My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life.
“Why did you leave Sierra Leone?”
“Because there is a war.”
“Did you witness some of the fighting?”
“Everyone in the country did.”
“You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?”
“Yes, all the time.”
“Cool.”
I smile a little.
“You should tell us about it sometime.”
“Yes, sometime.”
This is one of the best books that I have read recently and I would recommend it to everyone. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells us the story of his life till now - how he fled the rebels at the age of twelve during Sierra Leone’s civil war, only to end up as a child soldier at the age of thirteen. This is a gripping tale about how war and military affect the masses at large, and the challenges that every individual faces in their quest for survival. Walking hundreds of miles to flee rebels, he is taken in by army forces, who fuel feelings of revenge in children to avenge the slaughter of their families. It is rivetting to see a young boy transforming into a cold blooded killer in his early teens, with marijuana and brown-brown (cocaine mixed with gunpowder) becoming a part of his daily existence. It was very interesting to know how the children were fed a steady diet of movies like Rambo, the actions of which they actually used in their battle modus operandi. The first killing is especially saddening - the one where Beah wins the throat-slicing contest.
The book has a good side as well as a dark side. The good side shows the unpolluted mind of a young child, who loves the daily mundane things in his village and yearns for compassion. The determination to survive and defend is another bright speck in the tail. The descent into the dark side is equally mesmerizing - joining the army knowing there is no other choice and finally becoming someone he set out to fight in the first place. The book proves that there is a very thin line between good and bad - in a war, you never know when the defenders become the killers.
Ishmael is finally rescued by aid workers. How it happens is not clear - whether the aid workers buy out his
freedom or the army leader settles their release. He is brought to a rehabilitation center and counseled. Finally, he lands in US with the help of friends, and has now finished his studies at Oberlin College. The readers live the journey with Ishmael throughout; the easy writing style makes it seem that Ishamel is sitting next to you and talking.
The book has had its share of controversies as well. Transcending a thin border between fiction and a memoir, some facts are being challenged. You can read more about the book and the updates from Ishamel’s life on the site Alongwaygone.com.
Mesmerizing! Saddening! Full of Hope!
This book is a must read.
I went on a weekend drive to Pune, a pre-planned activity to beat the regular weekend blues. Instead of lazing around and sitting idle, the drive was a refreshing change from the usual banalities; of course it left all of us tired at the end of the trip. The experience of driving Maruti Swift is simply awesome. The car is smooth as silk even at high speeds. Since I am yet to get the first service done, the maximum that I hit was 90 km/h, with 60 km/h as average speed most of the time. It was raining heavily on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, but the wide roads coupled with excellent tar condition made the monsoon drive extremely pleasant. There was lush greenery all around with waterfalls at a lot of places. The pictures of the trip are posted in my photoalbum.
And a weekend without the trip to Crossword is incomplete. So the current sojourn resulted in me buying Woody Allen’s ‘The Insanity Defense’. It seems to be a good book smeared with sarcasm and humor. I am still half-way through Straight from the Gut. But this book is now a great motivator to complete Jack Welch’s autobiography and hop on to this one.
Woody’s following quote was the decision maker for me:
“Thought: Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: Frequently there must be a beverage.”
Picked up Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch from Crossword last weekend. I have just read about twenty pages and I am enjoying the book. The autobiography is filled with insightful anecdotes and some hilarious moments as well. I will be posting a review as soon as I devour the book completely ;-).
This Sunday was going a little boring for me, until I decided to go to Inorbit. And pay homage to my favourite store there - Crossword. Just picked up this interesting book called “Done Deals” by Udayan Gupta. The book explores the history of venture capital as told by some of the most influential players in the industry. I have just read the first few pages of the book and am already hooked. The difference in investing paradigms and philosophies between the VC firms in East Coast vs. those in West Coast provides an interesting start to the book. I will keep posting interesting tid-bits from this book, as I read further.
I was reading this book sometime back. As much as I loved the insights from the ‘ocean’ of ideas that this book contains, I was more enthralled with the introduction. It gets to you.
No journey is easy; no friendship is filled only with laughter. But we were excited every day of that journey because we were on a mission to learn and improve. We believe passionately in the ideas in this book. These ideas are not for those whose ambition in life is to get by or merely to survive. That was never an interest of ours. If you can be satisfied with that, do not read on. But if you want to make a difference, to create a company that builds a future where customers, employees, shareholders, and society win, read on. We are not saying it is easy, but it is worthwhile.
I will write more about this book sometime soon. Catch hold of this book if you love innovation and business strategy.
I have picked up a few books for this month. The choice of titles and topics is an interesting mix:
DragonStrike by Humphrey Hawksley and Simon Holberton is a fictitious thriller, in which United States, Europe and Asia become entangled in what can be called the World War III. The book was written in late ’90s and the imaginary war takes place in 2001. Even though this is a work of fiction, the authors have adapted ‘facts’ from a lot of sources. This book was released much before the other immensely popular book on IndoPak nuclear holocaust called DragonFire.
A Call to Honour by Jaswant Singh - This is the seventh book by Jaswant Singh, a prominent face in the BJP party. The book has recently created a furore in the Indian media with the disclosure of the existence of a mole in the Prime Minister’s office some years back. I picked up this book after browsing through it for sometime. It gives a very vivid picture of the thought process of a man who steered India clear of the diplomatic diktats after the nuclear tests at Pokhran. Would be writing a review on this book soon.
iCon:Steve Jobs - The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon. I have always admired Steve Jobs for the sole reason that he had the guts to start another company of his own and make it big; and that too after getting fired from the company he founded. The book chronicles the second coming of the most influential person in technology and the legacy he has created.
What Goes Up by Eric J. Weiner - This was picked up on a whim. The title of the book says it all - “The Uncensored History of Modern Wall Street - As told by Bankers, Brokers, CEOs and Scoundrels Who Made it Happen”.
A trip to Crossword yesterday has ensured that I do not stay hungry for my regular dose of reading for the coming month. The store at Inorbit mall in Goregaon has changed its location from ground floor of the mall to a much bigger store on the first floor. There is a plethora of paraphernalia for the people pursuing reading interests, with the store diversifying itself into books, music, stationery, and periodicals. I like the metamorphosis and love the spacious store in its new entirety. I picked up the following books, which are now a part of my reading list for the month of June:
- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - The book is the fictionalized account of the real life adventures of the author, who escaped from an Australian jail and arrived in Bombay, India with a fake New Zealand passport.
- The Marriage Market by Nisha Minhas - A funny book about men, women, marriage and commitments.
- Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre - This book is a Booker Prize Winner. It is satirical, and draws parallels with Catcher in the Rye. This is one book that has been on my reading list since quite some time. And I have finally managed to lay my hands on it.
- Tamas by Bhisham Sahni - A controversial book inspired by true life events that the author experienced during the India Pakistan partition and the ensuing riots in 1947.
- Powerful Times by Wharton Press - Another one on the lines of Future Shock, The World is Flat and Freakonomics. Seems to be tad similar to Undercover Economist, which I am reading right now.
I shall be posting reviews on these, as and when I finish reading each book. In case any one of you have read any of these books, then I would love to hear your comments about them.
This is one of the best books that I have read recently and I would recommend it to everyone. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells us the story of his life till now - how he fled the rebels at the age of twelve during Sierra Leone’s civil war, only to end up as a child soldier at the age of thirteen. This is a gripping tale about how war and military affect the masses at large, and the challenges that every individual faces in their quest for survival. Walking hundreds of miles to flee rebels, he is taken in by army forces, who fuel feelings of revenge in children to avenge the slaughter of their families. It is rivetting to see a young boy transforming into a cold blooded killer in his early teens, with marijuana and brown-brown (cocaine mixed with gunpowder) becoming a part of his daily existence. It was very interesting to know how the children were fed a steady diet of movies like Rambo, the actions of which they actually used in their battle modus operandi. The first killing is especially saddening - the one where Beah wins the throat-slicing contest.
freedom or the army leader settles their release. He is brought to a rehabilitation center and counseled. Finally, he lands in US with the help of friends, and has now finished his studies at Oberlin College. The readers live the journey with Ishmael throughout; the easy writing style makes it seem that Ishamel is sitting next to you and talking.
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