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Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating book
Review: As a young Indian child growing up in America, I heard stories about India's independence movement from my parents. I was told about Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. I had trouble believing that a single individual could have so much impact on the world. After reading, Shashi Tharoor's book, I've changed my mind.Tharoor's analysis of the intertwining between an individual's biography and the birth of a nation is masterful. The book stays close to its subject, Nehru, but then ventures to link his biography to many of the Indian institutions we now take for granted, including: secularism, democracy, non-alignment, and the country's prowess in science and math. This is a highly readable book and I strongly recommend it to any reader interested in learning about India, its culture, and its first leader.
Rating:
Summary: Calling Tharoor a "Nehru-apologist" is a disservice
Review: Some recent reviews in Indian press (www.rediff.com, in particular) convey the impression that Tharoor is a shameless Nehru apologist. This is very unfair in my opinion. Consider this excerpt: "For most of first five decades since independence, India has pursued an economic policy of subsidizing unproductivity, regulating stagnation, and distributing poverty. Nehru called this socialism". Of course, Tharoor tries to balance his views on why Nehru may have pursued the policies he did. Prominently Nehru's mistrust of big business and western capitalism. All in all a very readable book. Could have thrown in some photgraphs of the era to make it a good collectible. Unfortunately there are none.
Rating:
Summary: Calling Tharoor a "Nehru-apologist" is a disservice
Review: Some recent reviews in Indian press (www.rediff.com, in particular) convey the impression that Tharoor is a shameless Nehru apologist. This is very unfair in my opinion. Consider this excerpt: "For most of first five decades since independence, India has pursued an economic policy of subsidizing unproductivity, regulating stagnation, and distributing poverty. Nehru called this socialism". Of course, Tharoor tries to balance his views on why Nehru may have pursued the policies he did. Prominently Nehru's mistrust of big business and western capitalism. All in all a very readable book. Could have thrown in some photgraphs of the era to make it a good collectible. Unfortunately there are none.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly, the dynasty is dead...
Review: This is an informative, brief and readable history of an individual who has had more impact on post colonial India than any one of the millions who have called India home.
Tharoor neither fawns nor scorns one of the truly great and flawed men of history; a refreshing feat when it comes to charting the life of an Indian aristocrat who took his Cambridge Socialism to millions of Indians, who,it can be argued, was partly, perhaps largely, responsible for India's post war descent into 1990's bankruptcy.
And yet, Tharoor is able to give a balanced view of this great man, his foibles and his strengths, his principles and his example, his leadership and his spirit.
A wonderfully readable, serious yet light introduction to a great man of the last century.
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