Book Review | One Arranged Murder : Chetan Bhagat Latest Novel

If you have ever read Chetan Bahgat's books before, then you must have found that how he uses his mind to write a story.

If you guise have read The Girl in the Room 105, then it is a good thing,  if not that's ok too, because One Arranged Murder is a prequal of A Girl in the Room 105.

Story Lines:

One Arranged Murder is a story of two best friends- Keshav & Sourabh. They are also flat-mates, colleagues and business partners at the detective agency that they had recently found.

Now these are the same guise whom we saw in the last book of Chetan Bhagat which was the girl in the room 105.

Though these guise are best friends but these guise are not talking and the reason is because Keshav is too critical of Prerna's vade.

Who is Prerna?

Well Prerna is Sourabh Feancee. And she is little on the heavier side and somehow this fact bothers Keshav a lot and he just can't stop talking about prerna's vade.

And one fine day when this cut out of hand Keshav and Sourabh had a huge fight about it and ever since then have stopped talking completely.

Now Coming to Prerna & Sourabh...

Prerna & Sourabh met in arranged marriage setup, but actually they are more lovey-dovey and they are more cheesy than and even more than romantic any love-marriage couple.

Sourabh is just not able to find time for Keshav, for his detective agency even for his office work and that's bothers Keshav.

So what Keshav Does?

He sulks, he also complaints and he talks about Prerna's vade, which is something..Let's not go there..!!!

Now Prerna is an adorable girl who is absolutely head over heels in love with Sourabh and she actually wants to keep a fast for him, a fast for occasion of Karwa Chouth. 

So she does exactly that, she fast for him the entire day, she doesn't eat or drink anything and then in the evening she invite Sourabh to break her fast, but when Sourabh reaches the terrace of Prerna's house. He finds One Arranged Murder.

So this is the story of one arranged marriage which suddenly turns into one arranged murder.

*Well this book is classic Masala drama, because it has all the ingredients of typical Bollywood Masala it has romance, it has drama, it has friendship, it has love and of course in the end it also has murder adventure, mystery, thriller and suspense. So all of this put together to make it a classic masala drama about a family who seems perfect from the outside like they just appeared to be a prefect family. But when get deeper you'll find out that every single person in the family has their own secrets.

* The book is very-very fast paste, normally when I read a thriller, it takes me while to get into the mystery to understand how everything is happening, what is the context and the entire setting. But in this book i clearly remember it was just 

25 pages and I was already sucked into it.

*Now most of the stories in the first person narration as it was narrated by Keshav, but sometimes we do see different formats being used.

For example- There is a particular section where the story is told and taken forward in terms of transcribe testimonies.

So what happens here is police investigation is take place and police interviews & people and lot of suspects and we as a reader get to know about these investigations through these testimonies.

*Even though the entire book is actually a mystery, there is light hearted tone that over past everything even the mystery.

So basically, at no point of time we are actually scared. The reader doesn't get edge of the seat thriler vibes and there is no sense of foreboding or dark undertone which is there in the book.

What Did I Like?

* I like the way the Chetan Bhagat has experimented with his narration style. In addition to that Chetan has also sometimes change the narrator, so sometime we get to hear story of different people from their own points of view.

*It also running social commentary and lot of things that is happening in the society and are wrong with society.

*Through this book, Chetan highlights how some people do not want to use word Dowry but nevertheless they are very much interested in getting something.

*Another thing than Chetan talks to you about is the concept of big fat Indian wedding, how even if he do not have the money, we'll beg, borrow often steal the money just to make sure the wedding is liverish and fantastic and everybody is wowed, even we can't afford it.

Family Honor

*How people want to hold on to family honor, often at the cost of justice, at the cost of ethics, their values and their responsibilities.

What I don't like:

*I think Chetan like to use of languages, which is somehow improper and somehow not upto the mark.

The Climax:

*Now in someway the end is partly predictable in the sense that who has committed the crime, but it only happens in the last 50 pages and even then do not get to know the how and the why.

Is This Book Entertaining?

*Yes definitely, the book is entertaining, in a way most Chetan Bhagat books are.

Why you should choose this book up:

*If you already a Chetan Bhagat book fan, who enjoys his writing and who enjoys his books.

*If you are in the beginner level.

*If you do not have read lot of mystery book, thriller book. Then you may read this book.

*If you are looking for easy read.

The Scam || Book Review || Written by Debashis Basu & Sucheta Dalal

 

The Scam Book was written by Debashis Basu & Sucheta Dalal. To read this book you really need to have a good knowledge of banking as well as marketing, stock marketing and money marketing etc.

THE SCAM is more of an investigative report on the two defining stock market scams of recent times - 1991-1992, popularly known as Harshad Mehta Scam, and the Ketan Parekh escapade of 2001.  This is not a book for beginners, to be very honest and precise; a basic assumption is there of a working knowledge of stocks, stock markets, money markets and bank operations in addition to finance management basics.

The book covers each and every parts or aspects of the scam in considerable detail, right from the document stream, to the fraud transactions, as well as activity in stock prices, coupon rates and interest rates, market deals, cartels and the interaction of the various players in the scam - the Brokers, Banks, Institutional Investors, Regulators, Politicians, Mutual Fund Houses - which contribute to give depth and credibility to the investigation, as it leaves no specification uncovered and no stone unturned in its attempt at arriving at the unseen facts. 

In certain, the attention to detail in about every aspect of the investigation is worth a special mention. The attention given to even the most minute of conditions, events and allegations throughout the book lends it considerable weight.

 By no extends of imagination is this book a fast read; it requires concentration and a deep level of interest and patience in the topic at hand to finish it. But for those interested in it, this book is a fact-filled, deeply absorbing and educational experience; far more than it just a book. 

The centerpiece of this investigation is the combination of numbers and planning or stratigies that has been used to sober put the point across. Stock price movements, coupon rates, transactions, positions have been covered in considerable detail,  leaves no doubt in your mind as to what happened. 

The book is merciless on the Regulators- specifically our very own RBI, and asked some really tough questions from the central bank, including exposing dazzling oversights and weaknesses in the operations of the RBI in the period 1986 - 2005. Some examples of internal reports highlighting issues,  as well as dazzling lethargy and dying systems. It is compell one to think if this is still the case?  

The book also exposes the CBI in no unsure terms, as it comes across as incompetent as well as, shall we say, externally handled - and ruthlessly rips into its investigative efforts, taking pains to point out that at the end of it all, most of the offender (almost all, in fact) got clean away. Not only that, the capital that was lost remains lost and incapable of being traced, which makes a fun of the whole investigation. The book doesn't include this so,but I feel that if niether the money or capital is recovered, nor the people caught, then the only conclusion is the grand failure of the whole regulatory mechanism. 

This book also giving the final evidence of the requirement of an independent and decently functioning CBI, which no political party has as yet even spoken of doing, Except (AAP ) . The book will also gives clue - if you go between the lines of book - as to why no one wants to bell the cat. It points out how old our regulatory and investigative mechanisms are, and this really need for upgradation. The obvious conspiracy between different/various players in the market - with not one single market player spared - will make you wonder at the games that were, and for all we know {IMO} are being played. RBI, SEBI, JPC, Mutual Funds, Broking Houses - a bad image is made, of how these operated- leading to losses for the taxpayer, and the common man and investor; with the rich man getting clean away. Something we are pretty used to - but don't you think that- enough is enough? Read the book the get a feel of how connivance at high levels leads to a national disaster.

A special part is kept for Foreign Banks, who tom-tom their internal systems and superiority in operational systems and working. They,  along with SBI and other Indian Banks, to be honest, have been ripped apart in no unsure terms. 

This is a book  that is a must read for all corporate professionals and Business Management/Law/CA/Commerce Students, from whichever stream; this is an education on how short-termism and the chase for profits has the possibility to overthrough all checks and balances. This is a book of how the rich man spoils the lives of the middle class and junior class people. This is a catastrophic story of the triumph of evil and greed over the forces of the market and the law - in some ways, a deeply moving motion picture of the successive failure of the legal process, checks and balances and of the ultimate victory of crime...

Does crime pay? it look so, looking at the current reality in India. And if this is the reality, high time we made changes to ensure that in future, some reviewer or commentor can write... Crime does not pay. 

Book Review | Wings of fire | written by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari

 Wings of Fire book is a magnificent autobiography of former 11th Indian People's president and scientist Late Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (APJ Kalam). Scientist cum author Arun Tiwari co-authors this book.

If I have to describe Dr. APJ Kalam in one sentence, I would say “a man of humble beginnings and from humble background and love to live simple life.” In this book tried to mix up an odd mixture of religious convictions with the soul of scientific inquiry. In 1931, Kalam was born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and belonged to the Muslim family. Across the whole world, Kalam was also known as “Missile Man” of India.

Dr. Kalam’s worked had worked with several different Indian government organizations which work in the field of defense and space, i.e. Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). During his whole life, he apprise us some of the very advanced and breathtaking scientific facts of independent India to the people.

His excellent knowledge in rocket science and space technology has taken India to become a shining star for youthful countries wanting to stamp their understanding and skills not just over the globe. Some Intial pages of this book give tributes to his family and especially to his mother.

The first part of the book is all about the life journey of young Kalam. There’s a interactions with his loved ones, friends, and teachers. The book is filled with various kinds of pictures like learning from teachers, getting out from Rameshwaram, and many more.

Some incidence of his intial schooling were also included in the book like when he was doing a diploma in Aeronautical engineering from Madras Institute of Technology.

Kalam grew up with a brew of Hindu as well as Muslim culture. However, he was born in a Tamil Muslim family, but still, he loves all religions and culture.

When Kalam was a young, he used to sell newspapers to help his family and improve their financial condition while completing his education. In Wings of Fire, the demand and support of friends and family are picturise, and it turned out to be the life changing moment of Kalam's life.

In the second part of this book, the wrhole focus was on his advancement as a man of science and discoveries. 

After finishing the schooling, Kalam’s professional life begins with the DRDO where he had worked on Hovercraft project.

After working with DRDO, he joined ISRO where he had got  second mentored of his life, who was expert in Science and Technology, Professor Vikram Sarabhai, Dr. Werner Van Braun, along with Professor Satish Dhawan, and many more.

While working with DRDO, he has taken part in several satellite launches throughout his spell. In 1980, he was the manager of SLV-III project which is India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle.

At this part of Wings of Fire, he tried to construct a path into the world of science and technology. The book also describes some of his interactions with all other colleges and the ordinary people related to the organization as well as the outside world.

Back in 1982, Kalam joins the defense labs again at the DRDO as a Director. During his period, he was the main member of some most incredible scientific advancements of India like PSLV, most essential missile programs like Akaash, Naga, Agni, Trishul, and Indian Intercontinental Ballistic Missile series.

The book also pays tribute to the best Indian scientific minds and has a pleasant and nostalgic feel for this. Several pictures of Kalam and his mates were added in the book to provide a better insight about his life to the reader. 

In the last part, a new era of Kalam’s life took place. In 1992, He became the scientific advisor in India’s Defense Ministry.

 The nuclear test conducted in Pokhran, Rajasthan which gives surprises the entire world and explicit status of “what India Can Do?,” Kalam was one of the very important members of this team.

Kalam has recieved India’s top three civilian awards, i.e. Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma .

Also he has recieved the plenty of degrees from several University.

Summary of book

The book is a journey of a very common and down to earth man who born in a working-class Muslim family to becoming India’s president.

It’s an outstanding tale of a very common and very down to earth person with excellent talents. This book also telling us a journey of a far-sighted leader whose works are far louder than his words.

He lives in a country where communal riots are ordinary. In spite of all, he gives his entire life to his country. Even, he was so patriotic that he died at the stage of IIM, Shillong while giving a lecture to the IIM's Student.

This book is for those people who wants to do something for their Nation and for their Nation's people.

Book Review || Ram Rajya Written By Ashutosh Rana || Compelled you to see Ramayna from different Angle

 

There are so many forms of Ramkatha. From the Ramayana of Adikavi Valmiki to Ramacharitmanas of Tulsidas. Apart from the Mahakavis of Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali and other languages, folk tradition, dialects also have many forms of Ramkatha. In every Ramakatha, there is a change in narrative and interpretation.

Now film actor Ashutosh Rana has tried to interpret Ramkatha in a different way. He has tried to expand the character of the characters portrayed as villains, saying that the characters who are considered villains played an important role in making Rama The Rama.

The Ramayana, the Ramcharit Manas and the rest of the texts portray Rama's step-mother Kaikeyi and Ravana's sister Shurpanakha as the undisputed villain. But through the dialogues between Rama and Kaikeyi in this book, it is told that Rama's mother was Kaushalya but in fact it is Kaikeyi who filled Rama with feelings of life, truth, duty, responsibility.

Kaikeyi was responsible for sending Rama to exile, it is in every legend but it is told in the book that Kaikeyi was not happy with King Dasaratha's decision to hand over the throne to Rama. At one point in the book, Kaikeyi tells his servant Manthara, "Those who are born from their own womb, are they called sons?"

Motherhood is an emotional state, not a physical one. Dharana, Reason and Tarana, these three qualities in which they exist, is the mother. If Kausalya has adopted Rama in his womb, Kaikeyi has embraced Rama's inherent qualities in his mind. "

Through the question and answer between Rama and Kaikeyi, the message is given that Rama was not willing to sit on the throne, but Kaikeyi continued to insist that Rama should sit on the throne. At the same time, Rama obliged Kaikeyi to ask for his two boons from King Dasaratha and help him on his way to the forest.

By writing this incident Ashutosh breaks the myth of Kaikeyi's villain. This dialogue between Kaikeyi and Rama is said to have happened in Kaikeyi's library. Kaikeyi was aware of the fact that Saraswati resides in the library and where Saraswati resides, nothing can go unpunished.

She also says, "Rest assured, Kaikeyi had to bear the stigma for your welfare, even then Kaikeyi will not back down." Kaikeyi is called Kumata but in the book she tells Rama that she is Vimata but not Kumata.

Both are interesting in dialogues and try to understand the difference in emotions arising in humans like love, fascination, affection, motherhood, youth-old-age duties, curiosity, patience and the reality of life.

In the book, the double character of Suparna-Shurpanakha is also excluded from the image of villain like Kaikeyi's character. The Ramcharit Manas depicts the use of Shurpanakha to kill Rama and Sita.

In the book, Shurpanakha and her father Vishrava's dialogues reveal that Shurpanakha had become a factor in bringing Ravana's negative energy into contact with Rama's positive energy. Shurpanakha also says that she will be the medium for Rama's transformation from male to Narayana and the cause of brother Ravana's salvation.

His father communicated these thoughts in him. Vishrava asks him to try a war between Ravana and Rama, so that Ravana does not die but ends it. This will not fulfill the boon of immortality received by Shiva but he will remain immortal due to enmity with Rama

Not only this, the image of Ravana's wife Mandodari sympathetic to Ram has also been broken. The dialogues with Mandodari after the dealings with Shurpanakha gave Ravana the message that the woman is the form of religion and that to protect religion she must kill Rama at any cost.

Many characteristics of Ravana's brother Kumbhakarna are also mentioned in the book. Although Kumbhakarna is said to be powerful and powerful, Ashutosh has also called him a scientist. His boon of sleep for six months was the brainchild of Ravana himself, so that he could work on his scientific experiments without any disturbance.This was the reason that Kumbhakarna was sentenced to death for disturbing his sleep. The book states that what was being called Kumbhakarna during the war was actually a huge iron plant, in which Kumbhakarna used to fight.

The book also has chapters on Hanuman, Vibhishana and the festival of victory over Ravana and abandonment of Sita. For the first time in a Hindi book, easy Hindi meanings of some less common or explicit words are also given on the same page. The entire book is in pure Hindi. Only the letter sent by Shurpanakha on behalf of her husband Vidyut, uses the word Shamsheer, which is Persian.

Ramrajya is an attempt to see Ramkatha from a new angle. The effort that Ashutosh Rana has given to Kaikeyi and Shurpanakha's image will really change the image, it is a question and the reason for reading the book is also very interesting.

Book Review || I Am Malala || A Girl who stood for Education & shot by Taliban.

 Read this book recently, reminded me of how much I take for granted every day: Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The freedom to go to the outside without needing a male escort. And the right to get an education, regardless of gender.

"I was a girl in a place where rifles/guns are fired in celebration of a son, while daughters are hidden away behind a curtain, their role in life simply to make food and give birth to children."

Malala, who is now 23,is an outspoken advocate girl who ask for education right to have the same right to go to school as boys. In her native country Pakistan, she lost that ability when the Taliban took over: "I was 10 when the Taliban arrived to our valley.  It seemed to us that the Taliban arrived in the night just like vampires. They came in groups, armed with knives and Kalashnikovs . They looked so dark and dirty and that my father's friend defined them as 'people deprived of baths and barbers.'"

The Taliban  bombing schools and decreed that girls couldn't get an education. Malala's father was a school principal and always encouraged her to speak out. She was only 15 at the time, but threats were made against her and her family. And in October 2012, when she was in the school bus with her friends, a man with a gun climbed aboard the vehicle and shooted Malala in the head.

Amazingly, Malala survived the bullet and was found able to recover. She and her family currently living in England, but Malala describes about how much she misses her home country and wishes she could return to be with her friends. Her amiableness was such that she did not wish revenge on her attacker, and instead she prays for peace.

"I thank GOD, for the hardworking doctors, for my recovery and for sending us to this world where we mostly struggle for our survival. Some people choose good ways and some choose bad ways. One man's bullet hit me. It swelled my brain, stole my hearing and cut the nerve of my left face in the space of a second. And after that one second there were billions of people praying for my life and extremely talented doctors who gave me my life back. I was a good girl. In my heart I had only wish to help people."

Malala's story is both painful, heartbreaking and inspiring as well. I really appreciates her courage and her tenacity, and also hope that her Nation will one day find Peace. "Why are we Muslims fighting with each other?  We need to focus on practical issues. We have millions of people in our nation who are illiterate, and many women have no education at all. We live in a place where schools are incinerated. We have no electricity supply. Not a single day passes without  kill of at least one Pakistani."

The novel is lovingly and kindly written, and I also admired her stories about the history of Pakistan and her peoples, the Pashtuns. While reading the book I found that I knew more about the history of other Nation in the region, such as Afghanistan, Iran and and as well as India, than I did know about Pakistan, and it was very informative. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in women's rights, current events, history or inspirational memoirs and biographies.

"Today we all talk about education is our basic right but we just do talk. Not just in the West; Islam too has given us this right. Islam says every girl and every boy should go to school. In the Quran it is written, God wants us to have knowledge. He wants us to know why the sky is blue and about oceans and stars . The Taliban could take our pens and books and can't deprived us from getting education, but they couldn't stop our minds from thinking."

Although I had heard about Malala before reading the book, I was not familiar with her story. Now that I have read it, I believe that her story is one everyone should know and that she is a voice everyone should listen to. Her book should be used in classes around the world. It is extremely powerful, and Malala is someone we can all learn from. When reading the book, you easily forget that Malala was just a child when most of these events happened. Most of us will not show one hundredth of her courage in our lifetime. She used her grief and her tragic past to build a cause and help solve the problems she sees as the most pressing. The fight is still going on and needs our attention, and Malala’s book is a testament to the power each and every one of us has to make the world a more equal place.

Chetan Bhagat | BOOK Review | One Night at The Call Centre | Must Read the very interesting book

ASKRevies

One night at Call center is written by Chetan Bhagat who is one of the most famous novelist in modern era . He wrote four more novels those are five point someone , The three mistakes of my life , Revolution 2020 , State .
One Night at Call center is the book/novel based on the life of the middle class family in India and their problems . IT is a story of emotions which shows pity , love , sorrow and ambitions . It denotes to the many aspects of human life. It deals with the expectations of people and the frustration after not fulfilling them .

ASKreviews

The story of One night at call center rotates around 6 people .
Three are male and three and females .
All of them are working in a same group in a call center .They all are very different from each other but they have a similarity in them that all of them are fed up with their lives and their lives are very mess.

This story is about a night at call center which totally changes the lives of all the people , not just lives actually it changes their way of thinking .It changes their way to deal with the problems of their lives .

Shyam Mehra ,is the narrator of the story and is the main character of the story . He is very much unclear in his life . He is a very simple boy . He loves Priyanka who has got engaged with Ganesh an NRI boy . He is sad because of it and second thing is that he thinks that his boss has cheated him and Varun.

Varun is a friend of Shyam and does not want to do the job but he wants to keep up his standard up so he has to work there . Priyanka's mother wants her to marry Ganesh next month but she does not want . She still feels something for Shyam . Later on Shyam tell her about the baldness of Ganesh who hid this from her . Esha singh or Eliza is an ambitious girl who wants to become a model .

She runs away from house and join call center in o rder to fulfill her dreams .She does many compromises . But she is bluffed by a man who said her that she is not suitable for being a model .
Her life shows the ambitious middle class youth/youngster who are running after blind race of materialism .

Radhika's call name is Regima Jones . She is married . She is not happy with her mother in law . She loves her hubby/husband a lot but when she comes to know that on a radio program he selects an another girl over her . She gets very upset.

Miltery uncle is the oldest person in call center but he is living a lonely life . His heart weeps for his grandson but he gets more upset when his grandson asks him to stop mailing him .
In this way everyone in the call centre is fed up with his life but one day at night everyone receives a call from God .

God motivates everyone and tells the way to handle their problems . He tell them not to get frustrated by problems . He suggests them to face the problems and to do 100% of efforts.After receiving the call the life of everyone is changed . Everyone started handling the problem with full of courage and finds out the best solution.

Shaym finally gets his love . Priyanka also refuses to get marry to Ganesha who hid his baldness . Esha starts working for NGOs . Military Uncle also got his family back at the end .
 The story of one night at call center is based on facts and fiction . The characters are taken from the real life . They represents the problem of middle class Indians . The story signifies the six different problems of six different people .

Priyanka representing the girl in India who has to follow the decision of parents at the matter of marriage . God gives the solution to it and tells her to believe in herself. Military uncle also represents old people who are ditched by the family and it is a common and a serious problem in society . At the last he also got his family back .

The story of the novel/book is very simple but the call from God makes it very interesting .
All the characters in this novel are young except military uncle .

 The language of the novel is very very simple and that's why people loved it while reading.

BEST QUOTE:There are four things a person needs for success: a medium amount of intelligence, a bit of imagination, self-confidence and failure.

Book Review | Barack Obama - Dreams From My father | A Story Of Race & Inheritance

ASKreviews

As Super Sunday approaches and I try to separate empty promises and strategic moves from real, actual thoughts and goals, I couldn’t have read a better book than Dreams From My Father.

Well, I, on the other hand, found it a completely absorbing read. It's well-written and an interesting story. I wish everyone could read it; there are so many misunderstandings about Barack's life. While I'm sure there are parts that have been changed, dramatized, shifted around, the theme behind the events that Barack chronicles is evident. It's the story of a boy trying to comprehend who he is, to reconcile with the fact that he looks undeniably different than his mother and grandparents, to cope with the mysterious, absent figure that is his father.

The book provides a better understanding of not only Barack Obama's life, but a greater understanding of who Barack Obama is and why he is the way he is. This book, of course, only presents one side of who Barack Obama is - and the side that Obama presents himself. So, as with all autobiographies, I took it with a grain of salt. But after reading it, I had a much greater respect for him... he worked for years as a community organizer, and it wasn't until I read his book that I realized how hard that work was.

The book follows Barack through his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, his community work in Chicago, and his journey to meet his father’s family in Kenya. Along the way, he has to come to terms with the death of his absent father, being raised primarily by his white grandparents (you don’t hear about this much), and learning the ropes of being a community organizer in inner city Chicago.

The thing that amazed me most about the book was watching Obama:

 1) work through problems and

2) analyze both sides on an issue. These two traits came through in two different ways in the book: in personal situations (how he comes to understand and accept his troubled father and his Kenyan ancestry) and in political situations (how he comes to understand the long-standing and deep problems facing the urban poor).

It would have been very, very easy to have bad guys in this book. Evil high-up government officials who prevent community centers and jobs from reaching the impoverished in Chicago. His adulterous and alcoholic father who seemed to abandon his loved ones at every turn. But Barack thinks his way through these simple binary good/bad categories and goes far beyond them. He is constantly striving to 1) understand situations from all points of view and 2) think his way through to a solution. He has an uncanny ability to step away from the emotions of a problem and then systematically chip away at it. He understands very well that you have to know why things are as they are before you develop a plan about how to fix it.

The best example of this might be his work in Chicago. Although it’s unheard of for anyone to criticize the black ministers who organize the urban black communities in Chicago, Obama quickly began to understand the huge problems that come with church-based activism in black communities. Churches would rarely work together to solve larger problems and ministers would rarely do more than preach (which, to be fair, is their job). The action that should have followed a sermon simply wasn’t organized. Because many black leaders were ministers, many black leaders were also, essentially, just talk. What followed was three years of work in which Obama not only made major, innovative steps in Chicago but in which he also learned how to inspire both individuals and small groups into action.

ASKreviews

I was also impressed by what Barack Obama didn’t leave out of the book. He made a lot of mistakes, he deals with a lot of anger, and he doesn’t succeed at everything. Still, you can not only see him learning from his mistakes, but immediately applying those lessons to his next challenge.

The book, as a more general read, was good as well. The writing wasn’t stellar (something Obama is quick to point out in the forward to the reprint) but it was still much better than one might expect from someone who isn’t primarily a writer. Getting to see the inner struggle of a biracial person growing up in 60s and 70s America was also really fascinating.

There are a lot of great candidates in the upcoming election, and I feel positive about more than two of them. But especially after reading this book, my doubts about Obama’s lack of experience are gone. He has something that trumps years in Washington: a stellar judgment and an almost eerie ability to put himself in someone else’s shoes and understand both sides of an issue. More than that, his ability to inspire individuals to action is something that America could truly benefit from. You can even see it in his campaign: ordinary people stepping up and acting, even if they’ve never been involved in politics before.

Barack Obama has led a life no one else could really understand, but everyone can relate to in some capacity. I know one of the arguments against him as president is that he doesn't have a lot of experience in office, but after reading this book, one might argue that he has plenty of experience in far more important areas that would serve him better if he were elected again for USA.

He is nothing less than inspiring..

Best Quote:

“To be Black was to be the beneficiary of a great inheritance, a special destiny, glorious burdens that only we were strong enough to bear.”


Thank You..!!!