Adventure Capitalist -- Jim Rogers

I bought this book last October on a whim. Jim Rogers appears sporadically on Indian business channels, so I knew who he was when I spotted this book. Knowing that he was well versed in investments in general and commodities in particular, a book on his round-the-world tour via a custom car, visiting over a hundred nations really intrigued me. (This is, of course, his second trip around the world, the first, ten years ago, having been noted down in his book Investment Biker.) It is a habit of mine not to immediately read any book I've just bought. I tend to let it hibernate on my bookshelf, often for several months, with me picking it up now and then and rifling through the pages, getting a hang of the nature of the book before I actually read it. Weird, isn't it? So it was only after a couple of false starts, over the past few months, that I finally got down to perusing it.

The book is fascinating. The author is precise, practical-minded, has a wry sense of humor that shows up occasionally, and he is strongly opinionated. Perhaps after all his experiences in the investment world and now crossing sixty years and traveling on his own around the world twice to take stock of everything, he definitely is entitled to his opinions, however harsh or unpleasant they may be. The book is interspersed with happenings in his personal life such as his wedding, his father’s death from cancer and the birth of his baby daughter all of which, though of no real relevance to the reader, serve to give his thoughts a human face. But, most of all, his take on the cultural, geographical and social elements that peppered his journey have provided me with a perspective that I’ve always thirsted for, for satisfaction of both my long-time personal curiosity and of my recent investor outlook.

His journey with his young fiancee, Paige Parker, starts in Reykjavik, Iceland, the country where geologically the Western and Eastern Hemispheres meet. From there, he traveled over 152,000 miles through 116 countries, interacting with the local people and trying to get a gist of the politico-economic and cultural environment. It would take me one or two more reads of this book to assimilate all that he has to say. Many of the places that he has described are ones that I’ve never heard of. He has been lucky in many of the border crossings, in getting permission and, mostly, getting in and out alive under harsh conditions of border wars and ethnic unrests.

In Europe, he speaks of the growing menace of low birth rates that are afflicting most countries with the exception of Ireland. The cities are old and so are the people. This, economically, presents a bleak picture of the future as countries are burdened with the responsibility of looking after the costs of living of retired citizens with no young blood infusing fresh money into the economy. He feels countries like the UK are making a huge mistake in closing their borders to immigrants. The ethnic conflict among the European Union regarding Turkey is a case in point which he describes in detail. He repeatedly makes the point how when things are going smoothly everyone co-exists peacefully; but when things take a downturn, rather than analyzing things practically, it is the immigrants that are blamed first …. “those dirty foreigners.” This is a phenomenon the world over.

In Central Asia, things are not as bright as they are displayed with regards to the numerous countries that were formed from the disintegration of the USSR. There, the situation dictates that every man is for himself. The most powerful people drain as much as they can from their country’s economy to fatten their wallets. This insight is particularly useful to know, at a time when several dozens of asset management companies in India are coming out with new fund offerings on world economies, particularly the other emerging markets such as Russia. The stories of political unrest and dictatorship follows along familiar lines, such as the situation in Turkmenbashy.

From Central Asia, Rogers travels to his favorite stop – China. He is rather big on China in terms of a growing economic power. He smashes the prevailing notion that China is a communist country and exposes the fact that they are shrewd businessmen and capitalist at heart. He even compares their shrewdness and knowledgeability to the bumbling naïvety and ignorance of the American diplomats regarding finance. However, though he is so strong on the country, I do wonder what price economic growth is exacting from China. I’ve seen a National Geographic series of the environmental disasters that are shaping up with the extremely rapid pace of development that China is undergoing, not the least of which is the terrifying rate at which her major rivers are drying up. The pollution levels there are also worrying.

As he passes through Korea he remarks on the growing gap between the number of girls and boys being born in Asian countries. So true, even in India! The one child policy in China too has caused this mismatch in birth figures as boys are thought to be better for carrying the family name and business. Japan is another old nation with people depending on robots to look after their needs as there is hardly any younger population. The country is also closed to foreigners, which exacerbates the problem. Rogers speaks of the leap in technology in Mongolia through necessity.

After their wedding at the turn of the millennium, the Rogers travel through Africa, into several war-torn countries. Jim Rogers feels the countries, demarcated haphazardly by white nations several years ago, will only disintegrate further as no thought was given to ethnic backgrounds. There are always wars between factions of Muslims, between Christians and Muslims. He exposes NGO for the scams that they are and lets us know that charity sent from developed nations only serve to fatten the wallets of bureaucrats and middlemen, never reaching the people they were intended for. This is the case in most developing nations unfortunately. He is of the opinion that the African nations will disintegrate rapidly. Thereby he outlines his own plan of allowing Africa to rebuild nations along ethnic lines, of doing away with charity altogether and leaving the people to fend for themselves, in the process forcing the people to develop skills they are beginning to forget in the wake of free meals and corruption; this is an interesting take. I’ve learnt a lot about a lot of places in this continent that I’d never heard of.

From Africa he moved onto Egypt and the oil rich places of the Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman. He then moved onto Pakistan and India. He feels Pakistan will disintegrate as a nation in several decades’ time. His take on India seemed rather harsh too. India is plagued with bureaucratic control over everything, slowing economic progress. At the time of his travels both times, the country had just begun opening her borders to foreign investments. We all are aware of the socialist attitude of the newly independent nation that led to almost bankruptcy and the later move to liberalize investment. What Rogers saw on his trip was the political instability and a nation prone to violence. I feel he got his facts wrong when he stated that India has instigated war on her neighbors; it was the encroaching neighbors that forced India to take military action (or am I biased?). His description of the country is one of aggression, whereby citizens from different religious backgrounds do not get along well. Unfortunately, recent riots and outbreak of violence might’ve reinforced his opinion. He believes that Indians are jealous of China's progress and that India can in no way be compared to China in terms of development. Though initially riled at his rather blunt and harsh take on the country, it did set me to thinking that such an honest and disinterested opinion should actually make us think, on how to better the situation. The molestation that he narrates his young wife experienced in crowded villages by the menfolk would have only added to their low opinion of the people here. We Indians need to wake up and wake up fast.

I got a good perspective of the North East border of India, a part of the country that so very rarely is mentioned by the media. The dangerous zones there, the constant unrests and killings were highlighted in this book.

Thailand and Myanmar are beautiful places; Myanmar has rapidly grown poor with political instability and military rule

He speaks in detail of his trip in Australia, and South America. In South America, he has high hopes particularly of countries rich in natural resources but political instability yet again is making him cautious. Through South America he moves onto the North American continent and back home. He is equally critical of his own country's economy and his countrymen as he is of the rest of the world. I especially loved his criticism of Alan Greenspan, cutting him to size. America's willful and blissful ignorance of the rest of the world was something I too had witnessed.

I would need to re-read the book again to imprint his impressions onto my brain. He touches on several cultural aspects, economic aspects and it is hard to assimilate with one read. Like I said, the book has given me a wonderful perspective of what has been going on around the globe, in line with and in spite of globalization. Next time, I shall read this book with an atlas by my side and with the Google search engine open so that I can make a more in-depth research on all the places he has touched upon.

A Prisoner of Birth -- Jeffrey Archer

This is just the sort of book I would pick up at the local library for a quick quiet read over the weekend. My husband actually picked up this book at the airport to while away the time as he sat waiting for his delayed flight back home when on a business trip. Quite appropriate, I must say.

The story is based on the classic fiction of The Count of Monte Cristo. I read the abridged version of the classic twice when I was twelve and loved the story. My husband later bought the unabridged novel and read it and liked it too. I've read half of the unabridged novel but had to put it away at the halfway mark because of other priorities, and I mean to go back and finish it some day. Reading Jeffrey Archer's new novel gives a sense of deja vu that somehow doesn't sit well. Though the author is famous for his books such as Kane and Abel series, the only book of his that I enjoyed thoroughly and might go back and read again was 'As the Crow Flies.' Even his 'Not a Penny Less, Not a Penny More,' which I had read as a young teenager, was rather predictable right from the middle of the book. I just knew how the plot would run.

The narrative opens with Danny Cartwright proposing to his childhood sweetheart Beth Wilson. As they celebrate this event with Beth's brother at a local bar, things turn ugly with four gentlemen provoking them without reason and end up with the murder of Beth's brother. Danny is wrongfully accused and imprisoned on the false testimony of these gentlemen to twenty two years. He manages to escape through a series of events by switching identities with another inmate (so like Monte Cristo) and returns to the free world a seemingly wealthy man. It is from this position that he wages war against the men who wrongfully and unrepentantly sent him to prison. He succeeds in clearing his name and rejoining his beloved sweetheart Beth.

There is something about Archer's writing that makes it rather exhausting to read. One gets the impression of him sitting and planning every detail of every line of the book. This somehow makes the characters rather colorless, because he doesn't let them breathe on their own. He frequently switches between scenes so that though you become familiar with the characters, it feels as if you just get glimpses of them and not the real picture of them. I actually found myself skimming through the book in various places. In the last two sections, the pace does get rather heated and rivets you in some areas. In the end, however, it felt rather superficial. The characters just don't stick with you. It is an easy-to-forget book.

Repacking Your Bags -- Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro

I really have not been one for self help books. In my younger years I never looked far from the fiction section of the bookstore. But something about this particular book made me buy it some four years ago; I simply cannot recall what it was. It was a year later that I actually read it, after it collected dust on my bookshelf. I was instantly hooked to it; so much so that I recommended this book to a dear friend of mine (recommending any book is something I rarely do). I then forgot all about it until some weeks ago my friend asked me about this book as she felt she now had the time to go through it. I then opened this book for the second time to make sure my opinion still stood before I recommended it again to her. The book is transforming.

Though the two authors are middle-aged and wrote this book from their perspective, I would say this book is an excellent read for people of all ages. It is meant to be read and reread over the years till the pages become dog-eared. And the wonderful thing about it is that everytime you read it, your perspective changes every time and you can actually see your inner self growing.

The book contains seven sections. The first section deals with the all-important question of whether the things in your life actually make you happy -- a small question but so very inlaid with meaning. We are all weighed down by attachments, both physical and emotional, and it does wonders to the soul to stop frequently to ask yourself whether you can actually lighten the burden you are holding. The authors also teach you how you can find your smile again. Indeed, how many times have you really smiled today?

In the second section the authors tell us how we can actually lighten ourselves. Most of us are so used to carrying heavy loads about us that it would come as a surprise to us to know that we can actually choose what we want to carry into the next stage of our lives. They teach us to look at ourselves anew and discover the talents and relationships that nourish us. Three years ago, during my first read of this book, I was riveted by an expression they used: that of having people around us who nourish us, or "nutritious people." These are people who are good for us, who feed and nurture the good and the best in us. I have since subconsciously looked around and strengthened my ties with people like these and have discarded people who do my emotional well being more harm than good. This may have left me with fewer friends, but the ties I have with these select people are very deep and will last a lifetime.

In sections three through five, the authors explore various 'baggages' in one's life: the work bag, the relationship bag and finding one's place in the world. Here they teach us to find ourselves and not be mere spectators of our lives. They teach us to explore. They tell us that our "purpose is not something we have to invent -- it's something we discover." Similarly they ask us who we would choose to fill our lives with as companions. And finally, they ask us where we are headed; what place would we call home.

In sections six and seven, the authors tell us about the various aspects of repacking: how we need to explore what we would like to carry in our life journey, how much or how little we would like to carry and the importance of an inquisitive mind willing to explore.

The greatness of this book lies in the fact that the authors do not talk at you, they actually explore these life changing questions with you. The book content is interspersed with several interesting and thought-provoking anecdotes that have at various times caused the authors to pause and ponder over. They share these experiences with us. The other aspect is that they do not actually advise anything. The book is filled with many many questions, the answers to which are not provided in the book but must come from within the reader's heart and soul. The authors pull out relevant quotes and pieces of history and verses that add to the charm of this book. It is indeed well put together. There are also many postcard exercises, at the end of various chapters, to make the experience more realistic, though I did not personally try any of them.

The book grows on you. The questions that arise within its pages have become an integral part of my life and will remain so forever. Indeed, every time that I repack my bag in future, this book will be one of the first things I will carry again on my onward journey.