Abdul Kalam – Kalam’s Life Portrays

Kalam’s life portrays, what zest for life is all about. Kalam divides â€Å"wings of fire† into various phases of his life and builds on it. His humble childhood to his first break to disappointments to successes. He writes with passion about his mentors, his teachers and his colleagues. He writes at length about the birth and adolescent years of the Indian space program. He writes about how to be a good leader, a good motivator, a good project manager and a above all someone with passion and devotion towards his work. His Humble beginnings, hard work, persistence, and above all a passion for life and all things that are possible in it, are all well described in the book. He does all of this in very simple prose. What struck me throughout the book was his recollection of small snippets of poems or phrases from various sources. His citing of the various colleagues he worked with, his bosses or people he appointed through the 60 years of his career are also quite impressive. Although this makes an easy and gripping read, at times the transmission goes above your head due to the generous use of technical terms being used and complex rocket technology being described. However, APJ did a good job of drawing parallels with objects of layman understanding After reading the book, It makes you feel that you know the man more intimately, His humility strikes you down. A very refreshing book, from a refreshing person, giving a glimpse of what the power of positive thinking can help you do, given the shortcomings of the beaurocracy in a country such as India. Beating all odds, the man reached out to the stars, and has become one. Kalam never married. He writes that he found, to maintain relationships was more difficult than rocket science. So all you married folk can pat yourself on the back! It does though beg the question, to have that kind of passion and dedication does one have to give up worldly life as we know it and take up â€Å"sanyas† from everything but work? Whatever it maybe, you will come out satisfied after reading this book, having gained some pearls of leadership qualities, project management, rocket technology and the history of Indian space program. Above all you will be filled with patriotism (if Indian), passion, motivation and inspiration at the end of these 200 odd pages.