Alex Haley's Queen - Alex Haley & David Stevens

The Story of an American Family

Once in every generation, there is a landmark book that adds a new richness to all our lives. 
For millions of people of all colors, that book was Alex Haley's Roots. Roots was an instant success, winning a Pulitzer Prize and spawning the most-watched miniseries in television history. 
Alex Haley's legacy has had as great an impact on American families as any story in the twentieth century.

Now, from the author of Roots, comes Alex Haley's Queen - the saga of his father's family.
Lovers of sweeping generational epics will find much to rejoice in here. Once again, this is a personal saga, but one played out against the broad canvas of American history. 
The story begins in Ireland, where Haley's white great-great-grandfather, James Jackson, Sr., is born. 
From there we travel with Jackson to Nashville, where he meets Andrew Jackson, the future president of the United States. 
The two men become business partners, and James Jackson makes his fortune. 
He establishes his grand plantation, The Forks of Cypress, in Alabama, while Andrew ascends to the White House, and the rumblings that will explode into the Civil War gather force.

James's son Jass Jackson inherits the plantation just as the genteel, well-ordered antebellum world begins to crumble. 
His adolescent attraction to the beautiful and strongwilled slave named Easter blossoms into a powerful and lasting love, and from their passionate union comes Queen - the heroine of the tale, Alex Haley's grandmother.

This is history at its most compelling - from the Irish sod to the settlement of the South; from the Trail of Tears to the battlefield at Manassas; from the agonies of slavery to the tribulations of freedom - all rendered with the eye for telling detail and the sense of historical significance that readers have come to expect of Haley. 
In this, his final book, Alex Haley has created a truly multicultural family saga, the capstone to one of the great, classic American stories.

The television miniseries of Alex Haley's Queen electrified and engrossed a nation. 
But that was only part of the picture; here now is the whole story, fleshed out in all its vivid detail and human drama - the journey of an American family as only Alex Haley could tell it.
[Book Description Source: Inside Book Jacket]

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.21 out of 5 (2543 Ratings ,104 Reviews -As on Dec 27 2017)
My Rating:   3.5 out of 5
My Comments:
Very picturesque and dramatic description  about the lives of slaves and slave owners in southern states of America during 1800s. Though the book is titled Queen after the author Alex Haley's grandmother, I found  the story of his great grandfather and great-great grandfather the Jacksons more gripping and interesting.

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Agatha Christie's Poirot by Anne Hart

The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot 
 'My name is Hercule Poirot and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.' 
The dapper, moustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head, curious mannerisms and inordinate respect for his own 'little grey cells' has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century. 
Yet despite being familiar to millions, Poirot himself has remained an enigma -- until now. 
From his first appearance in 1920 to his last in 1975, from country-house drawing-rooms to opium dens in Limehouse, from Mayfair to the Mediterranean, Anne Hart stalks the legendary sleuth, unveiling the mysteries that surround him. 
Sifting through 33 novels and 56 short stories, she examines his origins, tastes, relationships and peculiarities, revealing a character as fascinating as the books themselves.

[Book Description Source: www.flipkart.com  ] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.78 out of 5 (192 Ratings; 13 Reviews - As on April 6 2017)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments:  A very informative biography of Hercule Poirot one of the most popular fictional detectives created by Agatha Christie. Very cleverly written without any spoilers. Kindles a desire for reading all the books he is featured in. A must read for all Poirot and Agatha Christie fans.
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Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh

This is the story of the puzzle that had confounded mathematicians since the 17th century. 
‘I have a truly marvellous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.’
It was with these words, written in the 1630s, that Pierre de Fermat intrigued and infuriated the mathematics community. 
For over 350 years, proving Fermat’s Last Theorem was the most notorious unsolved mathematical problem, a puzzle whose basics most children could grasp but whose solution eluded the greatest minds in the world. 
Many people had tried and failed, including an 18th-century philanderer who was killed in a duel. 
An 18th-century Frenchwoman made a major breakthrough in solving the riddle, but she had to attend maths lectures at the Ecole Polytechnique disguised as a man. 

In 1963, a schoolboy Andrew Wiles browsing in his local library stumbled across Fermat's Last Theorem. Aged just ten, he dreamed he would crack it.
In 1993, after years of secret toil, Andrew Wiles  announced to an astounded audience that he had cracked Fermat’s Last Theorem. 
The solution of the Theorem was one of the most important mathematical developments of the 20th century. 
In ‘Fermat’s Last Theorem’ Simon Singh has crafted a remarkable tale of intellectual endeavour spanning three centuries, and a moving testament to the obsession, sacrifice and extraordinary determination of Andrew Wiles: one man against all the odds.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com  and www.amazon.in] 


Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.21 out of 5 (17,874 Ratings; 739 Reviews - As on February 18 2017)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments:  Gripping narration about an esoteric mathematical subject. Not a single dull moment throughout the book.


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ஸ்ரீ ரமண மஹரிஷி - பாலகுமாரன் (Sri Ramana Maharishi by Balakumaran)

ஸ்ரீரமணர் பால பருவத்திலேயே ஆன்மிகப் பக்குவம் நிறைந்தவர். ஆனால், அவருடைய குடும்பம், அவரைப் புரியாத புதிர் என்று நினைத்தது. 

திருவண்ணாமலையில் தவம் செய்து உலகுக்கு அவர் தெரிந்தவுடன், பலர் அவரைத் தங்கள் கோணத்தில் பார்த்தனர். 

இறைவனை அடைய வேண்டும் என்று பக்குவப்பட்டவர்கள்கூட இறைவனை சீக்கிரமே அடைந்திட அவரை நாடினர். 

ஆனால், அத்தகைய அவசரக்காரர்களுக்கு ரமணர் இசைந்து கொடுக்கவில்லை. உள்ளத்தில் உண்மையாக இருந்தவர்களும், அப்படி உண்மையாக இருந்து யோகத்துக்குப் பக்குவப்படாதவர்களும் அவரிடம் பயப்பட்டதே இல்லை! ஞான மார்க்கமும், வைராக்கியமும் சிறந்தவைதான்.

அதன் வழியாக சீக்கிரத்தில் இறைவனை அடையலாம் என்றாலும் அது ஆயிரத்தில் ஒருவருக்கே வாய்க்கும். 

அதற்கு பக்குவப் படாதவர்களுக்கு பக்தி மார்க்கத்தையும், குரு சேவை மார்க்கத்தையும் வலியுறுத்தியவர் ரமணர். 

ஆகவேதான் கொஞ்சம் அகங்காரம் உள்ளவர்களுக்கும், மனத் தெளிவு இல்லாதவர்களுக்கும் அவருடைய செயல் புரிந்துகொள்ள முடியாமல் இருந்தது. 

எது எப்படியிருந்தாலும் அவருடைய சந்நிதியில் உட்கார்ந்தவர்கள் மன நிம்மதியை அடையாமல் போனது இல்லை என்பதே அந்த மகானின் கருணை வெள்ளம். 

இவை அனைத்தையும் தனக்கே உரிய எழுத்து வன்மையுடன் சக்தி விகடனில் தொடராகப் படைத்தார் பாலகுமாரன்.

 அதன் தொகுப்பாகிய இந்த நூலின் மூலம் ரமணர் என்ற இறைவனுடன் வாசகர்கள் கலந்து பேரின்பம் அடையலாம் என்பது நிச்சயம்.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.in  ] 
Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.17 out of 5 (18 Ratings; 1 Review)
My Rating:  4 out of 5

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The Man Who Knew Infinity - Robert Kanigel

A Life of the Genius Ramanujan 
In 1913, a young unschooled Indian clerk wrote a letter to G H Hardy, begging the preeminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers. 
Realizing the letter was the work of a genius, Hardy arranged for Srinivasa Ramanujan to come to England. 
Thus began one of the most improbable and productive collaborations ever chronicled. 
With a passion for rich and evocative detail, Robert Kanigel takes us from the temples and slums of Madras to the courts and chapels of Cambridge University, where the devout Hindu Ramanujan, 'the Prince of Intuition,' tested his brilliant theories alongside the sophisticated and eccentric Hardy, 'the Apostle of Proof.' 
In time, Ramanujan's creative intensity took its toll: he died at the age of thirty-two and left behind a magical and inspired legacy that is still being plumbed for its secrets today.
[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.15 out of 5 (3,410 Ratings; 204 Reviews)
My Rating:  4 out of 5
My Comments: A very well researched biography that brings out the personality of both Ramanujan and Hardy very vividly. Readers not exposed to college level mathematics may find some parts tedious.

Buying Options 
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3-Minute Stephen Hawking - Paul Parsons & Gail Dixon

Digesting His Life, Theories &  Influence in 3-Minute Morsels

Stephen Hawking is the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. He is possibly the greatest living scientific genius but also a highly successful author who has revealed the most tricky of topics to ordinary minds, and a vocal campaigner for social and political issues, including the rights of disabled people. - See more at: http://www.ivypress.co.uk/books/3-minute-stephen-hawking/#sthash.fi6YsKBN.dpuf

Stephen Hawking is the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. He is possibly the greatest living scientific genius but also a highly successful author who has revealed the most tricky of topics to ordinary minds, and a vocal campaigner for social and political issues, including the rights of disabled people. - See more at: http://www.ivypress.co.uk/books/3-minute-stephen-hawking/#sthash.fi6YsKBN.dpuf

Stephen Hawking is the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. He is possibly the greatest living scientific genius but also a highly successful author who has revealed the most tricky of topics to ordinary minds, and a vocal campaigner for social and political issues, including the rights of disabled people. - See more at: http://www.ivypress.co.uk/books/3-minute-stephen-hawking/#sthash.fi6YsKBN.dpuf

Stephen Hawking is the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. He is possibly the greatest living scientific genius but also a highly successful author who has revealed the most tricky of topics to ordinary minds, and a vocal campaigner for social and political issues, including the rights of disabled people. - See more at: http://www.ivypress.co.uk/books/3-minute-stephen-hawking/#sthash.fi6YsKBN.dpuf

Stephen Hawking is the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein.
He is possibly the greatest living scientific genius but also a highly successful author who has revealed the most tricky of topics to ordinary minds, and a vocal campaigner for social and political issues, including the rights of disabled people.
3-Minute Stephen Hawking is the instant introduction to this exceptional genius. 
This quark-size biography divides Hawking's life into 3-minute particles - each served up as an easily assimilable feast.
Read it - and the Universe is your oyster.

• Become an expert on the life history and career highlights of Stephen Hawking in 3 hours.
• Divided into 3 sections on Life, Theories and Influence each containing an hour’s worth of fascinating facts.
• Each topic divided into 3-minute bites that you can absorb almost without pausing for thought. - See more at: http://www.ivypress.co.uk/books/3-minute-stephen-hawking/#sthash.fi6YsKBN.dpuf

Become an expert on the life history and career highlights of Stephen Hawking in 3 hours.
Divided into 3 sections on Life, Theories and Influence each containing an hour’s worth of fascinating facts.
Each topic divided into 3-minute bites that you can absorb almost without pausing for thought.

[Source: http://www.ivypress.co.uk/books/3-minute-stephen-hawking ]

Goodreads Rating - 3.62 out of 5 (21 Ratings, 5 Reviews)

Buying Options 
 
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Sai Baba of Shirdi - M.V. Kamath & V.B.Kher

A Unique Saint
Sai Baba of Shirdi is a phenomenon.

In all of India's history,there has never been another like him.

He is not a conventional saint.

He wrote no critique of Bhagavadgita or the Upanishads or any other holy work.

He made no pretensions to scholarship yet he had a profound insight into both Hinduism and Islamic scriptures.

He founded no ashram or peetham,wrote no tome,initiated no disciple to take over from him.

He performed 'miracles' but in no manner of means to impress anyone,devotee or otherwise.

Sai Baba in every way remains unique. 

Born about twenty years before the 'Sepoys' mutiny in the 19th century in Marathwada,the home of medieval saints of Maharashtra,he came in his late twenties to Shirdi,an insignificant hamlet in Ahmednagar District and spent fifty years of his remaining life there until his mahasamadhi.

Shirdi is no longer an obscure village.

Today it is a centre of pilgrimage for lakhs of Sai Baba's devotees. 

This book is a complete account of his life and mission
[Source: Back Cover of the Book]

My Comments:

I was impressed by the research the authors have undertaken to trace the birth place and early life of Shirdi Sai Baba which was rather unknown before the publication of this book.
Also the chapters where lineage of Marathwada Saints to which Sai Baba belongs are very informative.

I have extreme regard and respect  for  Shirdi Sai Baba, truly one of the great saints of modern India.
I was expecting a biography which can provide me a better understanding of  Baba as a person, his nature and his core philosophy.
While these areas are discussed, the major portion of this book comprises of  hundreds of anecdotes about how directly or indirectly Baba came to the aid of his devotees when they were in trouble.
This makes the narrative very repetitive and several of these stories seem somewhat incredible to my rational mind.
Hence I was somewhat disappointed with this biography.
Nevertheless it is a good book to read, especially for the very pious and the faithfuls.

Goodreads Rating - 4.14 out of 5 ( 7 Ratings)


 
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Ramakrishna and His Disciples by Christopher Isherwood

This biography of Ramakrishna  was written for the West by one of England's most talented authors, Christopher Isherwood. 
The writing is beautiful in itself, but the story of a most unusual man with unheard of spiritual yearning is what this book is really about.
Christopher Isherwood introduces Ramakrishna as follows -
"This is the story of a phenomenon. I will begin by calling him simply that, rather than "holy man,""mystic,"or "saint"; all emotive words with mixed associations which may attract some readers, repel others.
A phenomenon is often something extraordinary and mysterious, Ramakrishna was extraordinary and mysterious; most of all to those who were best fitted to understand him. 
A phenomena is always a fact, an object of experience. That is how I shall try to approach Ramakrishna ."
The author does not attempt to interpret the life of Ramakrishna, but is content to state the facts, incorporating all available data.
 His prose is easy and flowing, not a word is wasted, and everything is seen in precise and daylight-clear shape.
 His style impresses itself on the reader's mind as expressive of a calm conviction, unmixed with emotion.
Unlike earlier foreign biographers of Ramakrishna- Max Muller and Romain Rolland- Isherwood did not write of him as a distant admirer, but as a devotee who enjoyed an advantage over them; for he had at his disposal more material, collected through a careful Study of not only Ramakrishna literature, but also Hindu Religion and philosophy, besides two visits to India.
[Based on the book description available at Amazon.com and  on the book jacket]

'His prose is easy and flowing, not a word is wasted, and everything is seen in precise and daylight-clear shape.' His Style impresses itself on the reader's mind as expressive of a calm conviction, unmixed with emotion.

Unlike earlier foreign biographers of Ramakrishna-Max Muller and Remain Rolland-Isherwood did not write of him as a distant admirer, but as a devotee who enjoyed an advantage over them; for he had at his disposal more material, collected through a careful Study of not only Ramakrishna literature, but also Hindu Religion and philosophy, besides two visits to India. - See more at: http://www.printsasia.in/book/ramakrishna-and-his-disciples-christopher-isherwood-8185301182-9788185301181#sthash.Z4N9VklV.dpuf

'His prose is easy and flowing, not a word is wasted, and everything is seen in precise and daylight-clear shape.' His Style impresses itself on the reader's mind as expressive of a calm conviction, unmixed with emotion.

Unlike earlier foreign biographers of Ramakrishna-Max Muller and Remain Rolland-Isherwood did not write of him as a distant admirer, but as a devotee who enjoyed an advantage over them; for he had at his disposal more material, collected through a careful Study of not only Ramakrishna literature, but also Hindu Religion and philosophy, besides two visits to India. - See more at: http://www.printsasia.in/book/ramakrishna-and-his-disciples-christopher-isherwood-8185301182-9788185301181#sthash.Z4N9VklV.dpuf

'His prose is easy and flowing, not a word is wasted, and everything is seen in precise and daylight-clear shape.' His Style impresses itself on the reader's mind as expressive of a calm conviction, unmixed with emotion.
Unlike earlier foreign biographers of Ramakrishna-Max Muller and Remain Rolland-Isherwood did not write of him as a distant admirer, but as a devotee who enjoyed an advantage over them; for he had at his disposal more material, collected through a careful Study of not only Ramakrishna literature, but also Hindu Religion and philosophy, besides two visits to India. - See more at: http://www.printsasia.in/book/ramakrishna-and-his-disciples-christopher-isherwood-8185301182-9788185301181#sthash.Z4N9VklV.dpuf

 My Comments:
Surprisingly though Sri Ramakrishna has been highly venerated in by our family for almost 100 years (my father was named after him) ,  this is the first full length biography of his which I read. 
It is a really moving account of his life which has created a strong desire in me to visit Dakshineshwar, the place he lived most of his life at least once in my lifetime.  
Strongly recommend all the spiritually inclined people to read this book. 


Goodreads Rating - 4.31 out of 5 ( 80 Ratings)

   
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My Guru and his Disciple by Christopher Isherwood

Book Synopsis  (as per the back cover) 
---------------------------
In 1939, as Europe approaches war, the author Christopher Isherwood, an instinctive pacifist, travels west to California, seeking a new set of beliefs to replace the failed Leftism of the thirties. There he meets Swami Prabhavananda, a Hindu monk, who will become his spiritual guide for the next thirty-seven years. Late-night drinking sessions, free love, and the glamor of writing for the Hollywood studios alternate with meditation, abstinence and the study of religious texts in a compelling tug of war between worldliness and holiness.

-------------------------------------------------------- 
Extract from the Introduction by Simon Callow
Quite aside from the insights the book may offer into the life of an aspiring adept, My Guru and His Disciple offers a double portrait of two strikingly different personalities who were powerfully drawn to each other: Isherwood - quintessentially English, restless, sexually driven, found of the bottle, the darling of the Hollywood cocktail circuit - and Prabhavananda former anti-British terrorist, chain-smoking, tolerant, tender, subtle, unselfconsciously profound. Isherwood immediately responded to something he perceived in Prabhavananda, a  sense of resolution, of centeredness, of joy; while Prabhavananda, to Isherwood's  frank astonishment, saw in him a potential monk.

The relationship between guru and disciple was without cloud, although Isherwood constantly felt he was failing Prabhavananda, not least when, after a couple of months, he gave up the attempt to live in Prabhavananda's Vedanta monastery in the Hollywood hills; but Prabhavananda was never less than understanding, always sympathetic.

In this regard the book is very unlike most classic accounts of the guru/disciple relationship.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 My Comments: 
A very interesting , frank and moving narrative. Though not a complete biography of Swami Prabhavananda, his character has been brought out very well.
Recommended for anyone interested in spiritual literature, though it may not go down too well with people with orthodox views.


Goodreads Rating - 3.94 out of 5 ( 116 Ratings)

 
 

Coffee with Mozart

[Author: Julian Rushton; Publisher: Duncan Baird Publishers; Hardcover: 148 pages ]
This pocket-sized biography of the world renowned Western Classical music composer Mozart is written in an interesting format.

It is in the form of imaginary chat between the author and Mozart over a cup of coffee shortly before the death of the musical genius in 1791.

The conversation covers a fairly wide gamut of  Mozart's life - his upbringing; his wonderful compositions; his achievements; his relationships with his father, social superiors and fellow artists; his religious and political beliefs; his precarious finances.

During this conversation Mozart comes out as quite a friendly and helpful person, despite his egotism and tendency  to be whimsical and moody.

The author has helpfully provided a short conventional biography of Mozart in the beginning of the book to set the context for the readers who may not know much about Mozart's life.

Not sure how much  a lay person will appreciate this book. But Western Classical music lovers may find this book an interesting read.

 

 Links 

• Goodreads Ratings and Reviews -  Average Rating 3.09 / 5;  22 ratings; 2 reviews
• Mozart - Wikipedia Article
• Essential Mozart Classics
• My Favorite Mozart's Compositions on You Tube
• 40th Symphony 
• A Little Night Music
• Rondo Alla Turca

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Ashoka - The Search for India's Lost Emperor

[Author: Charles Allen; Publisher:Little Brown; Hardback:  482 pages ]

Ashoka , also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled over almost the entire  Indian subcontinent from  269 BCE to 232 BCE. He was a pioneer in forging India into a single nation welfare state, espousing the concept of non-violence and the spread of Buddhism in Asia.
Every Indian knows about his symbols - the Ashok Chakra which adorns the Indian national flag and the Lion Capital which is India's national emblem.
It  came as a surprise to me as I read this book that , Ashoka was all but forgotten for  nearly two thousand years after his reign ended.
From the late 18th century onwards monuments and rock edicts of Ashokan era began to be discovered. 

In this fascinating book, the author narrates the story  of reconstruction of India's lost Ashokan history through diligent and painstaking  efforts of British archaeologists, Oriental scholars and their associates. 
It is  profusely illustrated with photographs  and sketches dating back to the times when these works were in progress.
An account of the life and times of Ashoka put together based on the evidences uncovered through archaeological findings and research is given at the end of the book.

There is also an appendix consisting of translated versions of the Ashoka's edicts inscribed on  pillars and rocks which shows how unique and far-sighted his views and principles were.

A very well written book, which could have been made even better if the author had provided a timeline chart of all the discoveries made. There are far too many mentions of names ,places and artifacts which made it difficult for me recall the previously discussed material while I was reading this book.

A must read for all history lovers ! 
 

Links:

• Goodreads Reviews and  Ratings  -  4.03/5.0; (29 ratings; 5 Reviews) 
• A review which appeared in the The Hindu newspaper
• Works by or about the author Charles Allen 
• Interview with the Author

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