Made In Japan: Akio Morita & Sony

Japan is the first Asian nation that busted the myth that Eastern countries cannot do successful business in a large scale. It is a curious case because Japan is not endowed with much natural resources or natural wealth like many other countries. After its devastation and humiliation in World War II, Japan’s awakening from ashes to become one of the richest countries in the world is a story of success, meticulous planning, hard work and determination. Who else is better to tell this inspiring tale than one of the forerunners of Japanese industrialization and co-founder of Sony, Akio Morita? 

Made In Japan: Akio Morita and Sony is an autobiography of Akio Morita written with the assistance of Edwin H Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura. In parallel to the life story of Morita, this book describes how Sony was formed and its rise to global prominence as an entertainment company. The book is divided to nine sections: War, Peace, Selling to the World, On management, American and Japanese styles, Competition, Technology, Japan and the World and World Trade. The book starts with details on social structure before the world war, the description about war times and the subsequent defeat of Japan after the infamous Hiroshima- Nagasaki episode. The book goes on detailing the horrors Japan had to suffer – physical and psychological, after the defeat. Then Masaru Ibuka opened a small radio shop in a beaten down departmental store building. Soon 25 year old Morita joined him to form Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation with just 20 employees and financial backup from Morita’s family who were involved in sake production. It started by making transistor radios and tape recorder and marketing inside Japan. Soon the name was changed into Sony.

In subsequent chapters Morita explains how Sony became the giant it is internationally, especially in the USA through employing several unique strategies. Made in Japan is a firsthand narration from a leading industrialist about his personal and professional achievements. He lists out several of his and his companies philosophies that helped in achieving the phenomenal growth. So this book is really of benefit to managers and entrepreneurs. But the success of the book lies in the fact that even others can enjoy the book thanks to its simple narration. The insights provided in this book can be put to use in any walk of life. There are several parts where I really felt humbled by the man’s down to earth attitude and common sense. Another interesting factor is his outspoken nature that calls a spade a spade. One example is the chapter where he lists out the differences between American and Japanese management styles. 

‘Made In Japan: Akio Morita and Sony’is a compelling book, which I will recommend to one and all. It tells the success story of a man, a firm and a nation against all imaginable odds. It can be read as a history book, a motivational discourse, a management guide or just as a delightfully written autobiography of a genius.

The Runaway Jury

 John Grisham is in arguably the best writer in the genre of legal thrillers (though my favorite book in the genre is Presumed Innocent by Scott Turrow). The Runaway Jury is the first Grisham novel that I read and from then on I made it a point that I read one of his novel every three months or so. This novel published in 1996 is Grisham’s seventh novel and has also been made to a successful Hollywood movie starring John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz. 

The Runaway Jury is an attack on tobacco industry and the arguably improper practices they follow to hook kids into usage of tobacco (though in the movie version tobacco corporations are replaced by gun industry). But Grisham simultaneously unveils the malpractice of using litigation only for the financial benefit of certain individuals instead of causing a change in the functioning of system. The novel follows a high profile legal suit filed by Celeste Wood, whose husband died a victim of lung cancer allegedly due to smoking, against Pynex, a huge tobacco corporation in Mississippi, where jury is presumed to be favorable to such cases. Rankin Fitch, a consultant hired by four of big tobacco companies is out to influence the jury by hook or crook because a defeat in such a case can seriously harm the reputation and make them vulnerable to more such suits. At the same time Nicholas Easter, a prospective juror with a mysterious agenda in his mind starts plotting to influence fellow jurors with the help of Marlee, a woman from outside. What follows is a psychological battle between the two using the jurors which culminate in a nail biting climax. 

The Runaway Jury is told in a very descriptive way, with many pages dedicated to court hearings where the harmful effects of tobacco to health and ethical issues of tobacco usage is described. But in the case of this novel these descriptions helped me very much in appreciating the story, the motives of many characters and generally about the way American jury system, which is quite alien to me, works. This novel is considerably different from many of Grisham’s other works that I have read in one aspect. In most of his novels the good guy- bad guy divide is very visible. The author’s stand about several social issues also is very clear. But here it is vaguer. We don’t root for Tobacco industries for sure, but those on other side are also not there for any noble purpose. All in all The Runaway Jury is a solid story about a social cause told with an unbiased approach with certain very interesting characters inhabiting it. It may be a bit slow paced compared to other works of Grisham, but is a rewarding read with a great twist in climax.

¡°This book review is part of Book Review program at Flipitall.com¡±. 

The Tailor of Panama: John le Carre Writes on Real Spies

¡°This book review is part of Book Review program at Flipitall.com¡±.
http://www.flipitall.com/the-tailor-of-panama-john-le-carre/

 Some novelists never seem to make mistakes. They churn out stories after stories and even if they belong to similar genres, managing to interest readers with fresh perspectives towards life and with three dimensional characters inhabiting them. John le Carre is one such genius. I have read quite a few of his books and each one of his spy novels has given me immense satisfaction. A few weeks back when I picked his novel, The Tailor of Panama, I was expecting a lot from it and John le Carre delivered quite a bit more than my expectation.

The Tailor of Panama, as expected from Le Carre, is a spy novel. The story is set in Panama at a time when the eyes of every nation that has any interest in maritime trade are concentrated on this tiny nation- justbefore the handing over of Panama Canal back to Panama by the USA. One fine day Andrew Osnard, an English spy confronts Harry Pendel, the star tailor of Panama with certain uncomfortable skeletons from Pendel’s past. Osnard want inside information about the Canal’s future, which he feels Pendel will be able to provide thanks to his profession which gives him access to the inside of power corridors. Harry Pendel succumbs to the blackmail, but soon enjoys the thrill of secrecy and added income that comes with it. He decides to provide Osnard with what he wants and more by fabricating colorful stories about the rising of a silent opposition under the leadership of his pal Mickie Abraxas, a former revolutionary but now a loser and drunkard.

The novel starts as a light hearted comedy and slowly progress into a black comedy about human greed, ego and pettiness. Le Carre portrays all his main characters with much vitality and depth. Transformation of Harry Pendel from a family man to a cunning manipulator and perpetrator of lies is astonishing. I really loved the parts were he goes overboard with his imagination, selling lies to Osnard. He tailors his stories like how he does his suits, altering the identities of his characters as he wants to see them. Andrew Osnard is another powerful character- elusive, suave and sophisticated secret agent outside, but actually a rogue, opportunist con artist fooling his superiors and colleagues to attain his personal gain. In between these two there are several other characters displaying a vivid spectrum of human virtues and vices. The tailor of Panama is a well told story that not only amuses the readers by clever wit and sarcasm, but also makes a powerful character study about power, greed and corruption of human mind.

The Feast of The Goat

The Feast of The Goat by Nobel winner Mario Vargas Llosa is considered as a landmark Latin American novel. It is a semi historical novel set in Dominican Republic and deals with the thirty one year’s rule of Rafael Trujillo. The novel can be called as a study of Dictatorial rule world over, as it portrays psychological, social, economical and political situations while and after a long dictatorial rule. Novel portrays the starting and hey days of the Dictatorship, assassination of Trujillo and the aftermaths of it that extends to the next generation. In the true history of Rafael Trujillo, the author has interlaced several fictional elements. Many of the events and major personalities of the novel are real, while many subplots and characterizations are fictional.

The novel follows three different story lines. In the first story line set in 1996, there is Urania Cabral, a successful attorney in USA, returning to Dominican Republic to visit her father decades after the fall of Trujillo. Her father used to be a confidante of Trujillo, who fell from the grace due to some unknown reason. Her confrontation with her ill father and her conversation with her aunt and cousins reveals a secret about her to the reader. Here we come to know of the political turmoil and general degradation in the society after the fall of the Goat, as Trujillo is known inside Dominican Republic. In the second story line, the last day of Trujillo is revealed, from his waking up to his eventual assassination. It is told from the view point of the dictator himself. In this story line we are shown the inside working of the regime- the fear and obedience that the dictator commands and how it is maintained. The third story line starts with the assassins waiting for Trujillo to appear, the subsequent killing and their eventual fates. The curious fact here is that all the assassins were once true and loyal Trujillistas, but turns back when the vulgarity of the rule is revealed to them in varied circumstances.

The Feast of the Goat is one of the most intriguing novels that I have read in years. The non linear narration builds up the atmosphere towards the twist ending. By setting three parallel story lines, the writer succeeds in giving a three dimensional, all encompassing view of the time period. Several themes concerning dictatorial rule are explored in the book. Prominent among them is the fear psychology used to maintain power and loyalty among others. It is well summed up in this line in the novel told by Imbert, one of the conspirators.

“They kill our fathers, our brothers, our friends. And now they are killing our women. And here we sit, resigned, waiting our turn.”

Finally I would strongly recommend this dark and powerful novel as a must read for all.

¡°This book review is part of Book Review program at Flipitall.com¡±.

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Elephants On Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments

Curiosity is a virtue that paved the way for human progress through centuries. This quality of asking ‘what if’ made us capable to improvise and innovate thereby causing several scientific breakthroughs and increasing our general standard of living. At the same time curiosity has also caused some rather bizarre scientific experiments. For Example, some decades back, when some scientists were curious about the effect of mind altering drugs on animals, they actually experimented by administering LSD to an elephant. Elephants On Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments is a book by Alex Boese that chronicles this and several other unique and bizarre actual scientific experiments of this kind.

Elephants On Acid is the history of several experiments that makes us wonder due to their seemingly absurd logic. The experiments detailed in this book cover most of the areas of modern science. For his credit intention of Alex Boese is not just to amuse and entertain readers by recounting some outrageous fantasies of mad scientists. All the experiments in this book are done with proper scientific methodology and documentation by publication in journals. He wants to arouse curiosity about science in the minds of readers who are reluctant in picking up a book about general science by writing a fun book.

Book is divided into ten categories- surgery, senses, memory, sleep, animal behavior, mating behavior, babies, bathroom research, human nature and death. For those who are interested in further study of any of these experiments, a detailed bibliography is also included. Many of the stories that involve surgery and dissection, like that of isolating a live monkey’s brain or dissecting heads for replacement, are cringe worthy. Some of the experiments, the psychological and behavioral ones about brainwashing and stuff like that cause our humanitarian mind to protest. Some of the experiments are plain silly, like that of tickling oneself. The experiments related to human nature establishes how vulnerable and weak humans are to negative traits like greed, power and authority.

The book is written in a matter of fact manner but laced with humor and a bit of sarcasm. The weak hearted may skip the first chapter about surgery altogether and I advise others to keep it for final reading as it may cause a bit of disinterest in the first few pages due to its graphic nature. Altogether, I will conclude that Elephants On Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments is an interesting book. It is funny, insightful and absorbing in parts, though gory content may turn off some readers.

¡°This book review is part of Book Review program at Flipitall.com¡±.

http://www.flipitall.com/elephants-on-acid-and-other-bizarre-experiments/

The Calcutta Chromosome: Medical Thrill

The Calcutta Chromosome is an acclaimed science fiction medical thriller written by Amitav Ghosh in 1995. It can be called as a semi historical fiction because its plot deals with the discovery of parasites causing malaria by Nobel Prize winning scientist Sir Ronald Ross in Calcutta. The novel implies that it was a group of Indian mystics who actually helped Ross in his discovery to further their own secret research on attaining eternal life. The author has used Ross’ autobiographical work Memoirs for establishing several actual characters with fictional background into the novel. The novel received Arthur C Clarke Award in 1997. 

In a distant future, Antar, an overworked computer programmer of LifeWatch Organization in New York starts searching for his long lost colleague Murugan, when he strikes upon an old ID card. Murugan had requested a transfer to Calcutta in 1990s to track the life of Sir Ronald Ross and was missing from then. Antar investigates the disappearance of Murugan through several old documents. He finds that Murugan had unearthed a deadly secret that can change the destiny of mankind. The plot of The Calcutta Chromosome unveils in three different timelines. In a distant future Antar tracks Murugan’s investigation. Murugan is investigating the black holes in Sir Ronald Ross’ life in Calcutta in the 90s. Sir Ross is on his way to fame and honor, by discovering parasites responsible for Malaria thanks to the secret assistance of his servants Mangala and Lutchman. 

I loved this novel mainly for the way facts and fiction is interspersed. Undoubtedly Mr. Ghosh has done some serious and enormous amount of research to come up with such a story! He does not show any restraint in dealing with technical aspects of the story like medical terms and such. This makes the book all the more convincing. The unique narrative like a maze and the dark atmosphere adds to the suspense element of the novel. The Calcutta Chromosome is a bewitching and clever thriller that not even for a single moment leaves the reader unsatisfied. The narration that unfolds in different places and different time periods is gripping, though may be confusing at times for a casual reader. The fact that the mystery is not solved fully at the end and left for the reader to fill in the blanks may irritate some. Still the effect of this novel to take the reader with it as the story flows to its culmination makes it worth a try. 

¡°This book review is part of Book Review program at Flipitall.com¡±. 

http://www.flipitall.com/the-calcutta-chromosome-amitav-ghosh/