Upon recommendations by some friends, I read "Wings of Fire" by APJ Abdul Kalam. A very inspiring personality who needs no introduction.
He was known as a Missile Man and a “people’s President “. This book is his autobiography, covering his early life and his work in India’s Space Research and Missile programs. His story is a story of a man rising above his circumstances as he was born to a small middle-class boat owner in Rameswaram, Tamilnadu.
The first few chapters highlight the role of his family, relatives, and friends in setting him on the path to achieving his goals. They give readers a very good insight into his beginnings and make the readers intrigued and involved in the story.
It stresses the fact that youth should not be disheartened by failures. According to him, some hidden knowledge is within us with which we should convey. It drives the message home very hard especially for youth not to get bogged down in life due to personal tragedies and setbacks, and through his life experiences, readers can imbibe ways and means to overcome them. The early chapters are very engaging as we get a vivid picture of the country during the 1930-1950s. He also brings to fore the religious harmony which existed before partition of India.
After having completed his education, he wanted to become an officer in Air Force, however, he couldn’t clear the interview, in Delhi, then he went to Rishikesh, where he met Swamy Sivananda in his Ashram, and the reaction of Sivananda Ji was very interesting and prophetic.
“Accept your destiny and go ahead with your life. What you are not destined to become is not revealed now, but it’s predestined. Forget this failure, as it’s not essential to lead you to the destined path, search, instead, for the true purpose of your existence. Become one with yourself, to the wish of God”
This book should be read by every Indian.The warmth, deeply passionate, story of a boat owner’s son who had become India’s most distinguished living technocrat. Students, HR professionals, and all the people dealing with men and matters should invariably read it, as you will get a lot of inputs on Motivation, Organisational Behaviour including abilities to be inculcated, etc.which are very important to survive.
But this book covers Mr.Kalam’s personal life very briefly which is strange for an autobiography. I was curious to know whether he would mention about own self as to why he remained a bachelor throughout, and other activities outside the Space Research, etc.
One of the things that stands out throughout the book is Kalam’s positive thinking. He held many high ranking positions in various organisations yet he rarely mentioned anything about the lethargy/corruption, of bureaucracy or politicians. The secret of his success seems to be his ability to ignore negative things around him.
He was known as a Missile Man and a “people’s President “. This book is his autobiography, covering his early life and his work in India’s Space Research and Missile programs. His story is a story of a man rising above his circumstances as he was born to a small middle-class boat owner in Rameswaram, Tamilnadu.
The first few chapters highlight the role of his family, relatives, and friends in setting him on the path to achieving his goals. They give readers a very good insight into his beginnings and make the readers intrigued and involved in the story.
It stresses the fact that youth should not be disheartened by failures. According to him, some hidden knowledge is within us with which we should convey. It drives the message home very hard especially for youth not to get bogged down in life due to personal tragedies and setbacks, and through his life experiences, readers can imbibe ways and means to overcome them. The early chapters are very engaging as we get a vivid picture of the country during the 1930-1950s. He also brings to fore the religious harmony which existed before partition of India.
After having completed his education, he wanted to become an officer in Air Force, however, he couldn’t clear the interview, in Delhi, then he went to Rishikesh, where he met Swamy Sivananda in his Ashram, and the reaction of Sivananda Ji was very interesting and prophetic.
“Accept your destiny and go ahead with your life. What you are not destined to become is not revealed now, but it’s predestined. Forget this failure, as it’s not essential to lead you to the destined path, search, instead, for the true purpose of your existence. Become one with yourself, to the wish of God”
This book should be read by every Indian.The warmth, deeply passionate, story of a boat owner’s son who had become India’s most distinguished living technocrat. Students, HR professionals, and all the people dealing with men and matters should invariably read it, as you will get a lot of inputs on Motivation, Organisational Behaviour including abilities to be inculcated, etc.which are very important to survive.
But this book covers Mr.Kalam’s personal life very briefly which is strange for an autobiography. I was curious to know whether he would mention about own self as to why he remained a bachelor throughout, and other activities outside the Space Research, etc.
One of the things that stands out throughout the book is Kalam’s positive thinking. He held many high ranking positions in various organisations yet he rarely mentioned anything about the lethargy/corruption, of bureaucracy or politicians. The secret of his success seems to be his ability to ignore negative things around him.
