Neti, Neti - Not This Not Thiis

Author:       Anjum Hasan
Published:   2009
Publisher:    Roli Books Pvt. Ltd.
Paperback: 288 Pages
Readers in India:


I have hardly read any  contemporary Indian Fiction, except for  the novels by Chetan Bhagat and  Upamanyu Chatterjee's English August. So it is time I make amends by reading more  books in this genre. Stories about the characters and the places which I can relate to better as compared to those in English novels I have been reading all these years.
With such an intention I picked borrowed this book from the circulating library Just Books (one of the best things that has happened for book lovers in recent times) - mainly for three reasons - a) the blurb said that story is set in Bangalore, my home town for three decades; b) it had been longlisted for a couple of literary awards (that probably assures a minimum level of quality) c) The title words "Neti Neti" is from Vedantic literature, which is close to my heart.
The story is about Sophie Das a young girl from Shillong who has recently moved into Bangalore and works for a BPO company. While coming to terms with the fast-paced life in Bangalore, she experiences a sense of lacuna and hollowness in her life and decides to go back to Shillong for good. However she does not find the fulfillment even in Shillong where her home is. So she is back in Bangalore and her life moves on. She accepts the reality and tries to make the best out of it.
The story  seems to be a realistic portrayal of Generation Ys in Bangalore (I am not sure about this though,I am GenX !) and the city as such (with all its traffic jams and malls etc.) . A few interesting characters like Baba Sampige ( who I guess is modelled on a few Godmen in and around Bangalore) and Bhatt (the landlord of the flat which Sophie had rented) who lend a touch of humor, have also been thrown in.


A coincidence:
I was reading  this book while commuting to my office and I came across these lines:
".....they came up to Trinity Circle and joined the cars swarming excitedly in every direction...." and that very moment I looked up and realized that my car was too in Trinity Circle !


The punch line:
Swami, Sophie's boy friend who has managed to buy an expensive car on loan, says "The only problem we'll have in life from now on is the problem of where to find parking space."

This punch line in my view sums up the complete underlying philosophy of this novel !

Speeches that Changed the World

Compiler:    Alan J. Whiticker

Published:   2010

Publisher:    Jaico Books

Paperback: 288 pages

Readers in India:

 This book is a compilation of over 40 speeches delivered over the last 100 years by leaders who swayed the public opinion , through their power of persuasion. 

The leaders featured include Lenin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Indira Gandhi, Mikail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela .  I am surprised by the inclusion of  George W. Bush and  Arundhati Roy  in this list !

The themes covered in this collection are - politics and diplomacy, war and peace, freedom and justice, civil rights and human rights. The background and aftermath of each speech is briefly explained along with a short biographical note about the speaker.

A well compiled book  at a reasonable price , which will be of great interest to anyone interested in Public Speaking. 

What makes this book a real bargain is the accompanying free audio CD - Great Speeches of the World.

About the Speeches in this Book:

 Some of the well known speeches in this book: 

• The Only Thing We Have To Fear is Fear Itself  - F.D. Roosevelt
• The Jewish Question - Adolf Hitler
• Our Finest Hour - Winston Churchill
• Quit India - Mahatma Gandhi (Very inspiring, but did not find the phrase "Quit India" in the text. Not sure whether it is an extract of the speech or whether Gandhi never explicitly uttered "Quit India" )
• D-Day Address - George S. Patton (I liked the earthy , colorful and rustic but in a no nonsense manner it has been delivered)
• I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King (Very emotional and inspiring !)
•  I have AIDS - Ryan White (Very touching !)
• Dissolving the Soviet Union - Mikhail Gorbachev
• Release from Prison - Nelson Mandela
• Eulogy for Diana, Princess of Wales - Earl Spencer (Probably you may have seen this moving speech by Diana's brother which was telecast life on the occasion of her funeral)

About the Audio CD- Great Speeches of the World

This is a compilation of 13 speeches. 

You can hear original broadcasts of the inaugural addresses of  3 U.S. Presidents (F.D. Roosevelt, Kennedy & Barack Obama) and also the great inspiring speeches of Churchill (Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat) , Martin Luther King (I Have a Dream), Ronald Reagan (The Berlin Wall) in their own voice.

Other notable great speeches in this CD  read out by professional actors are:

• Apology - Socrates (read by Christopher Cazenove)
• Give me Liberty, or Give me Death - Patrick Henry (read by David Birney)
• Gettysburg Address - Abraham Lincoln (read by Burt Reynolds)

Information Security Management Principles

Authors:         David Alexander,              

                     Amanda Finch, David Sutton

Editor:           Andy Taylor

Published:      2009

Publisher:       The British Computer Society

Paperback:    216 pages

Readers in India:

This book is aligned to the syllabus of the CISMP (Certificate in Information Security Management Principles) exam conducted by the British Computer Society.

It consists of following four chapters:

1. Information Security Principles: Here the basic principles of Information Security are covered and specific terminologies are defined. The relationship between Information Assurance management and the environment in which it operates is also discussed.

2. Information Risk: In this chapter the basic terminology of risk is introduced. This is followed by discussion on potential threats, vulnerabilities  and the processes for understanding and managing the risks associated with Information Systems.

3. Information Security Framework: The basic principles for establishing and managing an Information Security Framework in an organization are covered in this chapter. The role, use and implementation of  policy, standards and procedures, Information Assurance governance, security incident management in this framework are then discussed.

4. Information  Security Controls: Here the controls implemented to protect against the security incidents are discussed in details along with the process of detection, prevention and mitigation of such incidents.

A simple and realistic case study with relevant exercises runs throughout the book. These exercises will give the readers some guidance on how to apply the Information System Management principles in real life situations.

The layout of the book could be better. The inside  pages have a  monotonous and soporific look being  densely packed with text with very few illustrations and almost indistinguishable section headings.

But overall a fairly good and concise introductory book on the subject.

The 60 Second Leader

Author:         Phil Dourado
Published:     2007
Publisher:     Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.
Paperback:    180 pages
Buy from Flipkart



Is it possible to compile quotes, concepts, references on leadership in a book without making it look like a dictionary or an encyclopedia ? Yes it is and that's what the author Phil Dourado a leadership consultant has precisely done.
He has dived into  oceans of books, theories and courses on leadership to extract 30 pearls of leadership wisdom and offers them to the readers in a very concise (less than 200 pages) book.


The book is divided into five sections, each having a chapter dedicated to one essential element of leadership.

1. Personal (Self) Leadership: 
• Failure, Intuition, Decision, Connection, Luck, Optimism.
2. Leading the Organization:   
• Strategy, Competition, Action, Execution, Management, Change.
3. Leading People:
• Questions, Attention, Stories, Motivation, Engagement, Targets.
4. Distributed Leadership: 
• Innovation, Culture, Leading from the middle, Customers, Frontline leadership.                                                     
5. Great Leadership:
• Ego, Humility, Fear, Love, Presence, Legacy 

Each chapter contains the gist of  the views of several leaders (mostly business leaders) regarding  the element discussed, recommendations for further reading and an appropriate leadership story. 

Most of the chapters also have a precise definitions of useful  concepts like - The Tripping Point, Thin Slicing, OODA Loops, Network Leadership,  System Dynamics,  Epiphany, The Attention Economy,  MBSA (Management by Storying Around), The Law of Great Expectations, Goodhart's Law, The 360 Degree Leader, Transformational Leadership, Presencing etc.

If you are too busy to read everything you need to read on leadership, this is the ONE BOOK which you should read !

To get a feel of what lies in store for you between the covers of this book, you can visit the following link maintained by the author at his website (www.phildourado.com):  Sample extracts from The 60 Second Leader  

I borrowed this book from a library but I intend to buy it at the earliest (at less than  Rs 200/- (about $4) it is a  real steal !) so that I can have a handy leadership advisor whom I can consult from time to time. 

Corporate Strategy

Authors:              Rob Dransfield
Published:           2005
Publisher:            Heinemann 
Paperback:         120 pages
Readers in India:
Contact raintreepublishing@vsnl.net  

This is a concise, introductory  undergraduate  level textbook on Corporate Strategy in the series Studies in Economics and Business.  It consists of  nine chapters.

Chapter 1 gives a brief outline of the nature of corporate strategy.

Chapter 2 shows how strategies need to be shaped by the past successes of an organization.

Chapter 3 outlines procedures involved in scanning the external environment of the organization to outline key changes in the wider political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental influences as well as in  the competitive environment (PESTLE analysis).

Chapter 4 explains the importance of identifying the internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization and the external threats and opportunities facing the organization in helping to formulate strategies (SWOT analysis).

Chapter 5 outlines the importance of defining the purpose and objectives of the organization. 

Chapter 6 is concerned with identifying a range of generic and competitive strategies for the organization. It examines a range of major types of strategy which are typical of those being pursued by modern organizations.

Chapter 7 highlights ways in which the organization can implement its strategy and ways in which it can then monitor and evaluate ongoing strategies. It shows that, in a dynamic business environment, the strategy that emerges may be different from what was originally planned.

Chapter 8 examines ways in which managers can plan strategic change in an organization and overcome the barriers which exist.

Chapter 9 identifies globalization as a key strategy that is being pursued by many large organizations today - both as a means of expanding their sphere of interests and profits, and as a means of defending against the actions of competitors.

These chapters are followed by 11 short (one-page) case studies  with discussion points  focusing on  key learning points.

A good  short  book (just 120 pages !) to start with for a quick overview of what corporate strategy is all about.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Author:        Stieg Larsson

Translator:   Reg Keeland
Published:   2009
Publisher:   Maclehose Press 

Paperback: 649 pages
Buy from Amazon.com

Readers in India

This is the second book in the Millennium Trilogy of which the first book is  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the third is The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. All the three books are translations from Swedish and have been in Amazons' Top 100 Bestseller lists for several months.
A fast paced thriller featuring a rather unconventional heroine, which holds your interest almost till the end.
However hardly any re-read value and definitely not a must read. If you have not read it, you have not missed anything. If you are an avid crime fiction reader, you would have definitely read better books in this genre.
But it is quite a good book for light reading and passing time though. I won't mind reading the other two books in this trilogy, if I come across them, though I have no intention of buying them.
I suggest reading its prequel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first before you read this book, for this book gives away the twist in the prequel.

  

Beyond the Darkness

Author:     Shirley Du Boulay
Published: 1998
Publisher:  Rider Books
Hardback: 308 pages
Readers in India:



This is a biography of Father Bede Griffiths (1906-1993), a  British Benedectine  monk who assimilated  the tenets of  Indian philosophy , culture, way of worship yet remained true to the Catholic order he belonged to. 
Though he had predecessors in this endeavor like Roberto de Nobili,  Swami Abhishiktananda (Father Henri le Saux), he was perhaps the most well known. He came to India in 1955 and  established Kurusimala Ashram in 1958 along with Father Francis Acharya. Ten years later he was invited  to manage the Saccidananda Ashram (Shantivanam) near Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), by  Swami Abhishiktanananda (its co-founder). Father Bede Griffiths remained for rest of his life in this Ashram and  took it to great spiritual heights.


It is a well written book however it is rather factual and fails to move you and strike a chord. I have read better biographies. But it was effective enough to generate an intent in me to read the books written by Father Bede Griffiths when I come across them , especially his autobiographies - The Golden String and its sequel The Marriage of East and West. I would also like to pay a visit to Saccidananda Ashram (Shantivanam) if I happen to be in the neighbourhood of Trichy.


Extract
The following extract from this book based on author's discussion with Brother Martin, who succeeded Father Bede Griffiths in Saccidananda Ashram,  summarizes succintly the four stages in spiritual development of Father Bede Griffiths:


First was Bede's discovery of the love of Christ, so total that it led him to become a Benedictine monk. 
Then, in the 1930s, came a period when he began to discover other religions, though never doubting that, though all religions contains some elements of truth, 'there is only one absolutely true religion...Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and without him no man comes to the Father'.


By 1973, however, he found that this statement needed qualifying: 'Christ is the ultimate fulfilment of all religion, the final and definitive word of God, but the same cannot be said of Christianity. Christianity, as an organized religion seeking to express the mystery of Christ, the divine Word in human terms, suffers from the same defects as other religions.


Two years later he went further, writing: 'I am so tired of the childish pretence that Christianity is the only true religion and must be shown superior to others.' He was moving gradually to the third stage, a conviction that all religions are complementary.


In the early 1980s came a glimmering of the final stage, the idea that there is one reality beyond all, a reality found in all religions. Bede became more and more interested in advaitic experience.


The latest development in his own thought, Bede wrote to Nigel Bruce, was that he had become more and more 'advaitin':
It seems to me that we have ultimately to go beyond all forms of thought - even beyond the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Church etc. 
All these belong to the world of 'signs' - manifestations of God in human thought - but God himself, Truth itself, is beyond all forms of thought. 
All meditation should lead into silence, into the world of 'non-duality', when all the differences - and conflicts -in this world are transcended - not that they are simply annulled, but they are taken up into a deep unity of being in which all conflicts are resolved - rather like colours being absorbed into pure white light, which contains all the colours but resolves their differences.