Review on the book 'My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions'

Hi Everyone,

It's been a long time since I posted anything in my blog. Today accidentally I stumbled upon this old book review written by me 3 years back. Coincidentally today it happened to be Dr. Abdul Kalam 5th death anniversary. On this occasion I would like to share the book review of one of his books 'My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions' with you all which might help someone reading this blog post to realize their dreams after reading that book. 

I read this book when I was studying +2. One of my friends gifted me this book. At that time I didn't know much about Dr. Abdul Kalam. But after reading this book, I was totally amazed by his life story and it inspired me to face failures in my life.

Review on the book 'My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions':

Dr. Abdul Kalam’s story is one that fascinates all. From a small boy growing up in Rameswaram, to becoming the country's eleventh President , A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's life has been a tale of extraordinary determination,courage, perseverance and the desire to excel. And to top it off, there is calmness and serenity in Kalam’s demeanour that makes everyone respect him. In this book, Dr. Kalam looks back on key moments in his past and tells the reader how each of them inspired him profoundly. He talks about the people who left a deep impression on him as he was growing up and the lessons he drew from his interactions with them. He describes those who have been close to him-his father,his mother and his mentors who helped him to shape his thoughts.

He offers not only his own personal stories, but also inspirational stories about how he faced the odds and survived the difficulties. `My Journey’ narrates the human side of Dr. Kalam, as a boy, son, student, scientist and ultimately blossoming as a great human being, top class scientist and India’s first citizen.

The book has several chapters, each with a particular theme. Kalam tells how each theme influenced him .These themes range from family, friends, failures, mentors etc.

In the first few chapters, he talks about the impact of his family on him and how he was influenced by them, mainly: his father’s serenity, his mother’s unconditional love, his sister’s encouragement and her husband, Ahmed Jalalludin’s wisdom. He also tells how he worked as a paper boy at the age of eight. He also talks about the peaceful co-existence of the three religions: Hinduism, Islam and Christianity in his village.

The book deals greatly with Kalam’s scientific life and not so much with his presidential life

In one of the chapters he talks about his 1st failure i.e. how he failed to become a pilot, which was his childhood dream. That is outlined beautifully in the chapter 'When I Failed'. There is also a chapter that describes the profound impact of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai on him. The most touching part of the book is, of course when Kalam describes his parents and Jalalludin’s deaths.

Influence on me:

I was greatly influenced by this book. Especially the chapter 'when I failed' influenced me a lot.

Style: The book is written simply, with short, crisp and precise sentences. There is a clear flow of thought in the book, which ensures that it doesn’t digress. The language is unpretentious and to the point. Kalam doesn’t shoot for literary elegance. This is the beauty of the book. You see the each point and the reason for it. The book, full of anecdotes and experiences is rich and motivating. Since each chapter has a theme, it feels like separate stories. But they are connected by a single thread i.e., Kalam.

Vocabulary: In this book, the vocabulary is moderate. One can find around 3-4 difficult words in a page.

Conclusion:

This book reflects the qualities of Dr. Kalam that we admire: simplicity, integrity and honesty. This is a good book that I would definitely recommend to all.

We remember our eternal guru Dr. Kalam whose life inspires youth to reach out their dreams. On this day in 2015, he might have left us physically, but he has inculcated his vision of making India a developed country and went on a journey to heavenly adobe.