I am not sure which was the first book about the Second World War that I read as a kid. I rather suspect it was “Reach For The Sky” by Paul Brickhill, that enthralling story of Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, the legless RAF fighter ace. This led me to read more and more books based on the Second World War and due to my interest in military history, I became a confirmed fan of stories about the War. I must add that I was reading them in India some 20 odd years after the war had ended with the total surrender of first Nazi Germany, and later of the Imperial Japan of those times. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: William L. Shirer”
Tag: authors
Looking back over the years, I guess I did most of my reading in the period from 1964 to 1972. This means I was between the ages of 13 and 21. Although his debut novel “Casino Royale” had been published way back in 1953, Ian Fleming reached his greatest heights of popularity around the time I speak of, although he passed away in 1964. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: Ian Fleming”
A couple of weeks ago, when I read the date on my newspaper I remembered that on June 6, 1944, the first of the Allied troops had landed on the beachhead at Normandy. This was a date no Second World War buff, like me, could ever forget.
Only today, I came across these awesome hitherto unpublished pictures taken by “Life” photographer, Frank Scherschel in an article in The Daily Mail. Memories are funny things. One thing leads to another and my mind was soon flooded by memories of that classic movie, “The Longest Day”. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: Cornelius Ryan”
I am not too sure how many of today’s generation would read or would have read Manohar “Mac” Malgonkar or for that matter even heard of him. As a kid I was very fond of his writing and even today I consider him one of India’s finest writers. This is a small tribute to him as his death anniversary dawns on June 14. He passed away at the ripe old age of 97 in 2010. Continue reading “Authors I Admired: Manohar Malgonkar”
When the door bell rang one evening and outside stood a courier chappie with a packet in hand, I wondered which book this could be. It came as a pleasant surprise to find the packet contained Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Tamil novel, “Sivakamiyin Sabadham,” translated into English in four volumes by Nandini Vijayaraghavan. Continue reading ““Sivakamiyin Sabadham”: Translated into English for you.”
I was delighted to participate in the Second OL ( Old Lawrencians) Book Reading Festival that was organized as part of the 155th Founder’s Celebrations, in my alma mater, The Lawrence School, Lovedale on May 2, 2013. Continue reading “Second OL Book Reading Festival, The Lawrence School, Lovedale”
I had the chance to read this delightful book called, “Idlis to Ipads” recently. The author, Nirmala Ramaswamy very aptly sums up what the book is about when she gave it the by line, ” Tales of a lifetime.” The book is published by Nirmala Publications and the copy I have is priced at Rs. 120 making it a total value for money proposition. In fact, I would urge you to order copies directly from her by writing to : nirmala200a@gmail.com
A confirmed web surfer, I am always on the hunt for things that may help me improve my writing. Here are a few things which caught my attention over the last week:
- “The Emotion Thesaurus” by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi is an interesting dive into what are the giveaways when people express emotions. Designed for the writer to be factually correct when he/she captures the moods of their characters, and writes about their body language and mannerisms, this book is truly one of its kind. A must for the book shelf of every serious writer.
When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, what followed in New Delhi, the capital of India was a carnage the likes of which had never been since the partition in 1947. Continue reading ““When A Tree Shook Delhi” by Phoolka and Mitta”
I have always believed that there’s a great amount to be learned just by reading what other writers have to say. Blogs are a wonderful medium by which writers express their views on different aspects of the writer’s life. It’s interesting to see things from differing perspectives and realize that what you thought was the best way need not really be so at all. Here’s something I really enjoyed. I must warn you though that reading all of this will take up a certain amount of your time. In my view, it is time well spent. Continue reading “Top Blogs for Writers”
Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller 