Mission Control: Unsung heroes of Apollo

When we think of Apollo missions to the Moon, the first image that comes to our mind is that of astronauts. Doubtlessly, they were the public face of the mammoth project, but there was another group of people that was equally vital to the success of their flight: The Mission Control Center, Houston.

Conceptualized by Chris Kraft, the mission control was nerve center of each space flight. Flight controllers guide the rocket and spacecraft, monitor the onboard systems and instruct the astronauts. They analyze the vast streams of data pouring into their consoles and sometimes have to make split-second decisions that can save or destroy the billion-dollar spacecraft as well as invaluable lives onboard. In the case of Apollo-13, it was the team at Mission Control that devised procedures and workarounds to keep the three astronauts alive and bring them back safely to Earth.
This is the story of these people. We get to meet tough and competent Flight Directors like Gene Kranz and Glynn Lunney, bright and sharp flight controllers like John Aaron, Steve Bales, and Sy Liebergot.
It is inspiring to see what these men, almost all of them from humble beginnings, could achieve within a decade, and it is equally humbling to realize that when they created history, the average age of team at mission control was... 30 years.
If the words NASA and Apollo turn you on, then skipping this documentary is not an option.

Chanakya

The primary entertainment channel during the early 1990s was Doordarshan. Some of the TV serials on it have retained their impact even after so many years. One of those was "Chanakya".

Directed by Dr Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, who also played the pivotal role of Chanakya (referred to as Vishnugupt), the series was aired on DD1 channel every Sunday morning. As a kid, I could barely fathom the plot or understand the dialogues, but the one thing that I starkly remember was the cold, unblinking stare of Chanakya.

It is only now, when I am re-watching the series on DVD with my parents, do I understand what a solid gem of a serial it was. Dr Dwivedi spent 9 years researching about the period. He took utmost care that the series depicted the true culture and lifestyle of people living in the Maurya empire. This was the first independent project for the art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai, and he delivered an authentic experience, in the process winning multiple awards for art direction.

The key highlights of the series are its rich dialogues and the stellar role played by Dr Dwivedi. It is amazing how many of the dialogues are still -- and in fact, particularly -- relevant to today's times. Dr Dwivedi’s performance really brought the character to life, and now it's impossible for me to think of Chanakya as anyone other than as portrayed by him.

Story of Chanakya is a testament to how a single person, through sheer determination, hard work and strength of his character can topple a mighty but arrogant emperor and change the course of history. It also makes you wonder how many Chandra Gupts are out there awaiting to be mentored by another Chanakya.

[Book] Mossad: Greatest Missions of Israeli Secret Service

Mossad, the secret service of Israel, is widely regarded as the deadliest agency in the world. Be it the daring rescue of Israeli hostages from the Entebbe airport, or the abduction of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann from Argentina, or the 'Operation Wrath of God' that destroyed Black September terrorists... Missions of Mossad have been the stuff of folklore, yet these are just the tip of a vast iceberg. 
For six decades since its inception Mossad has been conducting equally daredevil yet clandestine missions.

And this book covers 20 of best of them. 

This is a world of legendary spymasters like Isser Harrel, Meir Amit, and Meir Dagan, from whom even James Bond could borrow a few notes and tips. We meet the intrepid commandos of Sayeret Matkal, who would make acts of Mission: Impossible seem like kids play. We learn of fantastic gadgets and poisons that seem like the stuff of science fiction. And, we come to admire the gutsy politicians like Golda Meir and Benjamin Netanyahu who put country first and foremost. 

Reading this book was never a dull moment. The only thought after finishing it was: Wish there had been an equally detailed book about missions of India's secret service, RAW.

[Book] Dark Sun - Richard Rhodes

You know that a book is going to keep you busy reading for a while when the page count is 750, excluding the 40 pages with photographs. You know that the book is likely to be well-researched when the list of books referenced (bibliography) runs 35 pages and footnotes for chapters take up 110 pages. You know that the author has done a splendid job with writing when, after finishing an 850-page book you are desperate enough to immediately order another 800-page beast of a book by him. 

"Dark Sun" is that book, and Richard Rhodes is the author. His "Making of Atomic Bomb" chronicled the invention of nuclear weapons; in the "Dark Sun" he takes us further, to the dawn of thermonuclear... The hydrogen bomb. It's a script apt for a movie thriller, full of espionage, betrayal, works of genius, and torture. It tells the story of spies like Klaus Fuchs and the Rosenbergs, the brilliance of physicists like Ulam and Kurchatov, the belligerence of military leaders like LeMay and Beria. 

The sinister shadow of mushroom cloud looms large across each page, and it doesn't even have a silver lining... Instead, it ends in the heartbreaking tragedy of espionage trial of a giant of science like Robert Oppenheimer by paranoid bureaucrats and jealous colleagues. 

Books on Project Apollo

My fascination with the Project Apollo Moon landing missions started in 1992 when my father handed me a book titled The Story of Apollo 11. Over the last 20+ years, I have read every book, every NASA publication and every astronaut biography I could get; and yet, two of the best books I read were just last two weeks. 

"Apollo: The Race to the Moon" by Catherin Cox / Charles Murray and "A Man on the Moon: Voyages of Apollo" by Andrew Chaikin are two most comprehensive, detailed accounts of what is widely considered one of the most notable achievements of human race. 

The two books, each running 500+ pages cover the same subject, but from two different perspectives. Chaikin interviewed all the astronauts, and he focuses on their careers, their selection into NASA, the fierce competition among them, rigorous training and details each Moon mission in detail. Cox and Murray provide a detailed account of the NASA technology management for Apollo program, development of Saturn V, Apollo spacecraft and the art & science of mission control. 

There is practically no overlap between the two books, and each one stands as a must-read book on its own. 

[Book] The Making of Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

There are books; there are good books, and then there are masterpieces. But "The Making of Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes is a not just an ordinary masterpiece; it's a magnum opus of epic proportions. 

There are scores of tomes written about the Manhattan Project, but this book is universally acknowledged as THE definitive history of the subject. And rightfully so, because it is multiple books rolled into one:  Scientific discoveries, political intrigue, technological and engineering difficulties, and the thoughts and actions of political leaders, scientists and military staff associated with the project. 

It's a beast of a book, 800 pages of text (set in small typeset) plus 60 pages of photos, and it covers a huge time span, from the beginning of 20th century culminating in the atomic bombs that literally obliterated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

While you feel a sense of wonder and excitement reading about giants of physics, such as Einstein, Fermi, Oppenheimer and many others and how they solved complex issues, the last hundred pages make you weep reading about the immense suffering of civilians that were slaughtered by bomb. 

Like a true historian, the author narrates actions and events in a non-partisan way, without taking sides or assigning blame. It should come as no surprise that the book has won a number of literary awards, including Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction . 

O Jerusalem!

Just finished reading "O Jerusalem!" by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins; and also its Marathi counterpart "इस्रायेल छळाकडून बळाकडे" .

Both these books portray a chilling, intriguing story of how the state of Israel came into being; its struggle to maintain its independence against the wrath of Arab countries and its victory in the Sixty Day War. Reading this history reveals a stark contrast between the iron will and pragmatic vision of Israeli leaders as against the ghastly errors of judgement made by the Indian national leadership at the time of our independence. 
These books are not an easy read; but exactly for this reason, they should be read.

[Book] Aurangzeb - Sir Jadunath Sarkar

 I read "Aurangzeb" by Sir Jadunath Sarkar. 

Apart from chronicling the life of this last true Mughal emperor in complete detail, the book provides a comprehensive insight into political, social, economic, cultural, and geographical aspects of life and times of people during his reign. 
I have some reservations about the tone of language at a few places, especially in relation to Marathas, but it cannot be denied that this a well-researched book based on a huge number of original, authentic sources.

Incidentally, the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) has undertaken a project to translate major historical treatises into Indian languages, and under this scheme, this book has been translated to Marathi by Professor Kolarkar.

Operation Blue Star - The True Story - Lt. Gen. K S Brar

Last weekend, I started (and finished!) reading "Operation Blue Star - The True Story" by Lt. Gen. K S Brar. 

Written by the commander who spearheaded this mission, this book is perhaps the most comprehensive and authentic account of one of the most important and unfortunate events of post-Independence era. The author provides details about the rise of Bhindranwale, failure of state and central governments to control his menace, reasons for military action, strategic and tactical planning, the actual commando attack and the aftermath. 

The text is direct, matter-of-fact and candid, and it is well-supplemented by over a dozen photographs and maps.

A Marathi translation of this book is also available. 

[Book] Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon

Just finished reading "Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon. 

Spanning 800 pages, with a cast of 350+ characters and a complex plot that seamlessly blends fact and fiction about the Second World War, this novel is probably the most complicated work of fiction I have read till date. 

[Book] गीतकारांची बखर

When I just finished reading a superb Marathi book titled "गीतकारांची बखर". Written by विजय पडळकर, it gives an excellent synopsis of more than 100 lyricists who have given us immeasurable moments of happiness through their songs for the Hindi film industry. 

The book also provides some interesting nuggets /anecdotes.... Here are some of my favourites!

When recording the song "aayega aanewala" from the movie "Mahal", the music director Khemchand Prakash wanted a rising pitch/ tone to indicate that the 'ghost' is coming closer. The technology to achieve this sound effect wasn't available at that time . So he placed the microphone in the middle of recording room and Lata didi stood in one corner of the room, gradually walking towards the mike while singing.  

  

The song "yeh mera prem patra padhkar", written by Hasrat Jaipuri, was a rage in the 1960s.  But very few people know that he had actually written this as a poem for the love of his life, a girl named Radha. Hasrat sahab could never express his love for her, and she eventually married someone else.

Raj Kapoor was so touched by this that not only he included this poem in his movie "Sangam" but also named the heroine as Radha.

In the 1940s-50s, working in film industry was considered 'below standard'. So when Naushad was about to get married, his parents hid the fact that he was a budding film music director and instead told his in-laws that he was a tailor.

The height of irony was: When the wedding procession arrived at his place, Naushad was stunned to see the 'baaraat' folks dancing to the songs from the movie "Rattan", blissfully unaware that the music for this film was composed by…. Naushad.

Here a song composed by Naushad, one of my all-time favourites. 

The song "jara saamne to aao" is a Lata - Rafi duet from the movie "Janam Janam Ke Phere ".  Its picturization shows a prayer to God urging Him to make an appearance.

In reality, lyricist Bharat Vyas wrote this song in memory of his son who had run away from home. When seen in this context, the words of the song take on a completely different, heart-wrenching meaning. 

The movie "Mera Naam Joker" was a dream project of Raj Kapoor, and it had many beautiful songs penned by his favourite lyricist, Shailendra. Unfortunately, Shailendra passed away after writing a few lines of "Jeena yahan marna yahan".

His son Shaily, just aged 17 that time, found the unfinished poem and completed it. Such a great job he did, that, when we listen to this song, it is impossible to differentiate between the lines of father and son.

"Hai apna dil toh aawara"… Whether you've heard this beautiful melody by Hemant Kumar or not, listen to it once again, this time with special attention to the fantastic mouth organ piece after each stanza. Guess who has played the mouth organ?

Rahul Dev Burman.. He started his musical career as an assistant to his father S D Burman and played harmonica and mouth organ in his music troupe.

When R D Burman saw the lyrics of a song written by Gulzar, he said , "अरे यार ! मै इसपे धून कैसे बनाऊ? कल तुम मुझे टाईम्स ओफ़ इन्डिया के हेडलाईन्स पे म्युझिक बनाने कहोगे! (Oh dear! How do I set these line to tune? Tomorrow you'll ask me to compose music for Times Of India headlines!"

Gulzar left the song at Burman's home. A short while later, Asha Bhonsle found the pages lying around, picked them up, and started humming them. R D was impressed. "I have found my tune", he said… And thus was born the unforgettable song…. "Mera kuch saaman"

Everyone has a favourite Lata Mangeshkar song, even politicians. During a film award function, the then-Home Minister L K Advani mentioned in his speech that "Jyoti Kalash Chhalake" was his all-time favourite. When Lata ji began her speech, she surprised everyone by singing a few lines of this song impromptu, and you could see the stalwart politician deeply touched.

As much as I love this song in the mellifluous voice of Lata ji, listening to its Sudhir Phadke version, who composed music for it, makes me wish that Babuji had sung/composed more Hindi film songs. 

  

My mornings during the bachelor days in Pune usually begia with a Vividh Bharati programme on old Hindi film songs, at 7 AM. I do not recollect the name of the programme, but what I clearly remember is that every day it ended with a K L Saigal song.

So… It's quite apt that I close this miniseries on anecdotes of film songs with a Saigal song that I like.

I have always wondered why old film songs are more dearer than recent ones. The answer came when reading lyrics written by Sahir Ludhiyanwi… They are good poetry first, film songs later. 

Here's an expressive non-film ghazal from Sahir…

न मिलता गम तो बरबादी के अफसाने कहां जाते

दुनिया में सिर्फ बहार होती तो वीराने कहां जाते

अच्छा हुआ अपनोंमें कोई गैर निकला

अगर होते सभी अपने तो बेगाने कहां जाते

दुआएं दो उनको जिन्होनें खुद मिटकर मोहब्बत निभा दी

न जलती शमा मेहफील में तो परवाने कहां जाते

जिन्होनें गम की दौलत दी, बडा एहसान फरमाया

जमाने भर के आगे हाथ फैलाने कहां जाते

[Book] टाटायन - Girish Kuber

Finished reading Marathi book टाटायन, written by Girish Kuber, editor of Loksatta. 

The book chronicles family history and corporate profiles of Tata family, right from Nuserwanji Tata to Ratan Tata. 

Content is well-researched and presented in an engaging manner. Rare family photos from the Tata Archives are an added bonus!

[Book] गणिती by Achyut Godbole

Many of my favourite books have been read in the Nagpur-Goa-Nagpur journeys. Last weekend I added "गणिती" by Achyut Godbole to the list. The book made me think about beauty in mathematics. 

In the preface to this book, the author Achyut Godbole brings up an interesting idea: 

Is Mathematics a discovery, or an invention? Laws of physics and chemistry would exist even if there were no humans to measure them. But would algebraic equations and calculus exist without us?

Laws of physics seem to be the same across the universe. Would the mathematics of aliens be same like us?

In the company of Armstrong, Einstein and Jobs

My reading, like all other activities, takes form of a sine wave: there are times when I read feverishly, knocking off a book a week, and then there are times when I do not even read the newspaper. 
Well, the first four months of the year 2013 have been the crest of the wave, so far. Apart from just the number of books, the quality of the material has been outstanding. I plan to review some of these books in a couple of posts. 

In this post, the biographies. 
 

 

First Man: Written by James Hansen, this is the only authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, the first person to step on the Moon. Well-researched and written in an engaging manner, this biography reveals the human side of this reclusive man. It also clears a lot of myths, and false rumours that Armstrong chose not to respond to during his life time. A must-read book for all the fans and followers of the space programme.

Einstein: His life and Universe: There are a number of biographies written on this genius -- some of them very good ones indeed -- but the one written by Walter Isaacson is the best by a wide margin. I especially enjoyed the chapters that describe how Einstein came up with various thought experiments that led him on the way to the special and general theories of relativity.

Steve Jobs: Again by Walter Isaacson! Though I am a bit partial towards Bill Gates, I really enjoyed reading about Steve Jobs, one of the prominent visionaries of our times. It is a great fun to read about Jobs's wry remarks about his contemporaries and his equally poignant observations about innovations and ideas. 

किमयागार - अच्युत गोडबोले

बहुतेक वेळेस आपण जाणीवपुर्वक चांगल्या पुस्तकांचा शोध घेत असतो. परंतु, काही वेळेस मात्र एखादे पुस्तक ध्यानीमनी नसताना अवचित भेटून जाते.
आमच्या घराशेजारच्या एका वाचनालयाचे सभासद व्हायचे अनेक दिवसांपासून ठरवत होतो. गेल्या आठवड्यात सहज गेलो असता टेबलवरच अच्युत गोडबोले यांचे "किमयागार" पुस्तक दिसले. काही पानं चाळली अन वाचनालयाचा सभासद तर बनलोच, पण ते पुस्तक घेऊनच बाहेर पडलो!

"किमयागार" मध्ये आपल्याला भेटतात मूलभूत शास्त्र शाखा (पदार्थविज्ञान, रसायनशास्त्र, जीवशास्त्र, भूगर्भशास्त्र, खगोलशास्त्र) व त्यांच्या उपशाखांमधे काम करणारे ८००हून अधिक प्रतीभावान शास्त्रज्ञ. आर्यभट्ट, अरिस्टोटल, वराहमिहीरापासून ते स्टीफन हॊकींग, जयंत नारळीकरांपर्यंत. काही विक्षिप्त, काही हेकेखोर, काही मत्सरी, काही संधीसाधू, काही दुर्दैवी... परंतु, सर्वच जण विलक्षण प्रतीभावंत. पण हे पुस्तक म्हणजे नुसतीच शास्त्रज्ञांची निरस जीवनचरीत्रें नव्हे, तर त्यांच्या माध्यमातून लेखक आपल्याला या विश्वाचा इतिहास, रचना व मानवी जीवनाची सुरूवात ऊलगडत नेतात.

पुस्तकाच्या शेवटी असणारी संदर्भग्रंथांच्या यादीवरून नुसती नजर टाकली तरी लेखनासाठी घेतलेल्या परीश्रमांची आपल्याला जाणीव होते.

प्रस्तावनेत लिहिल्याप्रमाणे या पुस्तकावर बिल ब्रायसन याच्या A Short History of Nearly Everything या उत्कृष्ट पुस्तकाचा थोडाफार प्रभाव दिसून येतो, परंतु, दोन्ही पुस्तकांचा मूळ गाभा एकच असला तरी सादरीकरणाची पध्दत मात्र भिन्न आहे.

लेखक श्री. अच्युत गोडबोले म्हणजे एक बहुआयामी व्यक्तीमत्व आहे. पहिली ते IIT पर्यंत प्रत्येक परीक्षेत पहिला क्रमांक पटकाविणारे असा त्यांचा लौकिक असून, IIT मधून रसायन शास्त्रात अभियांत्रिकी पदवी मिळविल्यावर त्यांनी संगणक क्षेत्रात ऊडी घेतली. अनेक बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपन्यांमधून काम करत असताना त्यांनी व्यवस्थापनशास्त्र, शास्त्रीय संगीत, अशा अनेक प्रांतात नुसती मुशाफिरीच नाही केली तर त्या- त्या विषयांचा सखोल अभ्यास करून त्यावर उत्तम पुस्तके लिहीली आहेत. त्यांचे "बोर्डरूम" हे पुस्तक मी पाच वर्षांपुर्वी वाचले आणि ते सुद्धा फारच आवडले होते. आता त्यांचे "नादवेध" हे पुस्तक कधी मिळते त्याची मी वाट पाहात आहे.

"किमयागार"ची काही वैशिष्ट्ये म्हणजे संपूर्ण पुस्तक निव्वळ मराठी भाषेत असून प्रत्येक पानावर शास्त्रज्ञांची दुर्मिळ छायाचित्रे आहेत. जोडीला सुबक, नेटकी छपाई व शेकडो छायाचित्रें यामुळे पुस्तकाचे स्वरूप अधिकच सुंदर झाले आहे. पुस्तकाच्या शेवटी असणारा "नाही रे उजाडत" हा लेख प्रत्येकालाच अंतर्मुख करेल.

आजकाल ४००/- रूपयांत एखादा pizza जेमतेम येतो. त्याच किंमतीत ज्ञान-विज्ञानाची कवाडें सताड ऊघडी करणारे आणि प्रत्येकाच्याच घरात आवर्जून असावे असे हे पुस्तक आहे.

Failure is not an option – Gene Kranz

Two lines have become immortal in the history of spaceflight and mission control. One is, of course, “Houston, The Eagle has landed.” And the second one, “Houston, We have a problem.”

The common factor linking these two events was Eugene F Kranz, the flight director on duty when Apollo-11 landed on the moon, and when Apollo-13 ran into life-threatening problems.

But this book is not just about successful landing of Eagle at Tranquility Base, or about the heroic effort to rescue the lives of three astronauts from the jaws of death. It offers a deep, intense insight into the lives and times of people who remained on the ground yet helped the entire nation achieve its dream of landing a man on the moon. This book is about Mission Control.

Beginning with the first manned flight of Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7, Kranz narrates the story of all Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, covering each flight with considerable detail. We read about the first few disastrous failures, the “four-inch flight”, the string of successes in Mercury and Gemini programs, and the tragic death of Apollo-1 astronauts on the launch pad. We read about the sweat and blood poured by the thousands of people into bringing the space program back on track. We read about the deep thought and meticulous planning that went into each mission. Most importantly, we read about the people who made all this happen.

Obviously, the first lunar landing and the Apollo-13 mission are the highlight of this book. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descend to the lunar surface, Kranz captures the tense moments vividly; and more than once, I had to keep the book aside and take a few breaths to be able to read further. In case of Apollo-13, we are all aware of the major catastrophe (explosion in the Service Module); but there were a number of other equally hazardous problems (lack of water, high-level of CO2), each of which could have resulted in crew loss. 

The best part of this book is that nowhere does Kranz try to hog the limelight. He gives credit where it’s due, heaping praise on each member of his “White Team”. He shares funny lines, hilarious anecdotes and interesting trivia which are known only to those in the inner circles.

More than being just a highly readable book on the history of lunar spaceflight, this book compels us to introspect where we stand with respect to these people. Of course, not all of us can be in the mission control; but each one of us can perform our duties based on the founding principles outlined in this book: Tough, Competent and Disciplined.

A Short History of Nearly Everything: Bill Bryson

There are just a few books on general science that succeed in educating the reader without leaving him bored. The two such classic books that immediately leap to mind are “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking and “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan. I am glad to add another book to this list.

“A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson is much more ambitious in its scope. Whereas Hawking and Sagan limited themselves to mainly astronomy and astrophysics, Bryson’s book covers a wide range of science: Anatomy, Taxonomy, Astronomy, Genetics, Biology, History, Geology, Physics, Oceanography.... just to name a few.


Bryson begins with the origin and structure of cosmos before delving into the atom and its nucleus. Then we learn about the planet earth, its geology, the richness of flora and fauna of its vast oceans, before moving on to the origin and evolution of life. We conclude the journey with the advent of Homo sapiens.

From quarks to quasars, protons to pulsars, it is a pretty huge terrain to cover within 600-odd pages and what makes it even more a commendable feat is the way author goes about it. For one thing, language is lucid, with a dash of humour in almost every paragraph, albeit in an understated way, a la PG Wodehouse.
Furthermore, rather than using incomprehensible jargon and scientific notation, the author almost always lays down the fact in a way that a layman can come to terms with.
For example, when reading about the Avogadro's Number, we get to know the following:

"The Avogadro's Number is a basic unit of measure in Chemistry. It is the number of molecules found in 2.016 grams of Hydrogen gas (or an equal volume of any other gas). Its value is placed at 6.0221367 x 10^23, which is an enormously huge number. Chemistry students have long amused themselves by computing just how large this number is, so I can report that it is equivalent to the number of popcorn kernels needed to cover the United States to a depth of nine miles, or cupfuls of water in Pacific Ocean or number of soft-drink cans that would, when evenly stacked, cover the earth to a depth of two hundred miles. An equivalent number of American pennies would be enough to make every person on Earth a dollar trillionaire. It is a big number."

And speaking of the DNA:
"If all of your DNA were woven into a single fine strand, there would be enough of it to stretch from Earth to Moon and back, not once or twice, but again and again. Altogether, it is estimated that you may have as much as 20 billion kilometers of DNA bundled up inside you."

The pages are full of interesting nuggets of information about people and places, some of which leave you excited and wonderstruck, some leave you aghast, and there are many that leave you simply amused and chuckling to yourself. You meet eccentric scientists and discoverers and read about accidental discoveries and some near-successes.

The last chapter discusses the importance of life and the irreversible damage that we humans are causing to earth and the life on it. It’s a moving plea, one that should make even the stoniest of hearts to skip a beat.

It’s a monumental book, one that leaves us in awe of nature and its myriad secrets… something that textbooks often fail to do. In fact, this is exactly what led the author to write a book that wouldn’t just give tables and equations but make the reader excited. The only drawback is lack of any photos, diagrams... There are none. However, I read that an illustrated version of the book is now available, albeit at a higher price.

Do read this book. For an inquisitive and curious mind, nothing would be a better gift.

The Search : John Battelle

Hi,

This week, Google celebrates its 9th birthday.
Rise of every company spawns a number of books written about it. First it was IBM, then Microsoft and Apple... and now it's time of Google. Earlier, I had written about The Google Story. Last week, I read another book related to same subject.

The SearchBy: John BattelleNicholas Brealley Publishing

This book is not just about Google, but about the search economy at large. Nevertheless, Google features in each and every chapter and most of the discussion revolves around the rise of company so far and its future prospects. Battelle begins with a background of search before Google. Next, he describes the lives of Google founders: Larry Page & Sergey Brin and their days at Stanford and the first days of the company. This is followed by rise of Google rise and its historic IPO. The book concludes with a discussion about the search in future, and the impact it would have on our day-to-day lives.

The book is certainly worth a read because unlike other books, it dares to ask some uncomfortable questions about the most-loved company of our age. It is ironical that Google hoards information about the world is very reticent when it comes to sharing details about itself. Also, the way Google compromised its search results to exclude the links that offended Chinese govt has not gone down well with many of industry experts.

[Book] The Google Story

Well, in the week beofre last I did a cumulative travel of 2500 kms, in 60 hours. The journey would have been lonesome, if not for a couple of books. Here are my comments abt one of them.

The Google Story
By David A ViseMacMillan Publication

Google is something that each one of us uses extensively. But how many of us have ever paused a bit to wonder about the search engine itself? if you have, then this book is for you.

It begins with some concise background info abt the Google founders, Larry Page & Sergey Brin; their camradierie at Stanford, the founding of Google in a garage and its rise to a $80-billion behemoth. The book ends at August 2005.

It makes for a fairly interesting read.... I say "fairly"interesting, and not "highly" interesting, because I am not quite happy with the writing style of author. It is something like those history textbooks that we survived in our school-days.. there are no dialogues and very few exciting moments. In short, the book lacks the passion, the intensity which is associated with anything that is Google.

Still, I would recommend the book as it does provide some little-known facts about this highly reclusive company.

The Bunker

The Bunker

-James P O’Donnell

This is a well-researched account of the last days of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi henchmen. It describes in minute detail the three and half months in 1945 during which Hitler lived in an underground bunker near Reichstag in Berlin. We get to know a number of hitherto unknown facts about the Hitler’s life the concluding days of second world war, his marriage to Eva Braun, their suicides, the three-pronged breakout of bunker crew and the suicides of Gobbels family and Martin Bormann. This is a definitive book and a must-read for anyone interested in the life of Adolf Hitler.