Abdul Kalam

Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of Abdul Kalam by Arun Tiwari (Author), A. P. J. Abdul Kalam  (Author)

4.6 out of 5 stars  4,166 ratings

Every common man who by his sheer grit and hard work achieves success should share his story with the rest for they may find inspiration and strength to go on, in his story. The 'Wings of Fire' is one such autobiography by visionary scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who from very humble beginnings rose to be the President of India. The book is full of insights, personal moments and life experiences of Dr. Kalam. It gives us an understanding on his journey of success.

Dr. Kalam by narrating his life journey evokes the reader to identify with one’s inner fire and potential, for he was of the firm belief that each one of us was born with the strength and potential to make a tangible change in the world. How he inspired himself to achieve dreams and how he went about accomplishing so much is what the book captures nicely.

The book recollects many anecdotes and stories from childhood, his time at school and college. The time spent at the Langley Research Center, NASA and Wallops Flight Facility gets a lot of attention.

Personal tragedies have not been left out. The time when he lost his father and how he felt when conferred with many awards like the Padma Bhushan have been written in much detail.

The second half of the book deals with Dr Kalam, the scientist who made a significant contribution in developing the countries guided missile program, a pioneering effort for the security of the nation. It's not with reason that he was nicknamed as the 'Missile Man of India'. The book also contains 24 photographs at various stages of his life.

Authored by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Mr. Arun Tiwari, the 180 page book 'The Wings of Fire' was first published in the year 2000. Mr Tiwari is a well-known missile scientist who has worked with Dr. Kalam. Having become a bestseller, the book has even been translated into thirteen languages, which includes Chinese and French.

About the Author

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam from 2002 to 2007 served as the 11th President of India. Greatly admired all over India, he was a scientist by profession, who played a leading role in developing the country's missile program. From humble roots in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Dr Kalam in an inspirational autobiography 'The Wings of Fire' traces the rise and the mark he made in life.

Mr. Arun Tiwari, a scientist, was a colleague of Dr Kalam.

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Review

If you want to leave your footprints in the sands of time, do not drag your feet." These are one of the most enduring lines that still lay etched in my memory. I have read this book long back, and I don't remember when, but surely the essence remains with me even today. This book is best suited for reading for the teenagers, to dream and to dare. It shows, how a person from the modest background ends up in being the First Citizen of a nation of one billion. It shows how a scientist, devoid of basic tools, helps in culmination of a program which other love to loathe and deride. It shows a man, who lived his life in terms of his principles and nothing else. It shows how a common man, like you and me, can achieve when he can dream. And finally, it teaches how to dream --Tarun Mitra on Apr 26, 2012

This is the most inspiring book I have ever read. Great salute to the man for his contribution to Indian Rocketry.I would like to recall few lines from book. 1. What you imagine, is what you transpire.What you believe is what you achieve. 2. A good plan executed violently right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week. 3. Once your mind stretches to a new level it never goes back to its original dimension. 4. Adversities always presents opportunities for introspection. and the most inspiring line is.. "We all are born with divine fire in us.Our efforts should be to give wings --Devendra on Aug 26, 2012

After reading this book i realized the value of APJ abdul Kalam's dedication. Don't think about money to purchase this book to read a autobiography a spokesman,a president,a DRDO chief scientist,a ISRO chief scientist, a Bramohse supersonic missile innovator... --Naveen A H on Sep 5, 2011

About the Author

Arun Tiwari rose to fame as an author with his book Wings of Fire, which he co-authored with Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He's a missile scientist who worked under the guidance of Kalam. Tiwari contributed to the design of the missiles, Akash and Trishul and is the first Indian who designed a titanium bottle to power missiles. Apart from this, Tiwari has been the director at the Cardiovascular Technology Institute in Hyderabad. He received the Defense Technology Spin-Off Award for developing the Kalam-Raju stent.

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Product details

• Item Weight : 380 g
• Paperback : 180 pages
• ISBN-10 : 9788173711466
• ISBN-13 : 978-8173711466
• Product Dimensions : 15.9 x 1.1 x 23.9 cm
• Publisher : Universities Press (1 January 1999)
• Reading level : 15 and up
• ASIN : 8173711461
• Language: : English

• Best-sellers rank #203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  #12 in Reference (Books)
  #17 in Biographies & Autobiographies (Books)
  

• Customer Reviews: 
  4.6 out of 5 stars    4,166 ratings

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Learning How to Fly: Life Lessons for the Youth

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam had a great belief in the power of the youth. He met over 21 million children and young people in India and outside and spoke to them about the power of knowledge, ambition, moral behavior and the need to bring about change in society. He travelled to almost every corner of the country meeting the youth in schools, universities and institutions and interacted with them like a committed teacher. In Learning How to Fly some of his nearly 2, 000 lectures have been compiled. These lectures were addressed to teachers and students in school and beyond. In each one of them he has spoken about preparing oneself best for life, to identify and overcome challenges and how to bring out the best within each individual. Through stories from his own life, those of his teachers and mentors as well as stories of some of the greatest men and women of the world and the latest developments in science and technology, he shows us the importance of dreams and the hard work needed to turn those dreams into reality. Filled with warmth, inspiration and a positive attitude, Learning How to Fly is essential reading for every Indian, young and old.

About the Author

Born on 15 October 1931, at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam was one of the most distinguished scientists of India and was awarded the Padma Bhushan (1981), the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna (1997). Dr. Kalam became the eleventh President of India on 25 July 2002. His focus and greatest ambition was finding ways to transform India into a developed nation.

Conversation with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

I Will Fly

I am born with wings So, I am not meant for crawling, I have wings, I will fly.

Dear students and teachers, I would like to share few thoughts on how to achieve the goals in life. There are some proven steps:

• Finding an aim in life before you are twenty years old;

• Acquire knowledge continuously to reach this goal;

• Work hard and persevere so you can defeat all the problems and succeed.

There is a famous verse ‘I will fly’ by the thirteenth-century Persian Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi:

I will fly I am born with potential I am born with goodness and trust I am born with ideas and dreams I am born with greatness I am born with confidence I am born with wings So, I am not meant for crawling,

I have wings, I will fly

I will fly and fly.

Young friends, education is the instrument that gives you wings to fly. Only when your subconscious mind says ‘I will win’ and you believe you can reach your goal, does it become a reality.

Each one of you assembled here and elsewhere, have wings of fire. The wings of fire lead to knowledge which will make you fly as doctors, or engineers, or scientists, or teachers, or political leaders, or bureaucrats or diplomats. Or you could walk on the moon and Mars or do anything else you may want to.

When we see electric bulbs, immediately our thoughts go to the inventor Thomas Alva Edison. He invented the electric bulb and electrical lighting system.

When we hear the sound of aeroplanes flying overhead whom do you think of? The Wright brothers proved that man could fly.

Whom does the telephone remind you of? Alexander Graham Bell.

When people all over the world considered sea travel only as an experience or a voyage, one person during his sea travel from United Kingdom to India started pondering why the horizon where the sky and sea meet looked blue. His research resulted in the discovery of the phenomena of scattering of light. For this, Sir C.V. Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize.

There was an Indian mathematician who did not have formal higher education but had an inexhaustible spirit and love for mathematics. This took him on a path where he ended up contributing to the treasure houses of mathematical research—some of which are still under serious study and engaging mathematicians’ efforts all over the world to establish formal proofs. He was a genius who melted the heart of the most hardened and outstanding Cambridge mathematician Professor G.H. Hardy.

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that it was Professor Hardy who discovered a great mathematician in number theory Srinivasa Ramanujan and brought his genius to the world.

All these people were thirsty for knowledge and their works and names are now immortal.

I have met 21.5 million youth in a decade’s time. From these meetings and interactions such as this one, I learnt that every youth wants to be unique. You can only be YOU! But the world all around you is doing its best, day and night, to make you just like everybody else. At home, you are asked by your parents to be like the neighbours’ children and score good marks like them. When you go to school, your teachers say, ‘Why can’t you be among the top five in the class?’ Wherever you go, they are saying, ‘You have to be somebody else or like everybody else.’ But young friends, I know that all of you would like to be the unique yourself.

The challenge, my young friends, is that you have to fight the hardest battle, and never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place. What will be the tools with which you will fight this battle? They are: have a great aim in life, continuously acquire the knowledge, work hard and persevere to realize the great achievement.

During your studies in your schools you will acquire a great friend who will accompany you forever. Who is that friend? That friend is knowledge. I am giving you here the knowledge equation:

Knowledge = Creativity + Righteousness + Courage

Read this book to know the amazing life lessons by APJ Abdul Kalam and learn how to fly

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Product details

• Item Weight : 195 g
• Paperback : 176 pages
• ISBN-10 : 9788129142153
• ISBN-13 : 978-8129142153
• Product Dimensions : 12.7 x 1.03 x 20.3 cm
• Publisher : Rupa Publications India (21 October 2016)
• ASIN : 8129142155
• Language: : English

• Best-sellers rank #647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  #126 in Personal Development & Self-Help
  #138 in Literature & Fiction (Books)
  

• Customer Reviews: 
  4.7 out of 5 stars    362 ratings