Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

There are some good books and then there are some great books and there is a league of life impacting books. This one fits the bill perfectly. Based on a true story of American TV writer Mitch Albom and his favorite prof, this book shares all his experiences with his dyeing professor.

Mitch visits his prof every Tuesday during the last few months of his life. Here is an old man who knows he is going to die and this is his story of taking on life differently. Morrie helps us all understand how embracing death has helped him live life better than he had been doing all his life.

With every passing Tuesday our respect for Morrie grows and we really feel very attached to the small professor who displays no form of regret,pain or anxiety as he nears his final day. Morrie challenges the way we look at our priorities, the way we understand our emotions and helps us remove glasses of judgement and ego.

The writing is very symbolic and the first narration really gets to you in the end.There are instances where the author takes you to his past memories of the professor and himself. The closeness of the author with his teacher and his own remarkable transforming story really helps us understand the objectives that Morrie tries to put forward. Its a relationship book and morrie helps us understand their importance by showcasing how he is tackling even death by understanding himself and others around him.

Everyone who is unhappy, misunderstood or stuck up in life should really give this book a read. Even if you are not, this would only help. It helps us see things previously we never observed and the importance they play in your life. Its small , its concise and its very very real.

"Live life in a way , so that if you die tomorrow , you die without regrets"

The Warren Buffet Way by Robert G Hagstorm

"The market is there only as a reference point to see if anybody is offering to do anything foolish" 

The Warren Buffet way is a book not about the life of Mr Warren Buffet , but about his principles, ideologies and strategies. Berkshire Hathaway and its portfolio is explained in great detail in this book. This book is more about explaining what Buffet did to be where he is today and why he did it in a particular manner.

The book starts of explaining the early days of Mr Buffet and slowly builds on the principles he learnt from his early interactions with the world of finance. After giving a brief introduction about the methods/routines employed by Mr Buffet , it dives into explaining each and every acquisition of his company. After which , through various chapters , we understand the portfolio of Berkshire  Hathaway through the scrutinizing aspects used by Mr Buffet and his team during their selection.The book keeps visiting Mr Buffets thoughts from time to time on his small and large, but intriguing work decisions.

The book takes you through some bad,some good and a lot of remarkable assets of Berkshire Hathaway and how and who brought about the key difference in their running. Even though, there is a sufficient amount of finance jagran in the book, it does not leave the normal eye dejected. The author must be given credit for the simplicity in his writing.The author leaves the reader , every now and then ,with a quote from Mr Buffet and a Case study about a company that was taken over.

What for me,stood apart in the book, is the experience of glancing into the mind of Mr Buffet, (who is not glorified one bit in this book). His way of looking for an opportunity to invest and his simple and straightforward key impact points always keep him ahead of the game in an industry that is as volatile as sodium.

For someone like me , who has very minimal knowledge over the concepts of investing , this was a great book to start out as it helped me understand not key concepts but key strategies of one of the most influential and avid investor of all time. As Mr Buffet always says,

"We don't have to be smarter than the rest, we have to be more disciplined than the rest" 

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha is one of the books that were highly recommended to me by a friend. I had no idea what it had in store for me. It was very different from the ones I had read before and it took over about 1.5 readings to finally register the essence of this book.

Hermann Hesse explains his philosophy to the readers in the form of a story. Much like the alchemist  , this story is  also based on a single individual and his quest for the final answers. It is a story about a boy named Siddhartha, the brahmin who goes on to experience life as it is and without judgements and with the objective of finding salvation, just to learn and then unlearn the ways of human life.

What keeps the reader excited is the evasiveness of Siddhartha and his ability to make very absurd but wise decisions.What makes Hesse different from other writers is his ability to allow the reader to choose out of the many paths and learnings of Siddhartha,which one is correct or adjusted for him.Hesse does not show you a different door of answers, but showcases different prospectives of life and their importance in identifying the right one for oneself.

The story that starts of as a quest for answer, goes through a lot of emotional and environmental impacts and experiences, only in the end to showcase the relevance of each and their role in the fulfillment of one's life purpose.Not only for Siddhartha , but for everyone he has interacted with in his life and how they find true purpose, is the essence of the book.I would like to sum by my review of the book , by saying that only by experiencing the book, would you be able to judge if it works for you, not by reading its teaching.

This is in sync with one special interaction of Siddhartha to Buddha," Dear exalted one, you have found salvation from death.It has come to you , in your own search,on your own path,through thoughts ,through meditation , through realizations, through enlightenment. It has not come to you by means of teaching!And, thus is my thought,O exalted one ,nobody will obtain salvation by means of teachings! you will not be able to convey to anybody,in words and through teachings,what has happened to you in the hour of enlightenment."

The Oath of the Vayuputras - AMISH

The Oath of Vayuputras is the last of the three part series by AMISH. If you have already read the first two, there is no point not reading the third one.

This book is not only the longest ,but also covers the largest time line of the series. The build up to the war is exonerating and you never feel like dropping the book. As this is the culminating book, you already know that  the end is going to be a war and not a small one that too. Unlike the earlier books, where there was always an hidden element that was not exposed till the very last pages of the books and left you appalled, this one is more straightforward and at times dips in the excitement .

All the characters have their defined roles,relationships and responsibilities,but still everyone's character is tested at some point in the book. The challenge that each character overcomes , in order to choose between the battle of Karma and Truth , is a fascinating and every character's choice is well justified.

Why I personally liked this book more than the previous editions, is because was the philosophical touch. AMISH has done a superb job at explaining the learnings of Ramayan through his characters.There is belief system of everyone  and AMISH does very well to let you decide that in the end, if its actually about the GOOD and the EVIL  in the people or about the prospective that each side holds.

This book might not have the suspense of the previous books, but it surely builds up to a fabulous end that leaves you either in remorse or in fits of anger..I would say, if you have not already read it. You should do it soon.The end  surely gives a new meaning to the phrase  - 'Happily ever after ' .

 

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is popularly known for his very famous book The Outliers. He is known for bringing out very strange and unpopular references in his books and  justifying  them through very interesting trends.He has a knack for explaining weird and uncommon trends in  a very simplified theory and that is what is his USP.

The tipping point , is a book that looks into social and epidemic trends or things that kick off. For example : an epidemic, a fashion trend or a social trend etc. He tries to come up with why and how certain events/trends are kicked off and explains his results through resounding live case studies of a lot of great things that happened in the USA.

 It gets a little difficult to grab on the previous references as the book progresses. The book , though starts off greatly and seems to be very promising and interesting, somewhere down the middle losses steam.

Malcolm somewhere losses account of the explanation and the examples tend to to pressing the point more than required. The author is unable to bring a new thought into the book and goes a little to deep into certain case studies , even after his point has come across. The purpose of the book becomes predictable and then it just seems to be a compilation of the events triggered by similar thought process as stated earlier.Basically you don't have to read the whole book to get the point that the author is trying to make and this makes it lose its intent.

In the outlier , the intent behind each case was fascinating and was  accompanied with a certain style of writing that made the book a lot more interesting that this one. The tipping point does not  have enough intent to be written as a completely different book and a little more creative writing would have really made a lot of difference.

All in all , its a good read but not as great as the Outliers. It could have been much better scripted. But, I am always a fan of Malcolm Gladwell and so I would still recommend it.

Fallen angel :The making and unmaking of RAJAT GUPTA

Fallen angel or tactfully brought down.This book is exactly about solving that dilemma. The story of the book revolves around the very high profile case involving Mr Rajat Gupta, where he was accused of Insider Trading  in the US Court of Law and here is my take on it.

This book is very similar to a court room drama screenplay,where as the participants of the play are introduced with reference to the case, a back story is provided to facilitate their contribution. Sandipan(The author) has done a very good job of keeping it simple and still covering the complex ideas of the lawyers, the US court system and financial markets.(US).

Though it may seem like a protagonist based story, it in the end turns out to have a lot of key players. It starts with the back story of Mr Rajat Gupta, from his days of IIT Delhi to Harvard to becoming the head of the most sought after company in the field of consulting. After keenly polishing the achievements of Mr Rajat Gupta, the author spottily puts forward his new relations ,bringing into sight the key people and moments that resulted in this case.Here I would like to mention, that the author does not accuse anyone but merely puts the ponds in place for a final showdown. By the time you are ready for the showdown, you know all the players in and out, and can comprehend the impact on each one of them.

The part that I appreciate most about  Sandipan's writing is the way of expressing distinctly not only facts without being biased, but also covering up for the key gaps in the facts stated. The author plays on the supposed positions of the key people associated with the case and defends and convicts them , with equal conviction. In the end, Sandipan leaves you gasping for the truth , where your biggest problem in life is to judge weather Mr Rajat Gupta , did nor did not commit the crime.

All in all, its a really gripping book that provides the reader with a lot of concrete information about the truths and untruths of the case,  while allowing him  to make his own judgement. Its certainly a very good read.