Day: February 19, 2011

A fascinating autobiography of one of the greatest statesman of the 20th century. Churchill speaks of his very early childhood and his youth, much before his days of parliament and becoming PM, etc.

I didn’t think I’d be so interested, but I’m very taken by the style and accounting of his early influences, and especially his days in the British cantonements in India toward the end of the nineteenth century (late 1800s), and his accounts in the Boer War in South Africa at the turn of the twentieth century– in which many an Indian served as part of the British army. My own ancestors were known to have served in this war, I am told, which makes it even more interesting for me on a personal front.

It is interesting how on more than one occasion, Churchill laments his lack of a formal higher (academic) education owing to his enlisting in the Army at a young age. Those deficiencies, if any, notwithstanding, he builds a reputation as a brilliant war correspondent well before he even enters politics.

The Old Man and the Sea is a magnificent novella, beautiful in its simplicity of the story of an old man and a big fish.

It is about one last chance to prove oneself. It is a story about human friendship that is not a respector of age and station. It is a story about the indomitable human spirit to conquer nature. It is about the beauty and fury of Nature itself, and all that it holds within its power, both humans and fish alike. It is about taking pride in the work of your hands. And about the great circle of life.It is also about loss, and the value of bearing it well. It is about exercising restraint in telling a tall tale– a fish-tale, if you will!

Amazing how a small story can speak to so many things about the human condition. Thank you, Mr. Hemingway!

Things never go as planned– which is why there is always a story. As well as a back-story. And the back-story of each of the characters in this masterpiece of a novel is a fascinating one. A surgeon by profession and a writer on the side, Abraham Verghese–a man of Indian origin–offers up a brilliant first novel.

This is an epic tale about love, loss, betrayal, redemption, and everything else in between. Cutting for Stone cuts you to the quick with its three-dimensional characters spread out over continents. And if you have any interest in the field of medicine, you will thrill to the details that come in waves throughout the book. On this note, here’s something to think about: Thomas Stone asks his students, “What is the one treatment administered through the ear during a medical emergency?” I trust you will read the story to find the answer.

This novel is undoubtedly destined for success. Incidentally, I learned that in his early professional career, Verghese’s spent many years in Johnson City, Tennessee, the town next to the one that I lived in while in college!

A short novel that is both disturbing and arresting at the same time. The story is not so much a look at the life of an artist as it is an utter and horrific account of the darkest demons in the human condition that sometimes drive us to the depths of depravity. All in the name of art.

Based on the real life story of Paul Gaugin, the story is an absolutely riveting one that explores the making of an artist. And yet, it is one of the minor characters in the novel, Dirk Stroeve who fascinates me no end. What manner of man is this who turns the other cheek time and time again, and is willing to bless those who might curse you? This bumbling buffon of a man shows such unbelievably sublime human qualities in his ordinary life that the person of Christ comes to mind as the only other godman who might be alike in that respect.

Maugham was a master with words, and this is one of his small fine gems.

Lovely to listen to this Book-on-CD narrated in the most remarkable style to capture the personalities of each of the characters impeccably!

Sailing on the Dawn Treader is akin to sailing on life’s seas where there is much to be seen and experienced from one island to the next. Rich in fantastical imagery and symbolism, this Narnia book will transport you to worlds you couldn’t imagine.

There’s deep symbolism to be had in the shedding of the old scales and skin by Eustus which eventually he is unable to do so on his own, and were it not for Aslan who does it for him, the exercise of peeling off one layer after the other would be a futile one. And Reepicheep is the most valiant mouse of all, and will remain in your memories long after the story comes to an end.

Success, Gladwell explains, “is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky.” And intelligence is only so much a contributing factor in making for a successful life– the practical and emotional intelligence of navigating and negotiating your way through the places and people you meet therein is the greater determinant of whether or not you succeed. 

The notion that you’re born bright and will therefore excel in your chosen field is not true– instead, the “10,000-hour rule” is proposed as the standard measure for accumulating skills via sheer practice and discipline.  Be it Bill Joy, Bill Gates, the Beatles or even Mozart.

In analyzing these and many other successful people, the two common themes of opportunity and legacy (or the nature of one’s childhood and family circumstances) takes greater significance than natural intelligence. Great motivational read! And plenty of references to the University of Michigan, my alma mater.