Neeraj's Books

  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 Published: 2016 Oh no, another Shashi Tharoor book. But what can I say... This guy is unmissable!!!  History books in school have taught us that the British were terrible most of the time while occasionally good. But were they??  Shashi Tharoor's An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India is a thorough dissection of every act of the British in their lives over-two-hundred-year stay in India. He successfully brings out the cons of the pros of British actions in India. He makes the reader doubt whether the British did anything good intentionally for India.  Vivid description and an informative nature is the strength of the book. However, like Tharoor's other books, this book falls short on one ground- flowery language. Tharoor introduces words that an average reader may not be familiar with, forcing them to constantly switch between the book and the dictionary. Though there may be justifications that flowery language is used to convey the correct meaning and right...

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: 1999 Oxford India Paperback Edition: 2003 When we watch the news, we try to look for a comprehensive coverage of the matter in interest. If we are to look for a comprehensive coverage of the first four and a half decades of India's constitutional experience, look no further than Granville Austin's Working a Democratic Constitution.  Working a Democratic Constitution, written by Granville Austin, an American expert on the Indian Constitution, captures the essence of India's tryst with a Constitution over 45 years, along with providing exciting backstories to many incidents.  The writer has adopted the traditional style of writing an academic book. However, the equal importance and coverage the author gives to backstories and incidents as he does to the matter at hand keep the reader engaged. He adopts a higher level of vocabulary, which perfectly capture the meaning of a sentence but may be difficult for beginner readers.  Though the book ends with...