Sunday, December 30, 2018

Review: Fall of Giants

Fall of Giants Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simply stupendous and engaging ! This is a sweeping historical saga from 1911 to 1924 covering principally, the World War I. The myriad characters mingled with the historical events was so interesting that it keeps you hooked. The best part I enjoyed were the opposing views and reasons of both the Germans and the Allies for the occurrence of World War I. The author gives a dual perspective with awesome finesse.

Will take some time off from the Peshkovs, von Ulrichs and Fitzherberts. Whew !!

View all my reviews

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Review: The Unending Game: A Former R&AW Chief’s Insights into Espionage

The Unending Game: A Former R&AW Chief’s Insights into Espionage The Unending Game: A Former R&AW Chief’s Insights into Espionage by Vikram Sood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very good book on espionage, more like a research paper or thesis. The author is a former intelligence chief of RAW and exploits his vast experience on the technicalities of the espionage profession.

The book gives us an insight into the CIA and the KGB too. However, if you are looking at how the RAW functions, you will be disappointed. The author has not revealed anything about the RAW or its secrets.Being an ex-intelligence chief, you expect some kind of revelations on the workings of the agency. But, I suppose it would not be prudent for the author unlike other professions. Detailed facts on terrorist events in India like 26/11 and USA like 9/11 find its way into the book but all are documented facts and can be found easily in the public domain. There are some interesting anecdotes sprinkled all over. For example, a frightening titbit was about a cabinet minister in Indira Gandhi government offered to sell secrets to KGB and the same minister later became the prime minister of India ! Or how about the fact that USA was in possession of evidence from a terrorist that there would be terrorist attack on a huge scale as early as 1998 but chose to ignore this resulting in a catastrophe of gigantic proportions !

Recommended for people with an interest in espionage or politics. There were places where the writing became a drag but one can ignore it.

View all my reviews

Review: The Martian

The Martian by Andy Weir My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews