Category Archives: Books

Books

Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American

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According to Joseph Campbell’s much acclaimed work “The Hero with a thousand faces”, a mythological hero is often displaced from his land of birth, forced to take an journey to an unknown destination, pushed into battles galore and only then, does he make a mark in his new world.

Often such hero heralds a world of new order.

Andy Grove would sure fit the bill of a mythological hero.

And, Richard Tedlow’s book “Andy Grove: The life and times of an Amercian” traces Andy Grove’s momentous rise from a Hungarian immigrant to global business leader, a leader who carved a niche of its own.

The first part of the book is devoted to the roots of Andy Grove, the second to his rise as a business leader and the third to human frailities(physical) and Andy’s battle to overcome them.

The book succeeds to some extent to unravel the mystery as the athor mentions at the beginning of the book. Quote: Part of the mystery of Andy Grove derives from the fact that he is two people–the person and the persona. The persona was managed for the advancement of Intel. Unquote

Overall, the book makes it a good read, giving us an insight how Andy Grove approached a problem.

Here are the 5 steps of Grove’s problem solving approach which could be considered the major take away from the book.
1) Face facts.
2) Double-check the facts.
3) Collect all the supporting data
4) Analyse the facts
5) Abstract from the situation and view it objectively

Related links
Amazon.com

1-By Laksh, Books

Swami Vivekananda: The Living Vedanta

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Swami Vivekananda was a blessed soul, a karana janma, a man with
a purpose and mission. In Ramakrishna Paramhamsa’s
words he was an Avatar Purusha, someone who chose to take birth
to alleviate the suffering of the mankind.

But Swami Vivekananda was also a human being, who lived the life of
an ordinary and may be below ordinary many a time. He slept on the
pavements, he lived the life of a monk, and touched the lives of many.

The book ‘The Living Vedanta’ spans across the life of Vivekananda–an
eventful 39 years–and presents a picture of him as seen through his
relationships. His relationship with his brother monks, with his western
disciples and most of all, his inner self.

It also deals with the inner turbulence of a man on his way to the higher
spiritual plane. A man divided inside with desire to go beyond the world,
and his mission for the world.

The book is a must read for everyone who wishes to understand the great man
and most importantly, his message.

“..Desire, ignorance, and inequality–this is the trinity of bondage.

Denial of the will to live, knowledge and same-sightedness is
the trinity of liberation.

Freedom is the goal of the universe.

Nor love nor hate, nor pleasure nor pain, nor death nor life, nor religion
nor irreligion; not this, not this, not this.”

1-By Laksh, Books, Etc.

Cat O’ Nine Tales

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If there is any writer who could match the detail of a ‘Arthur Hailey’

and savagery of a ‘Frederick Forsyth’, it got to be Jeffery Archer.
And Mr.Archer brings more to the table. He spices up the procedings
with his unique style of humour (yes! spelt as h-u-m-o-u-r)

His style is quite evident in his epic novel ‘Kane and Abel’ or
the simple n’ sweet revenge tale ‘Not a penny more, Not a penny less’.
Cat o’ nine tales gives us the same old taste in a new bottle, packed
fresh from the prison.

As the name obviously suggests, Cat o’ nine tales, has nine
intruiging tales spanning a wide range of topics. While one story deals with
a husband’s murder attempt of his wife, the other deals with a
restauranter’s tax evasion.Once again the former reminds you of
Frederik Forsyth’s ‘No Comebacks’ and the later takes you back
to Arthur Hailey’s ‘Money Changers’.

Overall, Cat o’ nine tales is an interesting read. One could say Mr.Archer’s
time in prison was well spent and that his fellow inmates contributed to
another best seller:)

You will definitely enjoy the stories better if you’ve sampled the street
life of London alteast once.