Sorkin claims that his 500-page tome gives a ‘blow-by-blow’ account of how the subprime crisis began and snowballed into the credit crisis and global recession. To my surprise, Sorkin’s book doesn’t sound technical and boring. The narrative is stylish and captivating, much like a novel. Sorkin describes, in detail, what decisions were made, in which boardrooms and how they triggered a domino effect.
In my opinion, Sorkin’s scrutiny is spot on, but I expected more detailed, thorough analysis. While describing the events, Sorkin tries not to assign blame, which may confuse the reader.
To sum it up, read this book to know the exact version of happenings behind the financial crisis.
Simply Fly
Author: Captain Gopinath
I am fascinated by gutsy and daring entrepreneurial tales of people who start with nothing and go on to create their own unique legacy in the business world. Captain Gopinath is definitely one of them, so I had to pick up Simply Fly.
As I expected, Capt. Gopinath, in his endearing, conversational style, took me on a journey of his life. His typical rural childhood reminded me of Malgudi Days. His Army experience (he fought in the Indo-Pak war of ’71), his multiple (mis)adventures in business and finally the success story of India’s first low-cost airline make an interesting read. The effort is honest and brings many entrepreneurial lessons. The book’s tone sounds like a sermon in places, but it is quite acceptable considering that it’s coming from a zealous, hard-nosed businessman. Overall, a fascinating insight into a sharp mind of a first generation Indian entrepreneur.
With his recent venture of starting a logistics company, Deccan 360-degree, one more book should be in the offing.
The Lost Symbol
Author: Dan Brown
While I am always enthralled and on the edge while reading Dan Brown’s books, this is a downer compared to his earlier ones. While Mr. Brown demonstrates his capabilities in presenting fiction in an amazingly persuasive manner for most part of the book, towards the end it simply gets boring.
Hot Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution- And How It Can Renew America
Author: Thomas Friedman
Another fantastic read from Thomas Friedman after his international bestseller ‘The World is Flat’. ‘Hot Flat and Crowded’ gives a refreshing perspective on how the world needs to attend to the new paradigms of global warming, intense networking and surging population. Though the book is written from America’s perspective, it gives a fair direction on what the world needs to do to address the three concerns. An interesting aspect of the book is its evaluation of Satyam for its rural initiatives; now that the company’s shenanigans have come to light, the evaluation goes for a different spin.
Hardball
Author: George Stalk & Rob Lachenauer
‘Hardball’ emphasizes the need to go for the jugular if you have a winning proposition. The author holds the readers’ attention through his wonderful insights gleaned from real life examples.
My son’s geography text book
Surprising as it may sound, I loved reading my son’s geography text book. The book gave me an insight into the places and cultures globally – in a simple, no nonsense format. While revisiting the grasslands, the prairies, the African Masai tribe, I developed a new affection for geography, a subject that was not so dear to me during my school days.
