A methodical, well-organized guide for the world’s future leaders.
Kuttan, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, offers a book that’s half memoir, half self-help guide for business executives.
The author’s goal with this debut work is to systematically teach readers—and particularly Indian executives—how to be happy. The author starts by outlining his “happiness system,” which is broken down into lessons on how to nurture one’s mind, body and soul. He also illustrates the “Seven Ps” for achieving happiness: purpose, pathway, passion, perseverance, positivity, patience and principles. But about halfway through the book, after a short “Happiness Quiz,” Kuttan switches gears and presents a memoir of his upbringing and varied business career. This is where the book really shines; the author summarizes his life elegantly and succinctly, showing how he came up with his systems approach to happiness by living a full, fascinating life. This section includes several pages of annotated photographs taken throughout his life that show him attending the University of Wisconsin and traveling in Europe and elsewhere. In the final, briefest part of the book, Kuttan launches a call to action, urging executives to use his systems approach: “It is predicted that by 2040, one out of every three workers in the world could be Indian,” he notes, and because of that, “the 21st century can truly be an Indian Century, if Indian leaders and people live up to their potential.” The author has lofty hopes for his home country and offers a specific plan for getting India on track—establishing teacher training programs modeled on the most successful American ones, exploiting emerging technologies and “soft skills” (such as communication and marketing), and refocusing on providing health care and improving the environment: all noble goals and all well thought out.
A methodical, well-organized guide for the world’s future leaders.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-0988868007
Page Count: 202
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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