Heartbreaks and Dreams! - The Girls@IIT - Parul Mittal (2010)

Story looked quite predictable from the title but more close to reality than the earlier two instances of IIT story telling of Five Point Someone and Above Average. But writing style and quality was not as appealing as the other two books are. There are definitely some high points and low points in the book but not a book which will make you keep glued to it. In the days with limited communication opportunities and a closed social circle there is bound to be a lot of inner desire to socialize with the opposite sex. I guess the book focused too much into that aspect than getting to a complete view of the IIT life.

Overall a good read but not a great one.

The Macintosh Way - Guy Kawasaki (1990)

Is it worth reading or writing a review of a book which has been well accepted in market and is kind of a real life case of Guerilla marketing at its best? Personally, I felt the text is a worthwhile read but as you read to later chapters they seemed like a drag. But overall a great book to read. The Macintosh Way is doing the right thing in the right way. Morever there are lots of instances shown where you can directly relate why some operating platforms succeed while some do not. The first part focuses on doing the right things like setting up a right work environment, rewards, customer support and markting communications. Second part focuses on doing the right things like evangelism, providing right level of communication through user groups and demos that appeal to customers and users beyond the regular sales presentations.

One thing that stands out clearly in this book, is the difference the product mindset in the executives and particularly the CEO bring into the company: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and John Warnock all had one thing in common they all loved the best in the products and brought out that class in any products they built or tried to ingrain that culture in the organizations they built. Otherwise the management literature has questioned several of their management styles but seldom they had questioned the DICE framework (depth, indulgence, completeness and elegance) of the great products they built.

I guess there are lots of personal biases in the book but overall still relevant book for someone who is looking at building insanely great products. You can read the initial chapters in details and skim through the later chapters as they looked more like adding best seller value to the book than substance.

Small Wonder - The Making of the Nano

Nano was the greatest engineering vision of the century. I am sure it has the potential to be the next serious innovation after Model-T. I think there is a limit to appreciating yourself or patting on one's own back. This book definitely chronicles a successful launch of a great milestone. Does that mean there is nothing negative about the vehicle? I am surprised to see there is no mention of the multiple fire accidents that has been reported. The car sold the minimum numbers in Nov. 2010, nowhere near the numbers Tata motors predicted. The car which only can speak for itself now needs serious advertisement and PR to survive. One of the efforts is probably to provide these kind of books.

The book is all about an advertisement for Tata motors and greatness of Ratan Tata and team in making Tata Nano happen. Anything that is not aligned has not been treated in any positive manner. I do not recommend a book that is so baised in its content.

Old Man And His God - Sudha Murthy (2006)

Once again a real life experience from a master story teller. The book is fairly for a more mature audience. Definitely shows the variety of experience the author has gone through with her involvement in social service activities.

Again a book full of stories with great morals.

How I taught my Grand Mother to Read and Other Stories - Sudha Murthy (2004)

A very nice book which depicts the author's interaction in life and portrays small snippets in a book form. The book has stories with great moral. However, age comes in as an important factor in appreciating these kind of writings. I will think the ideal age for this book will be the teenage. Reading these books in adulthood brings in adulthood scepticism into the thinking.

I will still recommend this book as a good read particularly if you are looking for a story book with loads of morals. 

The Magic Drum and Other Favourite Stories - Sudha Murthy (2006)

A collection of short stories for children, presented in a very simple language by one of the master story tellers of our times. Most of the stories depict human intelligence and wit and power of good over evil.

A good book to be given to a child over 8 years to tell her stories with a moral.

Married but Avaiable - Abhijit Bhaduri (2008)

Married but Available is the second novel in the MBA line. Protagonist Abbey who is a Jampot is testing waters in the real world and for next ten years struggling in the corporate structures of Balwanpur factory. A broken marriage, uncommitted relationships and a girlfriend who has no materialistic interest to success are some of the additional events of the novel.

I think in some sense the novel brings out a contrasting management styles of a political leadership of old generation to a participative leadership of the new generation. The kind of changes we have seen in some of the modern companies like TISCO and TELCO.

Overall a nice book to spend some time.