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ID	Contributor	Book Title	Author	category1	category2	Year Pub	Rating
1	Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal	Da Vinci Code	fcuhvnjj fcuhvnjj	Fiction	Mystery	2001	****
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2	Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal	Constant Gardner	John Le carre	Fiction	Mystery	2002	****
Frightening, heartbreaking, and exquisitely calibrated, John le Carré's new novel opens with the gruesome murder of the young and beautiful Tessa Quayle near northern Kenya's Lake Turkana, the birthplace of mankind. Her putative African lover and traveling companion, a doctor with one of the aid agencies, has vanished from the scene of the crime. Tessa's much older husband, Justin, a career diplomat at the British High Commission in Nairobi, sets out on a personal odyssey in pursuit of the killers and their motive. What he might know and what he ultimately learns make him suspect among his own colleagues and a target for the profiteers who killed his wife. A master chronicler of the deceptions and betrayals of ordinary people caught in political conflict, le Carré portrays, in The Constant Gardener, the dark side of unbridled capitalism. His eighteenth novel is also the profoundly moving story of a man whom tragedy elevates. Justin Quayle, amateur gardener and ineffectual bureaucrat, seemingly oblivious to his wife's cause, discovers his own resources and the extraordinary courage of the woman he barely had time to love. The Constant Gardener is a magnificent exploration of the new world order by one of the most compelling and elegant storytellers of our time. COMMENTS BY VIREN GOYAL I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It deserves 4 stars .
3	Viren Goyal	The Firm	John Grisham	Fiction	Thriller	1991	****
LA Law meets The Godfather in the most talked about thriller of the year. A Harvard Law graduate joins a wealthy tax firm, only to find out it is owned by the most powerful Mob family in Chicago, and that they're laundering vast sums of money through dummy corporations around the world. And the FBI is pressuring him to become their informant . . . but perhaps there is one way out. Film rights sold to Paramount Pictures.
4	Viren Goyal	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	Fiction	General/Friendship	2003	***
The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." So begins The Kite Runner, a poignant tale of two motherless boys growing up in Kabul, a city teetering on the brink of destruction at the dawn of the Soviet invasion. Despite their class differences, Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman, and Hassan, his devoted sidekick and the son of Amir's household servant, play together, cause mischief together, and compete in the annual kite-fighting tournament -- Amir flying the kite, and Hassan running down the kites they fell. But one day, Amir betrays Hassan, and his betrayal grows increasingly devastating as their tale continues. Amir will spend much of his life coming to terms with his initial and subsequent acts of cowardice, and finally seek to make reparations. Hosseini's depiction of the cruelty children suffer at the hands of their "friends" will break your heart. And his descriptions of Afghanistan both before and after the war will haunt readers long after they've read the last page. The Kite Runner is a stunning reminder that the dark hearts of adults are made, step-by-step, by the hatred they learn as children, and that all it takes for evil to triumph is for a good man to stand back and do nothing. Summer 2003 Selection
5	Viren Goyal	THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP	John Irving	Fiction	Other	1976	**
The story talks about a feminist mother and her son garp. Eveentually they both become writers. The story is narrated by son Garp. The language is quite explecit with four letter words and lovemaking, some unusual way very frequently. It is no pornography by any means. The love seeens etc are closely related to human psychology and emotions. It is absorbing in patches. Some places it is too descriptive. It is 600 pages thick. It would make for intersting reading if you have inclenation to read such books. It is my second book by the first author. The first book was Hotel new hampshire. That was also written on similar lines.
6	Harsh Pande/Viren goyal	Clear and Present Danger	Tom Clancy	Fiction	Thriller	1996	****
The US ambassador to Columbia has been murdered by drug lords. Enemy covert agents filter into the jungles of South America---and Central America is ready to explode. CIA man Jack Ryan is in the eye of a storm---and for the US the stakes have never been greater. Tom Clancy captured worldwide attention with The Hunt For Red October and Red Storm Rising. He set new standards for storytelling excellence in The Cardinal of the Kremlin. Now he unleashes his most harrowing thriller yet---in a story of international brinkmanship that is as up-to-the minute as today's headlines and as frightening as the truth that lies behind them... The above was a topoed review. My personal review is as follows Very exciting plot. Covers some sophisticated technology by Americans on spying, CIA and air attack. Also exposes what is going with drug trafficking in South America. When Ronald Reagon was President of the US, there was a case called Costra Nastra (sp?). A senior government official (Oliver North) was indicted for funnelling oil money to drug fighting in South America. It reminds me of that case somewhat. A page turner novel and an excellent movie also starring Harrison Ford. Comments By Viren Goyal . This is my first book by Tom Clancy. I agree with all that Harshu has written but would like add a few of my own: I loved the book. Yes it is a page turner. The guy is a genous in story telling. My only problem with the book was to keep up with too many characters. For his bext book I will be well prepared. I loved the jungle warfare. I dod not realize how much I liked jungle warfare, till I read this book. Looks like Tom Clancy is an ex army man. He certainly has avery good knowledge of the modous operanda. After reading this book my appreciation for what the CIA and likewise agencies in the world do for their country. These are dedicated peeople. The maintenance of supply lines for the people on the front is no easy task. The logistics are mind boggling. The auther has handled this extremely well and still maintained reader's interest and keep the stoty moving.My next book is going to be The Cardinal of the Kremlin most likely, if available in local stores. my thanks to Harshu for introducing me to this author.
7	Harsh Pande	The Cardinal of Kremlin	hcoofugu hcoofugu	Fiction	Thriller	1989	****
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8	Harsh Pande	The Patriot Games	Tom Clancy	Fiction	Thriller	1988	****
Tom Clancy's Patriot Games is filled with the exceptional realism and authenticity that distinguished the author's two previous bestsellers, Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising. Patriot Games puts us on the cutting edge of another type of war — the international battle of terrorism. Years before the defection of a Soviet submarine will send him hurtling into confrontation with the Soviets in Red October, Jack Ryan, historian, ex-marine, and CIA analyst, is vacationing in London when the Ulster Liberation Army makes a terrorist attack on the Prince and Princess of Wales. By instinctively diving forward to break up the attack, he gains both the gratitude of a nation and the hatred of its most dangerous men. Jack Ryan must summon all of the skills and knowledge at his command to battle back against his nemesis. Patriot Games is a major new film from Paramount starring Harrison Ford.
11	Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal	The World is Flat	xqfnjsckt xqfnjsckt	Non-Fiction	Business	2005	*****
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12	Viren Goyal	My Sister's Keeper	Jodi Pocult	Fiction	Other	2005	****
This is a book about a family with Father, mother, son and two daughters. The older daughter is sick with Lukemia. The youngest daughter now 13 years old was genetically designed and born to be a doner of bone marrow to keep her sick sister alive. She does not want to do it any more and hires an attorney. The book gives in depth emotions psychology and point of views from the perspective of sister, daughter, brother, father, mother and the attorney along with the court appointed guardian who also happens to be attorney's lover. Jody Pocult , the writer is a Princeton and Harward graduate and has already written a dozen novels. This book was highly recommended by my daughter and Now I know Why. This is a 423 page book.
13	Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal	The Alchemist	Paul Coehlo	Fiction	Other	1992	****1/2
This inspirational fable by Brazilian author and translator Coelho has been a runaway bestseller throughout Latin America and seems poised to achieve the same prominence here (USA). It is already well known and available in India. The charming tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, who dreams of seeing the world, is compelling in its own right, but gains resonance through the many lessons Santiago learns during his adventures. He journeys from Spain to Morocco in search of worldly success, and eventually to Egypt, where a fateful encounter with an alchemist brings him at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment. The story has the comic charm, dramatic tension and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, but it's full of specific wisdom as well, about becoming self-empowered, overcoming depression, and believing in dreams. The cumulative effect is like hearing a wonderful bedtime story from an inspirational psychiatrist. Comparisons to The Little Prince are appropriate; this is a sweetly exotic tale for young and old alike. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." COMMENTS BY VIREN GOYAL I read this book with great expectations. It was interesting but not to a point that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is well written, perhaps I could not relate to all the things said in the book by the author. For those who can realte to the subject of the book, will perhaps thoroughly enjoy it.
14	Harsh Pande	Random Walk Down Wall Street	nfamnfdl nfamnfdl	Non-Fiction	Business	2007	****
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15	Viren Goyal	The Memory Keeper's Daughter	Kim Edwards	Fiction	Other	2006	*****
This is a real hard to put down book. It is a story of twins born to a young couple. The husband is a doctor and he delivers the twins himself heavy snowstorm does not allow them to go to the hospital. The first child is normal healthy boy and the second child is a girl, which is immediately recognized having down syndrome. Father the doctor makes instant decision to send away the girl with the nuse assisting him to an institution. But the Nurse takes the child to a distant town and raises as her own. The book deals with the seperate lives of the twins. The language is captivating and flows as a cascading river. One is lost reding this book. For this reason I give this book 5 stars. I am surprised, no one has picked on the theme to make a movie. I think it is a matter of time. This was another book recommended by our daughter Priya Cratsley.
16	Harsh Pande	Time to Kill, A	John Grisham	Fiction	Thriller	2004	****
This addictive tale of a young lawyer defending a black Vietnam war hero who kills the white druggies who raped his child in tiny Clanton, Mississippi, is John Grisham's first novel, and his favorite of his first six. He polished it for three years and every detail shines like pebbles at the bottom of a swift, sunlit stream. Grisham is a born legal storyteller and his dialogue is pitch perfect. A page turner.
17	Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal	To Kill a Mocking Bird	ahpduoagum ahpduoagum	Fiction	Other	1960	****
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18	Viren Goyal	Shantaram	Gregory Roberts	Fiction	Other	2004	****
This book was written by a convict who who escaped an Australian prison and settled down in Bombay. In Bombay he lived in a slum, ran a free clinic for the poor and joined Bombay mafia, worked as counterfeiter, smuggler and arms carrier to the freedom fighters in Afghanistan. The book takes you to deep insight into Bombay slum life, into mafia operations and their mode of operation. This author a covict returned to Australia to complete his sentense and now lives in Bombay and is a full time writer.The book keeps your interest right from the beginning till the end.
19	Viren Goyal	Selam Falls	xfmfgvar xfmfgvar	Fiction	Other	2001	****
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20	Viren Goyal	Veil Of Roses	Laura Fitzgerald	Fiction	Other	2007	***1/2
This is perhaps the first book by this Iranian young woman. She has done a good job of writing this novel. The language is simple. The story flows nicely and keeps reader’s interest throughout and till the end. The theme is cross cultural like in Namesake., but the story is quite different. This story relates to the experiences of a 27 year woman visiting her sister from Iran on a 3 months visitors visa. In three months she must get married to a green card holder to be able to stay beyond 3 months. This is what her sister living in Tucson AZ and her parents living in Tehran want. The book takes you through what life in Iran is compared to the freedom The United States. The women are oppressed to the limit in Iran. At places the book is funny while keeping one interested in finishing the book. The book also gives insight to the oppression of women in Iran. It is a3000 page book and I give it *½ stars. Take this book on a train ride or plane ride and you will finish it by the time you are back. My daughter who is an avid reader, just finished this book and said she could not put it down and recommended ** for this book.
21	Viren Goyal	Ninteen minutes	Jodi Picoult	Fiction	Other	2007	***1/2
Jodi Has weitten another fine novel.In her honestand straightforward writing style. She has created a novel set in a small town in New Hampshire. This peaceful and sleepy town is transformed into a turmoil within 19 minutes one summer afternoon. There is a shooting in school by a student which has left 10 people dead and 9 people wounded. In the aftermath of this shocking act of violance, the residents seek justice to start the healing process. A judge, her teenage daughter, a midwide, her teenage son and a detective are at the centerstage. The novel deals with psychology of the shooter and the past of the teenage shooter who was bullied by his peers right from the kindergarten because he was small and different from others. There is excellent psychoanalysis in the novel and the auther keeps the interest going. I enjoyed this novel. There is excellent courtroom drama as well which has become synonimous with the author Jodi Picoult.
22	Viren Goyal	The Space Between Us	Thrity Umrigar	Fiction	Other	2006	**1/2
This story is set in Bombay India. The story is about a middle classparsi family and their domestic help. The parsi lady Sara has a married daughter . She lives with her husband in her mother's house. Then there is domestic help Bhima, an old lady who lives in Slums of Colaba Bombay. Bhima lives with her grand daughter Maya. The parsi Lady is very kind to Bhima and bhima in return gives her best to the family. The book deals between the two extremes of living conditions, the emotional interaction between the two families. it als deals with miserable past of Sara in a joint family system.The book devotes eaual time to the fond memories of the poor Bhima and courtship of her husband. The space between us tells the teader the space and the hangups that are so common between the rich and poor. The book is reasonably well written to keep some interest going. it also gives the reader some insight into parsi family customs and living styles. For this reason i give this book **1/2 stars
23	Viren Goyal	Million Pieces, A	sdwusboeiyp sdwusboeiyp	Fiction	Biography	2003	***
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24	Harsh Pande	Flags of our Fathers	James Bradley	Non-Fiction	Biography	2000	****
Note: Rating is TBD. I just saw the movie based on this book. The movie, directed by Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood, was very gripping. So, I decided to read the book. The subject deals with the World War II, Japan and Iwo Jima – the story behind US capturing the island of Iwo Jima and about the life of six US soldiers who became famous due to raising a flag on the island. I am reading it now and will update this description after finishing it.
25	Viren Goyal	Ciy of Djinns	bbnzrklmy bbnzrklmy	Non-Fiction	Other	1993	***
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26	Viren Goyal	Suitable Boy, A	Vikram Seth	Fiction	Romance	1994	***1/2
This is by far the thickest book that I have ever read. This book is contained in 1474 pages. The very fact that I read it till page 1474 tells me the book keeps you absorbed and interested. It is a love story of a differnet kind set in the early 50s soon after India became independent of British empire. It is a tale of four families. The Mehras, The Kapoors, The Chatterjis and The Khans. There are many characters in the story and with lot of interaction among the families. In a novel of this magnitude (1474 pages) it could have become difficult to keep track of who is who and how are these people interlinked etc. To avoid this confusion, the author has done a very smart thing, In the beginning of the book it self, he has made family chart of all the four families . I had fun referring back and forth to the chart. To make things easy, I made a copy of the family charts and kept it handy for reference. I used the family chart as a book mark. An interesting book to read. I give it ***1/2 stars.
27	Viren Goyal	LIFE OF PI	Yann Martel	Fiction	Other	2001	**1/2
No of pages=319 This is a funny book. If you get hooked to it, which happens when you are about 1/4 way from the begining, you certainly want to know what happened to the tiger. You will admire the imagination of the auther, describing interaction between a human being and a tiger adrift in a life boat in the pacific ocean. The book is full of some disgusting detains of will for survival, by the same token, what one will not do if there is a will to survive. From that point of view this is very unusual book. The main human charactar in this book is a teenage boy of Indian origin, born and brought up in Pondechery India.The book critics say that this book reminds them of the famous book " old man and the sea", which I have not read. If it means anything this book is winner of Man Booker Prize for the year 2002
28	Viren Goyal	Funny in Farsi	Ferooozah Dumas	Non-Fiction	Biography	2002	***
No. of Pages=198 This is a very funny book. It is not a typical biography per se. The book has been written in first person by an Iranian musil girl who came to live in Southern California when she was a 7 year old kid. She talks about her growing up in a large family in Iran and about her beloved father who got his graduate degree in engineering from US. Author's father takes center stage in this book. He is a funny guy with fixex ideas. He drives some people including large family of iranian relatives crazy. I enjoyed reading this book and could relate to the theme very well, having been an immigrant to USat one time myself. You will also learn a bit about iranian culture if you decide to read this book. Take this book on a plane from New York to Delhi and you will not have to worry about when the pale is going to land. it is a light hearted simple and funny book.
29	Viren Goyal	The Twentieth Wife	Indu Sundraresan	Fiction	Romance	2002	****
No. of Pages=397 Unfortunately,I never enjoyed reading history books. I am very poor in remembering the mames, dates etc. When a friend recommended this book and gave it to me as a gift, I reluctantly started to read it. and have just put it down late last night. This is the way the books based on history should be written for people like me. The auther has written it as a love story. I now know. Salim was Akbar's son who later came to be known as Emperor Jahangir. This book is a love story of Meherunisha anf Salim. Meherunisha came to be known as Noor Jahan. I now also now know The descendency of moghul empire started from Babur to Humayun to Akbar to Jahangir to Shah Jahan. Shah jahan married Mumtaz Mahal. Along with this the rest is history. Akbar's era was 1600 AD. The book is titled The 20th wife perhaps because Noorjahan was Jahangir's 20th wife. There is a sequal to this book called The veil of Roses. It may take another 30 days for me to review the sequal which I have started to read. Very interesting reading. After I am finished reading The "veil of roses" it is quite possible, I may raise the rating from *1/2 stars to **.
30	Viren Goyal	The Feast of roses	Indu Sundaresan	Fiction	Biography	2003	****
No. of Pages=381 This bookk is a sequal to Indu's first book "The Twentieth Wife." The first book is about a love story of Noor jehan and jahangir.The story continues with Noorjahan becoming Padshah Queen ( Chief Queen). The book beautifully describes power struggle between the ladies of Zenana and Noorjahan's love spell over Jahangir. The auther had full freedum to cook up any astry within the co-ordinates of the history. She very skillfully has stayed away from making the story melodramatic. Still keeps the reader's interest in the story. The love story of Jahangir and Noorjahan is so powerful, it is becoming very difficult for me to beleive that any man could love a woman so much. it will take me some time to believe that Sjah Jahan loved mumtaz mahal so much that he created a beautiful monument in her homor called" Taj Mahal" I need to read the love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz mahal. I was so engrossed in the book that I felt sad when Jahangir and Noor Hahan Died. A beautiful book. I wish The auther write a sequal on Shah Jahan's life. I give this book along with The original The twentieth Wife ****.
31	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	The E-business(R)Evolution	Daniel Amor	Non-Fiction	Other	1999	*****
No. of Pages=641 I finished reading this book on 21-08-2007. This is one of many HP professional books.It is a hand book for entrepreneur /executive making e-business plans.The nuances of e-commerces/e-business are beautifully explained with extensive input of available techniques/technologies.The book is almost eight years old.The technologies which were under development stage then might have been commercially employed now.Some might have won the race,some might be still in the race,some might have become part of history like AMIGA.The terminology really fascinated me.JAVA of SUN is also coffee.HP named some similar item as CHAI.Equivalent from IBM is INFERNO and Microsoft product is Plug and Play.The book makes a fascinating and absorbing reading. To remain updated one can visit www.ebusinessrevolution.com P.S-any mistakes in above are mine due to lack of understanding of the subject.What is happening to "JINI"? -I learnt about embedded text in the photographs -e-mail is most insecure kind of communication -It made me wonder how many techniques/technologies our WEBMASTER is using to make TOPOGROUP site so interactive/ fascinating?
32	Viren Goyal	The Maharajas Of India	Ann Morrow	Non-Fiction	Other	1998	**
No. of Pages=284 Plus 20 pages of black and white pictures I started to read this book with great expectations, may be this is one of the reasons I barely finished reading this book. Then I thought , if I should include this book in our Reading section because I have given it only . Then I thought, including this book would act as an inventory of the books that I have read. If the Webmaster differs, I will refrain from including books from this site. by the same token, some one other than me may be greatly interested in reading about the maharajas. This book has lot of information about the luxurious and extravagent life styles of the maharajas. It has quite revealing information about 6 plus foot tall playboy Maharaja of patiala. He bragged about having a new woman every night when he was young and felt sorry for himself when he could handle only one woman a week after he turned 60. It also describes the consumation of a 300 pound maharaja by using a clanted bed to position his wife(to avoid death by crushing under his immense weight. The bed was designed after elephants were observed in act of having sex. It was funny. Another funny example is of a very young maharani who was a vergin on her wedding night. The maharaja could not consumate marrige (could not have sex because each time the maharaja tried, it pained so much that the maharani screamed and the whole palace could hear it. The maharani cried for five nights during the attempts by the maharaja. On the 6th day the screams stopped and the whole palace know that the marriage has been consumated. There are may stories of different maharajas and their ideosyncries. For example Nizam of hyserabad , one of the richest prince in his time was so frugal that he walked with the support a broken kept together by tying a rope.
33	Viren Goyal	Splendor Of Silence	Indu Sundaresan	Fiction	Other	2007	****
No. of Pages=399 Another gem from Indu Sundaresan. She has become my favourite writer and i have bexome fer fan. I love her writing style. Just finished this book last evening padr midnight. Without giving away the end, I was so immersed in the last quarter of the book that I lost all track of time. To enjoy the last quarter of the book you have to read the first three quarters, which are equally absorbing and rivitting. Thit theme of the book is a love story of a price to the daughter of an IAS officer, set in the deserts of Rajasthan. Then comes a wounded American soldier, in search of his missing brother. The American falls in love with the young daughter of the IAS officer. The love story is beautifully described. The locations and the situations are so beautifully described that you feel, you are actually there. I am a lover of trains,and enjoyed auther's description of a train passing through the desert with cliti clack sound and then whistling on and off. She has added some humor to the story. For example, the IAS officer likes his tea nice freah and boiling hot. After a few sips the tea becomes too cold for his pallet. He orders tea to be warmed again and again. The staff got a solution and served his tea on a burning stove set nest to him, where he could rest it to stay warm between sips. I like my tea the same way, and thoroughly enjoyed the description.Indu the writer was born and brought up in India and then migrated to Seattle in USA. She still seemms to understand the indian customs and even the curse words. Being an Indian I can relate to the description of events and custome. I thorougly enjoyed the book. It is not a classic but an interesting reading. I can not help but have to give it **** Rating.
34	Viren Goyal	Thousand Splendid sun	Khalid Hosseini	Fiction	Other	2007	***1/2
No. of Pages=372 Base on author's first book which was very good and a best seller, I bought his second book which is reviewed here. I did not know what to expect.Khalid Hussaini has not disappointed. As his earlier book the story is also set in Afganistan. It deals about the life of average Afgan women living under suppressed society. It starts with Russiob occupation then to mujahidin cntrol and finally life under Taliban. I came to nknow about the crual and ruthless rule of the Taliban. A funny excmple about the mindless fanatism, A painter painted a crane and showed the bird with beautiful long legs. The taliban compliance petrol termed the painting obscene and made the painter paint trousers on the painting of the crane. It is a touching story of two women, who by fate become rivals and then turn into each other's best friends and well wishers. Yogether they fight the system. It is a story about secrfice and love written in auther's beautiful writing style. it keeps you interested in the story and keeps you absorved. It is a touching story. A well written and interesting book.
35	Viren Goyal	Royal Duty, A	Paul Burrell	Fiction	Biography	2003	**1/2
No. of Pages=427 I bought this book to learn about the life the Royalty and in the process learn some spicy and juicy details of Lady Di's love life. On the first account the book did not disappoint me. But on the second account about spicy and jucy stuff I found just the opposite. The auther who was the footman of the Queen for 10 years and later served as butler to princess Diana had access to all her intimate details and was her most trusted friend. The auther has apparantly has given factual account of princess's trahic and lonely life. He has refused to sling mud and give out intimate details of her tragic life. He has described a kind hearted human being that Di was. I enjoyed reading this book. The way it has been written, it is appears honest and very believable. For this reason alone I give this book two and a half stars.
36	Viren Goyal/Harsh Pande	Playing For Pizza	John Grisham	Fiction	Other	2007	***1/2
Comments by Viren Goyal No. of Pages=262 This is not a typical Grisham book. It is his off beat book with unusual theme. It is auther's second attempt after the his success with Skipping Christmas. That one was hilarious. It was made into a movie later. This book deals with a theme of a unsuccessful and humiliated US football player who moves to Italy to play American football. There are quite a touch of comedy. But to appreciate humor, one ought to understand the basic rules of American football. Apparantly this humorous book has been written for people who understand the game in general. interesting reading.I think some one will buy the movie making rights for this book one day.I enjoyed the book. Recommended reading if you know a bit about American football. This is a * rating in my view. Comments by Harsh Pande It was a very enjoyable book to read, especially at this time (Sep-Oct). I read this book while I was away from USA and in India. This is the time in USA when the US Football season is in full swing. Since I cannot see a US Football game on TV in India, reading a book about it provided me a good outlet to enjoy that sport. In addition to the football, the book is about Italy, its food, wine, its operas, its people as well as romance. Reading the book makes you want to take a trip to Italy. I want to give it four stars (). Since Viren has given it three stars, we will rate the book as *1/2.
37	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Two Sisters	Rabindranath Tagore	Fiction	Other	1945	*****
No. of Pages=103 Women are of two kinds,the mother-kind and the beloved-kind. The one is like the rainy season,which tempers the heat,brings the gift of water and of fruit and fills the life of man with plenty. The other is the Spring which rocks his blood into waves of ecstasy and makes his heart sing. Man draws strength from the mother in woman and inspiration from the sweetheart in her.He needs one and desires the other. Where the two do not meet in the same person, his heart is torn into two and he is faced with a problem to which society offers no solution. 'Two Sisters' is a study of this eternal conflict.
38	Viren Goyal	Eat Pray Love	Elizabeth Gilbert	Non-Fiction	Biography	2006	***1/2
No. of Pages=314 This is a beautifully written entertaining and meaningful biography. I have classified it as non Fiction only because it is brutally honest experience of a 35 years old tall and beautigul Ametican woman. The author had everything in the world going for her. She was asuccessful editor of GQ magazine, a husband and good life living in NYC. She left everything in search of what she really wanted to do in life. This book could be a three in one. First section is about the Italian culture, italian food and the works. The second part is about finding God in India. meditation in the caves of India. Lot of learning about God and sprituality. The last and the best and entertaining section is living in Indonesia ( according to my way of looking). The last part is very funny and enlightening. If I had to rate this book on Indonesian part only, I would give this book 4/ stars. Very nice book highly recommended. The only reason I did not give this book 4 or 4-1/2 stars is tht Indian portion is rather slow and too high on sprituality for my taste. People like Harshu and VK may find it fascinationg. This book was recommended to me by our daughter Priya, who is an avid reader. I just finished this book and am still relishing the Indonesion portion of the book. Italian portion is interesting too.
39	Viren Goyal	The Odessa File	Frederick Forsyth	Fiction	Thriller	1972	****1/2
No. of Pages=422 I am sure most of myfriends have read this thriller already. The book probably was firar published in 1972. being relatively new to book reading, it is my turn to share my thoughts about this book. The book is athriller. It keeps you guessing as to what happens next. It keeps the interest going.The book kept me up much par my bed time every day and I finished this book in less than a week. I could not put the book down. The plot in the book revolves around a German newspaper reporter who gets hold of a diary of a Jew who was in concentration camp and kep a diary about the atrocities of the torture chief's activities. This person's sole purpose of writing this diary was to use it as an evidence to bring the person responsible to trial and find justice. The diary has been written by the author in such a way, it is very believable( based on facts) andhard to imagine as a work of fiction. The mission of the reporter puts him in touch with Nazi hunters in Israel and in direct confrentation with ODesa( a secret organization formed to protect the former SS peoples). The auspense is killing which keeps you going. I loved the writing style of this author. I have to give this book 4-1/2 stars out of five. His four additional books are on my list of books to read. I can hardly wait to read The Day Of The Jackal by the same author.
40	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Reminiscences	Rabindranath Tagore	Non-Fiction	Biography	1983	*****
No. of Pages=272 Originally published in Bengali in 1912,Tagore's Jivan Smriti, an account of the first twenty-seven years of his life,came out in English in 1917. Starting with an account of his spartan upbringing in a large joint family under the strict discipline of family retainers,Tagore continues the story with his early education,his first real acquaintance with his ascetic father on a trip to the Himalayas, his apprenticeship in poetry, music and theatre under the tutelage of his remarkable cousin,Jyotirindranath Tagore,his first visit to England,and the composition of his earliest works. The book ends with an important death,that of Jyotrindranath's wife,a death which deeply affected Tagore's poetic personality.
41	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	The Runaway and Other Stories	Rabindranath Tagore	Fiction	Other	1992	*****
No. of Pages=211 Rabindranath Tagore wrote short stories at every stage of his life. His first story was published when he was sixteen. And his last few stories were written a few months before his death. His short stories place him securely among the great masters of the art in the world. They exhibit all the characteristics of his genius his vivid imagination coupled with a penetrating insight into reality his wide humanity his intolerance of wrong and injustice his matchless constructive ability. P.S--The great story writers that come to my mind while I am writing this are Anton Chekhov,Guy de Maupassant,W.Somerset Maugham,Arthur Conan Doyle,Edgar Allan Poe to name a few.
42	Harsh	Test	xx yy	Fiction	Biography	1999	*
No. of Pages=12. This is only a test of data entry
43	Harsh Pande	Five People You'll Meet in Heaven	Mitch Albom	Fiction	Biography	2004	****
No. of Pages=?? This book is completely different than all of the books in our list so far. This is a very small book - in size and in number of pages. There is a story. But the best part is that the story and the theme makes you think about your whole life. The story is about Eddie who works at a theme park. One day, due to an accident in one of the rides that he is controlling, he dies. He goes to heaven and meets five people one after other. Each one is from his past life and they are there to teach him a lesson and explain to him about his life - why certain event occurred and what it really meant. "One by one, these mostly unexpected characters remind him that we all live in a vast web of interconnection with other lives; that all our stories overlap; that acts of sacrifice seemingly small or fruitless do affect others; and that loyalty and love matter to a degree we can never fathom. Simply told, sentimental and profoundly true, this is a contemporary American fable that will be cherished by a vast readership. Bringing into the spotlight the anonymous Eddies of the world, the men and women who get lost in our cultural obsession with fame and fortune, this slim tale, like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, reminds us of what really matters here on earth, of what our lives are given to us for." When I first read the book, I did not get much out of it. Then I visited India (2005) and met one of my young nieces in Gurgaon. I was surprised that she had read almost all of the books that I had read recently. We discussed this book and I asked her what was special about it. She said, "Mamaji, the heaven is not somewhere else, it is right here on this earth. The Five people the author is talking about are the people you have met right here.....". After returning to USA, I read this book again and then I got it! I made a list of people that had a major impact on my life - from childhood to now. It was really an eye opening revelation. One of the person in that list was the person who inspired me to read fine English books. You guys are right about who it is. But let us keep it that way. A second person I met in USA inspired me to watch classic movies. So, I was able to see the movies based on the great books that I had previously read and enjoy them once again like "Rebecca", "Wuthering Heights", "Gone with the Wind".... Mitch Albom's first book was "Tuesday's with Morrie". It was very successful book and a very good movie starring Jack Lemon. We are in the age group when we can learn something for both books. I give it four stars (****)
44	Viren Goyal	The Day of the jackal	vcwzlthea vcwzlthea	Fiction	Thriller	1970	****
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45	Viren Goyal	The second Lady	Irving Wallace	Fiction	Mystery	1985	****
No. of Pages= 384 This book was perhaps writte more than 20 years ago. I do not know the exact timing, because the copy read by me was a loaner and had first few pages missing and the rest were also in a bad shape.In any event. This is a very enjoyable book to read. I would call it a Massala book. It has love, romance, mystry, thrills, explicit sex scenes , you name it and it has it.The story revolved around a russian agent installed in the whitehouse. This lady has a complete resemblance to the real First lady.She is an exact duplicate in the most secret detail.This Russian agent enjoys the spotlight with the president and is after some secrets which could tilt balance of power in favor of the Russians. The plot is very interesting, you neave know, what comes next. It is not a classic but one of the hard to put down book and keep you guessing until then, this keeps you going. Recommended for light reading and entertainment.
46	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Galileo's Daughter	Dava Sobel	Non-Fiction	Other	2000	*****
No. of Pages=429 It is rich and unforgettable story. It is a moving account of the relationship between the great Italian scientist and Virginia ,his illegitimate daughter. It is drama of Science,Faith and Love. It is an account of the tension between belief and scientific conviction at the origin of modern science.
47	Viren Goyal	The guest Of Honor	Irwing Wallace	Fiction	Thriller	1990	***
No. of Pages=350 This is an interesting book. My second book by the same author. It is about a high level romance between the president of United States and the president of a small Pacific Island. The the beautiful and young president has inharited the presidency after the murder of her husband as per the tradetions of the Island. The book goes into details the secret service protection of the US president and how he maintains contact with his lady love young and beautiful President of the pacific island. The President making unscheduled visits to the island and finding and trying to justify excuses to go to the island is hard to belive in real world. But this is what the fiction is all about. Theauthor has succeeded in keeping the interest of the reader going. There are some explicit sex scenes in the book. Because the book is interesting I give it 3 stars.
48	Viren Goyal	The Deceiver	Federick Forsyth	Fiction	Mystery	1980	***
No. of Pages=416 This interesting book essentially three small books in one. The centeral character in all three stories is Sam McCready of British Secret service. He is being considered for the appointment of Chief of a new department being created .The new Department is called the "THE DECEIVER" . To consider San McCreadd's qualifications for the job the committee is reviewing three of his past assignments. The three assignments are completely independent of each other. One is set in Russia, the other in Lybia and the third is in Caribbian. Each story is absorbing and interesting in typical Forsyth intersting style. My only problem with Forseyth books is that he introduces too may characters, some of the characters could he have done without. If it were not for this problem, I would have given this book one extra star. For now Feddy boy will have to do with three stars.
49	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Brief History Of Time	Stephen Hawking	Non-Fiction	Other	1998	*****
No. of Pages=211 This is a book for the layman for an insight into past, present and future of universe. Inter-alia It touches issues like Was thera beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? It is all about cosmos from Newton to Einstein and secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time. Makes an enjoyable and thought provoking reading.
50	Viren Goyal	Atlas Shrugged	AYN Rand	Fiction	Other	1957	****
No. of Pages=1070 This book was recommended to me by me brother, who liked this book so much that he read it twice. But, I could not put the courage to tackle this as a project, since this book is in small print and is 1070 pages thick. Finally, I got started with it and enjoyed it. This book is quite different than the mystery and suspense themed books that I had been reading during the past few months. This is a story of barons. One family is in the railroad business The Taggard family. The second character is in the steel manufacturing business. His company is called Reardon Steel. The third person is in copper mining business and he is from Argentina. His company is called Francisco d’Anconio Copper. There is a radical too in this plot his name is John Galt. He is there to change the world and is the centerpiece of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of selfishness. There is lot of interaction between the characters. The plot thickens and the book gets very interesting when Dagny Taggard Vice president of operation of Taggard Transcontinental railroad enters the scene. She is quite a dynamic and lightening rod character created by the author. I am sure most of you have already read this book, which was written 50 years back. I give this book **** stars. It could have been 4-1/2 stars but I thought John Galt’s speech was way too long winded.
51	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Fathers and Sons	wxgckfrwkuc wxgckfrwkuc	Fiction	Other	1988	****
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52	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Mother	Maxim Gorky	Fiction	Other	1987	****
No. of Pages=405 Motherwas first published in Russia in1907. The author roamed around Russia extensively. He was overwhelmed by the vastness of his native land. At the same time he was appalled by the ignorance,poverty,needless suffering of his countrymen. The book shows social awareness of the author like in all his works. The book makes an easy absorbing reading. Representatives of working class are the various characters in the novel. The plot of the novel is based on true events:May Day demonstration of workers in Sormovo in 1902. The events,however, have been refashioned and heroes recreated and thrown into new and dramatic circumstances by the author.
53	Viren Goyal	Leap of Faith	Danielle Stlle	Fiction	Other	2002	**1/2
No. of Pages=241 I got this book from a friend (Arun Behl)in the assortment of books that he was trying to get rid off. I had seen this autho's books in the book stalls before and decided to check it out. I observed that this author has written about 60 books already. It gave an impression that it is like a book factory. Now back to the book. It is a simple story of a girl who leads a good life in a chateau in France with her french mother and American father. All of a sudden everything changes when her parents die in a tragic road accident. The girl is shipped to IOWA to a wicked aunt where the has a miserable time. The story developes and keeps one interested in what next. It is book for reading on a plane ride or a train journey. Nothing special I give this book two stars and an additional 1/2 star for keeping me interested enough to finish the book
54	Viren Goyal	Fine Balance, A	Rohinton Mistry	Fiction	Biography	1975	****
No. of Pages=601 This book was recommended by my sister. I am thankful to her forher suggestion.This is a very interesting story of life of the poor and struggling people in India. It is a very honest description of people living in the slums. The story revolves around two people who belong to a low cast( cobblers). The cast system was very prevelant in India in mid 40s. The story is set when India had just become independant. The cobblers decided to change the tradition and also to make both ends meet to become Tailors. The turn of events takes them to a very kind and independent minded Parsi lady. THe rest of the story revolves on a 'Perfect Balance' as the name of the book implies between This lady, two of these poor Tailors and a young and aspiring city boy who is a paying gust with this Parsi lady. I mas moved by the honest description of the lives of these people. Being born and brought up in India, I could relate to the lives of these people. At times it is vey touching. Rohatom Mitry has done an excellent job. I enjoyed the book. He gets four stars from me. It is a recommended reading and you keep wondering " How will this end" No peaking on the last chapter.
55	Viren Goyal	The Rain Maker	gmasuj gmasuj	Fiction	Thriller	1996	****1/2
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56	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Crime and Punishment	Fyodor Dostoyevsky	Fiction	Other	1985	****
No. of Pages=575 The novel was conceived by the author during his exile in Siberia. It is about a storm raging with in a soul crushed by the society of his time. A tragic time,when money,violence and cynicism turned people into a means of achieving a soulless and meaningless aim:profits to win power,and power for sake of profits. The book is a thought stimulant and help people discover new truths about themselves.
57	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Childhood,Adolescence,Youth	wjxzbkupce wjxzbkupce	Fiction	Other	1988	****
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58	Viren Goyal	Schindler's List	Thomas Kennally	Non-Fiction	Other	1993	***1/2
No. of Pages=397 This is a good book which describes the attrocities of Naziez,in concentration camps, the role played by German industrialist Schindler in helping and protecting Jews during the Hitler Era. THe book is based on intensive research done by the author and interviews with thousands of survivors and some of the people who wer part of the concentration camps. It is agripping tale of those unfortunate event. I enjoyed the book in parts because there are too many charactors in 3/4 of the book and it becomes difficult for me ( at least ) tho keep track of charactors. A movie based on this book was a big hit. I have seen the movie and if I see it again, i will probably enjoy it more. I give this book three and a 1/2 stars.I could have been a 5 star book but for too many charactors which are hard to keep track of.
61	Viren Goyal	Hitler,Appeasement and the road to War	Grahm Darby	Non-Fiction	Other	1999	****1/2
No. of Pages=139 This tint book is full of very useful information for a person who is not used to reading History books. I used to have many questions about the second world war. It starts with the background of ist world war followed by the great depression. The effect of the depresson on various countries of the world. Rise of Hitler in Germany. Hitler's various alliances with Musolini to dominate Europe. Hitler's alliance of convenience with Russia. Interaction between various European countries. All this leading up to second worls war. Surprising ly there is very little mention of US involvement. This book is written as a Text book. In the begining of each chapter, the author tells you abou what you are about to learn. If I were the commissioner of Education , I would make this book as mendatory reading before graduating from school. A Very Nice book.
62	Viren Goyal	The Dogs Of War	Fredrick Forsyth	Fiction	Thriller	1974	***1/2
No. of Pages=438 Having read three of Forsyth books, the selectionof picking a book to read in Bhopal was easy. I have just finished this interesting book written in typical Forsyth style. He is a stickler for details. This book is no exception.The story deals with a discovery of Platinum in remote God forsaken tiny country on the west coast of Africa. A british firm wants to make sure no one gets to know about the vast seposits of platinum in the African country " Zangaro" . To achieve this objective the british company plans to topple the government and insta,, a puppet president as head of the republic, who would grant this british company exclusive rights to mine the precious metal. To achive this objective the company hires mercenaries to storm the country, kill the sitting presedent et. The book deals with maticulas planning of the invasion to topple the government. The book keeps the reader interested and involved in the planning. For this reason alone, I give this book three and a half stars.
63	Viren Goyal	The Runaway Jury	John Grisham	Fiction	Thriller	1975	***1/2
No. of Pages= 450 This book has been written in classic Grisham style.The book deals with the jury system in the US and how the big law firms can manipulate the jury by influencing their lives which in turn pushes them to vote in favor of the person they want. I used to think the jury system in the us is perhaps the best in the world. THe law firms have jury consultants who sit in the court to study the reactions of each jury member to the arguments. They try to learn from their body language and then plan their action about how to change/influance the mind of a jury member. This being a thriller, the auther has introduced some criminal characters int the plot. The book keeps you absorbed. It is a page turner. Since this is an interesting and informative reading I give this book 3 and a half stars.
64	Viren Goyal	PAPILLON	Henri Charriere	Non-Fiction	Biography	1969	*****
No. of Pages=560 This is one of the finest real life adventure books read by me so far written in first person. It is a real life story, recorded by the writer in thirteen notebooks. The book is absorbing and interesting throughout. No dull moment. It keeps you going and you keep turning the pages, completely mesmerized and in awe of the determination and will power of the person on the run for freedom. This is story of Henri Anntoine Charriere aka PAPILLON who was for a murder, which he did not commit. The French police manipulated the testimony of some witnesses such that the jury of 12 people sentenced him to life imprisonment. Papillon was shipped to French Guyana in South America. This is where French sent their hard-core convicts to be away from the civilized society. From day one Papillon starts planning his escape for freedom. He escapes from the jail in boat, which takes him away over a thousand mile. In short he escapes several times with meticulous planning and there are many failed attempts. Without giving away the story line, the man possessed determination, perseverance, sharp mind and strong will to be free. I give this book 5 stars, since I do not have any more in the system
65	Viren Goyal	Ninty Minutes at Entebbe	William Stevenson	Fiction	Biography	1976	***
No. of Pages 216 This is an interesting book loaned to me by Pratima and Sudhir Tyagi. My friends essentially assembled the book since the same was physically in several sections. They arranged the pages, put them in order with the help of glue and transparent tape. Thanks Pratima and Sudhir, the efforts were worthwhile. The author is a journalist and he did a fair amount of research to present the events that took place in chronological order starting from the actual hijacking of the El Al flight 129 till the daring rescue of the hostages. I enjoyed the meticulous and secretive planning of the rescue mission, dry run of the rescue and the actual rescue by brave Israeli commandos. The book also has a chapter on UN debate in which Uganda accuses Israel of interfering with their internal affairs and Israel’s beautifully drafted response. The debate between nations is also interesting. In the end of the book there is a transcript of telephone conversation between Israeli general and Idi Amen who liked to be addressed as His excellency Field marshal Dr. Ida Amin Dada, Ad VVIP, MAD ETC, ETC President of Uganda for life. I give this book three stars.
66	Viren goyal	The Devil's Alternative	Fedrick Forsyth	Fiction	Thriller	1979	***
No. of Pages=478 This is a typical Forsyth thriller.The subject is very unusual. US spy settilite discovers very unusual growth pattern of the crop in Soviet Union. Conclusion is made by the experts that due to bad harvest, there will be a tremendous shortage of grain in Rusia resulting in a famine. To avoid this they will need tremendous quantity to be bought from USA. US foreign policy experts want to takeadvantage of the situation and want to get concessions from The Russions in Arms reduction. The story moves around each country out manouvering the other. it keeps the interest going throughout the book. Since I found nothing extra ordinary in the book, I give this interesting book three star.
67	Viren Goyal	The Body Farm	Patricia Cornwell	Fiction	Mystery	1994	***
No. of Pages=387 I had seen books by Patricia cornwell on sale at the railway book stalls and wondered what type of writer she is. Then a friend was getting ris of his book collection and this book was part of it. Yes, she is a mystery writer. She has crime reporter background and appears to have agreat knowledge forsenics. In this book the story deals with the murder of a very young girl in a sleepy small town in north caroline called Black mountain. A medical examiner who is also a detective type takes up the case, follows through the case and comes to a dramatic conclusion to nab the murderer. Witout giving away the ending, the auther keeps you guessing and the reader keeps reading with interest about the various possibilitis. Interesting book.
68	Viren Goyal	The Thorn Birds	Colleen McCullough	Fiction	Biography	1977	****
No. of Pages=591 This is a story of a poor working class farming family in New Zealand barely making both ends meet. Then a very rich sister of the family head dies and all of a sudden, the family inherits a large estate and a large mansion in the North West Australia. The ‘OUTBACK” country. In Australia, the story revolves around a beautiful daughter and a priest. It deals beautifully about the struggle of the priest between duty to the church and his love for this beautiful girl. The author has given a very nice view of the life in the out back; the place which sounds so romantic is full of bugs, snakes, and other reptiles. Scorching and soaring sun. It is a very well written book. Before starting on this book, on of the review said….I could not put it down. I found it to be true. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and almost till the end had decided to give this book 5 stars. As far as I am concerned, the book should have ended on page 451. But the author decided to go no and on and I lost all interest in the last chapter. Normally in a book the ends are something you look forward to. But this book is an exception. The end came first and then the book continued. For this reason I took one star away (as if it matters for this book written in 1977)
69	Viren Goyal	The Fakir	blyondw blyondw	Non-Fiction	Biography	2008	***
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70	Viren Goyal	Three Cups Of Tea	haeeyskpr haeeyskpr	Non-Fiction	Biography	2007	***
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71	Viren Goyal	The Fist of God	Frederick Forsyth	Fiction	Biography	1994	****1/2
No. of Pages=624 When I went to the book store to buy this book, I read on the back that this book is about the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein and the liberation of the tiny oil rich country by the allied Forces led by United States, I selected this book to read. The back side of the book said it is a superlative undercover adventure. Forsyth has written with such a veracity welter with technological detail that you start to think it could be true. After reading the book I have formed the opinion that this is one of the finest work of fiction written by Forsyth after The day of the Jackal. We all know that the invasion and liberation indeed take place. The writer has beautifully mixed fiction with what really happened. He has introduced a little romance, detailed under cover spy net work in which the genius of Israili Mossad is described in great detail. The book keeps you absorbed and you keep turning the pages. First I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer 623 pages of this book but I enjoyed each and every page. For those who love undercover stories and detective themes, this book is recommended. I give these book 4-1/2 stars.
72	Viren Goyal	A Prisoner of Birth	Jeffery Archer	Fiction	Biography	2008	*****
No. of Pages=531 This is the latest book written by Jeffery Archer after laps of umpteen years. It is worth the wait. I found this book very interesting and absorbing.The book has been written in classic Archer style with a bonus of one of the finest court room drama that I have read. The book deals with the story of a good man who was framed in a murder that he did not commit. The story deals with the accused life in prison where he makes friends with his cellmates and plans revenge. Without giving away the story to those who may read this review and may want to read the book, the revenge process is not that easy. He meets with many obstacles. The court room drama is a cliffhanger and even after that the reader is in suspense about the outcome till the last word of the book has been read. I have read many of Jeffery archer’s books and found this on to be his best up to date and for this reason I will not be stingy and give him 5 stars out of maximum 5.
73	Viren Goyal	One Night at Cal Center	Chetan Bhagat	Fiction	Biography	2005	***
No. of Pages=291 I got hold of this book to read in a strange way. I was traveling from Ooty to Kodaikanal By bus and right across from me was a young newly wed couple very much in love with libido’s kicking in high gear. I saw, both of them holding a book and both were trying to share reading. From the corner of my eye, I could not help sneaking a look, I noticed, they were not turning the page and holding the book upside down. At the next stop I asked the couple about the book that they were reading and highly recommended the same. I was quite skeptical about reading this book but read it any way. This book has been written by an engineer/financial consultant for his love of writing about contemporary society. In this book he has done extensive research and obtained first hand experience about how young adults think and interact. He has knitted it into a story which starts with four friends who all work at a call center. The story starts with a company provided pickup in a van and end up early morning when their shift ends. In between there are glimpse of how the call center employees thin, answer the phones, interact with each other. I enjoyed the most when the narration comes to what these call center people think of Americans to whom they are providing support.
74	Viren Goyal	Memoires Of a Geisha	Arthur Golden	Fiction	Other	1998	*****
No. of Pages=434 I have just finished reading this book and could hardly put it down. For a slow reader like me I finished this book in 5 days. The book is in small print and 428 pages short. It is termed as short, because I wanted to keep on reading it. The story tells you of life of Geishas of Japan. The story revolves around a young girl of 9 years whose mother is dying .they live in a small fishing village in Japan. Her father fearing the welfare of the girl sends her to live with a friend, who in turn sells her to a Geisha house. Over there she works as slave hoping to become a Geisha one day. The story takes you to teahouses, and Madams and the process of becoming a Geisha. This little girl goes through many ups and down and in the process the reader learns about the Geisha system. While reading this book you become a sympathizer of this little girl and always interesting to find out about what happens next. I have learned from this book that in Japan most people have a mistress and the wives accept it. There is even an official ceremony for a Geisha to become a mistress of a rich man.
75	Harsh Pande	Gone, Baby, Gone	Dennis Lehane	Fiction	Mystery	1999	****1/2
No. of Pages=412. This is the first complete book I have read in over a year. We saw the movie based on this book. The plot was a bit complicated, so I decided to read the book to really find out what happened. I was not disappointed. I like this writer. His other book (The Mystic River) was also turned into a successful movie directed by Clint Eastwood. Both books are based on the Italian/Irish ethnic sections of Boston and he describes the lives of people in that area with fine details. Here is a description of the book: Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are hired to find four-year-old Amanda McCready, abducted from her bed on a warm, Indian summer night. They meet her stoned-out, strangely apathetic mother, her loving aunt and uncle, the mother's dangerous drug-addled friends, and two cops who've found so many abused or dead children they may be too far over the edge to come back. Despite enormous public attention, rabid news coverage, and dogged police work, the investigation repeatedly hits a brick wall. Then a second child disappears....As the two detectives intensify their search, they encounter a media more interested in sensationalizing the abductions than solving them, a midnight ransom drop that explodes into a firefight, a city seething with secrets and rage, and a faceless power determined to keep the children lost forever.
76	Viren Goyal	The Count of Monte Cristo	Alexander Dumas	Fiction	Biography	1997	*****
No. of Pages=875 Soon after I finished reading Papillion, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I was craving for a similar book. Then two things happened. In the end of the book, they recommended the count of Monte Cristo and my friend Arun said, he has the unabridged edition of the book. He graciously loaned me the book and I have just finished it in under a month’s time. , This book is a classic, being a new reader; I am a bit late in enjoying this epic. This is a story of a nice person, who is accused to be a Bonapartist and taken away by the police on his wedding day. He is imprisoned and later dumped in a dungeon part of the prison in solitary confinement. This is where he makes friends with genius prisoner, who is thought to be mad by the prison official. They plan an n escape. This is about one third of the book. The rest of the book deals with the prisoner..(Count of Monte Cristo) carefully planning and executing the revenge. I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it is 875 pages thin and that too in small print. I give this book 5 stars.
77	Viren Goyal	Heat and Dust	kocuxrdvhk kocuxrdvhk	Fiction	Other	1975	**
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78	Viren Goyal	Kabul Beauty School	Deborah Rodriguez	Fiction	Other	2007	***
No. of Pages=283 This book is based on true story. It goes into the details of the author’s experience of living and helping Afghan women. I got interested about the plight of Muslim women in Afghanistan after reading books like Kite Runner and many other books. It is a sad state of affairs about how women are treated in the Muslim world. The author, an American who lived in Afghanistan saw this first hand and tried to help the women in Afghanistan by teaching the local women about how to become beautician by starting a beauty school in Kabul. Her idea was to train local women to give them an opportunity to start their beauty salon and become independent. Taking into consideration the taboo about women need to confined inside the house, the author meet resistance and strong opposition from the government and men folks. It is an interesting book reasonably well written to keep your interest going. Especially, if you are interested to understand the plight of women in the Muslim world, it is a good book to read. I liked the book.
79	Viren Goyal	The Reluctant Fundamentalist	Moshin Hamid	Fiction	Other	1971	**
No. of Pages=184 This novel deals with the life of a very bright Pakistani immigrant to US. This immigrant goes to school in Princeton and soon after graduation he is hired by a big consulting company. He makes good money, leads a good life. He falls in love with a rich American beauty and he finds his way into high status society in New York, similar to his family status in Pakistan. He has everything going for him. Then comes 9/11 and goes through fundamental transformation in his thinking. He loses his job, even his relationship with his rich American girlfriend changes. He looks as a Muslim rather than an immigrant trying to make his American dream. His thinking shifts from money, high society to more towards, like a Muslim fundamentalist. When I selected this book to read I expected to read into the mind of a music fundamentalist. But I did not find all that in this book. I kept reading this book to find what I thought I will find, but nothing there.
80	Viren Goyal	Message ina Bottle	Nicholas Sparks	Fiction	Romance	1998	***
No. of Pages=370 Buddy Avinash read this book on a cross country business trip and recommended for me to read it. Avinash said this is a nice light reading romace novel.He was right, it is an interesting book and I enjoyed reading it. The story begins with a young professional woman,a sindicated column writer. She does not believe in love. Then she finds a bottle which had drifted to the beach, while she was on vacation in Cape cod. She retracts the bottle and finds a letter inside. This letter was written by a person to a woman whom he loved very much. The letter reflected his deep love and the sincere character of the person. This young woman, goes after finding this lover man who has such pure and deep feelings towards his lover. It is a lovly description of this pwoman's efforts to find this man. Did she succeed,to know this, you have to read the book. There are emotions,heartwrenching situations and thia makes for reading of a romantic nove. A successful movie by the asme name as the book was also made , based on this book. I give this book *** stars.
81	Harsh Pande	A Prisoner of Birth	Jeffrey Archer	Fiction	Thriller	2008	****
No. of Pages=530 This is the first book I have read in a long time! I think it is Jeffrey Archer's latest book. It is about a young man who was sent to prison for murdering his best friend, but he was falsely accused. I will not give the whole plot....suffice it to say that we he comes out of the prison, he systematically takes revenge on three guys who were actually involved in the murder. It kept my interest throughout. I am giving it four stars.
82	Viren Goyal	A Long Way Gone	bwbllghgte bwbllghgte	Fiction	Biography	2007	****1/2
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83	Viren Goyal	False impression	Jeffrey Archer	Fiction	Mystery	2005	**1/2
No. of Pages=384 There was an elegant lady brutally murdered the night before 9/11. She was a successful New York banker and receives a woman's left ear in the morning mail. A young woman with a bright career steals a priceless Van Gogh painting and a Japanese steel magnate happy to hand over $50,000,000 to a woman he had only met once. All this is part of the plot in this novel. False Impression takes us through a journey of twists and turns that takes us from New York to London to Bucharest and on to Tokyo, and finally a sleepy English village, where the mystery of Van Gogh's last painting is finally be resolved. I found this book not in the class of Jeffrey Archer. It was mildly interesting. Reluctantly, Archer being a great writer, whose books I have immensely enjoyed, I give this book 2-1/2 stars only.
84	Viren Goyal	The fourth protocol	Fredrick Forsyth	Fiction	Thriller	1984	***1/2
No. of Pages=389 it is agood thriller. I enjoyed most of it except when i had to refer back to ever increasing characters in the plot. The story deals with a very complex plan devised by the secretary general of the USSR communist party to influence the election process and support the labor party candidates who share ans support Russian interests. His idea is to get such candidates elected, so that the Russians have apuppet government in UK. This is a top secret plot, so secret that even KGB is kept out of the loop. THere is very interesting cat and mouse game played by the Russian agents and the British secret service. It has a very interesting and thrilling ending. Except for ever increasing cast of charactors, I enjoyed the book. and for this reason I give this book 3-1/2 stars out of 5.
85	Viren goyal	Bel Canto	Ann Patchette	Fiction	Biography	2001	***1/2
No. of Pages=318 I got this book from Local Library in New jersey, upon high recommendation from my brother's grand daughter. She said, she could not put it away. I found it interesting as well. The theme is quite unusual. Give you a brief synopsis.The story is set in South America, a small unidentified nation. This nation is looking for some foreign investment and lure a big japanese industrialist to come to their country. The biggest lure was to celebrate his birthday at which a famous opera singer has been engaged to perform. The japanese Industrialist is a great fan of the opera singer. During the celebrations the guests are taken hostages by rebels and are kept in captivity for a very long time. The book beautifully describes inter action between the hostages. Since this was high profile party, diplomets from all different nations are invited. As a result non og the two hostages speak same language except for one. This mutilangual person is japanese industrialist's assistant. He becomes involved with people of all different nationalisits. Now relationships start to devolop among the hostages. It has been delecately handled by the auther and keep you involved. Good book to read although not great.
86	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Anna Karenina	Lev Tolstoy	Fiction	Other	1987	*****
No. of Pages=956 It is in two volumes. It is one of the gems of Russian classical literature. It is set in one of the most complex periods in the Russian history, when, after the abolition of serfdom, in Tolstoy's own words,” everything had been overturned and was only beginning to fall in place. "Inter-alia it deals with the specific and personal details of life in various levels of Moscow and St. Petersburg society and of the Russian country side. It is woven around the out of wedlock affair of Anna Karenina who is unhappy with her husband and her lover does not appreciate her much.
87	Viren Goyal	Lovely Bones, The	Alice Sebold	Fiction	Other	2002	***
No. of Pages=338 This book has an unusual theme. It is the story of a teen age girl, who is murdered by a neighbor and dumped into a sink hole at the edge of the town. This girl goes to heaven and can see the happenings on earth. She describes the lives of people in her life which include, her murderer, father, mother, sister, brother and her friend. Each one copes with her loss in their own way. This book is quite interesting in patches. A movie based on this book is in production.
88	Viren Goyal	To cut a long story short	Jeffrey Archer	Fiction	Other	2001	***
No. of Pages=272 This is a collection of 16 short stories. Each story has the classic Archer touch of surprise endings ( of these stories are based on true incidents. Looks like authershave aknack to recognize interesting incidents around then and turn them into interesting stories. This was quite a change for me, since I was deep into reading full lengyh fiction books. Non the less I enjoyed this book. I have read all the stories, some are more interesting than others.
89	Viren Goyal	Twist in the tail	Jeffrey Archer	Fiction	Other	2001	***
No of pages =237 This is the second book that is a collection of short stories by this famous author. It is a collection of 12 stories. I liked most of them, but like the story titled The perfect Murder. Very interesting and well done. What an ending. After getting used to surprise ending of Archer stories, I had kind of started guessing the ending of this story. It took even me by surprise, even though I was anticipating and was on guard all the time. This is a 5 star story but I give this collection three stars.
90	Viren Goyal	The Summons	John Grisham	Fiction	Biography	2002	***1/2
No. of Pages=341 I read a John Grisham book after a long time. Previous to this I was under the impression of having read all his books, but upon checking discovered that there are three more books still to be read from this great writer. This is one of the three. THe story is simple with limited cast of characters which i like to start with. A law professor gets a lettor, which is like summons form a very law oriented dad. The professor and his drug addict brother have been summoned to report to their father in their ancestrial home in Clanton ,Mississipi.So surprises yet. The story is set in MIssissipi as in most of his novels. Upon arriving there the son discovers that his father is dead. He also discovers a secret which haunts and bothers him. The son is bent upon unfolding the secret. The rest of the books takes the reader through the mind and psychology od a person who is hiding a secret. This has been done very well and keeps the reader engrossed. Nice book.
91	Viren Goyal	The Golden Gate Bridge	Alistair MacLean	Fiction	Thriller	1963	**1/2
No. of Pages=187 This book has an unlikely plot of hijacking a presidential limo which is carrying three important state guests from an oil kingdom. THe narration is good but due to the fact that Golden Gate bridge in San feancisco being completely blocked for two days is unthinkable. As a result it is not believable even in fiction. I have added a 1/2 star to the two stars for the nice narration by the author.
92	Viren Goyal	The Awakening	bcolraj bcolraj	Fiction	Biography	1899	***
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93	Viren Goyal/Harsh Pande	The Associate	John Grisham	Fiction	Thriller	2009	****1/2
No. of Pages=485 This long awaited book finally arrived. It was certainly worth the wait. Perhaps this is the best work of fiction by this very good writer after The FIrm. The plot is fascinationg. A very young and bright student is recruited by a very large firm. This young man had during his college days been witness to an orgy and the whole thing is on video tape. This young man did not participate in the orgy butcan be seen in the video as a bystabder and could be implicated for crime. He is now blackmailed due to the presence of this damaging video. The plot thickens and the young lawer plans an escape route. It is some sort of cat and mouse, that keeps the reader absorbed in interested in the story till the end. Just read it, there is not a dull moment. I loved this book and give it four and a half stars. Comments by Harsh Pande: I purchased it in Gurgaon in Feb 2009 while on way back to USA. One good thing about India is that the new fiction books are released in paperback with an affordable price. In USA, most of the new fiction books are released first in hardback cover editions and they are very expensive. Only after the hardcover sale flattens out , paperback editions are released - may be 6 months after the hardcover release. It was a page turner for me. I read it on the flight to Chicago and it made the flight go quicker. Viren has already given a nice summary and I was going to write comments on the same lines. But I give it four stars (with "The Firm" getting four and half)
99	viren goyal	Hooligans	William Diehl	Fiction	Mystery	1984	***
No. of Pages=430 This is my first book by this author. This mystry writer is good in his description of seeting the scenes and describing the surroundings, as if you are there. The plot is good. Mafia moves into a an island off the coast of North carolina. The members of the mafia start getting killed. Within a short span, there are 10 homosides of mafia clan. No one knows, who is doing the killings. Local police sets up a special unit to solve the mystery. The special unit consists of past criminals and tough guys. A federal agent is also working on solving the mystery. To know who did it, you have to read the novel almost till the end. My only complaint with the book is that there are too many characters, over two dozen. At times it becomes difficult to differenciate the good guys from the bad. This reason cost this couple of stars. in my book, this book deserves only three stars.
100	vVren Goyal	Snapshots	igzcejvmnm igzcejvmnm	Fiction	Other	1995	***
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101	Viren Goyal	The White Tiger	zvyzxlhj zvyzxlhj	Fiction	Other	2008	***
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102	Viren Goyal	Twentyseven	William Diehl	Fiction	Thriller	1990	***1/2
No. of Pages=501 in small print This is my second book by this auther. I like writer's style of writing. Sometimes he is very eloquent in setting the scene and you feel that you ar almost there. By the same token, he could be dragging the description too far. He also has a habit of introducing some events which do not directly impact the story. This is a very good thriller about Hitler. He has addressed Hitler and his nazi mafia directly as if the characters are talking to the Furer directly. He has recreated history, the rise of Hitler in Nazi germany, his atrocities and you name it. I found this book very informative and learned much about Hitler. I am now curious to read more about this evil man. THe book towards the end deals with a naval warfare, which in my openion has no relevance to the story and could have saved about 50 pages of reading. I t is for this reason, I have deducted one star from the rating. I give this book three and a half stars. In my openion this is one of his better books. I have two more books by this author waiting to be read. My recommendation is to enjoy the book and when you reach to the naval warfare towards the end, skip pages and you will not miss any thing. This book is an enjoyable readng
103	Viren Goyal	Thai Horse	sisprhrhvx sisprhrhvx	Fiction	Mystery	1986	***
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104	Harsh Pande	The Whole Truth	David Baldacci	Fiction	Thriller	2008	***
No. of Pages=530 It is Baldacci's first international thriller. It is built around a concept known as "Perception Management". The idea is that in today's inetrconnected world with Internet, websites, blogs, Blackberries etc., you can create any misconception in any part of the world. In this book, a rich finacier and owner of a big defence company in USA creates the misconception that Russia is on a killing spree and a massacre is created in a Think Tank in London. This agency is funded by Chinese (another misconception). So, this company starts getting billions of defence contracts from both China and Russia. The world in the brink of the Third World War. Of course the hero, aided by a small group of associates saves the day. The plot is a bit hard to believe and the writing with short chapters do not produce the perception of a page turner novel like Grisham's or Clancy's. But still as a fan of Baldacci, I had to read this latest book by him. I am giving it only three stars (***).
105	Viren Goyal	CHAMELEON	mqyvstnnv mqyvstnnv	Fiction	Biography	1981	***
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106	Viren Goyal	I, Phoolan Devi	puqjhoelos puqjhoelos	Non-Fiction	Biography	1996	****
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107	Viren Goyal	Romancing with Life	Dev Anand	Non-Fiction	Biography	2007	***1/2
No. of Pages= 417 hard cover, I was a reluctant reader at first then my friend Sudhir told me, that I may enjoy it because it relates to the film industry of our era. He was right. The book is nostalgic and brought back memories of our formative year. We grew up idolizing Dev Anand as the ultimate romantic hero. I did not know that he was creative producer and director as well. He also wrote the scripts of his later movies. He directed 19 movies and acted in over 60 movies in a career spanning 60 years. He takes us behind the scenes that we do not get to see on the screen. It is a well written book. Keeps you going due to nostelgia of the era. This is better than just a good book, since I enjoyed it and finished in record 4 days. "It is a record for me" Generally I take about a week to finish a book. Good job dev and i give you three and a 1/2 stars.
108	Viren Goyal	Undue Influence	bnpoih bnpoih	Fiction	Mystery	1994	***1/2
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116	Viren Goyal	The Judge	Steve Martini	Fiction	Mystery	1996	***1/2
No. of Pages=501 This is my second book by this writer. I loved the second one almost as much as the first one. This is a murder mystery and a courtroom drama. An undercover student apprentice is murdered and a sitting judge is framed first for rape of the same girl and then for murder. The defence attorney masterfully builds up the case to save the judge. The court room drams, question answere and cross examination of the witnesses is spectacular and very interesting. To me it was a page turner I finished this book in 5 days. I was in no hurry. Enjoyed the book. I might have become addicted to the court room drama. For now Steve martini is my favourite writer when it comes to the court rooms. I may be a bit biased in my rating his books ( not that ir matters, this book was written 21 years ago) I give this book 3-1/2 stars because, it is not a great book, it is agood and interesting book to my liking.
117	Viren Goyal	prime Witness	Steve Martini	Fiction	Mystery	1994	***
No. of Pages= 406 small print This is my third book by Steve martini. i enjoyed the first two books that i read by him. This prompted me to tead yet another. He writes courtroom dramas and i enjoy his sourt room questioning and leading questions well disguised. I guess i like the court room drama books. THis one was not as interesting as the previous two that i read. UI think I will take a break from Steve martini adn read some other stuff. in this book the attorney Paul Wandriani is the DA as comaired to defense attorney in the two other books. There are multiple murders i the devenport county and the mutilated bodies are discovered. There are many similarities in the way the murders have been executed. The police arrests a russian immigrant and charge him with murder. The story revolves around connecting the Russian to all four murders, but there are some legal problems involved,he may just have committed just one murder and he could be set free if the Da can not prove that the Russian did not commit all the murders on legalities. You would not believe what happened later in the story, to find out you will have to read the book. I give this book 3hrww stars.
118	Viren Goyal	World without End	Ken Follett	Fiction	Other	2007	****1/2
No. of Pages=1111 One of my fellow reader at the local library recommended this book. When I got the book issued in my name, I ased the librarian to issue the same to me for 2 months ater lookin at the book which weied one ton and was about 4" thick. I got hooked to the story and finished in two weeks. Most of it is a page turner. The story is set in England of 14th century covering the period from 1337 to 1361. The story revolves around the lives of four main characters and takes the reader from childhood into their 40s. The book deals with treatment of women in the 14th century. I is a story of love,lust, dedication, percivarence,trachery, bravery of characters. There is plenty of it and the chain of events keeps you reading and wanting to find more. Very soon you start relaring to the characters and het engaged in the book. It is a well written EPIC. After reading this book, being relatively a new reader, i feel, i can tackle other fat and interesting books. I had good time reading this EPIC and give it 4-1/2 stars.
119	Viren Goyal	Jackdaws	Ken Follett	Fiction	Biography	2001	***1/2
No. of Pages=454 This is my second book by ken Follett. This book is based on a real happening during the WW-2. This is a tribute and also an acknowledgement of the daring work done by the women. This is a story set in 1944 during the ww-2 just before the liberation of France from the germans/Nazies. A group of six women is assembled by the allies to blow up a telephone exchane which is vital for communication between France and Germany. The story deals with the selection process, diverse personalities leading to the actual intrcate and dangerous mission. The story keeps you engrossed in the book. The book is well written. It is quite a contrast from the first book by this author which was based on historical facts of the 14th century. This shows the versitality of this author. I plan to read a few more books by this good author.
120	Viren Goyal	The Arraignment	Steve Martini	Fiction	Mystery	2002	**1/2
No. of Pages=405 i had become fond of this author's court room drama and his cross examination in the courtrooms. The front cover said "The Stunning NEW Courtroom Thriller from Steve martini". So I decided to pick this book and stared reading. The book starts very well with a double murder. One of the person killed is a friend of the attorney. The attorney goes hunting for the killer. His efforts take him to San Diago, Cancoun and other parts og mexico. The killer is not revealed till the end. I will not reveal the killer here and take the mystery out of it,for those who may decide to read this book. The last third of the book is complex. I kept waiting for the "ARRAIGNMENT" and the court room drama. This never happened in the book. instead, the attorney turns investigator,who goes hunting for the killer. For this reason the whole exercise was a disappointment. I gaive this book only 2-1/2 stars.
121	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Baital Pachisi	Notknown NotkKnown	Fiction	Other	0	*****
No. of Pages=113 This is book of wisdom.Google has done a great job by putting it on its site in Books Category. I feel such books are our real Heritage and not Kutab Minars/Taj Mahals. Where is the original Sanskrit book? If one does not have the patience to read all please read the last line.That explains all. I hope to send it as an attachment via e-mail for my topogroup friends.
122	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Why Nothing Can Travel Faster Than Light	Barry and David Zimmerman	Non-Fiction	Other	1995	***
No. of Pages=309 The authors are identical twin brothers. This is a collection of lively essays providing an engaging fast-paced overview on key contemporary scientific issues and arguments. This book is for one interested in the intriguing world of science. Notwithstanding that more facts and knowledge must have come up since its publication still it makes absorbing and fascinating reading. I could not leave it literally till I finished it.
123	Viren Goyal	Eye of The Needle	Ken Follett	Fiction	Thriller	1978	****
No. of Pages=450 This is my second book by ken Follett. This is so different from the first book which was set in the 18th century. This is a very interesting book set in the 40s when Allied forces were planning to liberate france from the German Occpation. It is a story of a very clever and ferocious german spy who was assigned by Hitler himself to gather intellegence information about the allied activities. This spy is ruthless and would kill any one, even a German messanger who could possibly give away his cover, if caught. In his efforts to pass on the information gathered by him to germany, he drifts away into the english channel(Atlantic) and end up on a remote island unknown to most people. There he falls in love with a beautiful woman. To make a long story short, he tries to transmit information from this island back to germany. In the process he murders two people. It is very exciting and interesting plot. To find the ending, you need to read the book. After reading the book, I got a chance to see the movie, based on this book. To be honest, I would have been lost in the plot, had I not read the book. The movie does not do justice to the book. It was interesting because i had read the book.
124	Viren Goyal	Criminal Intent	William Bernhardt	Fiction	Mystery	2002	****
No. of Pages=356 I was at the local library looking for a book to read by Steve martini, who is an excellent Court room drama writer. Jus by chance i came across a promotion for Court Room Drama books. About a dozen books were lined up on the book rack under the promotional sign. I decided to try a different writer this time and picke this book. I also made a note of other authers of Court room dramas. Checke out, all were ex or current lawers. This is a well written book on a very difficult case, in which the lawer is trying to defend a priest of double murder which he did not committ. There is excellent stratagy and very interesting cross examination. When every thing seems to be going well for the defence, there is bombshell of revealation. This changes every thing. There is a very surprise ending too. The book keeps you interested till the end. Since I did not believe the ending, I read the last four chaptere second time around to let the details and the motives sink in. LOOKS LIKE, I LIKE COURT ROOM DRAMAS AND I AM GOING TO THE LIBRARY TO BORROW ANOTHER BOOK RECOMMENDED BY MY DAUGHTER'S FATHER IN LAW. hE IS A JUDGE. lET US FIND OUT, HOW HIS RECOMMENDATION TURNS OUT. i AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
125	Harsh Pande	Winner Stands Alone, The	Paulo Coelho	Fiction	Mystery	2008	***
No. of Pages=374 This is my third or fourth book by Coelho. I like and respect the author. The plot takes place in Cannes Film Festival. The key characters are a film disrtributor, an aspiring fashion model, a fashion magnet and a Russion millionaire. The Russian millionair's wife left him to marry the fashion magnet. The Russian wants his wife back and becomes a serial killer in Cannes. He kills any inocent person and sends a text message to his ex-wife telling her what he has done. He is willing to destroy the whole world to get her back. It sounds like a mystery novel, but it is not. Coelho's expertise is in going inside his characters' heads and describe in detail what is going on there. He also describes what goes on within the fashion industry and the movie indutsry in very minute details. His description of how the local police acts in light of these murders is very realistic and amusing. This comment from the back of the book is quite appropriate. "With 'The Winner Stands Alone' he has brought his remarkable gift for storytelling to the darker side of celebrity, wealth and excess - and how the world we live in can distort the truth in our hearts." The first half of the book was interesting. But it dragged on in the second half and I just wanted it to end so that I could go to my next book. I am giving this book a three-star (***) rating.
126	Viren Goyal	Presumed Innocent	Scott Turrow	Fiction	Mystery	1087	****1/2
No. of Pages=431 This writer was recommended to me by my daughter's father in law. Who is also a judge.He recommended this writer and another book Cane mutiny by Herman Wouk a 639 page book, which I am currently reading and will have my review later in the month. The book Presumed innocent is an absorbing court room room drama in which a lawyer is on trial fir murder, which presumably he did not commit. It is agripping tale, which takes you behind the scenes and tells you about the workings of the court system, jury selection etc. it has very interesting cross examinations of the witnesses. There are may turns and twists in the plot and keep you guessing , what next/ This is one of the finest court room dramma That I have read. You will never guess the ending. If you guess, you will probably be wrong. A very interesting ending. I am not about to tell you. For that you will have to read the book and have lot of fun doing that. I understand this book was turned into a movie and I will add my comments on the movie based on this book after i have a chance to see that. it is a recommended reading. For this reason i give this book 4 and 1/2 stars. I am looking forward to reading more of the books by the same writer ( Murder One?)
127	Viren Goyal	The Cane Mutiny	Herman Wouk	Fiction	Other	1951	****1/2
No. of Pages=639 LIFE IS A DREAM,A LITTLE MORE THAN MOST .This thought was underlined in the book. On closer scritny I discovered, that this was done by the publisher. having said that, let me turn to the book review. This book was written soon after the world war-2 ended.I was just 4 years old then. it is a masterpiece. As the name suggests, the book is about a mutinythat took place on a neval ship, ' mine sweeper CAINE" It was skippered by Captain Queeg. A crazy, nervous commanding officer. There are two main characters, Willie keith a n officer and An attorney Greenwald, who defended the mutinous people in the book. The book tells a lot about the naval warfare and workings of the navy. The book is comical to a great extent, when the crazy captain orders strip search to find the person who ate a quart of strawberries. The court roon cross questioning in the court marshall is very crisp and interesting. it also deals with the lonelyness and love for the loved ones left behind on land. it is a recommended reading and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. A movie based on the book was made and is available. I can hardly wait to see the movie.
128	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	The Book of Numbers	Tim Glynne Jones	Non-Fiction	Other	2007	****
No. of Pages=192 Numbers from simple numeration are the universal and most important language of the present. Numbers have occupied our thoughts since man first realised that he had not one opposable thumb but two. After reading the book one realises that the world of numbers is fascinating,mysterious and more intriguing than even the best spy thriller
131	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	A Mathematician's Apology	G.H Hardy	Non-Fiction	Biography	1993	***
No. of Pages=134+ This is a unique book. It has 58 pages of foreword by C.P.Snow added in 1967 in reprint. The book was first published in 1940. G.H.Hardy was one of this century's finest mathematical thinkers. Some may recollect Hardy as the mentor of Ramanujan an INDIAN mathematician. The book offers a brilliant and engaging account of mathematics as very much more than a science. The author had a great passion for cricket.
132	Viren Goyal	The key To rebecca	Ken Follett	Fiction	Mystery	1980	****1/2
No. of Pages=381 This is one of the most absorbing and a true page turner mystry novel It has every thing, suspense, crime, murder, lust, erotica ans mystery all combined into this 381 book package. The story is set in Egypt, mostly around cairo during WW-2. Egypt is occupied by the british and the Germans Hitler's forces planning an attack to take over and drive the English out.A German spy is feeding the Allied Force's attack plans to Rommel( the Field marshal of the germans. An English spy catcher get on the german spy's tal to capture him and the cat and mouse game becomes very interesting. Ken Folett is quite a versetile writer. This is perhaps his fourth novel that I have just finished. The next one "Lie Down With Lions" will start this afernoon. I think he is becoming my favorite writer of thrillers.
133	Viren Goyal	Lie Down with Lions	Ken Follett	Fiction	Thriller	1986	****
No. of Pages=326 This is a very interesting book. It is about a CIA on adssignment in Paris and is in love with a french woman. Another character is a french communist and undercover russian sympathiser. The french character is spying for the russians in Sfganistan , pretending to be a Doctor helping the rebels. One thing led to another, the CIA agent gets assigned to facilitate a treaty between warring rebel warring tribes to fight the Russians and drive them out. Now there is confrontation between the CIA agent and the french spy. Whenn the story looked tame with pridictable ending, the auther very nicely steers the story to a very interesting and exciting level. Very well written, page turner. A n excellent spy story which keeps you guessing what next. Ken Follet in my openion is master of spy stories like no one else. This book deserves 4 stars in my way of enjoying the book.
134	Viren Goyal	The man from St. Petersburg	Ken Follett	Fiction	Thriller	1982	***1/2
No. of Pages=323 This is another interesting book by ken Follett. Leere is less sex and erotica compared to some of the other books that i have read. There is mystery, love, romance and spy drama which is this author's trade mark. The story is set in England and has a royalty, his russian wife and her former lover. The formaer lover is a anaschist, who id very much pro Russian and would kill any one to protect the lives of his countryman. He is the man from St. petersburg. Good story, keeps you interested in the plot till the end. It is not as great a book like the earlier ones , which I have read and reviewed at this site. May be, i have been spoiled. I give this book 3-1/2 stars.
135	Viren	The testament	John Grisham	Fiction	Mystery	1986	****1/2
Number of pages: 435 This is an interesting book which takes you to an adventure in the great swamps deep inside Brazil and on the River Paraguay. Since I love such adventures, I enjoyed this aspect of the book. The story is about a crazy billionaire who commits suicide and leaves his billions to his daughter out of wedlock. This girl lives in the jungles of Brazil helping Indian tribes. The will leaves nothing for his 6 children from his previous marriages. Nothing is left for the ex wives either. The will is contested by the six children. There are plots and sub plots and the story moves on. It is an interesting book but not in the class of “The Firm” or” The Associate” by the same author.
136	Viren Goyal	The Client	John Grisham	Fiction	Mystery	1993	****
No. of Pages=422 Funny thing happened. i had printed the list of John grisham books read by me and went to the library to checkout the ones which I have missed.I founfd The Client was not on the list. So i checked it out and started reading. i found out pretty soon that I have already read this book. Then I recalled that this book is about a 11 year old boy who witnesses a bizare suicide of an attorney in the forest. The attorney, just before dying sharesa secret with the boy which the mafia knows. The mafia does not want the secret to be out and would kill the boy who knows the secret. This boy hires an attorney to protect himself and this attorney does nort want to know the secret either for the fear of mafia. Interesting story engrossing A nice story. I enjoyed reading it.
137	Viren Goyal	Paths of Glory	Jeffrey Archer	Fiction	Other	2009	****
No. of Pages=372 I checked my list, this was the only book not read by me, so I checked it out from the library. I was into the book about 5 pages and realized tht this is not a typical Archer book. By the time I was mid way through, I gave it 3 stars, then by 250 pages changed to 3.5 star,. I continued, by the time I reached 350 pages I decided on 4 stars. and this is where it rests now. It is a touching story of a mountain climber, who was madly in love with his beautiful wife. needless to say he was devoted to his family. This is a love story and adventure packaged into one. You learn a lot about mountain climbing from the book and scaling the peaks. In the end the book is very touching. i am still thinking about it. If you have the time, please read this book.
138	Harsh Pande	one night @ the call center	Chetan Bhagat	Fiction	Other	2005	****
No. of Pages=289 This book was given to us by CK's friend's daughter who is in 10th class. I read it on the train from Lucknow to Delhi. It is by a young Indian writer (a former IIT guy) who has become quite famous. The book is about six people (three guys and three girls) who work at a call center in Gurgaon. The writing style is all dialog and conversation among these people. Very interesting and a page turner. There is a nice message for youg people about 1. Listening to your inner voice and 2. The importance of self-confidence and failure in life. I am giving it four stars.
139	Viren Goyal	The Chancellor Manuscript	Robert Ludlum	Fiction	Thriller	1977	***1/2
No. of Pages=438 I got introduced to this very talented author by chance. At a local township hall in Vermont, there was a rack for free books and the title of this book attracted my attention and i picked it up for reading.This book started off very good. Page turner, it certainly was. By the time I had finished one fourth the book, I thought of giving it 5 stars, then half way theough, it came down to 4 stars. But when i completed 3/4 of the pages, I was so confused and there were somany new characters introduced, each character had a real name and a code name that, I founf a hotch potch and a very not so interesting ending. I quickly finished the book by skimming through the last 125 pages or so. The story revolves arounda writer, who is writing a book on the assination of FBI director . Hoover is upposedly maintaining a file on prominent polititions and famous people on their secret lives and using them as a tool to control them all. Supposed ly, these peple have formed a group to assinate Hoover and expose him. It is a gripping story, keeps you absorbed and kpps you turning the pages almost till about page 300 or so, then it becomes anticlimax with the introduction of so many diverse characters that the reader like me is totally confused and lost interest. If you want to enjoy the book read about 325 pages and call me, I will tell you the ending and save you the torture of reading the last 125 or so pages
140	Viren Goyal	Bourne Identity	Robert Ludlum	Fiction	Mystery	1985	***
No. of Pages=580 This is my second book by this author. I picked this book based on the fame of this title. Imight repeat my description of ID 139.This book started off very good. Page turner, it certainly was. By the time I had finished one fourth the book, I thought of giving it 5 stars, then half way theough, it came down to 4 stars. But when i completed 400 of the .I decided to bring it down to three stars and this is where it stays. My problem is introduction of too many characters in the end. I for one got confused and could not keep track of changing characters. The plot is very good. A bullet filled body floats ashore an island. It is recovered by the locals and then treated by a crazy Doctor on the island. This person has lost his memory, he does not know who he is. He is let go from the island and goes to the main stream life. This is where he falls in love with a beautiful Canadian woman. This woman now tries her best to bring his memory back and so it goes. I am going to read at least one more book by this author because he has successfully written over two doz. books. He must be good.
141	Viren Goyal	White Teeth	Zadie Smith	Fiction	Other	2000	***
No. of Pages=448 Zade is a British auther. This is her first book. She has done a reasonably good jobof depicting the paralal life of a few immigrants, a Jamaical woman,a Bengaladesi married to another muslim woman from Bangaladesh. The jamaican woman is mare married to an Englishman, There is another English couple in the story. A good attempt on depicting the life of immigrants in England. She will improve and mainetain the flow in the story.
142	Viren Goyal	Limitations	Scott Turrow	Fiction	Mystery	2006	**1/2
No. of Pages=197 This is quite "UN TUROW" like book. The book starts with a very good plot. A 15 yer frear old girl gets drunk and passes out. She is raped by four of her friends at the party. Te friends video tape the rape act. The girl does not ralize that she was raped. She sees tape of rape after statue of limitations has expired and the case is filed. A panel of three judges have to write an openion on the case. Now all of a sudden, the auther diverts from the story and concentrates on the life of the chief Jugde and his love for his ailing wife .Then all of a sudden, we see the openion written by the chief judge and the story ends. I did not enjoy the book.
143	Harsh Pande	Romancing with life	Dev Anand	Non-Fiction	Biography	2007	****
No. of Pages=414 I read this book after reading Viren's comments. I also thouroughly enjoyed it and I agree with all of Viren's comments. It reminded me of our early days in Bombay and places like Bandra, Marin Drive... Other things that I liked was that he comments on the political and historical events of his time - like falling of the Berlin Wall, death of Jawaharlal, Indira Gandhi's Emergency rule, 9/11 event in USA etc. etc. So, the movie history is interspered with the world history. I was also impressed by Dev Anand's capability as the story writer and director. Prior to this, my image of him was that he is a handsome and good actor only. The only thing that I missed was that he did not comment much on Waheeda Rahman and the movie Guide. To me that is his best movie. He got romantically involved with many of his leading ladies and I had thought that he may do so with Waheeda also. Now I am reading a book on a similar topic - The Kapoors.
144	Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal	Ladakh	Parvez Dewan	Non-Fiction	Other	2004	****
No. of Pages=588 This book deals with travel, trekking, art, culture, wild life and almost everything about Ladakh including POK. It has got sprinkling of historical facts here and there. Factual details of creation of POK are really amazing. One gets the impression that successive congress governments led by Jawaharlal Nehru were bunch of day dreamers, This day dreaming led to China action in far east of INDIA in sixties. It was a diversionary tactic coinciding with the opening of KKH in POK connecting China with ISLAMABAD. Indian government was not aware of its construction for almost thirteen years before it was made operational. Perhaps similar things are happening allover TIBET right from POK to Arunachal Pradesh and our PM is talking in the same/similar language which Nehru used almost half a century ago with disastrous results. History may not repeat but unfortunately HISTORY does repeat. It was also revealing to note that there is a route from Ladakh to Mansrover but China is not allowing. Can any one tell/inform what congress led UPA govt. is doing about it? I came across a news item attributed to a general about it. A few more related details are being sent via e-mail. Please watch for the same.
145	Viren Goyal	Reversible Errors	Scott Turrow	Fiction	Other	2002	***1/2
No. of Pages=433 After teadin two starred and barely three starred books by famous authors, I was due to read an interesting book. I enjoyed this book. It is little different than Scott Turrow books. It deals with human side of the judges, attornies, ther love life and interactions, while ther is a court case running in parallel. Yes the lawers and judges have personal side of their life wich is not exposed to public.The court arguments and depositions are very interesting. The story is about a person, arrested for quadruple murders, convicted and sentenced to die. later another person admits to the multiple murders . But the statue of limitations has expired. Haggling over leaglities, new discoveries follow in quite interesting way. For what happins in the end, you have to read the book. Nor bad.
146	Viren Goyal	A certain Justice	P.D. james	Fiction	Mystery	1997	****
No. of Pages=364 This is my type of book. After reading average interesting book and reasonably good book, i was due to read an interesting Mystery book which was close to my liking. i certainly enjoyed it. As the book progressed, it became more and more interesting to my taste. The story is about the detectives solving a murder case. While they are in the middle of that there is yet another murder of one of the suspects. After the first murder, quite a number of people are suspects and some are very convincing to the reader, due to their actions and background. As we weave through the jungle,there are two characters introduced. The story of their actions and movements becomes very interesting. One of the characters is murdered victims's own daughter and the other character is her lover. I would like to read some more books by this writer.Books by this author are not available in India so I will have to buy some on my next trip to US. Since I enjoyed the book so much I give it four stars.
147	Viren Goyal	In The president's seceret Serevice	Ronald Kessler	Non-Fiction	Other	2009	***
No. of Pages=250 This is an interesting book on the subject of protecting the presidents. The book reveals may details not known to common man. It also describes the double life some of the Presidents lived. It details JFK's extra marital sexcapades with many women including Marylin Monroe and others when jackie was out of town. He was very horny. LyndonJhonson was the same. he had over 9" weenie, He was fond of being nacked inside the bedroom and also roam out in the white house living quarters nacked. He was addicted to drinking. It tells many juicy details of Nixon, George Senior, George Bush , Ford, Carter, clinton. Carter was the least liked and so was his wife Rosylin. The most like3d was Laura bushamong First ladies. Reagan was the most liked president. The book also describes, how quickly the power spoils you. The author ias all praise for the OBamas.
148	Viren Goyal	Bourne Supremacy	Robert Ludlum	Fiction	Thriller	1987	***
No. of Pages=646 This is my third book by this famous author. In the first two books by him, although interesting in patches was that there were too many characters created which got pretty difficult to keep track of. This book did not give me this proble. There are easily about 110-12 charactors. I was careful too to keep track of most of them.The story revolves around main charactor Jason Bourne and his lovely canadian wife. Jason is David Webb in real life an reasonable person. But turns into international murderer and a nasty fearless man when his wife is kidnapped. The story is quite complicated but interesting. I enjoyed the book. and in my openion it deserves three stars. I want to give Jason Bourne a break of a month or so, then I plan to read the last book in this series.
149	Viren Goyal	An Unsuitable Job For Woman	P.D. James	Fiction	Other	1972	***
No. of Pages=2010 This is a slow moving but interesting novel. The story is about a father hiring a woman private investigator to find the cause of sucide committed by his only son. This woman has no prior experience in investigations. She starts her assignment by meeting many people connected with the son and applying logic to their actions and relationships of the past. She does a super job and keeps the reader interested throughout. Recommended reading
150	Viren Goyal	Innocent Blood	P.D. James	Fiction	Biography	1972	***
No. of Pages=306 Another interesting story by PD james. It is also a slow moving and very interesting story in which father of a slain daughter tracks the murderer for a revenge. He follows her systemetically with maticulas planning and rehearsing his every move. I enjoyed the story, slow moving but interesting throughout.
151	Viren Goyal	The Skull Beneath The Skin	PD James	Fiction	Mystery	1972	***
No. of Pages=337 book by PD James. I found this book in my stock and since i had liked her previous three books, I took a plunge and thoroughly enjoyed it. Cordila a small time private investigator with very little experience in the business is keeping her agency in business by finding lost pets, cats and dogs. Then she gets an assignment to protect a rich man's actress wife who is going to give a stage performance on an island. The assignment turns into deadly murders on the island and our lady detective very cleverly and methodically solves the mystery. in the end it is a cliff hanger as to who did it. Book keeps you absorbed. it is a good book and deserves 3 stars, i may even give it 3-1/2 stars, if you insist. This is an interesting
153	Viren Goyal	Desert Royal	Jean Sasoon	Non-Fiction	Other	1999	**1/2
No. of Pages=303 This book is a biography of a Saudi Arabian princess. It has been written by an English writer to conceal the identity of the princess. The life of all women in the Kingdom is pathatic. All women are considered second class citizens in their own country, including the members of the royal families. Outside the royal family the ordinary people treat them as dirt and consider them their property. I found out a lot about the pathatic condition of women in this oil rich nation. The book keeps you going and is interesting reading. As a book, it is an ordinary one but with a theme which keeps you interested throughout.
154	Viren Goyal	The Dancing Girls of Lahore	Louise Brown	Non-Fiction	Other	2005	***1/2
No. of Pages=290 The auther is english.She spent in Lahore in the red light district for many years to do research for this book.There are many intimate details of these dancing girls controlled by their madams and pimps. In most cases the dancing girls double as prostitutes. There are may details about their private lives that are very revealing and not known to common man. The book is interesting and informative. It also keeps reader's interest going since the reader gets attached to some of the characters in the book.
155	Viren Goyal	Long Lost	Harlen Coben	Fiction	Mystery	2009	**1/2
No. of Pages=352 My bookseller recommended this author to me with a remark that this one writes John grisham type of books. S o I bought one. This is run of the mill suspense thriller. The main character in this book gets a call from his long lost girlfriend from Paris asking for help because she is in trouble as her life is in danger. This friend is a big and strong guy with very rich and billionaire friend, goes to Paris to help. The mystery deepens, strange events and characters pop up to keep the story going. I found this to be just an ordinary book, no comparision to John Grisham. I may try one or two more of his best sellers and then form an openion.
156	Viren Goyal	Ford County Stories	John Grisham	Fiction	Other	2009	***1/2
No. of Pages=344 This long awaited book finlly arrived. I think this is John Grisham'ss first book of short stories. With great anticipation, i read the first story, It was quite UNgrisham like. It was a hilarious comedy. The fourth and the last one is very touching . Two contrasts. The other two stories are good enough to keep you interested.
157	Viren Goyal	Songs Of The Cuckoo Bird	Amulya Malladi	Fiction	Other	2006	***1/2
No. of Pages=384 After reading a few three star books i thought i was due for one good one. I randomely picked this book from a friend's collection and was not disappointed. It could be calle3d an epic. Since it deals with three generations of the families. The story is based on the tales told to the author by her mother and her own experiences in life, not necessarily in an Ashram. The story tells of life in an Ashram. in this ashran, people who have no where else to live are welcome. People so chores and make just enough contributions to make life going.The Ashram is headed by a girl, who her father has made others believe that she has special powers. She is the Guru. The story deals with the life of girls and older people living together. Their weaknesses, needs to have sexual contacts and interaction are very well dealt. A6 year old attracted to a 18 year old and having sex with her is all there. The author has done a good job of explaining the inner feelings of the young and old living in this Ashram. I may read a few mor of the books by the same author . Her other books are Serving Crazy with Curry, The mango Season and A breath Of Fresh Air.
158	Viren Goyal	Tin Fish	Sundeep Chakravarti	Fiction	Other	2005	**1/2
No. of Pages=236 Ths author went to Mayo College in Ajmer Rajasthan.The story revolves on the life of four friends at mayo. Starts from day one when they arrived and how they were treated by seniors until the time some of the friends graduated from this school. The book tells the story of pressure from the parents to become what they want irrespective of what these friends want to become. This affects their frame of mind and hoe each of them copes with it.These youngsters are in their early teens and come of age at the school. As usual, the boys are sex starved and read PONDIES and fantasize anout girls and their body parts. The hide under the bushes and take a peek at the bathrooms where the girls take showers.It is an ordinary book and I could not find the interesting flow of the story expected from such a theme.
159	Viren Goyal	Home	Manju Kapur	Fiction	Other	2006	***
No. of Pages=237 The book by an insian writer dealing with a topic very familiar to me was quite entertaining. This is my first novel by this writer. The book unfolds like a soap opera on the Indian TV these days. The story is set in Karolbaug Delhi with side references to Meerut which is near my home town Muzaffarnagar. It is a story of a joint family This family has a cloth shop in Karolbag. The owner has two sons and daughter. One by one they get married and he has several grand children. The head of the joint family passes away and subsequently the children have grand children. The problems of joint family start. The author has dealt with the problems of the joint family quite well.It is an interesting reading if you are inclined to read such themes
160	Viren Goyal	Morgan's Run	Coleen McCullough	Non-Fiction	Other	2000	****1/2
No. of Pages=600 I did not realize that this is my second book by this very talented writer until I read the credits. Her first book read by me was The Thorn Birds. This story has beens written after extensive research on the transportation of English convicts from England to Far away Australia for resettlement during 1780s. In that era, small crimes like theft carried public floffing and jail of 7 years. little bigger crimes carried death penalty. The convicts are transported in ships where living conditions were horrible and unlivable. Once they reach Australia, the living conditions are hell. Big insects Terrible storms, no food, no supplies for long time make lid miserable. The story deals with slow and painful resettlements, building of houses, town. It is a well written book that keeps you interested till the end. The storms and other scenes are very well created that make you feel you are experiencing the same along with the people in the middle of the story. A nice book.
161	Viren Goyal	The devil Wears Prada	Laureen Weisberger	Fiction	Other	2003	****1/2
No. of Pages=391 This book was apleasant surprise. Looks like the author had Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in mind when she wrote this book.I have seen the trailer of the movie based on this book on the internet and intend to see the full movie on DVD soon. It is a hilarious comedy. It is a story of a little crazy and egoistic boss of a fashion magazine, a celebrity and her assistance who is sane and is trying very hard to put up with her for at least a year, so that she can put working for this celebrity on her resume to move on in professional career.Does she succeed? to find out, you will have to see the movie or read the book. A recommended reading if you like such plots.
162	Viren Goyal	Every Thing Worth Knowing	Laureen Weisberger	Fiction	Other	2005	***
No. of Pages=366 Since I enjoyed her first book Devil Wears Prada, I decided to read her second book. This book turned out to be good but not in the same class as PRADA.A young professional woman has a very demanding job. She quits it and stays home. Then she gets an offer to become party organizer for the high end party planner and PR person. All the clients are rich and famous. During her job, she is linked to a very rich guy and she herself is followed by papparatzies. is she happy? Does she find love? to find out you have to read the book. This is a good book
163	Viren Goyal	Chasing harry Winston	Lauren Weisberger	Fiction	Other	2008	***1/2
No. of Pages=278 A very interesting book. Equally interesting for female3 readers as well as male ones.This book is full of girl talks and details.Things generally discussed among girls. For men folks this is an insight to the things girls talk.It was assumed that only men folks think and talk about sex when good friends meet. No girls talk about it more. They talk about the size and shapes of their partners, theit methods of exchanging body fluids while kissing, toung movements etc. It is by no means a sex oriented book. All thinf flow in a very natural way. It is a story of three very close young girls, all single living in Manhattan. It tells about the game plans to catch their man and get him into bed. THe plan is executed with precision. Some times they have to plat hard to get and some times the they give in little at a time according to the plans. I got a kick with a statement made by one of the girla when asked, did you have sex with him. She said "NO". Tw/three times in and out does not count for sex.
164	Harsh Pande	The Whole Truth	David Baldacci	Fiction	Thriller	2008	***1/2
No. of Pages=530 This book has an interesting theme. In today's computers and Internet dominated world, it is very easy for some persons or agency to manipulate and distort the truth and cause a havoc in the world. In fact, a whole new industry has grown around this - the Perception Management. We see this happening around us all the time. For example, some person posts a so-called blasphemous photo of Prophet Mohammed in You Tube and it causes riots in Muslim countries. Pakistan stops access Facebook and Y-tube..... The plot in the book is like this - Nicholas Creel, the head of the Ares Corporation, a huge defense contractor, hires a perception management firm to start a second cold war by planting fake news stories on the Internet about Russian atrocities. The propaganda campaign soon turns violent with the massacre of the members of a London think tank, the Phoenix Group, apparently by a Russian hit team. Creel hopes that the Phoenix Group's links with the Chinese government will lead to war between Russia and China as well as feed a worldwide arms race that will profit his company. A shadowy operative, A Shaw, whose fiancée perished in the London attack, allies himself with a disgraced female journalist in an effort to thwart Creel's evil plot. While some readers may find it a stretch that a resurgent Russia should so easily overshadow all other world crises, Baldacci in an author's note makes an eloquent case for the very real threat of perception management. It is a fast paced, page turning novel in the typical Baldacci fashion. I am giving it three and half stars (***1/2).
165	Harsh Pande	First Family	David Baldacci	Fiction	Thriller	2009	****
No. of Pages=639 This book has an interesting plot and the cast of characters - the President and the First Lady of the United States! Their niece and nephews had a birthday party at Camp David. One of them is kidnapped. The sister of the First Lady is also killed at her house. Of course, FBI and Secret Service get involved, but the kidnapper is a very smart and ex-Vietnam veteran. He tells the First Lady not to tell anything about the Ransom note to any one. The First Lady knows a private investigator who had helped them in a weak moment. She calls him and his friend to find out. They are also very smart and capable - but they have to fight the politics of the White House and FBI and Secret Service. I won't tell the whole story here. But it is a page turner and very fast moving and highly readable. Another Baldacci classic. A must read for a Baldacci fan.ENJOY
166	Viren Goyal	Ruthless.com	Tom Clancy	Fiction	Thriller	1998	**1/2
No. of Pages=353 This is a thriller. It is a story about a businessman who owns a technology company that makes encyiption software which keeps data exchange between parties secured. This technology is about to be deregulated which would help bad guys and criminals.The owner of the company that makes the software is dead against the deregulation. As expected, the bad guys try to kill the businessman and those helping him. After reading the book, I am at a loos to comprehand as to why the US government wants to deregulate the encryption technology. The book gets to be interesting in patches and keeps it readable. For this reason I give this book just 2-1/2 stars.
167	Harsh Pande	In Harm's Way	Doug Stanton	Non-Fiction	Other	2001	****
No. of Pages=327. THE SINKING OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS AND THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF ITS SURVIVORS. A facinating book about an important true event in World War II - in the war with Japan. If you remember somethings about WWII, you may recall that US declared War on Japan after the attck on Pearl Harbor. USS Indianapolis was a famous battleship in the Pacific War theater. It had many successes against Japanese fleet. This book is about its last voyage to Japan from San Francisco and what happened to it and its crew. The book has two parts. The first part is about its last voyage to Japan. This happened in early 1945. Apparently, it was ordred to proceed to Japan in a hurry - before it was fully ready from the maintenance and hiring and training of its true. The raeson for the "hurry" was that it was taking the atom bomb that was to be dropped over Nagasaki - the captain and senior officers were not privy to this info due to the secret nature of the mission. This voyage was successfula and Indianpolis delivered the bomb package to the specified island in record time. The second part of the book deals with its next voyage and here everything went wrong. It is not a fictional novel so I can state what happened. It was ordered to go to another island to take part in the final assault on Japan. But during this voyage it was sunk by a Japanese sub. The captain was told nothing about the possible dangers of the subs lurking in that lane. In fact, Japanese sub commander could not believe his eyes when he saw this ship in front of his periscope. He tarpedoed it so quickly that USS Indianapolis did not even had a chance to send A SOS message. To add insult to injury, when it failed to arrive at its destination, no one reported it is "overdue". They "assumed" that it may have been diverted to some other island. The key part of the story is that out of approx 1200 crew members, only about 300 survived and how they survied in the shark infested ocean, with no water and food and no one in the US Navy looking for them. They were floating aimlessly for 4-5 days before a US plane happed to see them and then call for help. The tria and court martial of the captain are another sad chapters. The author had done a very good job of researching the story and present it in a very readable form. Ultimately is it about the human courage and endurance. I am giving it four stars.
168	Viren Goyal	Stone Cold	David Baldacci	Fiction	Mystery	2007	***1/2
No. of Pages=388 This thrilling story starts with a beautiful woman conning a nasty casino owner of Atlantic City for 40 million $$. The routhless casino owner goes after searching and killing the con artist woman. A team of her friends who are expert in their own fields , extremely skilled in protecting people get to gather to protect her. two main member of this team have a past unknown to public. one of them is living as a cemetary keeper under a new name. The other work for homeland security Depaeartment as a contractor to root out/checkout corruption and lapses in securiety. In the process of protecting this woman, the had to deal with a corrupt senator and a nasty CIA chief. The chase and protection process gets very interesting and the story ends up getting very interesting as the past of the main charactors starts to unrevel. The books has 2 to 5 pages per chapter. Each episode of the story starts with a new chapter. i liked that very much. This book deserves more than three stars but not four, so I give it 5-1/2 stars.
169	Viren Goyal	First family	David Baldacci	Fiction	Biography	2009	****
No. of Pages=639 This book has an interesting plot and the cast of characters - the President and the First Lady of the United States! Their niece and nephews had a birthday party at Camp David. One of them is kidnapped. The sister of the First Lady is also killed at her house. Of course, FBI and Secret Service get involved, but the kidnapper is a very smart and ex-Vietnam veteran. He tells the First Lady not to tell anything about the Ransom note to any one. The First Lady knows a private investigator who had helped them in a weak moment. She calls him and his friend to find out. They are also very smart and capable - but they have to fight the politics of the White House and FBI and Secret Service. I would like to add the collowing comment as an addendum to Harshu's: 1. I had heard the erm page turner. This book defines what the page turner means. The story moves very fast and keeps you absorbed.I wanted to give this 4.5 stars but had to limit it to only four stars mainly because, the story could have ended in a much different and interesting way. Antics of the first lady towards the end of the book are tame and not believable. The book dags a bit for the last 50 pages or so. Still very enjoyable book to cuddle up with in a hammock by the beach.I can not believe thT i FINISHED THIS BOOK WITHIN 5 DAYS, i FIRST THOUGHT IT WILL TAKE ME A MONTH TO FINISH THIS ALMOST 1-1/2 " THICK BOOK
170	Viren Goyal	Simply Genious	David Baldacci	Fiction	Mystery	2008	****1/2
No. of Pages=320 This is finest page turner that I have read.It has a nice plot with the story set in Varginia. There is a super secret CIS facility on the banks of York river. On the other side of the river there is another research facility where super secret research is being conducted by very skilled genious scientists. One of the scientist is found dead inside CIA compound. It is made to look like a sucide. Then another scientist is found murdered in the research facility. When people start dying a private detective agency starts working on the case. The mystery keeps deepening the murdered sccientis's daughter is kidnapped. The ending is such, you will never guess and very convincing that such things could happen. A great book for Mystery lovers. Since it is not a classic, I could not give it 5 stars but It has to have 4.5 stars.
171	Viren Goyal	The Russia House	John Le Carre	Fiction	Mystery	1988	**1/2
No. of Pages=431 This is amystery story set in England and Russia. At a book fair a very pretty woman hands over a transcript of the work of a Soviet physicist to be taken to England for publication .The transcript is addressed to a publisher whis inturn is drafted to get to the source of the author and spy on him. In the process he falls in love with this beautiful woman who is the massenger between the physicist code named Blue bird and the publisher. The cat and mouse spy game starts now . The book is interesting in patches. To be honest I could not latch on to the book. To my taste there is too much of irrelevance packed in the story. A movie was also made based on this book Starring Sean Connery and beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer . I am sure Michelle must have played the role of the beautiful Katya and Sean must have played Barley Publisher turned spy.
172	Viren Goyal	The Killing Zone	Frederick Downs	Non-Fiction	Other	1978	***
No. of Pages=267 I always wanted to know about the war in Vietnam. This book gave me an honest description of the fighting in the dense jungles of Vietnam. THe auther is a young officer who volunteerd to fight there. It chronicles his one year in Vietnam. It describes how he fought deep inside the dense Vietnamese Jungles with maze dense jungles with mazes of underground tunnels, where the Vietcongs hid and disappeared. It is very honest description of the way the things were. Quite an interesting book by a non professional writer. A real story.
173	Viren Goyal	Absolute Power	David Baldacci	Fiction	Thriller	1986	****1/2
No. of Pages=469 This is the finest page turner that I have read. Once you start the book it is hard to put it down. After reading this book and many others by this gifted writer i have become a fan of Baldacci.He has his hand on the reader's pulse at all time. The story starts with a accomplished burgular hitting a rich person's house when they are supposed to be away in the islands on vacation. To his surprise, the lady of the house return home oll of a sudden. This lady is very beautiful and young married to an aging billionaire man. The burgular hides in a closet. He discovers the closet id huge and has a one way mirror. He can see everything happening inside the bedroom and he can not be seem from the other side. What happens next is something that he can not believe. He sees a brutal sex act and a murder. The man having sex with the lady of the house is a famous person.All the signs of the act and murder are carefully removed with no evidence left. This is just the beginning. What is most interesting in the rest of the book is how the detective starts digging and how he tries to catch the culprits based on minute clues which me and you would not imagine. A gripping story. I would like to give it 4-1/2 stars which is 1/2 star below the 5 stars reserved by me for the classics.
174	Viren Goyal	THE WINNER	David Baldacci	Fiction	Thriller	1996	*****
No. of Pages=516 I did not want this book to end, it was such an interesting story, a page turner. One of the finest written by Bacdacci. THe finishing this book was a downer, because, it is a hard one to follow. The story revolves around a poor country girl enticed into getting involved with a lottery which is fixed. Then she has to be on the run for a murder which she did not commit.The person behind is the one deadly person who fixed the lottery. Now the cat and mouse game starts and there are so may twists and turns, you would not believe. The book keeps the reader's interest going all the time expecting the unexpected. In this catagory, this is the most interesting book that I have read. Although my 5 stars are reserved for classics, but this book being the best in the catagory gets 5 stars, i can not help it.
175	Harsh Pande	Extreme Measures	Vince Flynn	Fiction	Thriller	2008	****1/2
No. of Pages=430 This is my first book by this author. It can be categorized as "Political Thriller". It deals with terrorism, poltics in Washington DC, al-Quaeda, CIA, FBI etc. The theme of this book is that USA has captured two terrorists and they are being held at an Air Force base somewhere in Europe. How to get them to talk? Use torture or not? The recent exposures at Abu Gharib are mentioned. The base commander and his assistant are going by the book (Geneva Convention). But CIA knows that these guys will not talk using the normal measures. Hence the title "Extreme Measures". The book is fast moving and page turner. The heroes are very likable. We get an inside view how the heads of CIA, FBI and some senators work (to serve their self interests rather than nations well being). How the heroes find a third cell and save USA from a major attack is something you have to read yourself. I am giving it 4.5 stars (****1/2) and I am glad that I found a new author. Please see next book by Vince Flynn!
176	Harsh Pande	Transfer of Power	Vince Flynn	Fiction	Thriller	1999	****
No. of Pages=549 I liked Vince Flynn's first book so much that I decided to read one more book by him. THis is also a political thriller. This book was written in 1999 - so it is Pre-9/11. In one sense the plot seemed old since we know more about terrorists now than at that time. But still the book kept my interest throughout. The plot is that a well known Iraqi terrorist gets into the White House as a foreign delegate and meets with the President and with help of his friends takes over the White House and a large number of hostages. Fortunately, President's Secret Service guy whisks him to a tunnel thereby saving his life. How they save the White House, how there is a power grabbing by the Vice President, what demand the terrorist makes etc. are the highlights of the story. I could not put it down near the end. I will give it a four star just because I gave 4.5 to his other book.
177	Indira Pande	The Winner	David Baldacci	Fiction	Thriller	1998	*****
No. of Pages=641 The story of this book is very interesting.A page turner.I could not put the book down.I liked the strong character of LuAnn.I liked thecharacter of Charlie,how he keeps his promise and stands like a big wall between any kind of trouble that comes towards LuAnn and her daughter Lisa. The story keeps you engrossed with its unexpected twists and turns.I had knots in my stomach as the book was coming to an end and things were happening very fast.This is the most interesting book I have ever read.I give this book five star (*****).I enjoyed this book more than The client and First Family.
178	Viren Goyal	Tea Time For The Traditionally Built	Alexander McCall Smith	Fiction	Other	2009	***
No. of Pages=212 This is tenth book that I have read in the series created by this talented writer. Fhe Series is called The #1 Ladies detective agency. The other books that I have read in the series are; The #1 Ladies detective agency, Tears of Giraffe,morality of beautiful girls, The Kalahari Typing School for men,The Full cupboard of life, In the company of Cheerful ladies,Blue Shoes of happiness,The Good Husband at Zebra Drive,The miracle at Speedy motors and this book. All the books except this one were read before the creation of this site, i think. The story is set in Botsawana in Africa. The main characters are Mma Ramotswe, the owner of the detective agency and his very witty secretary Mma Makutsi and mr. JLB matekoni the auto garage owner. Mma Ramotswe is now married to JLB Matekoni. Ramoswe runs the detective agency and she solves mysteries on petty crimes, like cheating husbands, missing persons, match fixing etc. Her solutions are very simple, logical and interesting. Each book solves one or two cases. All three characters are honest to goodness compassionate and genuinely nice people. You can not help but like them. You only wish them well and success. The writing style is very simple and this series makes a very easy reading to be enjoyed during plane travel, trainjourney or by the beach.No tension, nothing complicated, jusy easy going fun mixed with a bit of mystery.

Contributor

Book Title

Author

category1

category2

Year Pub

Rating

Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal

Da Vinci Code

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Fiction

Mystery

2001

****

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Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal

Constant Gardner

John Le carre

Fiction

Mystery

2002

****

Frightening, heartbreaking, and exquisitely calibrated, John le Carré's new novel opens with the gruesome murder of the young and beautiful Tessa Quayle near northern Kenya's Lake Turkana, the birthplace of mankind. Her putative African lover and traveling companion, a doctor with one of the aid agencies, has vanished from the scene of the crime. Tessa's much older husband, Justin, a career diplomat at the British High Commission in Nairobi, sets out on a personal odyssey in pursuit of the killers and their motive. What he might know and what he ultimately learns make him suspect among his own colleagues and a target for the profiteers who killed his wife.

A master chronicler of the deceptions and betrayals of ordinary people caught in political conflict, le Carré portrays, in The Constant Gardener, the dark side of unbridled capitalism. His eighteenth novel is also the profoundly moving story of a man whom tragedy elevates. Justin Quayle, amateur gardener and ineffectual bureaucrat, seemingly oblivious to his wife's cause, discovers his own resources and the extraordinary courage of the woman he barely had time to love. The Constant Gardener is a magnificent exploration of the new world order by one of the most compelling and elegant storytellers of our time. COMMENTS BY VIREN GOYAL I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It deserves 4 stars .

Viren Goyal

The Firm

John Grisham

Fiction

Thriller

1991

****

LA Law meets The Godfather in the most talked about thriller of the year. A Harvard Law graduate joins a wealthy tax firm, only to find out it is owned by the most powerful Mob family in Chicago, and that they're laundering vast sums of money through dummy corporations around the world. And the FBI is pressuring him to become their informant . . . but perhaps there is one way out. Film rights sold to Paramount Pictures.

Viren Goyal

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini

Fiction

General/Friendship

2003

***

The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." So begins The Kite Runner, a poignant tale of two motherless boys growing up in Kabul, a city teetering on the brink of destruction at the dawn of the Soviet invasion. Despite their class differences, Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman, and Hassan, his devoted sidekick and the son of Amir's household servant, play together, cause mischief together, and compete in the annual kite-fighting tournament -- Amir flying the kite, and Hassan running down the kites they fell. But one day, Amir betrays Hassan, and his betrayal grows increasingly devastating as their tale continues. Amir will spend much of his life coming to terms with his initial and subsequent acts of cowardice, and finally seek to make reparations. Hosseini's depiction of the cruelty children suffer at the hands of their "friends" will break your heart. And his descriptions of Afghanistan both before and after the war will haunt readers long after they've read the last page. The Kite Runner is a stunning reminder that the dark hearts of adults are made, step-by-step, by the hatred they learn as children, and that all it takes for evil to triumph is for a good man to stand back and do nothing. Summer 2003 Selection

Viren Goyal

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP

John Irving

Fiction

Other

1976

The story talks about a feminist mother and her son garp. Eveentually they both become writers. The story is narrated by son Garp. The language is quite explecit with four letter words and lovemaking, some unusual way very frequently. It is no pornography by any means. The love seeens etc are closely related to human psychology and emotions. It is absorbing in patches. Some places it is too descriptive. It is 600 pages thick. It would make for intersting reading if you have inclenation to read such books. It is my second book by the first author. The first book was Hotel new hampshire. That was also written on similar lines.

Harsh Pande/Viren goyal

Clear and Present Danger

Tom Clancy

Fiction

Thriller

1996

****

The US ambassador to Columbia has been murdered by drug lords. Enemy covert agents filter into the jungles of South America---and Central America is ready to explode. CIA man Jack Ryan is in the eye of a storm---and for the US the stakes have never been greater. Tom Clancy captured worldwide attention with The Hunt For Red October and Red Storm Rising. He set new standards for storytelling excellence in The Cardinal of the Kremlin. Now he unleashes his most harrowing thriller yet---in a story of international brinkmanship that is as up-to-the minute as today's headlines and as frightening as the truth that lies behind them...

The above was a topoed review. My personal review is as follows
Very exciting plot. Covers some sophisticated technology by Americans on spying, CIA and air attack. Also exposes what is going with drug trafficking in South America. When Ronald Reagon was President of the US, there was a case called Costra Nastra (sp?). A senior government official (Oliver North) was indicted for funnelling oil money to drug fighting in South America. It reminds me of that case somewhat. A page turner novel and an excellent movie also starring Harrison Ford. Comments By Viren Goyal . This is my first book by Tom Clancy. I agree with all that Harshu has written but would like add a few of my own: I loved the book. Yes it is a page turner. The guy is a genous in story telling. My only problem with the book was to keep up with too many characters. For his bext book I will be well prepared. I loved the jungle warfare. I dod not realize how much I liked jungle warfare, till I read this book. Looks like Tom Clancy is an ex army man. He certainly has avery good knowledge of the modous operanda. After reading this book my appreciation for what the CIA and likewise agencies in the world do for their country. These are dedicated peeople. The maintenance of supply lines for the people on the front is no easy task. The logistics are mind boggling. The auther has handled this extremely well and still maintained reader's interest and keep the stoty moving.My next book is going to be The Cardinal of the Kremlin most likely, if available in local stores. my thanks to Harshu for introducing me to this author.

Harsh Pande

The Cardinal of Kremlin

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Fiction

Thriller

1989

****

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Harsh Pande

The Patriot Games

Tom Clancy

Fiction

Thriller

1988

****

Tom Clancy's Patriot Games is filled with the exceptional realism and authenticity that distinguished the author's two previous bestsellers, Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising. Patriot Games puts us on the cutting edge of another type of war — the international battle of terrorism. Years before the defection of a Soviet submarine will send him hurtling into confrontation with the Soviets in Red October, Jack Ryan, historian, ex-marine, and CIA analyst, is vacationing in London when the Ulster Liberation Army makes a terrorist attack on the Prince and Princess of Wales. By instinctively diving forward to break up the attack, he gains both the gratitude of a nation and the hatred of its most dangerous men. Jack Ryan must summon all of the skills and knowledge at his command to battle back against his nemesis. Patriot Games is a major new film from Paramount starring Harrison Ford.

Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal

The World is Flat

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Non-Fiction

Business

2005

*****

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Viren Goyal

My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Pocult

Fiction

Other

2005

****

This is a book about a family with Father, mother, son and two daughters. The older daughter is sick with Lukemia. The youngest daughter now 13 years old was genetically designed and born to be a doner of bone marrow to keep her sick sister alive. She does not want to do it any more and hires an attorney. The book gives in depth emotions psychology and point of views from the perspective of sister, daughter, brother, father, mother and the attorney along with the court appointed guardian who also happens to be attorney's lover. Jody Pocult , the writer is a Princeton and Harward graduate and has already written a dozen novels. This book was highly recommended by my daughter and Now I know Why. This is a 423 page book.

Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal

The Alchemist

Paul Coehlo

Fiction

Other

1992

****1/2

This inspirational fable by Brazilian author and translator Coelho has been a runaway bestseller throughout Latin America and seems poised to achieve the same prominence here (USA). It is already well known and available in India. The charming tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, who dreams of seeing the world, is compelling in its own right, but gains resonance through the many lessons Santiago learns during his adventures. He journeys from Spain to Morocco in search of worldly success, and eventually to Egypt, where a fateful encounter with an alchemist brings him at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment. The story has the comic charm, dramatic tension and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, but it's full of specific wisdom as well, about becoming self-empowered, overcoming depression, and believing in dreams. The cumulative effect is like hearing a wonderful bedtime story from an inspirational psychiatrist. Comparisons to The Little Prince are appropriate; this is a sweetly exotic tale for young and old alike. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." COMMENTS BY VIREN GOYAL I read this book with great expectations. It was interesting but not to a point that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is well written, perhaps I could not relate to all the things said in the book by the author. For those who can realte to the subject of the book, will perhaps thoroughly enjoy it.

Harsh Pande

Random Walk Down Wall Street

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Non-Fiction

Business

2007

****

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Viren Goyal

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Kim Edwards

Fiction

Other

2006

*****

This is a real hard to put down book. It is a story of twins born to a young couple. The husband is a doctor and he delivers the twins himself heavy snowstorm does not allow them to go to the hospital. The first child is normal healthy boy and the second child is a girl, which is immediately recognized having down syndrome. Father the doctor makes instant decision to send away the girl with the nuse assisting him to an institution. But the Nurse takes the child to a distant town and raises as her own. The book deals with the seperate lives of the twins. The language is captivating and flows as a cascading river. One is lost reding this book. For this reason I give this book 5 stars. I am surprised, no one has picked on the theme to make a movie. I think it is a matter of time.
This was another book recommended by our daughter Priya Cratsley.

Harsh Pande

Time to Kill, A

John Grisham

Fiction

Thriller

2004

****

This addictive tale of a young lawyer defending a black Vietnam war hero who kills the white druggies who raped his child in tiny Clanton, Mississippi, is John Grisham's first novel, and his favorite of his first six. He polished it for three years and every detail shines like pebbles at the bottom of a swift, sunlit stream. Grisham is a born legal storyteller and his dialogue is pitch perfect. A page turner.

Harsh Pande/Viren Goyal

To Kill a Mocking Bird

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Fiction

Other

1960

****

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Viren Goyal

Shantaram

Gregory Roberts

Fiction

Other

2004

****

This book was written by a convict who who escaped an Australian prison and settled down in Bombay. In Bombay he lived in a slum, ran a free clinic for the poor and joined Bombay mafia, worked as counterfeiter, smuggler and arms carrier to the freedom fighters in Afghanistan. The book takes you to deep insight into Bombay slum life, into mafia operations and their mode of operation. This author a covict returned to Australia to complete his sentense and now lives in Bombay and is a full time writer.The book keeps your interest right from the beginning till the end.

Viren Goyal

Selam Falls

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Fiction

Other

2001

****

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Viren Goyal

Veil Of Roses

Laura Fitzgerald

Fiction

Other

2007

***1/2

This is perhaps the first book by this Iranian young woman. She has done a good job of writing this novel. The language is simple. The story flows nicely and keeps reader’s interest throughout and till the end. The theme is cross cultural like in Namesake., but the story is quite different. This story relates to the experiences of a 27 year woman visiting her sister from Iran on a 3 months visitors visa. In three months she must get married to a green card holder to be able to stay beyond 3 months. This is what her sister living in Tucson AZ and her parents living in Tehran want. The book takes you through what life in Iran is compared to the freedom The United States. The women are oppressed to the limit in Iran. At places the book is funny while keeping one interested in finishing the book. The book also gives insight to the oppression of women in Iran. It is a3000 page book and I give it ***½ stars. Take this book on a train ride or plane ride and you will finish it by the time you are back. My daughter who is an avid reader, just finished this book and said she could not put it down and recommended **** for this book.

Viren Goyal

Ninteen minutes

Jodi Picoult

Fiction

Other

2007

***1/2

Jodi Has weitten another fine novel.In her honestand straightforward writing style. She has created a novel set in a small town in New Hampshire. This peaceful and sleepy town is transformed into a turmoil within 19 minutes one summer afternoon. There is a shooting in school by a student which has left 10 people dead and 9 people wounded. In the aftermath of this shocking act of violance, the residents seek justice to start the healing process. A judge, her teenage daughter, a midwide, her teenage son and a detective are at the centerstage. The novel deals with psychology of the shooter and the past of the teenage shooter who was bullied by his peers right from the kindergarten because he was small and different from others. There is excellent psychoanalysis in the novel and the auther keeps the interest going. I enjoyed this novel. There is excellent courtroom drama as well which has become synonimous with the author Jodi Picoult.

Viren Goyal

The Space Between Us

Thrity Umrigar

Fiction

Other

2006

**1/2

This story is set in Bombay India. The story is about a middle classparsi family and their domestic help. The parsi lady Sara has a married daughter . She lives with her husband in her mother's house. Then there is domestic help Bhima, an old lady who lives in Slums of Colaba Bombay. Bhima lives with her grand daughter Maya. The parsi Lady is very kind to Bhima and bhima in return gives her best to the family. The book deals between the two extremes of living conditions, the emotional interaction between the two families. it als deals with miserable past of Sara in a joint family system.The book devotes eaual time to the fond memories of the poor Bhima and courtship of her husband. The space between us tells the teader the space and the hangups that are so common between the rich and poor. The book is reasonably well written to keep some interest going. it also gives the reader some insight into parsi family customs and living styles. For this reason i give this book **1/2 stars

Viren Goyal

Million Pieces, A

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Fiction

Biography

2003

***

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Harsh Pande

Flags of our Fathers

James Bradley

Non-Fiction

Biography

2000

****

Note: Rating is TBD. I just saw the movie based on this book. The movie, directed by Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood, was very gripping. So, I decided to read the book.

The subject deals with the World War II, Japan and Iwo Jima – the story behind US capturing the island of Iwo Jima and about the life of six US soldiers who became famous due to raising a flag on the island.

I am reading it now and will update this description after finishing it.

Viren Goyal

Ciy of Djinns

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Non-Fiction

Other

1993

***

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Viren Goyal

Suitable Boy, A

Vikram Seth

Fiction

Romance

1994

***1/2

This is by far the thickest book that I have ever read. This book is contained in 1474 pages. The very fact that I read it till page 1474 tells me the book keeps you absorbed and interested. It is a love story of a differnet kind set in the early 50s soon after India became independent of British empire. It is a tale of four families. The Mehras, The Kapoors, The Chatterjis and The Khans. There are many characters in the story and with lot of interaction among the families. In a novel of this magnitude (1474 pages) it could have become difficult to keep track of who is who and how are these people interlinked etc. To avoid this confusion, the author has done a very smart thing, In the beginning of the book it self, he has made family chart of all the four families . I had fun referring back and forth to the chart. To make things easy, I made a copy of the family charts and kept it handy for reference. I used the family chart as a book mark. An interesting book to read. I give it ***1/2 stars.

Viren Goyal

LIFE OF PI

Yann Martel

Fiction

Other

2001

**1/2

No of pages=319 This is a funny book. If you get hooked to it, which happens when you are about 1/4 way from the begining, you certainly want to know what happened to the tiger. You will admire the imagination of the auther, describing interaction between a human being and a tiger adrift in a life boat in the pacific ocean. The book is full of some disgusting detains of will for survival, by the same token, what one will not do if there is a will to survive. From that point of view this is very unusual book. The main human charactar in this book is a teenage boy of Indian origin, born and brought up in Pondechery India.The book critics say that this book reminds them of the famous book " old man and the sea", which I have not read. If it means anything this book is winner of Man Booker Prize for the year 2002

Viren Goyal

Funny in Farsi

Ferooozah Dumas

Non-Fiction

Biography

2002

***

No. of Pages=198 This is a very funny book. It is not a typical biography per se. The book has been written in first person by an Iranian musil girl who came to live in Southern California when she was a 7 year old kid. She talks about her growing up in a large family in Iran and about her beloved father who got his graduate degree in engineering from US. Author's father takes center stage in this book. He is a funny guy with fixex ideas. He drives some people including large family of iranian relatives crazy. I enjoyed reading this book and could relate to the theme very well, having been an immigrant to USat one time myself. You will also learn a bit about iranian culture if you decide to read this book. Take this book on a plane from New York to Delhi and you will not have to worry about when the pale is going to land. it is a light hearted simple and funny book.

Viren Goyal

The Twentieth Wife

Indu Sundraresan

Fiction

Romance

2002

****

No. of Pages=397 Unfortunately,I never enjoyed reading history books. I am very poor in remembering the mames, dates etc. When a friend recommended this book and gave it to me as a gift, I reluctantly started to read it. and have just put it down late last night. This is the way the books based on history should be written for people like me. The auther has written it as a love story. I now know. Salim was Akbar's son who later came to be known as Emperor Jahangir. This book is a love story of Meherunisha anf Salim. Meherunisha came to be known as Noor Jahan. I now also now know The descendency of moghul empire started from Babur to Humayun to Akbar to Jahangir to Shah Jahan. Shah jahan married Mumtaz Mahal. Along with this the rest is history. Akbar's era was 1600 AD. The book is titled The 20th wife perhaps because Noorjahan was Jahangir's 20th wife. There is a sequal to this book called The veil of Roses. It may take another 30 days for me to review the sequal which I have started to read. Very interesting reading. After I am finished reading The "veil of roses" it is quite possible, I may raise the rating from ***1/2 stars to ****.

Viren Goyal

The Feast of roses

Indu Sundaresan

Fiction

Biography

2003

****

No. of Pages=381 This bookk is a sequal to Indu's first book "The Twentieth Wife." The first book is about a love story of Noor jehan and jahangir.The story continues with Noorjahan becoming Padshah Queen ( Chief Queen). The book beautifully describes power struggle between the ladies of Zenana and Noorjahan's love spell over Jahangir. The auther had full freedum to cook up any astry within the co-ordinates of the history. She very skillfully has stayed away from making the story melodramatic. Still keeps the reader's interest in the story. The love story of Jahangir and Noorjahan is so powerful, it is becoming very difficult for me to beleive that any man could love a woman so much. it will take me some time to believe that Sjah Jahan loved mumtaz mahal so much that he created a beautiful monument in her homor called" Taj Mahal" I need to read the love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz mahal. I was so engrossed in the book that I felt sad when Jahangir and Noor Hahan Died. A beautiful book. I wish The auther write a sequal on Shah Jahan's life. I give this book along with The original The twentieth Wife ****.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

The E-business(R)Evolution

Daniel Amor

Non-Fiction

Other

1999

*****

No. of Pages=641
I finished reading this book on 21-08-2007.
This is one of many HP professional books.It is a hand book for entrepreneur /executive making e-business plans.The nuances of e-commerces/e-business are beautifully explained with extensive input of available techniques/technologies.The book is almost eight years old.The technologies which were under development stage then might have been commercially employed now.Some might have won the race,some might be still in the race,some might have become part of history like AMIGA.The terminology really fascinated me.JAVA of SUN is also coffee.HP named some similar item as CHAI.Equivalent from IBM is INFERNO and Microsoft product is Plug and Play.The book makes a fascinating and absorbing reading.
To remain updated one can visit www.ebusinessrevolution.com
P.S-any mistakes in above are mine due to lack of understanding of the subject.What is happening to "JINI"?
-I learnt about embedded text in the photographs
-e-mail is most insecure kind of communication
-It made me wonder how many techniques/technologies our WEBMASTER is using to make TOPOGROUP site so interactive/ fascinating?

Viren Goyal

The Maharajas Of India

Ann Morrow

Non-Fiction

Other

1998

No. of Pages=284 Plus 20 pages of black and white pictures I started to read this book with great expectations, may be this is one of the reasons I barely finished reading this book. Then I thought , if I should include this book in our Reading section because I have given it only **. Then I thought, including this book would act as an inventory of the books that I have read. If the Webmaster differs, I will refrain from including ** books from this site. by the same token, some one other than me may be greatly interested in reading about the maharajas. This book has lot of information about the luxurious and extravagent life styles of the maharajas. It has quite revealing information about 6 plus foot tall playboy Maharaja of patiala. He bragged about having a new woman every night when he was young and felt sorry for himself when he could handle only one woman a week after he turned 60. It also describes the consumation of a 300 pound maharaja by using a clanted bed to position his wife(to avoid death by crushing under his immense weight. The bed was designed after elephants were observed in act of having sex. It was funny. Another funny example is of a very young maharani who was a vergin on her wedding night. The maharaja could not consumate marrige (could not have sex because each time the maharaja tried, it pained so much that the maharani screamed and the whole palace could hear it. The maharani cried for five nights during the attempts by the maharaja. On the 6th day the screams stopped and the whole palace know that the marriage has been consumated. There are may stories of different maharajas and their ideosyncries. For example Nizam of hyserabad , one of the richest prince in his time was so frugal that he walked with the support a broken kept together by tying a rope.

Viren Goyal

Splendor Of Silence

Indu Sundaresan

Fiction

Other

2007

****

No. of Pages=399 Another gem from Indu Sundaresan. She has become my favourite writer and i have bexome fer fan. I love her writing style. Just finished this book last evening padr midnight. Without giving away the end, I was so immersed in the last quarter of the book that I lost all track of time. To enjoy the last quarter of the book you have to read the first three quarters, which are equally absorbing and rivitting. Thit theme of the book is a love story of a price to the daughter of an IAS officer, set in the deserts of Rajasthan. Then comes a wounded American soldier, in search of his missing brother. The American falls in love with the young daughter of the IAS officer. The love story is beautifully described. The locations and the situations are so beautifully described that you feel, you are actually there. I am a lover of trains,and enjoyed auther's description of a train passing through the desert with cliti clack sound and then whistling on and off. She has added some humor to the story. For example, the IAS officer likes his tea nice freah and boiling hot. After a few sips the tea becomes too cold for his pallet. He orders tea to be warmed again and again. The staff got a solution and served his tea on a burning stove set nest to him, where he could rest it to stay warm between sips. I like my tea the same way, and thoroughly enjoyed the description.Indu the writer was born and brought up in India and then migrated to Seattle in USA. She still seemms to understand the indian customs and even the curse words. Being an Indian I can relate to the description of events and custome. I thorougly enjoyed the book. It is not a classic but an interesting reading. I can not help but have to give it **** Rating.

Viren Goyal

Thousand Splendid sun

Khalid Hosseini

Fiction

Other

2007

***1/2

No. of Pages=372 Base on author's first book which was very good and a best seller, I bought his second book which is reviewed here. I did not know what to expect.Khalid Hussaini has not disappointed. As his earlier book the story is also set in Afganistan. It deals about the life of average Afgan women living under suppressed society. It starts with Russiob occupation then to mujahidin cntrol and finally life under Taliban. I came to nknow about the crual and ruthless rule of the Taliban. A funny excmple about the mindless fanatism, A painter painted a crane and showed the bird with beautiful long legs. The taliban compliance petrol termed the painting obscene and made the painter paint trousers on the painting of the crane. It is a touching story of two women, who by fate become rivals and then turn into each other's best friends and well wishers. Yogether they fight the system. It is a story about secrfice and love written in auther's beautiful writing style. it keeps you interested in the story and keeps you absorved. It is a touching story. A well written and interesting book.

Viren Goyal

Royal Duty, A

Paul Burrell

Fiction

Biography

2003

**1/2

No. of Pages=427 I bought this book to learn about the life the Royalty and in the process learn some spicy and juicy details of Lady Di's love life. On the first account the book did not disappoint me. But on the second account about spicy and jucy stuff I found just the opposite. The auther who was the footman of the Queen for 10 years and later served as butler to princess Diana had access to all her intimate details and was her most trusted friend. The auther has apparantly has given factual account of princess's trahic and lonely life. He has refused to sling mud and give out intimate details of her tragic life. He has described a kind hearted human being that Di was. I enjoyed reading this book. The way it has been written, it is appears honest and very believable. For this reason alone I give this book two and a half stars.

Viren Goyal/Harsh Pande

Playing For Pizza

John Grisham

Fiction

Other

2007

***1/2

Comments by Viren Goyal
No. of Pages=262
This is not a typical Grisham book. It is his off beat book with unusual theme. It is auther's second attempt after the his success with Skipping Christmas. That one was hilarious. It was made into a movie later. This book deals with a theme of a unsuccessful and humiliated US football player who moves to Italy to play American football. There are quite a touch of comedy. But to appreciate humor, one ought to understand the basic rules of American football. Apparantly this humorous book has been written for people who understand the game in general. interesting reading.I think some one will buy the movie making rights for this book one day.I enjoyed the book. Recommended reading if you know a bit about American football. This is a *** rating in my view.

Comments by Harsh Pande
It was a very enjoyable book to read, especially at this time (Sep-Oct). I read this book while I was away from USA and in India. This is the time in USA when the US Football season is in full swing. Since I cannot see a US Football game on TV in India, reading a book about it provided me a good outlet to enjoy that sport.

In addition to the football, the book is about Italy, its food, wine, its operas, its people as well as romance. Reading the book makes you want to take a trip to Italy.

I want to give it four stars (****). Since Viren has given it three stars, we will rate the book as ***1/2.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Two Sisters

Rabindranath Tagore

Fiction

Other

1945

*****

No. of Pages=103
Women are of two kinds,the mother-kind and the beloved-kind.
The one is like the rainy season,which tempers the heat,brings the gift of water and of fruit and fills the life of man with plenty.
The other is the Spring which rocks his blood into waves of ecstasy and makes his heart sing.
Man draws strength from the mother in woman and inspiration from the sweetheart in her.He needs one and desires the other.
Where the two do not meet in the same person, his heart is torn into two and he is faced with a problem to which society offers no solution.
'Two Sisters' is a study of this eternal conflict.

Viren Goyal

Eat Pray Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

Non-Fiction

Biography

2006

***1/2

No. of Pages=314 This is a beautifully written entertaining and meaningful biography. I have classified it as non Fiction only because it is brutally honest experience of a 35 years old tall and beautigul Ametican woman. The author had everything in the world going for her. She was asuccessful editor of GQ magazine, a husband and good life living in NYC. She left everything in search of what she really wanted to do in life. This book could be a three in one. First section is about the Italian culture, italian food and the works. The second part is about finding God in India. meditation in the caves of India. Lot of learning about God and sprituality. The last and the best and entertaining section is living in Indonesia ( according to my way of looking). The last part is very funny and enlightening. If I had to rate this book on Indonesian part only, I would give this book 4/ stars. Very nice book highly recommended. The only reason I did not give this book 4 or 4-1/2 stars is tht Indian portion is rather slow and too high on sprituality for my taste. People like Harshu and VK may find it fascinationg. This book was recommended to me by our daughter Priya, who is an avid reader. I just finished this book and am still relishing the Indonesion portion of the book. Italian portion is interesting too.

Viren Goyal

The Odessa File

Frederick Forsyth

Fiction

Thriller

1972

****1/2

No. of Pages=422 I am sure most of myfriends have read this thriller already. The book probably was firar published in 1972. being relatively new to book reading, it is my turn to share my thoughts about this book. The book is athriller. It keeps you guessing as to what happens next. It keeps the interest going.The book kept me up much par my bed time every day and I finished this book in less than a week. I could not put the book down. The plot in the book revolves around a German newspaper reporter who gets hold of a diary of a Jew who was in concentration camp and kep a diary about the atrocities of the torture chief's activities. This person's sole purpose of writing this diary was to use it as an evidence to bring the person responsible to trial and find justice. The diary has been written by the author in such a way, it is very believable( based on facts) andhard to imagine as a work of fiction. The mission of the reporter puts him in touch with Nazi hunters in Israel and in direct confrentation with ODesa( a secret organization formed to protect the former SS peoples). The auspense is killing which keeps you going. I loved the writing style of this author. I have to give this book 4-1/2 stars out of five. His four additional books are on my list of books to read. I can hardly wait to read The Day Of The Jackal by the same author.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Reminiscences

Rabindranath Tagore

Non-Fiction

Biography

1983

*****

No. of Pages=272
Originally published in Bengali in 1912,Tagore's Jivan Smriti, an account of the first twenty-seven years of his life,came out in English in 1917.
Starting with an account of his spartan upbringing in a large joint family under the strict discipline of family retainers,Tagore continues the story with his early education,his first real acquaintance with his ascetic father on a trip to the Himalayas, his apprenticeship in poetry, music and theatre under the tutelage of his remarkable cousin,Jyotirindranath Tagore,his first visit to England,and the composition of his earliest works.
The book ends with an important death,that of Jyotrindranath's wife,a death which deeply affected Tagore's poetic personality.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

The Runaway and Other Stories

Rabindranath Tagore

Fiction

Other

1992

*****

No. of Pages=211
Rabindranath Tagore wrote short stories at every stage of his life.
His first story was published when he was sixteen.
And his last few stories were written a few months before his death.
His short stories place him securely among the great masters of the art in the world.
They exhibit all the characteristics of his genius
his vivid imagination
coupled with a penetrating insight into reality
his wide humanity
his intolerance of wrong and injustice
his matchless constructive ability.
P.S--The great story writers that come to my mind while I am writing this are Anton Chekhov,Guy de Maupassant,W.Somerset Maugham,Arthur Conan Doyle,Edgar Allan Poe to name a few.

Harsh

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Fiction

Biography

1999

No. of Pages=12. This is only a test of data entry

Harsh Pande

Five People You'll Meet in Heaven

Mitch Albom

Fiction

Biography

2004

****

No. of Pages=??
This book is completely different than all of the books in our list so far. This is a very small book - in size and in number of pages. There is a story. But the best part is that the story and the theme makes you think about your whole life.

The story is about Eddie who works at a theme park. One day, due to an accident in one of the rides that he is controlling, he dies. He goes to heaven and meets five people one after other. Each one is from his past life and they are there to teach him a lesson and explain to him about his life - why certain event occurred and what it really meant. "One by one, these mostly unexpected characters remind him that we all live in a vast web of interconnection with other lives; that all our stories overlap; that acts of sacrifice seemingly small or fruitless do affect others; and that loyalty and love matter to a degree we can never fathom. Simply told, sentimental and profoundly true, this is a contemporary American fable that will be cherished by a vast readership. Bringing into the spotlight the anonymous Eddies of the world, the men and women who get lost in our cultural obsession with fame and fortune, this slim tale, like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, reminds us of what really matters here on earth, of what our lives are given to us for."

When I first read the book, I did not get much out of it. Then I visited India (2005) and met one of my young nieces in Gurgaon. I was surprised that she had read almost all of the books that I had read recently. We discussed this book and I asked her what was special about it. She said, "Mamaji, the heaven is not somewhere else, it is right here on this earth. The Five people the author is talking about are the people you have met right here.....".

After returning to USA, I read this book again and then I got it! I made a list of people that had a major impact on my life - from childhood to now. It was really an eye opening revelation.

One of the person in that list was the person who inspired me to read fine English books. You guys are right about who it is. But let us keep it that way. A second person I met in USA inspired me to watch classic movies. So, I was able to see the movies based on the great books that I had previously read and enjoy them once again like "Rebecca", "Wuthering Heights", "Gone with the Wind"....

Mitch Albom's first book was "Tuesday's with Morrie". It was very successful book and a very good movie starring Jack Lemon.

We are in the age group when we can learn something for both books. I give it four stars (****)

Viren Goyal

The Day of the jackal

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Fiction

Thriller

1970

****

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Viren Goyal

The second Lady

Irving Wallace

Fiction

Mystery

1985

****

No. of Pages= 384 This book was perhaps writte more than 20 years ago. I do not know the exact timing, because the copy read by me was a loaner and had first few pages missing and the rest were also in a bad shape.In any event. This is a very enjoyable book to read. I would call it a Massala book. It has love, romance, mystry, thrills, explicit sex scenes , you name it and it has it.The story revolved around a russian agent installed in the whitehouse. This lady has a complete resemblance to the real First lady.She is an exact duplicate in the most secret detail.This Russian agent enjoys the spotlight with the president and is after some secrets which could tilt balance of power in favor of the Russians. The plot is very interesting, you neave know, what comes next. It is not a classic but one of the hard to put down book and keep you guessing until then, this keeps you going. Recommended for light reading and entertainment.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Galileo's Daughter

Dava Sobel

Non-Fiction

Other

2000

*****

No. of Pages=429
It is rich and unforgettable story.
It is a moving account of the relationship between the great Italian scientist and Virginia ,his illegitimate daughter.
It is drama of Science,Faith and Love.
It is an account of the tension between belief and scientific conviction at the origin of modern science.

Viren Goyal

The guest Of Honor

Irwing Wallace

Fiction

Thriller

1990

***

No. of Pages=350 This is an interesting book. My second book by the same author. It is about a high level romance between the president of United States and the president of a small Pacific Island. The the beautiful and young president has inharited the presidency after the murder of her husband as per the tradetions of the Island. The book goes into details the secret service protection of the US president and how he maintains contact with his lady love young and beautiful President of the pacific island. The President making unscheduled visits to the island and finding and trying to justify excuses to go to the island is hard to belive in real world. But this is what the fiction is all about. Theauthor has succeeded in keeping the interest of the reader going. There are some explicit sex scenes in the book. Because the book is interesting I give it 3 stars.

Viren Goyal

The Deceiver

Federick Forsyth

Fiction

Mystery

1980

***

No. of Pages=416 This interesting book essentially three small books in one. The centeral character in all three stories is Sam McCready of British Secret service. He is being considered for the appointment of Chief of a new department being created .The new Department is called the "THE DECEIVER" . To consider San McCreadd's qualifications for the job the committee is reviewing three of his past assignments. The three assignments are completely independent of each other. One is set in Russia, the other in Lybia and the third is in Caribbian. Each story is absorbing and interesting in typical Forsyth intersting style. My only problem with Forseyth books is that he introduces too may characters, some of the characters could he have done without. If it were not for this problem, I would have given this book one extra star. For now Feddy boy will have to do with three stars.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Brief History Of Time

Stephen Hawking

Non-Fiction

Other

1998

*****

No. of Pages=211
This is a book for the layman for an insight into past, present and future of universe.
Inter-alia
It touches issues like
Was thera beginning of time?
Could time run backwards?
Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries?
It is all about cosmos from Newton to Einstein and secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time.
Makes an enjoyable and thought provoking reading.

Viren Goyal

Atlas Shrugged

AYN Rand

Fiction

Other

1957

****

No. of Pages=1070 This book was recommended to me by me brother, who liked this book so much that he read it twice. But, I could not put the courage to tackle this as a project, since this book is in small print and is 1070 pages thick. Finally, I got started with it and enjoyed it. This book is quite different than the mystery and suspense themed books that I had been reading during the past few months. This is a story of barons. One family is in the railroad business The Taggard family. The second character is in the steel manufacturing business. His company is called Reardon Steel. The third person is in copper mining business and he is from Argentina. His company is called Francisco d’Anconio Copper. There is a radical too in this plot his name is John Galt. He is there to change the world and is the centerpiece of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of selfishness. There is lot of interaction between the characters. The plot thickens and the book gets very interesting when Dagny Taggard Vice president of operation of Taggard Transcontinental railroad enters the scene. She is quite a dynamic and lightening rod character created by the author. I am sure most of you have already read this book, which was written 50 years back. I give this book **** stars. It could have been 4-1/2 stars but I thought John Galt’s speech was way too long winded.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Fathers and Sons

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Fiction

Other

1988

****

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Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Mother

Maxim Gorky

Fiction

Other

1987

****

No. of Pages=405
Motherwas first published in Russia in1907.
The author roamed around Russia extensively.
He was overwhelmed by the vastness of his native land.
At the same time he was appalled by the ignorance,poverty,needless suffering of his countrymen.
The book shows social awareness of the author like in all his works.
The book makes an easy absorbing reading.
Representatives of working class are the various characters in the novel.
The plot of the novel is based on true events:May Day demonstration of workers in Sormovo in 1902.
The events,however, have been refashioned and heroes recreated and thrown into new and dramatic circumstances by the author.

Viren Goyal

Leap of Faith

Danielle Stlle

Fiction

Other

2002

**1/2

No. of Pages=241 I got this book from a friend (Arun Behl)in the assortment of books that he was trying to get rid off. I had seen this autho's books in the book stalls before and decided to check it out. I observed that this author has written about 60 books already. It gave an impression that it is like a book factory. Now back to the book. It is a simple story of a girl who leads a good life in a chateau in France with her french mother and American father. All of a sudden everything changes when her parents die in a tragic road accident. The girl is shipped to IOWA to a wicked aunt where the has a miserable time. The story developes and keeps one interested in what next. It is book for reading on a plane ride or a train journey. Nothing special I give this book two stars and an additional 1/2 star for keeping me interested enough to finish the book

Viren Goyal

Fine Balance, A

Rohinton Mistry

Fiction

Biography

1975

****

No. of Pages=601 This book was recommended by my sister. I am thankful to her forher suggestion.This is a very interesting story of life of the poor and struggling people in India. It is a very honest description of people living in the slums. The story revolves around two people who belong to a low cast( cobblers). The cast system was very prevelant in India in mid 40s. The story is set when India had just become independant. The cobblers decided to change the tradition and also to make both ends meet to become Tailors. The turn of events takes them to a very kind and independent minded Parsi lady. THe rest of the story revolves on a 'Perfect Balance' as the name of the book implies between This lady, two of these poor Tailors and a young and aspiring city boy who is a paying gust with this Parsi lady. I mas moved by the honest description of the lives of these people. Being born and brought up in India, I could relate to the lives of these people. At times it is vey touching. Rohatom Mitry has done an excellent job. I enjoyed the book. He gets four stars from me. It is a recommended reading and you keep wondering " How will this end" No peaking on the last chapter.

Viren Goyal

The Rain Maker

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Fiction

Thriller

1996

****1/2

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Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fiction

Other

1985

****

No. of Pages=575
The novel was conceived by the author during his exile in Siberia.
It is about a storm raging with in a soul crushed by the society of his time.
A tragic time,when money,violence and cynicism turned people into a means of achieving a soulless and meaningless aim:profits to win power,and power for sake of profits.
The book is a thought stimulant and help people discover new truths about themselves.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Childhood,Adolescence,Youth

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Fiction

Other

1988

****

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Viren Goyal

Schindler's List

Thomas Kennally

Non-Fiction

Other

1993

***1/2

No. of Pages=397 This is a good book which describes the attrocities of Naziez,in concentration camps, the role played by German industrialist Schindler in helping and protecting Jews during the Hitler Era. THe book is based on intensive research done by the author and interviews with thousands of survivors and some of the people who wer part of the concentration camps. It is agripping tale of those unfortunate event. I enjoyed the book in parts because there are too many charactors in 3/4 of the book and it becomes difficult for me ( at least ) tho keep track of charactors. A movie based on this book was a big hit. I have seen the movie and if I see it again, i will probably enjoy it more. I give this book three and a 1/2 stars.I could have been a 5 star book but for too many charactors which are hard to keep track of.

Viren Goyal

Hitler,Appeasement and the road to War

Grahm Darby

Non-Fiction

Other

1999

****1/2

No. of Pages=139 This tint book is full of very useful information for a person who is not used to reading History books. I used to have many questions about the second world war. It starts with the background of ist world war followed by the great depression. The effect of the depresson on various countries of the world. Rise of Hitler in Germany. Hitler's various alliances with Musolini to dominate Europe. Hitler's alliance of convenience with Russia. Interaction between various European countries. All this leading up to second worls war. Surprising ly there is very little mention of US involvement. This book is written as a Text book. In the begining of each chapter, the author tells you abou what you are about to learn. If I were the commissioner of Education , I would make this book as mendatory reading before graduating from school. A Very Nice book.

Viren Goyal

The Dogs Of War

Fredrick Forsyth

Fiction

Thriller

1974

***1/2

No. of Pages=438 Having read three of Forsyth books, the selectionof picking a book to read in Bhopal was easy. I have just finished this interesting book written in typical Forsyth style. He is a stickler for details. This book is no exception.The story deals with a discovery of Platinum in remote God forsaken tiny country on the west coast of Africa. A british firm wants to make sure no one gets to know about the vast seposits of platinum in the African country " Zangaro" . To achieve this objective the british company plans to topple the government and insta,, a puppet president as head of the republic, who would grant this british company exclusive rights to mine the precious metal. To achive this objective the company hires mercenaries to storm the country, kill the sitting presedent et. The book deals with maticulas planning of the invasion to topple the government. The book keeps the reader interested and involved in the planning. For this reason alone, I give this book three and a half stars.

Viren Goyal

The Runaway Jury

John Grisham

Fiction

Thriller

1975

***1/2

No. of Pages= 450 This book has been written in classic Grisham style.The book deals with the jury system in the US and how the big law firms can manipulate the jury by influencing their lives which in turn pushes them to vote in favor of the person they want. I used to think the jury system in the us is perhaps the best in the world. THe law firms have jury consultants who sit in the court to study the reactions of each jury member to the arguments. They try to learn from their body language and then plan their action about how to change/influance the mind of a jury member. This being a thriller, the auther has introduced some criminal characters int the plot. The book keeps you absorbed. It is a page turner. Since this is an interesting and informative reading I give this book 3 and a half stars.

Viren Goyal

PAPILLON

Henri Charriere

Non-Fiction

Biography

1969

*****

No. of Pages=560 This is one of the finest real life adventure books read by me so far written in first person. It is a real life story, recorded by the writer in thirteen notebooks. The book is absorbing and interesting throughout. No dull moment. It keeps you going and you keep turning the pages, completely mesmerized and in awe of the determination and will power of the person on the run for freedom. This is story of Henri Anntoine Charriere aka PAPILLON who was for a murder, which he did not commit. The French police manipulated the testimony of some witnesses such that the jury of 12 people sentenced him to life imprisonment. Papillon was shipped to French Guyana in South America. This is where French sent their hard-core convicts to be away from the civilized society. From day one Papillon starts planning his escape for freedom. He escapes from the jail in boat, which takes him away over a thousand mile. In short he escapes several times with meticulous planning and there are many failed attempts. Without giving away the story line, the man possessed determination, perseverance, sharp mind and strong will to be free. I give this book 5 stars, since I do not have any more in the system

Viren Goyal

Ninty Minutes at Entebbe

William Stevenson

Fiction

Biography

1976

***

No. of Pages 216 This is an interesting book loaned to me by Pratima and Sudhir Tyagi. My friends essentially assembled the book since the same was physically in several sections. They arranged the pages, put them in order with the help of glue and transparent tape. Thanks Pratima and Sudhir, the efforts were worthwhile. The author is a journalist and he did a fair amount of research to present the events that took place in chronological order starting from the actual hijacking of the El Al flight 129 till the daring rescue of the hostages. I enjoyed the meticulous and secretive planning of the rescue mission, dry run of the rescue and the actual rescue by brave Israeli commandos. The book also has a chapter on UN debate in which Uganda accuses Israel of interfering with their internal affairs and Israel’s beautifully drafted response. The debate between nations is also interesting. In the end of the book there is a transcript of telephone conversation between Israeli general and Idi Amen who liked to be addressed as His excellency Field marshal Dr. Ida Amin Dada, Ad VVIP, MAD ETC, ETC President of Uganda for life. I give this book three stars.

Viren goyal

The Devil's Alternative

Fedrick Forsyth

Fiction

Thriller

1979

***

No. of Pages=478 This is a typical Forsyth thriller.The subject is very unusual. US spy settilite discovers very unusual growth pattern of the crop in Soviet Union. Conclusion is made by the experts that due to bad harvest, there will be a tremendous shortage of grain in Rusia resulting in a famine. To avoid this they will need tremendous quantity to be bought from USA. US foreign policy experts want to takeadvantage of the situation and want to get concessions from The Russions in Arms reduction. The story moves around each country out manouvering the other. it keeps the interest going throughout the book. Since I found nothing extra ordinary in the book, I give this interesting book three star.

Viren Goyal

The Body Farm

Patricia Cornwell

Fiction

Mystery

1994

***

No. of Pages=387 I had seen books by Patricia cornwell on sale at the railway book stalls and wondered what type of writer she is. Then a friend was getting ris of his book collection and this book was part of it. Yes, she is a mystery writer. She has crime reporter background and appears to have agreat knowledge forsenics. In this book the story deals with the murder of a very young girl in a sleepy small town in north caroline called Black mountain. A medical examiner who is also a detective type takes up the case, follows through the case and comes to a dramatic conclusion to nab the murderer. Witout giving away the ending, the auther keeps you guessing and the reader keeps reading with interest about the various possibilitis. Interesting book.

Viren Goyal

The Thorn Birds

Colleen McCullough

Fiction

Biography

1977

****

No. of Pages=591 This is a story of a poor working class farming family in New Zealand barely making both ends meet. Then a very rich sister of the family head dies and all of a sudden, the family inherits a large estate and a large mansion in the North West Australia. The ‘OUTBACK” country. In Australia, the story revolves around a beautiful daughter and a priest. It deals beautifully about the struggle of the priest between duty to the church and his love for this beautiful girl. The author has given a very nice view of the life in the out back; the place which sounds so romantic is full of bugs, snakes, and other reptiles. Scorching and soaring sun. It is a very well written book. Before starting on this book, on of the review said….I could not put it down. I found it to be true. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and almost till the end had decided to give this book 5 stars. As far as I am concerned, the book should have ended on page 451. But the author decided to go no and on and I lost all interest in the last chapter. Normally in a book the ends are something you look forward to. But this book is an exception. The end came first and then the book continued. For this reason I took one star away (as if it matters for this book written in 1977)

Viren Goyal

The Fakir

blyondw blyondw

Non-Fiction

Biography

2008

***

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Viren Goyal

Three Cups Of Tea

haeeyskpr haeeyskpr

Non-Fiction

Biography

2007

***

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Viren Goyal

The Fist of God

Frederick Forsyth

Fiction

Biography

1994

****1/2

No. of Pages=624 When I went to the book store to buy this book, I read on the back that this book is about the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein and the liberation of the tiny oil rich country by the allied Forces led by United States, I selected this book to read. The back side of the book said it is a superlative undercover adventure. Forsyth has written with such a veracity welter with technological detail that you start to think it could be true. After reading the book I have formed the opinion that this is one of the finest work of fiction written by Forsyth after The day of the Jackal. We all know that the invasion and liberation indeed take place. The writer has beautifully mixed fiction with what really happened. He has introduced a little romance, detailed under cover spy net work in which the genius of Israili Mossad is described in great detail. The book keeps you absorbed and you keep turning the pages. First I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer 623 pages of this book but I enjoyed each and every page. For those who love undercover stories and detective themes, this book is recommended. I give these book 4-1/2 stars.

Viren Goyal

A Prisoner of Birth

Jeffery Archer

Fiction

Biography

2008

*****

No. of Pages=531 This is the latest book written by Jeffery Archer after laps of umpteen years. It is worth the wait. I found this book very interesting and absorbing.The book has been written in classic Archer style with a bonus of one of the finest court room drama that I have read. The book deals with the story of a good man who was framed in a murder that he did not commit. The story deals with the accused life in prison where he makes friends with his cellmates and plans revenge. Without giving away the story to those who may read this review and may want to read the book, the revenge process is not that easy. He meets with many obstacles. The court room drama is a cliffhanger and even after that the reader is in suspense about the outcome till the last word of the book has been read. I have read many of Jeffery archer’s books and found this on to be his best up to date and for this reason I will not be stingy and give him 5 stars out of maximum 5.

Viren Goyal

One Night at Cal Center

Chetan Bhagat

Fiction

Biography

2005

***

No. of Pages=291 I got hold of this book to read in a strange way. I was traveling from Ooty to Kodaikanal By bus and right across from me was a young newly wed couple very much in love with libido’s kicking in high gear. I saw, both of them holding a book and both were trying to share reading. From the corner of my eye, I could not help sneaking a look, I noticed, they were not turning the page and holding the book upside down. At the next stop I asked the couple about the book that they were reading and highly recommended the same. I was quite skeptical about reading this book but read it any way. This book has been written by an engineer/financial consultant for his love of writing about contemporary society. In this book he has done extensive research and obtained first hand experience about how young adults think and interact. He has knitted it into a story which starts with four friends who all work at a call center. The story starts with a company provided pickup in a van and end up early morning when their shift ends. In between there are glimpse of how the call center employees thin, answer the phones, interact with each other. I enjoyed the most when the narration comes to what these call center people think of Americans to whom they are providing support.

Viren Goyal

Memoires Of a Geisha

Arthur Golden

Fiction

Other

1998

*****

No. of Pages=434 I have just finished reading this book and could hardly put it down. For a slow reader like me I finished this book in 5 days. The book is in small print and 428 pages short. It is termed as short, because I wanted to keep on reading it. The story tells you of life of Geishas of Japan. The story revolves around a young girl of 9 years whose mother is dying .they live in a small fishing village in Japan. Her father fearing the welfare of the girl sends her to live with a friend, who in turn sells her to a Geisha house. Over there she works as slave hoping to become a Geisha one day. The story takes you to teahouses, and Madams and the process of becoming a Geisha. This little girl goes through many ups and down and in the process the reader learns about the Geisha system. While reading this book you become a sympathizer of this little girl and always interesting to find out about what happens next. I have learned from this book that in Japan most people have a mistress and the wives accept it. There is even an official ceremony for a Geisha to become a mistress of a rich man.

Harsh Pande

Gone, Baby, Gone

Dennis Lehane

Fiction

Mystery

1999

****1/2

No. of Pages=412.

This is the first complete book I have read in over a year. We saw the movie based on this book. The plot was a bit complicated, so I decided to read the book to really find out what happened. I was not disappointed. I like this writer. His other book (The Mystic River) was also turned into a successful movie directed by Clint Eastwood. Both books are based on the Italian/Irish ethnic sections of Boston and he describes the lives of people in that area with fine details. Here is a description of the book:

Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are hired to find four-year-old Amanda McCready, abducted from her bed on a warm, Indian summer night. They meet her stoned-out, strangely apathetic mother, her loving aunt and uncle, the mother's dangerous drug-addled friends, and two cops who've found so many abused or dead children they may be too far over the edge to come back. Despite enormous public attention, rabid news coverage, and dogged police work, the investigation repeatedly hits a brick wall. Then a second child disappears....As the two detectives intensify their search, they encounter a media more interested in sensationalizing the abductions than solving them, a midnight ransom drop that explodes into a firefight, a city seething with secrets and rage, and a faceless power determined to keep the children lost forever.

Viren Goyal

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexander Dumas

Fiction

Biography

1997

*****

No. of Pages=875 Soon after I finished reading Papillion, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I was craving for a similar book. Then two things happened. In the end of the book, they recommended the count of Monte Cristo and my friend Arun said, he has the unabridged edition of the book. He graciously loaned me the book and I have just finished it in under a month’s time. ,
This book is a classic, being a new reader; I am a bit late in enjoying this epic. This is a story of a nice person, who is accused to be a Bonapartist and taken away by the police on his wedding day. He is imprisoned and later dumped in a dungeon part of the prison in solitary confinement. This is where he makes friends with genius prisoner, who is thought to be mad by the prison official. They plan an n escape. This is about one third of the book. The rest of the book deals with the prisoner..(Count of Monte Cristo) carefully planning and executing the revenge.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it is 875 pages thin and that too in small print. I give this book 5 stars.

Viren Goyal

Heat and Dust

kocuxrdvhk kocuxrdvhk

Fiction

Other

1975

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Viren Goyal

Kabul Beauty School

Deborah Rodriguez

Fiction

Other

2007

***

No. of Pages=283 This book is based on true story. It goes into the details of the author’s experience of living and helping Afghan women. I got interested about the plight of Muslim women in Afghanistan after reading books like Kite Runner and many other books. It is a sad state of affairs about how women are treated in the Muslim world. The author, an American who lived in Afghanistan saw this first hand and tried to help the women in Afghanistan by teaching the local women about how to become beautician by starting a beauty school in Kabul. Her idea was to train local women to give them an opportunity to start their beauty salon and become independent. Taking into consideration the taboo about women need to confined inside the house, the author meet resistance and strong opposition from the government and men folks. It is an interesting book reasonably well written to keep your interest going. Especially, if you are interested to understand the plight of women in the Muslim world, it is a good book to read. I liked the book.

Viren Goyal

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Moshin Hamid

Fiction

Other

1971

No. of Pages=184 This novel deals with the life of a very bright Pakistani immigrant to US. This immigrant goes to school in Princeton and soon after graduation he is hired by a big consulting company. He makes good money, leads a good life. He falls in love with a rich American beauty and he finds his way into high status society in New York, similar to his family status in Pakistan. He has everything going for him. Then comes 9/11 and goes through fundamental transformation in his thinking. He loses his job, even his relationship with his rich American girlfriend changes. He looks as a Muslim rather than an immigrant trying to make his American dream. His thinking shifts from money, high society to more towards, like a Muslim fundamentalist. When I selected this book to read I expected to read into the mind of a music fundamentalist. But I did not find all that in this book. I kept reading this book to find what I thought I will find, but nothing there.

Viren Goyal

Message ina Bottle

Nicholas Sparks

Fiction

Romance

1998

***

No. of Pages=370 Buddy Avinash read this book on a cross country business trip and recommended for me to read it. Avinash said this is a nice light reading romace novel.He was right, it is an interesting book and I enjoyed reading it. The story begins with a young professional woman,a sindicated column writer. She does not believe in love. Then she finds a bottle which had drifted to the beach, while she was on vacation in Cape cod. She retracts the bottle and finds a letter inside. This letter was written by a person to a woman whom he loved very much. The letter reflected his deep love and the sincere character of the person. This young woman, goes after finding this lover man who has such pure and deep feelings towards his lover. It is a lovly description of this pwoman's efforts to find this man. Did she succeed,to know this, you have to read the book. There are emotions,heartwrenching situations and thia makes for reading of a romantic nove. A successful movie by the asme name as the book was also made , based on this book. I give this book *** stars.

Harsh Pande

A Prisoner of Birth

Jeffrey Archer

Fiction

Thriller

2008

****

No. of Pages=530 This is the first book I have read in a long time! I think it is Jeffrey Archer's latest book. It is about a young man who was sent to prison for murdering his best friend, but he was falsely accused. I will not give the whole plot....suffice it to say that we he comes out of the prison, he systematically takes revenge on three guys who were actually involved in the murder. It kept my interest throughout. I am giving it four stars.

Viren Goyal

A Long Way Gone

bwbllghgte bwbllghgte

Fiction

Biography

2007

****1/2

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Viren Goyal

False impression

Jeffrey Archer

Fiction

Mystery

2005

**1/2

No. of Pages=384 There was an elegant lady brutally murdered the night before 9/11. She was a successful New York banker and receives a woman's left ear in the morning mail. A young woman with a bright career steals a priceless Van Gogh painting and a Japanese steel magnate happy to hand over $50,000,000 to a woman he had only met once. All this is part of the plot in this novel. False Impression takes us through a journey of twists and turns that takes us from New York to London to Bucharest and on to Tokyo, and finally a sleepy English village, where the mystery of Van Gogh's last painting is finally be resolved. I found this book not in the class of Jeffrey Archer. It was mildly interesting. Reluctantly, Archer being a great writer, whose books I have immensely enjoyed, I give this book 2-1/2 stars only.

Viren Goyal

The fourth protocol

Fredrick Forsyth

Fiction

Thriller

1984

***1/2

No. of Pages=389 it is agood thriller. I enjoyed most of it except when i had to refer back to ever increasing characters in the plot. The story deals with a very complex plan devised by the secretary general of the USSR communist party to influence the election process and support the labor party candidates who share ans support Russian interests. His idea is to get such candidates elected, so that the Russians have apuppet government in UK. This is a top secret plot, so secret that even KGB is kept out of the loop. THere is very interesting cat and mouse game played by the Russian agents and the British secret service. It has a very interesting and thrilling ending. Except for ever increasing cast of charactors, I enjoyed the book. and for this reason I give this book 3-1/2 stars out of 5.

Viren goyal

Bel Canto

Ann Patchette

Fiction

Biography

2001

***1/2

No. of Pages=318 I got this book from Local Library in New jersey, upon high recommendation from my brother's grand daughter. She said, she could not put it away. I found it interesting as well. The theme is quite unusual. Give you a brief synopsis.The story is set in South America, a small unidentified nation. This nation is looking for some foreign investment and lure a big japanese industrialist to come to their country. The biggest lure was to celebrate his birthday at which a famous opera singer has been engaged to perform. The japanese Industrialist is a great fan of the opera singer. During the celebrations the guests are taken hostages by rebels and are kept in captivity for a very long time. The book beautifully describes inter action between the hostages. Since this was high profile party, diplomets from all different nations are invited. As a result non og the two hostages speak same language except for one. This mutilangual person is japanese industrialist's assistant. He becomes involved with people of all different nationalisits. Now relationships start to devolop among the hostages. It has been delecately handled by the auther and keep you involved. Good book to read although not great.

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Anna Karenina

Lev Tolstoy

Fiction

Other

1987

*****

No. of Pages=956
It is in two volumes.
It is one of the gems of Russian classical literature.
It is set in one of the most complex periods in the Russian history, when, after the abolition of serfdom, in Tolstoy's own words,” everything had been overturned and was only beginning to fall in place. "Inter-alia it deals with the specific and personal details of life in various levels of Moscow and St. Petersburg society and of the Russian country side.
It is woven around the out of wedlock affair of Anna Karenina who is unhappy with her husband and her lover does not appreciate her much.

Viren Goyal

Lovely Bones, The

Alice Sebold

Fiction

Other

2002

***

No. of Pages=338 This book has an unusual theme. It is the story of a teen age girl, who is murdered by a neighbor and dumped into a sink hole at the edge of the town. This girl goes to heaven and can see the happenings on earth. She describes the lives of people in her life which include, her murderer, father, mother, sister, brother and her friend. Each one copes with her loss in their own way. This book is quite interesting in patches. A movie based on this book is in production.

Viren Goyal

To cut a long story short

Jeffrey Archer

Fiction

Other

2001

***

No. of Pages=272 This is a collection of 16 short stories. Each story has the classic Archer touch of surprise endings ( of these stories are based on true incidents. Looks like authershave aknack to recognize interesting incidents around then and turn them into interesting stories. This was quite a change for me, since I was deep into reading full lengyh fiction books. Non the less I enjoyed this book. I have read all the stories, some are more interesting than others.

Viren Goyal

Twist in the tail

Jeffrey Archer

Fiction

Other

2001

***

No of pages =237 This is the second book that is a collection of short stories by this famous author. It is a collection of 12 stories. I liked most of them, but like the story titled The perfect Murder. Very interesting and well done. What an ending. After getting used to surprise ending of Archer stories, I had kind of started guessing the ending of this story. It took even me by surprise, even though I was anticipating and was on guard all the time. This is a 5 star story but I give this collection three stars.

Viren Goyal

The Summons

John Grisham

Fiction

Biography

2002

***1/2

No. of Pages=341 I read a John Grisham book after a long time. Previous to this I was under the impression of having read all his books, but upon checking discovered that there are three more books still to be read from this great writer. This is one of the three. THe story is simple with limited cast of characters which i like to start with. A law professor gets a lettor, which is like summons form a very law oriented dad. The professor and his drug addict brother have been summoned to report to their father in their ancestrial home in Clanton ,Mississipi.So surprises yet. The story is set in MIssissipi as in most of his novels. Upon arriving there the son discovers that his father is dead. He also discovers a secret which haunts and bothers him. The son is bent upon unfolding the secret. The rest of the books takes the reader through the mind and psychology od a person who is hiding a secret. This has been done very well and keeps the reader engrossed. Nice book.

Viren Goyal

The Golden Gate Bridge

Alistair MacLean

Fiction

Thriller

1963

**1/2

No. of Pages=187 This book has an unlikely plot of hijacking a presidential limo which is carrying three important state guests from an oil kingdom. THe narration is good but due to the fact that Golden Gate bridge in San feancisco being completely blocked for two days is unthinkable. As a result it is not believable even in fiction. I have added a 1/2 star to the two stars for the nice narration by the author.

Viren Goyal

The Awakening

bcolraj bcolraj

Fiction

Biography

1899

***

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Viren Goyal/Harsh Pande

The Associate

John Grisham

Fiction

Thriller

2009

****1/2

No. of Pages=485 This long awaited book finally arrived. It was certainly worth the wait. Perhaps this is the best work of fiction by this very good writer after The FIrm. The plot is fascinationg. A very young and bright student is recruited by a very large firm. This young man had during his college days been witness to an orgy and the whole thing is on video tape. This young man did not participate in the orgy butcan be seen in the video as a bystabder and could be implicated for crime. He is now blackmailed due to the presence of this damaging video. The plot thickens and the young lawer plans an escape route. It is some sort of cat and mouse, that keeps the reader absorbed in interested in the story till the end. Just read it, there is not a dull moment. I loved this book and give it four and a half stars.
Comments by Harsh Pande:
I purchased it in Gurgaon in Feb 2009 while on way back to USA. One good thing about India is that the new fiction books are released in paperback with an affordable price. In USA, most of the new fiction books are released first in hardback cover editions and they are very expensive. Only after the hardcover sale flattens out , paperback editions are released - may be 6 months after the hardcover release.

It was a page turner for me. I read it on the flight to Chicago and it made the flight go quicker. Viren has already given a nice summary and I was going to write comments on the same lines. But I give it four stars (with "The Firm" getting four and half)

viren goyal

Hooligans

William Diehl

Fiction

Mystery

1984

***

No. of Pages=430 This is my first book by this author. This mystry writer is good in his description of seeting the scenes and describing the surroundings, as if you are there. The plot is good. Mafia moves into a an island off the coast of North carolina. The members of the mafia start getting killed. Within a short span, there are 10 homosides of mafia clan. No one knows, who is doing the killings. Local police sets up a special unit to solve the mystery. The special unit consists of past criminals and tough guys. A federal agent is also working on solving the mystery. To know who did it, you have to read the novel almost till the end. My only complaint with the book is that there are too many characters, over two dozen. At times it becomes difficult to differenciate the good guys from the bad. This reason cost this couple of stars. in my book, this book deserves only three stars.

100

vVren Goyal

Snapshots

igzcejvmnm igzcejvmnm

Fiction

Other

1995

***

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101

Viren Goyal

The White Tiger

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Fiction

Other

2008

***

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102

Viren Goyal

Twentyseven

William Diehl

Fiction

Thriller

1990

***1/2

No. of Pages=501 in small print This is my second book by this auther. I like writer's style of writing. Sometimes he is very eloquent in setting the scene and you feel that you ar almost there. By the same token, he could be dragging the description too far. He also has a habit of introducing some events which do not directly impact the story. This is a very good thriller about Hitler. He has addressed Hitler and his nazi mafia directly as if the characters are talking to the Furer directly. He has recreated history, the rise of Hitler in Nazi germany, his atrocities and you name it. I found this book very informative and learned much about Hitler. I am now curious to read more about this evil man. THe book towards the end deals with a naval warfare, which in my openion has no relevance to the story and could have saved about 50 pages of reading. I t is for this reason, I have deducted one star from the rating. I give this book three and a half stars. In my openion this is one of his better books. I have two more books by this author waiting to be read. My recommendation is to enjoy the book and when you reach to the naval warfare towards the end, skip pages and you will not miss any thing. This book is an enjoyable readng

103

Viren Goyal

Thai Horse

sisprhrhvx sisprhrhvx

Fiction

Mystery

1986

***

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104

Harsh Pande

The Whole Truth

David Baldacci

Fiction

Thriller

2008

***

No. of Pages=530
It is Baldacci's first international thriller. It is built around a concept known as "Perception Management". The idea is that in today's inetrconnected world with Internet, websites, blogs, Blackberries etc., you can create any misconception in any part of the world. In this book, a rich finacier and owner of a big defence company in USA creates the misconception that Russia is on a killing spree and a massacre is created in a Think Tank in London. This agency is funded by Chinese (another misconception). So, this company starts getting billions of defence contracts from both China and Russia. The world in the brink of the Third World War. Of course the hero, aided by a small group of associates saves the day.

The plot is a bit hard to believe and the writing with short chapters do not produce the perception of a page turner novel like Grisham's or Clancy's. But still as a fan of Baldacci, I had to read this latest book by him. I am giving it only three stars (***).

105

Viren Goyal

CHAMELEON

mqyvstnnv mqyvstnnv

Fiction

Biography

1981

***

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106

Viren Goyal

I, Phoolan Devi

puqjhoelos puqjhoelos

Non-Fiction

Biography

1996

****

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107

Viren Goyal

Romancing with Life

Dev Anand

Non-Fiction

Biography

2007

***1/2

No. of Pages= 417 hard cover, I was a reluctant reader at first then my friend Sudhir told me, that I may enjoy it because it relates to the film industry of our era. He was right. The book is nostalgic and brought back memories of our formative year. We grew up idolizing Dev Anand as the ultimate romantic hero. I did not know that he was creative producer and director as well. He also wrote the scripts of his later movies. He directed 19 movies and acted in over 60 movies in a career spanning 60 years. He takes us behind the scenes that we do not get to see on the screen. It is a well written book. Keeps you going due to nostelgia of the era. This is better than just a good book, since I enjoyed it and finished in record 4 days. "It is a record for me" Generally I take about a week to finish a book. Good job dev and i give you three and a 1/2 stars.

108

Viren Goyal

Undue Influence

bnpoih bnpoih

Fiction

Mystery

1994

***1/2

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116

Viren Goyal

The Judge

Steve Martini

Fiction

Mystery

1996

***1/2

No. of Pages=501 This is my second book by this writer. I loved the second one almost as much as the first one. This is a murder mystery and a courtroom drama. An undercover student apprentice is murdered and a sitting judge is framed first for rape of the same girl and then for murder. The defence attorney masterfully builds up the case to save the judge. The court room drams, question answere and cross examination of the witnesses is spectacular and very interesting. To me it was a page turner I finished this book in 5 days. I was in no hurry. Enjoyed the book. I might have become addicted to the court room drama. For now Steve martini is my favourite writer when it comes to the court rooms. I may be a bit biased in my rating his books ( not that ir matters, this book was written 21 years ago) I give this book 3-1/2 stars because, it is not a great book, it is agood and interesting book to my liking.

117

Viren Goyal

prime Witness

Steve Martini

Fiction

Mystery

1994

***

No. of Pages= 406 small print This is my third book by Steve martini. i enjoyed the first two books that i read by him. This prompted me to tead yet another. He writes courtroom dramas and i enjoy his sourt room questioning and leading questions well disguised. I guess i like the court room drama books. THis one was not as interesting as the previous two that i read. UI think I will take a break from Steve martini adn read some other stuff. in this book the attorney Paul Wandriani is the DA as comaired to defense attorney in the two other books. There are multiple murders i the devenport county and the mutilated bodies are discovered. There are many similarities in the way the murders have been executed. The police arrests a russian immigrant and charge him with murder. The story revolves around connecting the Russian to all four murders, but there are some legal problems involved,he may just have committed just one murder and he could be set free if the Da can not prove that the Russian did not commit all the murders on legalities. You would not believe what happened later in the story, to find out you will have to read the book. I give this book 3hrww stars.

118

Viren Goyal

World without End

Ken Follett

Fiction

Other

2007

****1/2

No. of Pages=1111 One of my fellow reader at the local library recommended this book. When I got the book issued in my name, I ased the librarian to issue the same to me for 2 months ater lookin at the book which weied one ton and was about 4" thick. I got hooked to the story and finished in two weeks. Most of it is a page turner. The story is set in England of 14th century covering the period from 1337 to 1361. The story revolves around the lives of four main characters and takes the reader from childhood into their 40s. The book deals with treatment of women in the 14th century. I is a story of love,lust, dedication, percivarence,trachery, bravery of characters. There is plenty of it and the chain of events keeps you reading and wanting to find more. Very soon you start relaring to the characters and het engaged in the book. It is a well written EPIC. After reading this book, being relatively a new reader, i feel, i can tackle other fat and interesting books. I had good time reading this EPIC and give it 4-1/2 stars.

119

Viren Goyal

Jackdaws

Ken Follett

Fiction

Biography

2001

***1/2

No. of Pages=454 This is my second book by ken Follett. This book is based on a real happening during the WW-2. This is a tribute and also an acknowledgement of the daring work done by the women. This is a story set in 1944 during the ww-2 just before the liberation of France from the germans/Nazies. A group of six women is assembled by the allies to blow up a telephone exchane which is vital for communication between France and Germany. The story deals with the selection process, diverse personalities leading to the actual intrcate and dangerous mission. The story keeps you engrossed in the book. The book is well written. It is quite a contrast from the first book by this author which was based on historical facts of the 14th century. This shows the versitality of this author. I plan to read a few more books by this good author.

120

Viren Goyal

The Arraignment

Steve Martini

Fiction

Mystery

2002

**1/2

No. of Pages=405 i had become fond of this author's court room drama and his cross examination in the courtrooms. The front cover said "The Stunning NEW Courtroom Thriller from Steve martini". So I decided to pick this book and stared reading. The book starts very well with a double murder. One of the person killed is a friend of the attorney. The attorney goes hunting for the killer. His efforts take him to San Diago, Cancoun and other parts og mexico. The killer is not revealed till the end. I will not reveal the killer here and take the mystery out of it,for those who may decide to read this book. The last third of the book is complex. I kept waiting for the "ARRAIGNMENT" and the court room drama. This never happened in the book. instead, the attorney turns investigator,who goes hunting for the killer. For this reason the whole exercise was a disappointment. I gaive this book only 2-1/2 stars.

121

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Baital Pachisi

Notknown NotkKnown

Fiction

Other

*****

No. of Pages=113 This is book of wisdom.Google has done a great job by putting it on its site in Books Category. I feel such books are our real Heritage and not Kutab Minars/Taj Mahals. Where is the original Sanskrit book? If one does not have the patience to read all please read the last line.That explains all. I hope to send it as an attachment via e-mail for my topogroup friends.

122

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Why Nothing Can Travel Faster Than Light

Barry and David Zimmerman

Non-Fiction

Other

1995

***

No. of Pages=309
The authors are identical twin brothers.
This is a collection of lively essays providing an engaging fast-paced overview on key contemporary scientific issues and arguments.
This book is for one interested in the intriguing world of science.
Notwithstanding that more facts and knowledge must have come up since its publication still it makes absorbing and fascinating reading.
I could not leave it literally till I finished it.

123

Viren Goyal

Eye of The Needle

Ken Follett

Fiction

Thriller

1978

****

No. of Pages=450 This is my second book by ken Follett. This is so different from the first book which was set in the 18th century. This is a very interesting book set in the 40s when Allied forces were planning to liberate france from the German Occpation. It is a story of a very clever and ferocious german spy who was assigned by Hitler himself to gather intellegence information about the allied activities. This spy is ruthless and would kill any one, even a German messanger who could possibly give away his cover, if caught. In his efforts to pass on the information gathered by him to germany, he drifts away into the english channel(Atlantic) and end up on a remote island unknown to most people. There he falls in love with a beautiful woman. To make a long story short, he tries to transmit information from this island back to germany. In the process he murders two people. It is very exciting and interesting plot. To find the ending, you need to read the book. After reading the book, I got a chance to see the movie, based on this book. To be honest, I would have been lost in the plot, had I not read the book. The movie does not do justice to the book. It was interesting because i had read the book.

124

Viren Goyal

Criminal Intent

William Bernhardt

Fiction

Mystery

2002

****

No. of Pages=356 I was at the local library looking for a book to read by Steve martini, who is an excellent Court room drama writer. Jus by chance i came across a promotion for Court Room Drama books. About a dozen books were lined up on the book rack under the promotional sign. I decided to try a different writer this time and picke this book. I also made a note of other authers of Court room dramas. Checke out, all were ex or current lawers. This is a well written book on a very difficult case, in which the lawer is trying to defend a priest of double murder which he did not committ. There is excellent stratagy and very interesting cross examination. When every thing seems to be going well for the defence, there is bombshell of revealation. This changes every thing. There is a very surprise ending too. The book keeps you interested till the end. Since I did not believe the ending, I read the last four chaptere second time around to let the details and the motives sink in. LOOKS LIKE, I LIKE COURT ROOM DRAMAS AND I AM GOING TO THE LIBRARY TO BORROW ANOTHER BOOK RECOMMENDED BY MY DAUGHTER'S FATHER IN LAW. hE IS A JUDGE. lET US FIND OUT, HOW HIS RECOMMENDATION TURNS OUT. i AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.

125

Harsh Pande

Winner Stands Alone, The

Paulo Coelho

Fiction

Mystery

2008

***

No. of Pages=374

This is my third or fourth book by Coelho. I like and respect the author.
The plot takes place in Cannes Film Festival. The key characters are a film disrtributor, an aspiring fashion model, a fashion magnet and a Russion millionaire. The Russian millionair's wife left him to marry the fashion magnet. The Russian wants his wife back and becomes a serial killer in Cannes. He kills any inocent person and sends a text message to his ex-wife telling her what he has done. He is willing to destroy the whole world to get her back. It sounds like a mystery novel, but it is not.

Coelho's expertise is in going inside his characters' heads and describe in detail what is going on there. He also describes what goes on within the fashion industry and the movie indutsry in very minute details. His description of how the local police acts in light of these murders is very realistic and amusing. This comment from the back of the book is quite appropriate. "With 'The Winner Stands Alone' he has brought his remarkable gift for storytelling to the darker side of celebrity, wealth and excess - and how the world we live in can distort the truth in our hearts."

The first half of the book was interesting. But it dragged on in the second half and I just wanted it to end so that I could go to my next book. I am giving
this book a three-star (***) rating.

126

Viren Goyal

Presumed Innocent

Scott Turrow

Fiction

Mystery

1087

****1/2

No. of Pages=431 This writer was recommended to me by my daughter's father in law. Who is also a judge.He recommended this writer and another book Cane mutiny by Herman Wouk a 639 page book, which I am currently reading and will have my review later in the month. The book Presumed innocent is an absorbing court room room drama in which a lawyer is on trial fir murder, which presumably he did not commit. It is agripping tale, which takes you behind the scenes and tells you about the workings of the court system, jury selection etc. it has very interesting cross examinations of the witnesses. There are may turns and twists in the plot and keep you guessing , what next/ This is one of the finest court room dramma That I have read. You will never guess the ending. If you guess, you will probably be wrong. A very interesting ending. I am not about to tell you. For that you will have to read the book and have lot of fun doing that. I understand this book was turned into a movie and I will add my comments on the movie based on this book after i have a chance to see that. it is a recommended reading. For this reason i give this book 4 and 1/2 stars. I am looking forward to reading more of the books by the same writer ( Murder One?)

127

Viren Goyal

The Cane Mutiny

Herman Wouk

Fiction

Other

1951

****1/2

No. of Pages=639 LIFE IS A DREAM,A LITTLE MORE THAN MOST .This thought was underlined in the book. On closer scritny I discovered, that this was done by the publisher. having said that, let me turn to the book review. This book was written soon after the world war-2 ended.I was just 4 years old then. it is a masterpiece. As the name suggests, the book is about a mutinythat took place on a neval ship, ' mine sweeper CAINE" It was skippered by Captain Queeg. A crazy, nervous commanding officer. There are two main characters, Willie keith a n officer and An attorney Greenwald, who defended the mutinous people in the book. The book tells a lot about the naval warfare and workings of the navy. The book is comical to a great extent, when the crazy captain orders strip search to find the person who ate a quart of strawberries. The court roon cross questioning in the court marshall is very crisp and interesting. it also deals with the lonelyness and love for the loved ones left behind on land. it is a recommended reading and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. A movie based on the book was made and is available. I can hardly wait to see the movie.

128

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

The Book of Numbers

Tim Glynne Jones

Non-Fiction

Other

2007

****

No. of Pages=192
Numbers from simple numeration are the universal and most important language of the present.
Numbers have occupied our thoughts since man first realised that he had not one opposable thumb but two.
After reading the book one realises that the world of numbers is fascinating,mysterious and more intriguing than even the best spy thriller

131

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

A Mathematician's Apology

G.H Hardy

Non-Fiction

Biography

1993

***

No. of Pages=134+
This is a unique book.
It has 58 pages of foreword by C.P.Snow added in 1967 in reprint.
The book was first published in 1940.
G.H.Hardy was one of this century's finest mathematical thinkers.
Some may recollect Hardy as the mentor of Ramanujan an INDIAN mathematician.
The book offers a brilliant and engaging account of mathematics as very much more than a science.
The author had a great passion for cricket.

132

Viren Goyal

The key To rebecca

Ken Follett

Fiction

Mystery

1980

****1/2

No. of Pages=381 This is one of the most absorbing and a true page turner mystry novel It has every thing, suspense, crime, murder, lust, erotica ans mystery all combined into this 381 book package. The story is set in Egypt, mostly around cairo during WW-2. Egypt is occupied by the british and the Germans Hitler's forces planning an attack to take over and drive the English out.A German spy is feeding the Allied Force's attack plans to Rommel( the Field marshal of the germans. An English spy catcher get on the german spy's tal to capture him and the cat and mouse game becomes very interesting. Ken Folett is quite a versetile writer. This is perhaps his fourth novel that I have just finished. The next one "Lie Down With Lions" will start this afernoon. I think he is becoming my favorite writer of thrillers.

133

Viren Goyal

Lie Down with Lions

Ken Follett

Fiction

Thriller

1986

****

No. of Pages=326 This is a very interesting book. It is about a CIA on adssignment in Paris and is in love with a french woman. Another character is a french communist and undercover russian sympathiser. The french character is spying for the russians in Sfganistan , pretending to be a Doctor helping the rebels. One thing led to another, the CIA agent gets assigned to facilitate a treaty between warring rebel warring tribes to fight the Russians and drive them out. Now there is confrontation between the CIA agent and the french spy. Whenn the story looked tame with pridictable ending, the auther very nicely steers the story to a very interesting and exciting level. Very well written, page turner. A n excellent spy story which keeps you guessing what next. Ken Follet in my openion is master of spy stories like no one else. This book deserves 4 stars in my way of enjoying the book.

134

Viren Goyal

The man from St. Petersburg

Ken Follett

Fiction

Thriller

1982

***1/2

No. of Pages=323 This is another interesting book by ken Follett. Leere is less sex and erotica compared to some of the other books that i have read. There is mystery, love, romance and spy drama which is this author's trade mark. The story is set in England and has a royalty, his russian wife and her former lover. The formaer lover is a anaschist, who id very much pro Russian and would kill any one to protect the lives of his countryman. He is the man from St. petersburg. Good story, keeps you interested in the plot till the end. It is not as great a book like the earlier ones , which I have read and reviewed at this site. May be, i have been spoiled. I give this book 3-1/2 stars.

135

Viren

The testament

John Grisham

Fiction

Mystery

1986

****1/2

Number of pages: 435 This is an interesting book which takes you to an adventure in the great swamps deep inside Brazil and on the River Paraguay. Since I love such adventures, I enjoyed this aspect of the book. The story is about a crazy billionaire who commits suicide and leaves his billions to his daughter out of wedlock. This girl lives in the jungles of Brazil helping Indian tribes. The will leaves nothing for his 6 children from his previous marriages. Nothing is left for the ex wives either. The will is contested by the six children. There are plots and sub plots and the story moves on. It is an interesting book but not in the class of “The Firm” or” The Associate” by the same author.

136

Viren Goyal

The Client

John Grisham

Fiction

Mystery

1993

****

No. of Pages=422 Funny thing happened. i had printed the list of John grisham books read by me and went to the library to checkout the ones which I have missed.I founfd The Client was not on the list. So i checked it out and started reading. i found out pretty soon that I have already read this book. Then I recalled that this book is about a 11 year old boy who witnesses a bizare suicide of an attorney in the forest. The attorney, just before dying sharesa secret with the boy which the mafia knows. The mafia does not want the secret to be out and would kill the boy who knows the secret. This boy hires an attorney to protect himself and this attorney does nort want to know the secret either for the fear of mafia. Interesting story engrossing A nice story. I enjoyed reading it.

137

Viren Goyal

Paths of Glory

Jeffrey Archer

Fiction

Other

2009

****

No. of Pages=372 I checked my list, this was the only book not read by me, so I checked it out from the library. I was into the book about 5 pages and realized tht this is not a typical Archer book. By the time I was mid way through, I gave it 3 stars, then by 250 pages changed to 3.5 star,. I continued, by the time I reached 350 pages I decided on 4 stars. and this is where it rests now. It is a touching story of a mountain climber, who was madly in love with his beautiful wife. needless to say he was devoted to his family. This is a love story and adventure packaged into one. You learn a lot about mountain climbing from the book and scaling the peaks. In the end the book is very touching. i am still thinking about it. If you have the time, please read this book.

138

Harsh Pande

one night @ the call center

Chetan Bhagat

Fiction

Other

2005

****

No. of Pages=289
This book was given to us by CK's friend's daughter who is in 10th class. I read it on the train from Lucknow to Delhi. It is by a young Indian writer (a former IIT guy) who has become quite famous. The book is about six people (three guys and three girls) who work at a call center in Gurgaon. The writing style is all dialog and conversation among these people. Very interesting and a page turner. There is a nice message for youg people about 1. Listening to your inner voice and 2. The importance of self-confidence and failure in life. I am giving it four stars.

139

Viren Goyal

The Chancellor Manuscript

Robert Ludlum

Fiction

Thriller

1977

***1/2

No. of Pages=438 I got introduced to this very talented author by chance. At a local township hall in Vermont, there was a rack for free books and the title of this book attracted my attention and i picked it up for reading.This book started off very good. Page turner, it certainly was. By the time I had finished one fourth the book, I thought of giving it 5 stars, then half way theough, it came down to 4 stars. But when i completed 3/4 of the pages, I was so confused and there were somany new characters introduced, each character had a real name and a code name that, I founf a hotch potch and a very not so interesting ending. I quickly finished the book by skimming through the last 125 pages or so. The story revolves arounda writer, who is writing a book on the assination of FBI director . Hoover is upposedly maintaining a file on prominent polititions and famous people on their secret lives and using them as a tool to control them all. Supposed ly, these peple have formed a group to assinate Hoover and expose him. It is a gripping story, keeps you absorbed and kpps you turning the pages almost till about page 300 or so, then it becomes anticlimax with the introduction of so many diverse characters that the reader like me is totally confused and lost interest. If you want to enjoy the book read about 325 pages and call me, I will tell you the ending and save you the torture of reading the last 125 or so pages

140

Viren Goyal

Bourne Identity

Robert Ludlum

Fiction

Mystery

1985

***

No. of Pages=580 This is my second book by this author. I picked this book based on the fame of this title. Imight repeat my description of ID 139.This book started off very good. Page turner, it certainly was. By the time I had finished one fourth the book, I thought of giving it 5 stars, then half way theough, it came down to 4 stars. But when i completed 400 of the .I decided to bring it down to three stars and this is where it stays. My problem is introduction of too many characters in the end. I for one got confused and could not keep track of changing characters. The plot is very good. A bullet filled body floats ashore an island. It is recovered by the locals and then treated by a crazy Doctor on the island. This person has lost his memory, he does not know who he is. He is let go from the island and goes to the main stream life. This is where he falls in love with a beautiful Canadian woman. This woman now tries her best to bring his memory back and so it goes. I am going to read at least one more book by this author because he has successfully written over two doz. books. He must be good.

141

Viren Goyal

White Teeth

Zadie Smith

Fiction

Other

2000

***

No. of Pages=448 Zade is a British auther. This is her first book. She has done a reasonably good jobof depicting the paralal life of a few immigrants, a Jamaical woman,a Bengaladesi married to another muslim woman from Bangaladesh. The jamaican woman is mare married to an Englishman, There is another English couple in the story. A good attempt on depicting the life of immigrants in England. She will improve and mainetain the flow in the story.

142

Viren Goyal

Limitations

Scott Turrow

Fiction

Mystery

2006

**1/2

No. of Pages=197 This is quite "UN TUROW" like book. The book starts with a very good plot. A 15 yer frear old girl gets drunk and passes out. She is raped by four of her friends at the party. Te friends video tape the rape act. The girl does not ralize that she was raped. She sees tape of rape after statue of limitations has expired and the case is filed. A panel of three judges have to write an openion on the case. Now all of a sudden, the auther diverts from the story and concentrates on the life of the chief Jugde and his love for his ailing wife .Then all of a sudden, we see the openion written by the chief judge and the story ends. I did not enjoy the book.

143

Harsh Pande

Romancing with life

Dev Anand

Non-Fiction

Biography

2007

****

No. of Pages=414

I read this book after reading Viren's comments. I also thouroughly enjoyed it and I agree with all of Viren's comments. It reminded me of our early days in Bombay and places like Bandra, Marin Drive...

Other things that I liked was that he comments on the political and historical events of his time - like falling of the Berlin Wall, death of Jawaharlal, Indira Gandhi's Emergency rule, 9/11 event in USA etc. etc. So, the movie history is interspered with the world history.

I was also impressed by Dev Anand's capability as the story writer and director. Prior to this, my image of him was that he is a handsome and good actor only.

The only thing that I missed was that he did not comment much on Waheeda Rahman and the movie Guide. To me that is his best movie. He got romantically involved with many of his leading ladies and I had thought that he may do so with Waheeda also.

Now I am reading a book on a similar topic - The Kapoors.

144

Ramesh Bhushan Sahajpal

Ladakh

Parvez Dewan

Non-Fiction

Other

2004

****

No. of Pages=588
This book deals with travel, trekking, art, culture, wild life and almost everything about Ladakh including POK.
It has got sprinkling of historical facts here and there.
Factual details of creation of POK are really amazing.
One gets the impression that successive congress governments led by Jawaharlal Nehru were bunch of day dreamers,
This day dreaming led to China action in far east of INDIA in sixties.
It was a diversionary tactic coinciding with the opening of KKH in POK connecting China with ISLAMABAD.
Indian government was not aware of its construction for almost thirteen years before it was made operational.
Perhaps similar things are happening allover TIBET right from POK to Arunachal Pradesh and our PM is talking in the same/similar language which Nehru used almost half a century ago with disastrous results.
History may not repeat but unfortunately HISTORY does repeat.
It was also revealing to note that there is a route from Ladakh to Mansrover but China is not allowing.
Can any one tell/inform what congress led UPA govt. is doing about it?
I came across a news item attributed to a general about it.
A few more related details are being sent via e-mail.
Please watch for the same.

145

Viren Goyal

Reversible Errors

Scott Turrow

Fiction

Other

2002

***1/2

No. of Pages=433 After teadin two starred and barely three starred books by famous authors, I was due to read an interesting book. I enjoyed this book. It is little different than Scott Turrow books. It deals with human side of the judges, attornies, ther love life and interactions, while ther is a court case running in parallel. Yes the lawers and judges have personal side of their life wich is not exposed to public.The court arguments and depositions are very interesting. The story is about a person, arrested for quadruple murders, convicted and sentenced to die. later another person admits to the multiple murders . But the statue of limitations has expired. Haggling over leaglities, new discoveries follow in quite interesting way. For what happins in the end, you have to read the book. Nor bad.

146

Viren Goyal

A certain Justice

P.D. james

Fiction

Mystery

1997

****

No. of Pages=364 This is my type of book. After reading average interesting book and reasonably good book, i was due to read an interesting Mystery book which was close to my liking. i certainly enjoyed it. As the book progressed, it became more and more interesting to my taste. The story is about the detectives solving a murder case. While they are in the middle of that there is yet another murder of one of the suspects. After the first murder, quite a number of people are suspects and some are very convincing to the reader, due to their actions and background. As we weave through the jungle,there are two characters introduced. The story of their actions and movements becomes very interesting. One of the characters is murdered victims's own daughter and the other character is her lover. I would like to read some more books by this writer.Books by this author are not available in India so I will have to buy some on my next trip to US. Since I enjoyed the book so much I give it four stars.

147

Viren Goyal

In The president's seceret Serevice

Ronald Kessler

Non-Fiction

Other

2009

***

No. of Pages=250 This is an interesting book on the subject of protecting the presidents. The book reveals may details not known to common man. It also describes the double life some of the Presidents lived. It details JFK's extra marital sexcapades with many women including Marylin Monroe and others when jackie was out of town. He was very horny. LyndonJhonson was the same. he had over 9" weenie, He was fond of being nacked inside the bedroom and also roam out in the white house living quarters nacked. He was addicted to drinking. It tells many juicy details of Nixon, George Senior, George Bush , Ford, Carter, clinton. Carter was the least liked and so was his wife Rosylin. The most like3d was Laura bushamong First ladies. Reagan was the most liked president. The book also describes, how quickly the power spoils you. The author ias all praise for the OBamas.

148

Viren Goyal

Bourne Supremacy

Robert Ludlum

Fiction

Thriller

1987

***

No. of Pages=646 This is my third book by this famous author. In the first two books by him, although interesting in patches was that there were too many characters created which got pretty difficult to keep track of. This book did not give me this proble. There are easily about 110-12 charactors. I was careful too to keep track of most of them.The story revolves around main charactor Jason Bourne and his lovely canadian wife. Jason is David Webb in real life an reasonable person. But turns into international murderer and a nasty fearless man when his wife is kidnapped. The story is quite complicated but interesting. I enjoyed the book. and in my openion it deserves three stars. I want to give Jason Bourne a break of a month or so, then I plan to read the last book in this series.

149

Viren Goyal

An Unsuitable Job For Woman

P.D. James

Fiction

Other

1972

***

No. of Pages=2010 This is a slow moving but interesting novel. The story is about a father hiring a woman private investigator to find the cause of sucide committed by his only son. This woman has no prior experience in investigations. She starts her assignment by meeting many people connected with the son and applying logic to their actions and relationships of the past. She does a super job and keeps the reader interested throughout. Recommended reading

150

Viren Goyal

Innocent Blood

P.D. James

Fiction

Biography

1972

***

No. of Pages=306 Another interesting story by PD james. It is also a slow moving and very interesting story in which father of a slain daughter tracks the murderer for a revenge. He follows her systemetically with maticulas planning and rehearsing his every move. I enjoyed the story, slow moving but interesting throughout.

151

Viren Goyal

The Skull Beneath The Skin

PD James

Fiction

Mystery

1972

***

No. of Pages=337 book by PD James. I found this book in my stock and since i had liked her previous three books, I took a plunge and thoroughly enjoyed it. Cordila a small time private investigator with very little experience in the business is keeping her agency in business by finding lost pets, cats and dogs. Then she gets an assignment to protect a rich man's actress wife who is going to give a stage performance on an island. The assignment turns into deadly murders on the island and our lady detective very cleverly and methodically solves the mystery. in the end it is a cliff hanger as to who did it. Book keeps you absorbed. it is a good book and deserves 3 stars, i may even give it 3-1/2 stars, if you insist. This is an interesting

153

Viren Goyal

Desert Royal

Jean Sasoon

Non-Fiction

Other

1999

**1/2

No. of Pages=303 This book is a biography of a Saudi Arabian princess. It has been written by an English writer to conceal the identity of the princess. The life of all women in the Kingdom is pathatic. All women are considered second class citizens in their own country, including the members of the royal families. Outside the royal family the ordinary people treat them as dirt and consider them their property. I found out a lot about the pathatic condition of women in this oil rich nation. The book keeps you going and is interesting reading. As a book, it is an ordinary one but with a theme which keeps you interested throughout.

154

Viren Goyal

The Dancing Girls of Lahore

Louise Brown

Non-Fiction

Other

2005

***1/2

No. of Pages=290 The auther is english.She spent in Lahore in the red light district for many years to do research for this book.There are many intimate details of these dancing girls controlled by their madams and pimps. In most cases the dancing girls double as prostitutes. There are may details about their private lives that are very revealing and not known to common man. The book is interesting and informative. It also keeps reader's interest going since the reader gets attached to some of the characters in the book.

155

Viren Goyal

Long Lost

Harlen Coben

Fiction

Mystery

2009

**1/2

No. of Pages=352 My bookseller recommended this author to me with a remark that this one writes John grisham type of books. S o I bought one. This is run of the mill suspense thriller. The main character in this book gets a call from his long lost girlfriend from Paris asking for help because she is in trouble as her life is in danger. This friend is a big and strong guy with very rich and billionaire friend, goes to Paris to help. The mystery deepens, strange events and characters pop up to keep the story going. I found this to be just an ordinary book, no comparision to John Grisham. I may try one or two more of his best sellers and then form an openion.

156

Viren Goyal

Ford County Stories

John Grisham

Fiction

Other

2009

***1/2

No. of Pages=344 This long awaited book finlly arrived. I think this is John Grisham'ss first book of short stories. With great anticipation, i read the first story, It was quite UNgrisham like. It was a hilarious comedy. The fourth and the last one is very touching . Two contrasts. The other two stories are good enough to keep you interested.

157

Viren Goyal

Songs Of The Cuckoo Bird

Amulya Malladi

Fiction

Other

2006

***1/2

No. of Pages=384 After reading a few three star books i thought i was due for one good one. I randomely picked this book from a friend's collection and was not disappointed. It could be calle3d an epic. Since it deals with three generations of the families. The story is based on the tales told to the author by her mother and her own experiences in life, not necessarily in an Ashram. The story tells of life in an Ashram. in this ashran, people who have no where else to live are welcome. People so chores and make just enough contributions to make life going.The Ashram is headed by a girl, who her father has made others believe that she has special powers. She is the Guru. The story deals with the life of girls and older people living together. Their weaknesses, needs to have sexual contacts and interaction are very well dealt. A6 year old attracted to a 18 year old and having sex with her is all there. The author has done a good job of explaining the inner feelings of the young and old living in this Ashram. I may read a few mor of the books by the same author . Her other books are Serving Crazy with Curry, The mango Season and A breath Of Fresh Air.

158

Viren Goyal

Tin Fish

Sundeep Chakravarti

Fiction

Other

2005

**1/2

No. of Pages=236 Ths author went to Mayo College in Ajmer Rajasthan.The story revolves on the life of four friends at mayo. Starts from day one when they arrived and how they were treated by seniors until the time some of the friends graduated from this school. The book tells the story of pressure from the parents to become what they want irrespective of what these friends want to become. This affects their frame of mind and hoe each of them copes with it.These youngsters are in their early teens and come of age at the school. As usual, the boys are sex starved and read PONDIES and fantasize anout girls and their body parts. The hide under the bushes and take a peek at the bathrooms where the girls take showers.It is an ordinary book and I could not find the interesting flow of the story expected from such a theme.

159

Viren Goyal

Home

Manju Kapur

Fiction

Other

2006

***

No. of Pages=237 The book by an insian writer dealing with a topic very familiar to me was quite entertaining. This is my first novel by this writer. The book unfolds like a soap opera on the Indian TV these days. The story is set in Karolbaug Delhi with side references to Meerut which is near my home town Muzaffarnagar. It is a story of a joint family This family has a cloth shop in Karolbag. The owner has two sons and daughter. One by one they get married and he has several grand children. The head of the joint family passes away and subsequently the children have grand children. The problems of joint family start. The author has dealt with the problems of the joint family quite well.It is an interesting reading if you are inclined to read such themes

160

Viren Goyal

Morgan's Run

Coleen McCullough

Non-Fiction

Other

2000

****1/2

No. of Pages=600 I did not realize that this is my second book by this very talented writer until I read the credits. Her first book read by me was The Thorn Birds. This story has beens written after extensive research on the transportation of English convicts from England to Far away Australia for resettlement during 1780s. In that era, small crimes like theft carried public floffing and jail of 7 years. little bigger crimes carried death penalty. The convicts are transported in ships where living conditions were horrible and unlivable. Once they reach Australia, the living conditions are hell. Big insects Terrible storms, no food, no supplies for long time make lid miserable. The story deals with slow and painful resettlements, building of houses, town. It is a well written book that keeps you interested till the end. The storms and other scenes are very well created that make you feel you are experiencing the same along with the people in the middle of the story. A nice book.

161

Viren Goyal

The devil Wears Prada

Laureen Weisberger

Fiction

Other

2003

****1/2

No. of Pages=391 This book was apleasant surprise. Looks like the author had Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in mind when she wrote this book.I have seen the trailer of the movie based on this book on the internet and intend to see the full movie on DVD soon. It is a hilarious comedy. It is a story of a little crazy and egoistic boss of a fashion magazine, a celebrity and her assistance who is sane and is trying very hard to put up with her for at least a year, so that she can put working for this celebrity on her resume to move on in professional career.Does she succeed? to find out, you will have to see the movie or read the book. A recommended reading if you like such plots.

162

Viren Goyal

Every Thing Worth Knowing

Laureen Weisberger

Fiction

Other

2005

***

No. of Pages=366 Since I enjoyed her first book Devil Wears Prada, I decided to read her second book. This book turned out to be good but not in the same class as PRADA.A young professional woman has a very demanding job. She quits it and stays home. Then she gets an offer to become party organizer for the high end party planner and PR person. All the clients are rich and famous. During her job, she is linked to a very rich guy and she herself is followed by papparatzies. is she happy? Does she find love? to find out you have to read the book. This is a good book

163

Viren Goyal

Chasing harry Winston

Lauren Weisberger

Fiction

Other

2008

***1/2

No. of Pages=278 A very interesting book. Equally interesting for female3 readers as well as male ones.This book is full of girl talks and details.Things generally discussed among girls. For men folks this is an insight to the things girls talk.It was assumed that only men folks think and talk about sex when good friends meet. No girls talk about it more. They talk about the size and shapes of their partners, theit methods of exchanging body fluids while kissing, toung movements etc. It is by no means a sex oriented book. All thinf flow in a very natural way. It is a story of three very close young girls, all single living in Manhattan. It tells about the game plans to catch their man and get him into bed. THe plan is executed with precision. Some times they have to plat hard to get and some times the they give in little at a time according to the plans. I got a kick with a statement made by one of the girla when asked, did you have sex with him. She said "NO". Tw/three times in and out does not count for sex.

164

Harsh Pande

The Whole Truth

David Baldacci

Fiction

Thriller

2008

***1/2

No. of Pages=530
This book has an interesting theme. In today's computers and Internet dominated world, it is very easy for some persons or agency to manipulate and distort the truth and cause a havoc in the world. In fact, a whole new industry has grown around this - the Perception Management. We see this happening around us all the time. For example, some person posts a so-called blasphemous photo of Prophet Mohammed in You Tube and it causes riots in Muslim countries. Pakistan stops access Facebook and Y-tube.....
The plot in the book is like this - Nicholas Creel, the head of the Ares Corporation, a huge defense contractor, hires a perception management firm to start a second cold war by planting fake news stories on the Internet about Russian atrocities. The propaganda campaign soon turns violent with the massacre of the members of a London think tank, the Phoenix Group, apparently by a Russian hit team. Creel hopes that the Phoenix Group's links with the Chinese government will lead to war between Russia and China as well as feed a worldwide arms race that will profit his company. A shadowy operative, A Shaw, whose fiancée perished in the London attack, allies himself with a disgraced female journalist in an effort to thwart Creel's evil plot. While some readers may find it a stretch that a resurgent Russia should so easily overshadow all other world crises, Baldacci in an author's note makes an eloquent case for the very real threat of perception management.
It is a fast paced, page turning novel in the typical Baldacci fashion. I am giving it three and half stars (***1/2).

165

Harsh Pande

First Family

David Baldacci

Fiction

Thriller

2009

****

166

Viren Goyal

Ruthless.com

Tom Clancy

Fiction

Thriller

1998

**1/2

No. of Pages=353 This is a thriller. It is a story about a businessman who owns a technology company that makes encyiption software which keeps data exchange between parties secured. This technology is about to be deregulated which would help bad guys and criminals.The owner of the company that makes the software is dead against the deregulation. As expected, the bad guys try to kill the businessman and those helping him. After reading the book, I am at a loos to comprehand as to why the US government wants to deregulate the encryption technology. The book gets to be interesting in patches and keeps it readable. For this reason I give this book just 2-1/2 stars.

167

Harsh Pande

In Harm's Way

Doug Stanton

Non-Fiction

Other

2001

****

No. of Pages=327.
THE SINKING OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS AND THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF ITS SURVIVORS.
A facinating book about an important true event in World War II - in the war with Japan. If you remember somethings about WWII, you may recall that US declared War on Japan after the attck on Pearl Harbor. USS Indianapolis was a famous battleship in the Pacific War theater. It had many successes against Japanese fleet.
This book is about its last voyage to Japan from San Francisco and what happened to it and its crew. The book has two parts. The first part is about its last voyage to Japan. This happened in early 1945. Apparently, it was ordred to proceed to Japan in a hurry - before it was fully ready from the maintenance and hiring and training of its true. The raeson for the "hurry" was that it was taking the atom bomb that was to be dropped over Nagasaki - the captain and senior officers were not privy to this info due to the secret nature of the mission. This voyage was successfula and Indianpolis delivered the bomb package to the specified island in record time.
The second part of the book deals with its next voyage and here everything went wrong. It is not a fictional novel so I can state what happened. It was ordered to go to another island to take part in the final assault on Japan. But during this voyage it was sunk by a Japanese sub. The captain was told nothing about the possible dangers of the subs lurking in that lane. In fact, Japanese sub commander could not believe his eyes when he saw this ship in front of his periscope. He tarpedoed it so quickly that USS Indianapolis did not even had a chance to send A SOS message.
To add insult to injury, when it failed to arrive at its destination, no one reported it is "overdue". They "assumed" that it may have been diverted to some other island. The key part of the story is that out of approx 1200 crew members, only about 300 survived and how they survied in the shark infested ocean, with no water and food and no one in the US Navy looking for them. They were floating aimlessly for 4-5 days before a US plane happed to see them and then call for help. The tria and court martial of the captain are another sad chapters. The author had done a very good job of researching the story and present it in a very readable form. Ultimately is it about the human courage and endurance. I am giving it four stars.

168

Viren Goyal

Stone Cold

David Baldacci

Fiction

Mystery

2007

***1/2

No. of Pages=388 This thrilling story starts with a beautiful woman conning a nasty casino owner of Atlantic City for 40 million $$. The routhless casino owner goes after searching and killing the con artist woman. A team of her friends who are expert in their own fields , extremely skilled in protecting people get to gather to protect her. two main member of this team have a past unknown to public. one of them is living as a cemetary keeper under a new name. The other work for homeland security Depaeartment as a contractor to root out/checkout corruption and lapses in securiety. In the process of protecting this woman, the had to deal with a corrupt senator and a nasty CIA chief. The chase and protection process gets very interesting and the story ends up getting very interesting as the past of the main charactors starts to unrevel. The books has 2 to 5 pages per chapter. Each episode of the story starts with a new chapter. i liked that very much. This book deserves more than three stars but not four, so I give it 5-1/2 stars.

169

Viren Goyal

First family

David Baldacci

Fiction

Biography

2009

****

No. of Pages=639 This book has an interesting plot and the cast of characters - the President and the First Lady of the United States! Their niece and nephews had a birthday party at Camp David. One of them is kidnapped. The sister of the First Lady is also killed at her house. Of course, FBI and Secret Service get involved, but the kidnapper is a very smart and ex-Vietnam veteran. He tells the First Lady not to tell anything about the Ransom note to any one. The First Lady knows a private investigator who had helped them in a weak moment. She calls him and his friend to find out. They are also very smart and capable - but they have to fight the politics of the White House and FBI and Secret Service. I would like to add the collowing comment as an addendum to Harshu's: 1. I had heard the erm page turner. This book defines what the page turner means. The story moves very fast and keeps you absorbed.I wanted to give this 4.5 stars but had to limit it to only four stars mainly because, the story could have ended in a much different and interesting way. Antics of the first lady towards the end of the book are tame and not believable. The book dags a bit for the last 50 pages or so. Still very enjoyable book to cuddle up with in a hammock by the beach.I can not believe thT i FINISHED THIS BOOK WITHIN 5 DAYS, i FIRST THOUGHT IT WILL TAKE ME A MONTH TO FINISH THIS ALMOST 1-1/2 " THICK BOOK

170

Viren Goyal

Simply Genious

David Baldacci

Fiction

Mystery

2008

****1/2

No. of Pages=320 This is finest page turner that I have read.It has a nice plot with the story set in Varginia. There is a super secret CIS facility on the banks of York river. On the other side of the river there is another research facility where super secret research is being conducted by very skilled genious scientists. One of the scientist is found dead inside CIA compound. It is made to look like a sucide. Then another scientist is found murdered in the research facility. When people start dying a private detective agency starts working on the case. The mystery keeps deepening the murdered sccientis's daughter is kidnapped. The ending is such, you will never guess and very convincing that such things could happen. A great book for Mystery lovers. Since it is not a classic, I could not give it 5 stars but It has to have 4.5 stars.

171

Viren Goyal

The Russia House

John Le Carre

Fiction

Mystery

1988

**1/2

No. of Pages=431 This is amystery story set in England and Russia. At a book fair a very pretty woman hands over a transcript of the work of a Soviet physicist to be taken to England for publication .The transcript is addressed to a publisher whis inturn is drafted to get to the source of the author and spy on him. In the process he falls in love with this beautiful woman who is the massenger between the physicist code named Blue bird and the publisher. The cat and mouse spy game starts now . The book is interesting in patches. To be honest I could not latch on to the book. To my taste there is too much of irrelevance packed in the story. A movie was also made based on this book Starring Sean Connery and beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer . I am sure Michelle must have played the role of the beautiful Katya and Sean must have played Barley Publisher turned spy.

172

Viren Goyal

The Killing Zone

Frederick Downs

Non-Fiction

Other

1978

***

No. of Pages=267 I always wanted to know about the war in Vietnam. This book gave me an honest description of the fighting in the dense jungles of Vietnam. THe auther is a young officer who volunteerd to fight there. It chronicles his one year in Vietnam. It describes how he fought deep inside the dense Vietnamese Jungles with maze dense jungles with mazes of underground tunnels, where the Vietcongs hid and disappeared. It is very honest description of the way the things were. Quite an interesting book by a non professional writer. A real story.

173

Viren Goyal

Absolute Power

David Baldacci

Fiction

Thriller

1986

****1/2

No. of Pages=469 This is the finest page turner that I have read. Once you start the book it is hard to put it down. After reading this book and many others by this gifted writer i have become a fan of Baldacci.He has his hand on the reader's pulse at all time. The story starts with a accomplished burgular hitting a rich person's house when they are supposed to be away in the islands on vacation. To his surprise, the lady of the house return home oll of a sudden. This lady is very beautiful and young married to an aging billionaire man. The burgular hides in a closet. He discovers the closet id huge and has a one way mirror. He can see everything happening inside the bedroom and he can not be seem from the other side. What happens next is something that he can not believe. He sees a brutal sex act and a murder. The man having sex with the lady of the house is a famous person.All the signs of the act and murder are carefully removed with no evidence left. This is just the beginning. What is most interesting in the rest of the book is how the detective starts digging and how he tries to catch the culprits based on minute clues which me and you would not imagine. A gripping story. I would like to give it 4-1/2 stars which is 1/2 star below the 5 stars reserved by me for the classics.

174

Viren Goyal

THE WINNER

David Baldacci

Fiction

Thriller

1996

*****

No. of Pages=516 I did not want this book to end, it was such an interesting story, a page turner. One of the finest written by Bacdacci. THe finishing this book was a downer, because, it is a hard one to follow. The story revolves around a poor country girl enticed into getting involved with a lottery which is fixed. Then she has to be on the run for a murder which she did not commit.The person behind is the one deadly person who fixed the lottery. Now the cat and mouse game starts and there are so may twists and turns, you would not believe. The book keeps the reader's interest going all the time expecting the unexpected. In this catagory, this is the most interesting book that I have read. Although my 5 stars are reserved for classics, but this book being the best in the catagory gets 5 stars, i can not help it.

175

Harsh Pande

Extreme Measures

Vince Flynn

Fiction

Thriller

2008

****1/2

No. of Pages=430

This is my first book by this author. It can be categorized as "Political Thriller". It deals with terrorism, poltics in Washington DC, al-Quaeda, CIA, FBI etc. The theme of this book is that USA has captured two terrorists and they are being held at an Air Force base somewhere in Europe. How to get them to talk? Use torture or not? The recent exposures at Abu Gharib are mentioned. The base commander and his assistant are going by the book (Geneva Convention). But CIA knows that these guys will not talk using the normal measures. Hence the title "Extreme Measures". The book is fast moving and page turner. The heroes are very likable. We get an inside view how the heads of CIA, FBI and some senators work (to serve their self interests rather than nations well being). How the heroes find a third cell and save USA from a major attack is something you have to read yourself. I am giving it 4.5 stars (****1/2) and I am glad that I found a new author. Please see next book by Vince Flynn!

176

Harsh Pande

Transfer of Power

Vince Flynn

Fiction

Thriller

1999

****

No. of Pages=549
I liked Vince Flynn's first book so much that I decided to read one more book by him. THis is also a political thriller. This book was written in 1999 - so it is Pre-9/11. In one sense the plot seemed old since we know more about terrorists now than at that time. But still the book kept my interest throughout. The plot is that a well known Iraqi terrorist gets into the White House as a foreign delegate and meets with the President and with help of his friends takes over the White House and a large number of hostages. Fortunately, President's Secret Service guy whisks him to a tunnel thereby saving his life. How they save the White House, how there is a power grabbing by the Vice President, what demand the terrorist makes etc. are the highlights of the story. I could not put it down near the end. I will give it a four star just because I gave 4.5 to his other book.

177

Indira Pande

The Winner

David Baldacci

Fiction

Thriller

1998

*****

No. of Pages=641
The story of this book is very interesting.A page turner.I could not put the book down.I liked the strong character of LuAnn.I liked thecharacter of Charlie,how he keeps his promise and stands like a big wall between any kind of trouble that comes towards LuAnn and her daughter Lisa. The story keeps you engrossed with its unexpected twists and turns.I had knots in my stomach as the book was coming to an end and things were happening very fast.This is the most interesting book I have ever read.I give this book five star (*****).I enjoyed this book more than The client and First Family.

178

Viren Goyal

Tea Time For The Traditionally Built

Alexander McCall Smith

Fiction

Other

2009

***

No. of Pages=212 This is tenth book that I have read in the series created by this talented writer. Fhe Series is called The #1 Ladies detective agency. The other books that I have read in the series are; The #1 Ladies detective agency, Tears of Giraffe,morality of beautiful girls, The Kalahari Typing School for men,The Full cupboard of life, In the company of Cheerful ladies,Blue Shoes of happiness,The Good Husband at Zebra Drive,The miracle at Speedy motors and this book. All the books except this one were read before the creation of this site, i think. The story is set in Botsawana in Africa. The main characters are Mma Ramotswe, the owner of the detective agency and his very witty secretary Mma Makutsi and mr. JLB matekoni the auto garage owner. Mma Ramotswe is now married to JLB Matekoni. Ramoswe runs the detective agency and she solves mysteries on petty crimes, like cheating husbands, missing persons, match fixing etc. Her solutions are very simple, logical and interesting. Each book solves one or two cases. All three characters are honest to goodness compassionate and genuinely nice people. You can not help but like them. You only wish them well and success. The writing style is very simple and this series makes a very easy reading to be enjoyed during plane travel, trainjourney or by the beach.No tension, nothing complicated, jusy easy going fun mixed with a bit of mystery.