Review: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: The case for specialisation versus generalisation in terms of skills

Starting with Tiger Woods who was born to be a golfer to Roger Federer who dabbled around before going down the path of tennis and both are very much legends in their domains. The author sets the case for generalists being equally successful if not more to specialists who meet the philosophy of 10,000 hours which Outliers had promoted years earlier. Whilst there are some interesting stories, the book doesn't grab my attention through out and key takeaways for anyone planning to skip the book is - It is never too late to go down a path you are interested in (and I feel we have enough examples in today's world) and that if we treated careers like dating - we wouldn't settle down so easily.

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Review: No More Mr. Nice Guy

No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert A. Glover
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: A self help on the detoxing from the toxicity of "Mr Nice Guy" syndrome

Honestly - the description and behaviour of "Mr. Nice Guy" felt too real and very close to home. I was like the book is really talking to me. Unfortunately that is where it stopped. Going through the examples gets extremely tedious and the generic action / exercises feel contrived in terms of defining impactful change. The examples are placed to make you feel you can relate to people with similar situations as you, but I felt that pushed me away from the book as I couldn't relate to the examples.

If there was one summary you'd take without even reading the book is - continue working on a better version of yourself and communicate your thoughts clearly in any type of relationship - whether love or work.

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Review: The Cases that India Forgot

The Cases that India Forgot by Chintan Chandrachud
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A cross section of unique cases fought in the Supreme Court that have played a role in history of the country

Targeted at the non legal beagle so as to say, C. Chandrachud picks ten cases he feels didnt get the public discourse in today's time compared to the far reaching impact they created in their times. Divided amongst religion, gender and politics as a cross section, it makes for a quick read on some interesting cases that hit the grey area of even the Supreme Court.

From the Mathura ( Nirbhaya of the yesteryears) case which just highlights not much has changed in decades and definition of consent including "a girl not saying no" to how the anti terror hero KPS Gill got away with outraging a senior IAS officer's modesty showcasing how much still needs to be done on the gender front.

National Security makes for interesting reading especially North East specifically around AFSPA and the Naga movement to the armed civilian movement against Naxalism in Chattisgarh.

In terms of records, the Keshav Singh case ended up with 28 judges sitting on it to prevent Executive singling out any one judge as the battle lines got drawn between the independent pillars of our democracy.

If there is a semblance of a black mark on Dr. Kalam's record as a President, it probably might be the case related to Rameshwar Prasad vs Union of India where he offered to resign for unwittingly being part of UPA's power play in Bihar.

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Review: The Greatest Bengali Stories Ever Told

The Greatest Bengali Stories Ever Told by Arunava Sinha
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: Compilation of 21 Bengali short stories translated and curated by Arunava Sinha

An eclectic mix of short stories - some that hit the mark, many that don't. The cultural nuances might have been stripped through in the translations of those that didn't hit the mark to being dated of a bygone time that doesn't resonate in today's day and age irrespective of language.

"Einstein and Indubala" was the highlight for me, Kabuliwala is obviously famous as a classic and stands on its own. "Death of Swapan" was an interesting tale whilst Mahesh had a heart wrenching take, second only to Johnny. Two magicians and Raja felt like stories Id probably found more poetic in their original language than the translation where I felt some of the character didnt make it through.

Overall a dip if you want to get your feet wet in the treasure trove of Bengali literature and identifying the household names.

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Review: Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World

Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: Ringside view of the run up to upto the aftermath of the Great Depression of 1929

Converting a history lesson into a gripping financial potboiler requires talent and Liaquat manages to do that to a great extent. Revolving around who he calls the four main characters - central bankers of that era, he pieces together their backgrounds, the economic and political backdrop highly centred on the World War I helps explain the entire episode that we saw. The detailed research makes this feel like a ringside view of the events that happen even capturing the public mood across continents.

Often as happens in history, in retrospect , feels like these titans missed so many red flags and how could such smart people surrounded by equally smart people make such a mistake. Well, our future generations will probably say the same after roaring 30s for all you know.

Whilst the book can be tough to digest for the regular reader and can take a lot of effort to get through, if you are clued into the financial markets and sparing knowledge of economics, this makes for an insightful read especially since the market situations always tend to rhyme.

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