the commencement of the book. It narrates the boy’s journey from Rameshwaram to New Delhi. The book describes his beliefs in equality of all religions and all castes. He narrates his childhood incidences where his father & the temple priest shared ideas; where the Christian missionaries taught him the fundas of science; where he was estranged by teachers for being from another religion.
The book tells us his journey through many defense research projects; his managerial role; his inspirations; his times of deep sorrow and disheartenments.

It is indeed inspiring to see so eventful a life; with every action contributing significantly to the nation’s progress. For the truly interested, this book shows the significant leaps our engineers have been taking in the sphere of national defense. It also shows how our government has been backing these activities and not letting India stay behind in this race of weaponry.

Very much unlike the scientist’s image, Mr. Kalaam portrays a person who is very humble, tolerable and social.
Never has he missed an opportunity to mention even the smallest contribution to his life made by his acquaintances. Repeatedly, he has been announcing his indebtedness to Mr. Sarabhai, Mr. Bramha Prakash, his father, the Almighty, his teachers, et al..
Throughout the book, he gives an impression that he is using “Wings of Fire” as a platform to reach out to his acquaintances and clarify his own decisions; or as if he wants to praise their good deeds because he hasn’t done that enough already.
At many places, he has gone deep inside the technicalities of rocketry. He even has clarified his stances of what decisions he has taken why he has taken them.

Through his many idioms and poems, he gives an impression of being a voracious reader

A must read for all who want to be inspired.

THE GODFATHER- Mario Puzo

A story of LUST, GREED and POWER; The GODFATHER is truly a master piece It is the epitome of organized crime, a story where a man , a contemporary Robin hood, who learns that to survive, one must not bend before his tormentors.
This story is set on the backdrop of post worldwarII, in US ; the time when the mafia was making its presence profound AND when gambling, prostitution and narcotics was their family business. The story is of Vito (Don) Carleone, who abandons his life in Sicily, Italy to get smuggled into Hell’s Kitchen in NY USA. Through his uncanny ways of reasoning , calm and control composition, he becomes a local hero by killing a gangster & thus embarks on a journey to his destination. In his course of business, an attempt is made on his life and he nearly survives it. But this episode changes his life completely. A war breaks out between all mafia families in which he loses his son Santonio. But his other son Michael, who is supposedly his fathers reflection, turns out to be better than his father. Not only does Mike avenge his brother’s death, but also makes a place for himself in the Mafia world.
The story keeps the reader clasped either by the combats or by the sleazy stuff. (By including the Hollywood & Las Vegas element in the story, Mario keeps a lot of scope for keeping the reader attracted this way). The characters of Mike and Don are impressive- not only because of their leadership or decision-making-ability but because of their intelligence and tactical brilliance. No wonder SARKAR was such a big hit.