Neeraj's Books

  He is one of the biggest action stars to ever grace the silver screen. He has broken almost every bone on his body to excite his fans with his daredevil stunts. However, he wants to show that he is just like everyone: one with weaknesses and mistakes. He is Jackie Chan.  Never Grow Up, the memoir of action star Jackie Chan written by Zhu Mo and translated by Jeremy Tiang is a tour of how Jackie went from being a nobody to a famous star and how he changed and not changed in this journey.  The book develops a chronological story telling format, which makes it almost like Jackie himself is narrating the story to the reader (Kudos to the writer for that. You'll really enjoy it if you read it as if Jackie is speaking to you). The author also adds her own tidbits to the story as a supplement to the narration, which blend well with the story. The book does not try to hide the lesser-known vulnerable side of Jackie despite the trend of producing a perfect image of oneself when ...

  An ancient secret vital for the very survival of humankind stays guarded in the holy city of Kashi. An evil corporation has to find out this secret to succeed in its centuries-long goal of world domination. A successful, dashing and unsuspecting young businessman meets his grandfather after twenty long years in a matth in Kashi, only to find out that everything he had ever known and believed is not like what they seem...  What is the guarded secret of humanity? Why does the evil corporation want it desperately? How does the young, dashing businessman come in all of this?  These questions and many more await the reader in the scintillating Harappa trilogy by Vineet Bajpai. Spanning across two millennia, the author effortlessly weaves stories that we know with those we don't to create a gripping story that would leave every reader at the edge of their seats. As the story progresses, the lines between fiction and reality blur for the protagonist and the reader.  Vinee...

  Year of Publication: 2021 What does it take to make India a force to reckon with in the world of badminton? A man with the vision and the drive and a few youngsters hungry for victory!  Abhijeet Kulkarni's The Gopichand Factor: The Rise and Rise of Indian Badminton offers it's readers exhaustive information about how Pullela Gopichand, the 2001 All England winner, ventured into coaching to turn India into a badminton powerhouse like China, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.  Abhijeet Kulkarni does not restrict the scope of the book to what Gopichand did for Indian badminton. The book also focuses on some well-known and lesser-known predecessors and contemporaries of Gopichand who played an instrumental role in helping India reach where it is in the world of badminton. Kulkarni does a great job by dedicating the first few chapters of the book to the 'unsung heroes' and 'erstwhile rising stars' who had to abandon badminton for various reasons.  The book builds...

Year of Publication: 2020 You would have thought how he was elected, confused by his actions, angry with his conduct, and thought he would not be reelected again. In short, you would have hated him. But have you ever thought why Donald Trump is what he is?  Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump is the story of how the second son of a multi-millionaire was groomed to become the "perfect businessman" but ended up becoming an insecure man, desperately trying to hide his shortcomings and thriving on a false image of "perfection" he has created about himself.  Mary L. Trump might be the single most appropriate person to write a book on the former President of the United States of America because she has the first-hand experience of her uncle Donald, something that other writers cannot claim.  Mary portrays Donald as a product of his family upbringing- a constantly sick mother who could not take good care of h...

  Years published: 2019 and 2021  A revered Indian warrior, raised by a generous Britisher and serving the East India Company ruled by an India-hating generation of Britishers, falls in love with the sister of his regiment's British leader.  Ever obedient to the Company Bahadur, he refuses to believe in the growing tensions between the natives and the Company. Only when his cousin becomes a martyr for defying British orders does he realise the graveness of the situation. His reputation makes him a welcome ally for the freedom force, but his love prevents him from fully committing to the task at hand. Who will he save: the motherland he is willing to die for or the love of his life?  The Mastaan series by Vineet Bajpai is a true entertainer revolving around the First War of Independence ( or the Sepoy Mutiny) of 1857. The author has crafted a gripping tale with history, black magic, betrayal and war contrasted with the tenderness of love.  The author takes his ti...

First Published: 1900 Format Accessed: Amazon Kindle Edition Stories with children as protagonists, beginning in a state of misery but always ending on a high note... Working just like a "Once upon a time..... happily ever after" story, you have Charles Dickens' Children Stories. The book, a series of twelve stories retold by his granddaughter and others feels like a Cinderella bedtime story told over and over again with different protagonists, settings, supporting characters etc. but more believable. Dickens hasn't changed the theme of the stories, which is both good and bad; good because it makes for an easy read, bad because it makes the reader wonder whether this is indeed one of Dickens' creations, which is usually filled with excellent plots. The good news is that the book is a collection of easy stories for children and is written in simple Old English, which is worth reading for them. It is also useful for parents who feel that they have run out of ideas f...

  Original language: French Year first published: 1759 Format: Amazon Kindle Edition A philosopher who believes till the end that "this is the best of worlds" and his royal pupil who finds it to be the opposite in the harshest way possible, coupled with a bit of travelling around the world and loads of characters... You have Candide. Voltaire's Candide revolves around the story of Candide, the son of a noble, who is educated by Dr Pangloss, the royal philosopher who irrespective of everything he has been through, still believes that "this is the best of worlds". How life proves both Dr Pangloss and his student Candide wrong form the rest of the story. Considering that this is a 300-year-old book read today, many of its standards, themes etc. may be outdated for the readers and it's not right to critique them, considering the audience of the time period. But the story itself constantly reminds the reader that unlike what Pangloss says, the "best of world...

First Published: 1989 Silver Jubilee Edition Published: 2014 When Ganapathi was hired by Ved Vyas (Spoiler Alert), little did he know that he was to be a part of the "most important" literary exercise undertaken- an "ancient" rendering of Modern India ( Yes, you read it right). Shashi Tharoor's The Great Indian Novel, written nearly 30 years ago revolves around Ved Vyas narrating the story of modern India to Ganapathi, who writes it down ( Ring a bell, anyone?). The novel, set between post-1857 British India and mid-1980s, is about the royal family of Hastinapur, their history and how they became an integral part in the pre-Independence struggle and post-Independence administration.  Applause to the author for the effort taken to combine two of the most important episodes in Indian History- the Mahabharata and Modern Indian History- into a single work, rendering a rethinking of both ancient and modern Indian history. He has made minor yet welcome tweaks in the ...