Category: BookReview

The Book ‘Transforming Transport’ is written by a Switzerland based Think Tank called W.I.R.E.

The Book consists of interviews with leading architects,car designers,writers, thinkers etc to understand how transportation will look like in the future.

Currently, more than 50% of the world’s population live in urban cities.It is just not possible for all these people to use cars for their own transport with all the attendant problems of traffic congestion,parking etc

Some studies say that around 30% of the traffic in cities is from cars searching for parking !!

The future of transportation looks then something like this:

1. More reliance on trains/rail. One train can replace 1000 cars.We are seeing this in India with Metro projects lined up for 25 Cities
2. More focus on auto sharing.The rise of Uber/Ola is testament to this. Most cars spend their time in parking. As per the The Royal Automobile Club, active use of cars in UK is only 3% ; 97% of the time, the car is parked-either at home or at destination. Ford has introduced a concept called GoDrive which is a pay per minute car-sharing service.
3. Driver-less cars. In the West, there is a lot of focus on driver-less cars.Just as the very rich or hobbyists ride horses, similarly driving a car will be relegated to the fringes
4. Move towards Electric.Fossil Fuel Cars will be phased out and the industry will move towards electric. Road technologies  exist which will charge the car as it drives on the road
5. Cars no longer seen as a status symbol.Why should it when it will be primarily be as a way to go from Point A to Point B?
6. Logistics industry will be comparatively unaffected as 90% of the World’s trade happens by sea.
7. Changing Urban Landscape.More focus on walk to work/shop.Immobility-the ability not to be stuck in traffic jams-will be the real luxury
8. Virtual travel.Instead of actually going to Paris, you can sit in the comfort of your living room and tour the Louvre !

All in all,an interesting book and am grateful to my friends at Julius Baer for sharing it.

This is an unusual book review for me as usually my reviews cover books on finance, investing or business biographies.

This book was gifted to me by the good folks at Shanti Stupa, Ladakh and hence I feel a bit obligated to write about it.

Many Indians do not know anything about Tibet or about the struggle of the Tibetan people.

Tibet was more or less independent when China “liberated” Tibet in 1950.With brute force, they suppressed the Tibetan people.

On 10 March,1959, the Tibetan people rose in revolt.The Chinese crushed this revolt mercilessly and many lost their lives.

Since then, 10 March is commemorated by the Tibetans as ‘National Uprising Day’

The Book is a collection of speeches made by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 10 March every year for a period of 40 years from 1961-2011

The speeches more or less fit a pattern:

• Remembrance of those martyred on that fateful day
• Highlighting the changes in the  international arena
• Illuminating on the oppression,injustices and cultural genocide faced by the Tibetans
• Appealing to the Chinese for talks
• Thanking Indians and the India Govt for their support and assistance
• Ending with a prayer for peace , truth and justice

As you start reading the letters, it feels like you have gone back in time when Mao was ruling China

As you come to the present, you realize how little China and their Han Nationalism attitude towards Tibet and even India has changed over the years.

You also appreciate how difficult it is to wage a non-violent struggle for freedom from an authoritarian power…it takes decades and decades before one can succeed.

As such,I feel lucky to live in a free India and thank our freedom fighters who made it possible.

The Book ‘Am I Being too Subtle?’ is written by Billionaire Sam Zell who is famed for his deal making skills

The Book are essentially his memoirs which makes for superb reading.

Sam Zell was born in Chicago to a Jewish family.His family fled Poland from Hitler and made the journey to US crossing over from Poland to Russia to Japan to the US.

From the beginning, Sam was great at making deals-especially in the real estate sector.

He parlayed his success into raising funds and investing in capital asset companies/real estate.

He make famous for his deals buying distressed assets…so much so, that he became well known by the epithet ‘The Grave Dancer’

His most famous deal was in 2008 when he sold his REIT company to Blackrock at the top of the real estate cycle for $ 39 Billion

The Book is written in a very salty style and makes for great learnings.

Two takeaways for me personally were:

• Conduct your deals in such a way that people want to deal with you again and again.This essentially means always leave something on the table for the other guy
• Go where the competition is limited/non-existent. You can be a genius but if there is lot of competition, you won’t make any money

I STRONGLY recommend this book for all traders/investors/deal makers

The Book ‘Advice & Dissent’ is an autobiography written by former RBI Governor Y.V Reddy

Governor Reddy is widely credited for saving India during the financial crisis of 2008 owing to his prudent and counter-cyclical measures.

The Book traces the journey of Dr.Reddy as an IAS trainee to the highest offices in the land.

It is full of interesting anecdotes and insights which brings to the fore the pressures a civil servant has to face while performing his duties.

I found a couple of insights in the Book fairly interesting.

One insight is that while the IAS has officers from all parts of the country-the western part of India-Gujarat & Maharashtra is under-represented. This  has been the case since Independence. Probable reasons could be better opportunities for youngsters there than a sarkaari naukri

Another fascinating insight was how Governor Reddy ensured that foreign banks do not enter India.

He descibes his meeting with a senior official of Citibank in Washington DC, as follows

“In Washington D.C, a senior official of Citibank called on me.

He  offered to provide assistance to the RBI in preparing the guidelines for the entry of foreign banks.

Elections have been ordered and a new government is yet to take a position on this matter,I informed him.

He asserted that Citibank was confident of implementing the policy, whichever government comes to power.

I was taken back.Such an assertion indicated the influence that the global financial conglomerates could exercise over the political and decision making processes in our country.

I resolved that we simply could not afford it.”

I also found it interesting the manner in which he resolved the issues of GTB fiasco and ICICI Bank merger with ICICI.

The wisdom,wit, integrity and honesty of Governor Reddy shines in the book throughout and makes the Book for an interesting read.

Two of his famous statements as Governor still elicit a laugh:

“My job as the RBI Governor is to save the Indian Economy from the Govt of India”

“The Reserve Bank of India Governor is very independent. And, I took the permission of my Finance Minister to say this…:”

Do buy this book if interested in policy making and central banking.

The Book ‘The Thoughtful Investor‘ is written by Basant Maheshwari who is an well known investor in the Indian Equity Markets and runs a PMS fund.

In the Book, Basant traces his journey as an investor, highlighting the mistakes he made on the way and the lessons learnt.I particularly enjoyed reading about his investments in Pantaloon Retail and Voltas.

The Book is divided into 6 parts:

• The World of Investing-A good introduction for the Beginner investor
• Bull Market,Trends and Bubbles-I really liked the way Basant explained how market tops and bottoms are made
• Company and Financial Analysis-Various financial ratios are explained in a simple and succinct manner
• Buying and Selling Strategies-The most difficult decisions for any investor
• Analysing Sectors and Industries-Spinoffs, Cash Discounts, Banks, NBFCs, PSU stocks, Holding Companies etc are discussed in depth
• Portfolio Construction & Leverage-The key decision which will impact your wealth creation journey

The Book is written very crisply with numerous examples from the Indian Context which makes it for a very engaging read.

I would strongly recommend this book for all serious investors in the Indian markets.

Go Buy it.