Write the review of any book of your choice
Answers
Answered by
11
Book Review : The Wings of Fire
Rajnish Ganguli
Wings of Fire is an autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam written jointly by Arun Tiwari and Abdul
Kalam. It was published in 1999 and it covers Kalam's life before he became the President of India.
The book covers his early life and his work in Indian space research and missile programs. It is the
story of a boy from a humble background who went on to become a great scientist in the field of
space research and missile programs and later became the President of India.
The book is pretty much engaging initially but tends to drag a bit in the end with lot of technical
details and information of his research and projects. The initial chapters gives a vivid description of
our country during 1930s-1950s. Kalam was born in Rameswaram, a southern religious town in
Tamilnadu. The initial chapters provide a glimpse of Indian harmony which existed before India's
partition.
Some quotes include-
"The famous Shiva temple, which made Rameswaram so sacred to pilgrims , was about a ten-minute
walk from our house. Our locality was predominantly Muslim, but there were quite a few Hindu
families too, living amicably with their Muslim neighbours."...
"The high priest of Rameswaram temple, Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, was a very close friend of my
father's. One of the most vivid memories of my early childhood is of the two men, each in his
traditional attire, discussing spiritual matters."...
Kalam in his early days wanted to join air force, however he couldn't clear the interview. He met
Swami Sivananda after this failure and was deeply inspired by his words. He then joined in
Aeronautical Development Establishment(ADE) and was involved in the design of a hovercraft. Later
he moved to Indian Space Research.
Kalam is a poet and is a huge fan of poems. The book contains many if his poems. My favourite one
is-
"Do not look at Agni
as an entity directed upward
to deter the ominous
or exhibit your might.
It is fire in the heart of an Indian.
Do not even give it
the form of a missile
as it clings to the
burning pride of this nation
and thus is bright."
As the book contains a lot of technical details, it really puts off interest for readers who bought the
book just to know his principles and him. It does give a glimpse of management techniques adopted
by Kalam. Moreover it puts a little light on his ideals.
some quotes:
"He who knows others is learned, but the wise one is the one who knows himself. Learning without
wisdom is of no use."...
"The trouble is that we often merely analyse life instead of dealing with it. People dissect their
failures for causes and effects, but seldom deal with them and gain experience to master them and
thereby avoid their recurrence. This is my belief: that through difficulties and problems God gives us
the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the
wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins."...
One can find a glimpse of Kalam's positive thinking throughout the book. He held many high ranking
positions in various organizations. Yet in the book he rarely mentions anything about
corruption/ignorance of bureaucracy or politicians. The secret to his success seems to be his ability
to ignore negative things around him. Kalam is simple, secular and inspiring. The book became very
popular selling more than one million copies. The book was also translated into multiple languages
seeing the popularity and demand.
Rajnish Ganguli
Wings of Fire is an autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam written jointly by Arun Tiwari and Abdul
Kalam. It was published in 1999 and it covers Kalam's life before he became the President of India.
The book covers his early life and his work in Indian space research and missile programs. It is the
story of a boy from a humble background who went on to become a great scientist in the field of
space research and missile programs and later became the President of India.
The book is pretty much engaging initially but tends to drag a bit in the end with lot of technical
details and information of his research and projects. The initial chapters gives a vivid description of
our country during 1930s-1950s. Kalam was born in Rameswaram, a southern religious town in
Tamilnadu. The initial chapters provide a glimpse of Indian harmony which existed before India's
partition.
Some quotes include-
"The famous Shiva temple, which made Rameswaram so sacred to pilgrims , was about a ten-minute
walk from our house. Our locality was predominantly Muslim, but there were quite a few Hindu
families too, living amicably with their Muslim neighbours."...
"The high priest of Rameswaram temple, Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, was a very close friend of my
father's. One of the most vivid memories of my early childhood is of the two men, each in his
traditional attire, discussing spiritual matters."...
Kalam in his early days wanted to join air force, however he couldn't clear the interview. He met
Swami Sivananda after this failure and was deeply inspired by his words. He then joined in
Aeronautical Development Establishment(ADE) and was involved in the design of a hovercraft. Later
he moved to Indian Space Research.
Kalam is a poet and is a huge fan of poems. The book contains many if his poems. My favourite one
is-
"Do not look at Agni
as an entity directed upward
to deter the ominous
or exhibit your might.
It is fire in the heart of an Indian.
Do not even give it
the form of a missile
as it clings to the
burning pride of this nation
and thus is bright."
As the book contains a lot of technical details, it really puts off interest for readers who bought the
book just to know his principles and him. It does give a glimpse of management techniques adopted
by Kalam. Moreover it puts a little light on his ideals.
some quotes:
"He who knows others is learned, but the wise one is the one who knows himself. Learning without
wisdom is of no use."...
"The trouble is that we often merely analyse life instead of dealing with it. People dissect their
failures for causes and effects, but seldom deal with them and gain experience to master them and
thereby avoid their recurrence. This is my belief: that through difficulties and problems God gives us
the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the
wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins."...
One can find a glimpse of Kalam's positive thinking throughout the book. He held many high ranking
positions in various organizations. Yet in the book he rarely mentions anything about
corruption/ignorance of bureaucracy or politicians. The secret to his success seems to be his ability
to ignore negative things around him. Kalam is simple, secular and inspiring. The book became very
popular selling more than one million copies. The book was also translated into multiple languages
seeing the popularity and demand.
Similar questions