When the top class scientist of India decides to pen his autobiography, it promises to be full of scientific jargon. What would a lay man gain from it ? If this is the thought that cross dear Mouthshut members’ minds that holds them back from reading this autobiography, they were never so wrong. You might be wondering what invites such a strong ire on the community from my part ? Well, this book is in circulation for the last 3 years and more – nothing is written about it on mouthshut !!!!!!!!!!!
I laid my hands on the book on the day Kalam took oath as the First Citizen of India.(It is another matter that I ordered it long before he was contesting for the post – the travails of depending on the new online service of a local bookstore L )Coming to the book, how would I describe it in one sentence – as I tell one of my friends “It is an autobiography of a scientist with diamonds studded in between his experiences – in fact, lots of them.” (Well, ladies don’t try to replace a shopping trip to Gili with this book ;-) ). There are a lot of spiritual insights about how to deal with various challenges in life. There are quotes ranging from Rig Veda to Quran; Khalil Gibran to Lewis Carroll to Ronald Fischer. Here is one of my favourites from Kalam’s diary:
If you want to leave your footprints
On the sands of time
Do not drag your feet.
But that doesn’t describe the book – Though, the style of writing is autobiographical. It traces the path a common boat-owner’s son took to become one of the most revered technocrats of our times. Well, there are lot of scientific accounts related to rocketry and weaponry – most of which just went right over my head. (Me, being a non-technical person :”) ).To borrow Kalam’s own words on electrons – “If you ask a particle question, it will give you a particle answer; if you ask a wave question, it will give you a wave answer”. If you are looking for inspiration, it can be read like one of those “Positive Thinking” type of books. If you are looking for a personnel-management-in-practice book, it is one of those. A part of the final section in the book is devoted to appraisal and how to judge people’s efforts in a team. If you are looking for a Beginner’s Guide to Project Management, Kalam has lot of insights to offer – you can learn from horse’s mouth how to make things work even in a beauraucracy. The real fine part is his vision to make India a developed country through technological advancements. If we had a couple more Kalams, where would India be ?????
And sure, this is gonna have a place in my bookshelf with “Who Moved My Cheese ?”; “The Power of Positive Thinking” and “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”