Hello, this is Abdeali, and today I will share with you 5 memoirs that you should read.
Why you may ask?
There is a saying that says, "Show me your friends, and I will show you your future." Memoirs are the best way to befriend and learn from those we cannot meet in our lifetime.
So without wasting any time, let's get into in "5-All time best memoirs to read".
1) Martin Luther
"Love Is the Light That Illuminates the World!"
I've always been fascinated by Martin Luther's stories, but I've never had the opportunity to read much about them.
I saw this amazing book about the king's life only a few days ago and bought it on the spot. I would probably say that it was one of my best decisions.
From his passion to bring justice and equality for all to his love for Gandhi's non-violence, the book covers all the significant aspects of the king's life as written by himself.
Summary
The main defining movement was the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, which brought the king to the center of attention.
All black people were prohibited from sitting at the front of the bus and were mandated to give up their seats if some white men asked.
Yet, one lady resisted this and was jailed. This led to a nationwide protest and boycott of all buses. The boycott lasted for 385 days after that court ruled the law unconstitutional.
Martin Luther was the main president of this entire movement, which brought justice to millions of people.
From his childhood, he was a fan of Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violent approach, especially his "Satyagraha movement." He made sure that all his protests were based on the non-violent method.
Afterward, his Birmingham campaign in 1963 and March on Washington are also well explained, where he gave his famous speech, "I have a dream."
Due to his non-violent approach, he became the youngest person to achieve the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King was shot dead on March 29, 1968.
His autopsy revealed that even though he was 39 years old at the time of his death, his heart was 60 years old. This was attributed to the pressure and tension of 13 years of the civil rights movement.
Conclusion.
As quoted at the start, "Love can light the entire world."
To love even your opponent is something that King and Gandhi have taught me. Since hate can never defeat hate, only love can.
To be honest, this year was not that great for me in terms of reading; due to graduation, further studies, and work pressure, I wasn't able to focus on it.
Yet I am glad that my year will end with these great books. Everyone should read this once in their lifetime.
This is one of the best memoirs to read
2) Stephen Hawking
The book explores the mysteries of space and black holes; it was written by Stephen W. Hawking, a brilliant scientist, and physicist.
Hawking was diagnosed with neuron disease at age 21 in 1963, which gradually paralyzed him over the decade.
However, he didn't lose hope and continued his research on astrology. By 1970, he predicted that black holes emit radiation, which became a breakthrough and was later named "Hawking radiation."
The book starts with the very basic question of how this space was created.
Many theories were already there for a century, but one famous theory that came in the 20th century was the "big bang" theory.
According to this, the entire universe was in one star, which began getting bigger and bigger, and one day it exploded.
The entire piece of the star got scattered in space and later became the galaxies and stars that we see today.
Another fact is that the universe, which began with a blast, is getting wider and wider every day; the start you see today is getting farther and farther day by day.
This keeps everything in place; if space stops getting wider, all stars and galaxies will collapse on each other due to their gravitational forces.
Finally, the most important part was the origin of black holes.
They are created when a star's size is small, but its energy becomes so large over time that not even light can escape its gravitational force.
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Conclusion
It is the best book for those who love space or physics.
However, Hawkings believed that everyone should be aware of space and its related facts and mysteries because only then can we go beyond what we know today and find answers to larger questions such as "Why" all of this happened.
3) The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it." "The brave man is not one who is not afraid, but one who overcomes that fear."
This book has been one of the longest books on my shelf. I discovered the book in March 2020, but unaware of Mandela and his journey, I skipped it and proceeded to read other memoirs on popular personalities.
Almost every memoir I've read, from Richard Branson to Bill Gates, Will Smith, and even Barack Obama, mentions Madela.
Hence, I began learning about him and, after so many years, found it quite amazing. I hope I would have picked a little early.
The book starts with the introduction of Mandela and the Xhosa, a famous tribe to whom he belonged.
His father died in his early childhood, and he was taken care of by the regent (the head of the tribe). Things were going smoothly when he began pursuing a B.A.
One day, suddenly, the regent called him and his son and informed them they would be married soon.
Both opposed the idea and, seeing no other option, ran from their hometown to Johannesburg. His real struggle began after that; he pursued his LLB and joined a law firm as well as the ANC (African National Congress) and got into politics.
This is a must-read memoir.
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The book was pretty long (700 pages), so giving a full summary would be impossible, but the book is a lifetime read.
The racism that thrived at that time and still does is a very dark reality that he and many others are facing to date.
The memoir makes one see the struggle right in front of their eyes; one could feel the oppression and a strong will as well.
4) Delivering Happiness by Tony Hersh
His book is a memoir by Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of Zappos.
The company was an American online shoe and clothing retailer that started in 1999.
Tony later became the CEO of the company when the company's sales were $1.2 million. By 2009, the company's sales had surpassed $1 billion, and it was later acquired by Amazon.
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Summary.
Tony started a mail-order business in his childhood, which became a big hit. Although the enterprise didn't last long, it gave little Tony a zest for entrepreneurship and independence.
Later, he joined Harvard and got a placement at Oracle with a good salary. Everything was going fine, but one thing was missing: the passion that he craved. The same was true of his friend Sanjay, whom he met at Harvard.
So both decided to quit their jobs and start a business named "LinkExchange," which helps with online advertising. The business was a big hit and was later sold to Microsoft for US$265 million.
Although he became a millionaire at the age of 26, the passion was still missing, which led him to take another big bet on Zappos. He became an investor in the company and later its CEO.
Zappos was in a very bad condition in 1999 when he became CEO; no one was ready to invest in the company, and it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Tony concentrated on rejuvenating the company culture, making it the No. 1 priority, and making customer service the responsibility of the entire company, not just a department. All this and many other things led Zappos to become a billion-dollar company.
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Conclusion
Tony Hsieh, unfortunately, died at the age of 47 in 2020. This was due to a fire that broke out in his house.
However, his achievements, passion, and lessons in this book will continue to inspire many budding entrepreneurs.
Everyone can take inspiration from this book. This is the best memoir of the last decade.
5) Narotam Sekhsaria
Narotam Sekhsaria is the founder and former CEO of Ambuja Cements Limited, formerly known as Gujarat Ambuja Cement Limited, a prominent Indian cement-producing company.
In his memoir, he shares his early childhood and his first job as a cotton trader before venturing into the business world.
The Ambuja Cement was incorporated in 1983, a pre-liberalized era with the supremacy of license raj in India.
Although starting a business has never been easy in India due to rigid bureaucracy & corruption at various levels, the license raj made things much worse for young entrepreneurs of that time.
From the amount of scale to the decision of where to set up business was in government hands, besides the heavy taxation and bureaucracy made things much tough & slow.
It was during this time that Narotam started his company, focused on quality & service, and made Abmuja a remarkable success all over the world.
Its all-time best memoir to read
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Conclusion
More than anything, I learn about the power of luck and destiny in this book.
I don't have much faith in such things, but one cannot deny their existence.
As he only mentioned, the author became successful because he was in the right place at the right time and with the right people.
The book is promising for those who want to comprehend how the Indian corporate world works and how destiny can periodically rewrite our whole lives.
Here are 5 All-time Best Memoirs To Read, if you haven't read any of them then I highly recommend you to check them out, they will not only change your perspective towards the world but will also make you a great & happy person.
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Also, check - out - "10 Self-Help Books Everyone Should Read in their 20s"
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