Re-read this inspirational book after 14 years and found some fresh perspective to look at certain things again.

A simple upbringing in Rameswaram inculcated in him a deep love for humanity and the peaceful environs at home and on the island ingrained in him respect for all religions. Religion to him was very personal. Despite his own humble origins, his father Jainulabdeen, cultivated the thirst for knowledge and to dream big in Dr.Kalam. His philosophical approach to life, to failure or success which readers get ample evidence of is a testimony to that solid upbringing.

We may have known him as a scientist due to epithets such as "Missile man of India" etc, one also learns about the lesser aspects such as his keen observations of people even in the midst of high pressure scientific endeavours.

Dr. Kalam is an apt example of one great leader nurturing the development of other leaders. That's the role stalwarts like Dr. Sarabhai and Dr. Brahm Prakash played in his career.

Through this book we get to learn a few gems of Management and problem solving during resource constraints.
For example - leadership by trust. How Dr. Sarabhai trusted and moulded the abilities of a bunch of young inexperienced scientists towards one goal. Our collective understanding of the problem is the main attribute of effective leadership is another gem from him.

Arun Tiwari deserves a lot of affection for having brought one of India's ignited minds closer to people.