Made In Japan By Akio Morita

After reading Iacocca ,this book was a delightful change rebuking what I had just read.By reading this book ,Icould actually figure out the mistakes or should I say the flip side of Mr. Lee Iacocca.The book goes on like this –

Made in Japan is a book about the Japanese Sony corporation. It was written with the assistance of Edwin M. Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura. The book not only narrates the story of Mr. Morita, but also of the Sony corporation’s formation in the aftermath of Japan’s brutal defeat in World War two, and its subsequent rapid rise to fame and fortune. The book also provides insights into Japanese culture and the Japanese way of thinking, particularly their business management philosophies and styles. The Japanese behavior is explained by putting it into a context based on Japan’s history, recent and ancient.

Morita introduces the origins of his family, and how Sony was founded. Chapters picture the war, early tape recorders, and various conclusions on international markets. The transistor was invented in North America in the 1950’s, and Sony took advantage of it. The biography gives authentic details about patent issues, business conferences in various countries, and the invention of the Walkman.

The book is narrated by Mr. Morita in an intensely personal, down to earth, conversational style.

Sections of the book

The book is divided into the following nine sections:

1. War
2. Peace
3. Selling To The World (My learning curve)
4. On Management (It’s all in the family)
5. American and Japanese Styles (The difference)
6. Competition (The fuel of Japanese Enterprise)
7. Technology (Survival Exercise)
8. Japan and The World (Alienation and Alliance)
9. World Trade (Averting Crisis)

I will give this book 8/10.

The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

A beautiful sher is all I need to summarise the entire story & here it goes –

मैंने इतनी शिद्दत से तुझे पाने की कोशिश की है,
की सारी कायनात ने मुझे तुझसे मिलाने की साजिश की है!

The story goes like this –

Santiago, a boy living in Andalusia, leads a common life of travel through his trade of shepherding and entertains thoughts of marrying a merchant’s daughter. One day he has a dream telling him to go to the Egyptian pyramids, a destination pointed out to him by a child in-dream and apparently leading to treasure. He consults a gypsy to interpret his dream, who simply tells him to go to the Pyramids to find the loot and asks for a tenth of his future treasure instead of a fee for her services. He becomes discouraged by this advice, yet she assures him that the wisest men would agree with the simplicity of this special case. Melchizedek, the King of Salem, spontaneously appears to help motivate Santiago to fulfill his Personal Legend, or his soul’s desire, which seems bound to be the treasure of his dream. To aid him lest he have trouble interpreting omens, he presents him with Urim and Thummim stones, used for divination. Santiago sells all of his possessions to fund his journey to Africa and travels there. When he arrives, however, a thief steals all of his money. Santiago spends the next year or so working at a crystal merchant’s shop learning both Arabic and life lessons, then moves on. He meets an Englishman who says he is searching for an alchemist waiting at the Al-Fayoum oasis, Faiyum Oasis. They join forces on their common journey East and exchange ideas along the way. Once at the oasis, Santiago meets the love of his life, Fatima, while asking about the alchemist near a well. After preventing an attack on the oasis by reading omens, he is sent to the alchemist and continues his journey. When they are captured by a desert tribe, the alchemist decides to make a deal with their capturers. He said that if the boy turns himself into the wind in 3 days they will let him go. But, if he cannot they will kill both of them. After 3 days the boy finds out how to talk to his heart and the universe using the Language of the World. Which makes him able to turn into the wind and allows them to be free. After they leave, the alchemist uses the Philosopher’s Stone to turn lead into gold: he leaves some for both a monk and Santiago and takes the rest for himself. When Santiago finally reaches the Pyramids, he is attacked by the desert’s inhabitants and has to admit that he is searching for a treasure there. One of them laughs and reveals that he once had a dream about finding treasure in the very church where Santiago first had the dream. Santiago then returns to the church and finds the treasure, thus realizing his dream. This further suggests that, if one dares to dream, then no matter how unattainable or difficult a venture may appear at the very onset, one will succeed. Though Santiago had a dream of attaining treasure in the Pyramids of farflung Egypt, he had the courage and determination of achieving his dream. It took him to go through a trial of toil and time to reach his destination to find that the treasure laid buried on the very spot in the old church where he had first dreamt.

“Magic Seeds” By V.S. Naipaul

It must be my first book authored by a Nobel prize winner (2001). Undoubtedly, the characters of this story show subtlety rare to be seen.He has blended the caustics of life beautifully with humour. At times,you feel like sympathizing with the main protagonist & at times u feel like laughing on the protagonist.

Naipaul’s oeuvre is no doubts one of the best & that’s why, I suppose he is one of the most applauded british writers. His eye of detailing is wonderful & he has written this novel with great insight.Couldn’t believe that he completed the entire novel in a single year with all the exacting details he has put into the novel. The story is about a man,Willie Chandran,who has allowed one identity after another to be thrusted upon him. In his early forties,after a peripatetic life ,he succumbs to the encouragement of his sister – & his own listlessness-& joins an underground movement inindia.But years of revolutionary campaigns & then prison convince him that the revolution had nothing to do with what he was fighting for,& he feels himself further than ever from his own history.

When he returns to Britain where,30 years before, his wanderings began, Willie encounters a country that has turned its back on its past &,like him, has become detached from its own history. He tries to be a part of this varied world but finally finds himself all the more unsatisfied. Thus,once again his quest for self recognition begans!!!!

Though, this novel is definitely not for  young readers but those with an experience of reading this type of  novels might really like it. I will give it 7/10.