Gaurav Gandhi, COO, India Cast enjoys reading books. His two absolute favourites when it comes to books include 'Disney War' by James B Stewart and 'Plan of Attack' by Bob Woodward.
I enjoy reading books. Currently, I am reading two books, simultaneously. One is 'Jim Morrison' by Stephen Davis and the other book is 'Too Big To Fail' by Andrew Ross Sorkin.
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'Jim Morrison' is a fascinating book for any 'Doors' fan. I love rock music and have always been intrigued about the band. The life and tales of the rock legend, his troubled youth, family issues, his road to stardom and his untimely death have been recorded beautifully by the author, Stephen Davis. The author is primarily a music journalist who began his career around the time when the band was gaining popularity among Doors fans. It portrays Jim Morrison's life in an unbiased manner - not from the perspective of a fan, but from the perspective of someone who shared the limelight with him.
'Too Big to Fail' is a book that gives an in-the-room account of the men and women who led some of the most powerful organisations in the US and how the Wall Street meltdown of 2008 affected their lives. Leading some of America's largest companies like Lehman Brothers, the Treasury Secretary and even members of AIG's top management, are the key prospects that the book focuses on. The book is written by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a news-breaking New York Times journalist. Given his source bank and ability to dig through facts, Sorkin provides insights into what went on behind-the-scenes.
I find it extremely interesting to read such books because it imparts immense knowledge about how to overcome tough situations and teaches you that even the smallest issue should be addressed before it escalates to a level that leads to a fiasco.
I am a book lover. I don't choose favourites among genres. I prefer to read the brief that is provided by the author and publisher at either the back of the book or on the first page to decide if the topic is something that intrigues me. However, I have noticed that more often than not, I end up reading books from genres like Political History, Biographies and even books on big corporations and what makes them the successful case studies that they are.
Of late, I have realised that books focusing on the hearts and souls that form the core leadership of large media and entertainment conglomerates catch my fancy more often. Those are the books that I find difficult to keep aside once I start reading them.
I have two absolute favourites when it comes to books, 'Disney War' by James B Stewart and 'Plan of Attack' by Bob Woodward.
'Disney War' is an absolutely brilliant tale of the battle of control of one of America's leading media and entertainment companies. Disney is the company that made mice and ducks household names way before it made fairytales famous.
'Plan of Attack' is an engrossing blow-by-blow account of the build up to the Iraq war, after 9/11. The book is a front-row seat to the drama and the decision making in the White House as America prepared to attack Iraq.
One book that I have been wanting to read for a while is 'Sweet Revenge - The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell' by Tom Bower. I have always been amazed by Cowell's jagged rise to fame. It has created a sense of curiosity in me to know more about the man who has made an international name for himself as the no-hold-barred judge on television's biggest music reality show.
I love to read about the characters that are the heroes or villains in a story. There is no particular author that I am really fond of. At the end of the day, what matters to me is the build up to the story and how it matches up to my expectations from the book, following my understanding of the back-page brief.
Source-: afaqs.com
