Book Review: Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink

This book is a great read and definitely recommended to any wine  aficionados. In the preface, Tyler mentions that if you are looking to resolve your personal conflicts between the Red / White wine or find your political orientation, then this book is NOT for you.  To an extend I agree but then again I encourage all wine lovers of all kinds to go pick a copy of this book.

To be honest, my opinion might be a bit biased as I have had the  pleasure to take a Wine course with him at NYU and had been looking forward to this book for a bit now. It was great fun to be part of  Tyler's class as he took us on wonderful journey of Wine Culture and Tasting. His ability to take a very intimidating topic of Wine and make it very easy for amateurs is amazing. He does the same in this book as his passion and knowledge of the subject is palpable.

Kudos to Dr. Vino on this book. To many more years of exploration of  wine world. Salut !!!

Book Review: Critical Choices That Change Lives: How Heroes Turn Tragedy into Triumph

Sports throws plentiful heroes. For me, there isn’t a more awe-inspiring image than Anil Kumble, The Muhammad Ali of Cricket, coming out to bowl with bandages wrapped around his head nursing his broken jaw!! So, when I saw  my childhood hero ,Rahul Dravid, reading this book as he waited for his turn to bat, I knew I had to buy this book. And boy, I wasn’t disappointed.

Everyone loves a hero. Everyone needs a hero —courageous, self-sacrificing people setting examples for all of us. We cheer them, cry for them and then tell tales of how we stood for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught us to hold on a second longer.  But who do heroes turn to when they need guidance and motivation ? Where do they find that inner strength to hang on for just a bit longer ? How do they persevere enough to know and attain success just around the bend ?  In this book, Daniel Castro tries to find answers to these questions and writes an amazing account of inspirational stories from every walk of like, from every corner of the world. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is on the verge of making a big decision in their lives.

One of the tags for this book on Amazon.com is “self-help”. I am not a big fan of this term and I strongly believe this book is so much more.  This book can inspire you to greatness within your limited capacity and even take you beyond. With interesting, life-changing anecdotes from leaders and heroes from all walks of life, I promise you’ll be  a changed person by the time you finish reading it.
I have used the word “inspire” a lot in this review and for good reason. If there is one thought with which you walk away after reading this book is – INSPIRED!

Book Review: All Marketers are Liars

Good storytellers have an amazing gift. They can make people believe what they want them to believe. People turn to storytellers in the times of need and want. It comforts them to reinforce their own ideas, their values and their beliefs. In this book, Seth Godin tries to explain that how successful marketers unleash this power for the purposes of marketing in the new world order. As he categorically states that he “lies” when he titled his book “All Marketers are Liars”. In fact it is all of us who are the liars and chose to believe the stories of the marketers and then in turn lie to ourselves.

This book is a great read and I would highly recommend to everyone. With compelling collection of cases studies and stories, it relates to each one of us whether you are a marketing professional or not. It doesn’t matter if you are selling soap, car or your services at a job interview; Marketing is key to success.  This book will make your think and help you tell your story in a way that fits other people’s worldview.