The book that inspired me

Alex Haley's Roots strongly proclaims and underscores three key thoughts: the uniqueness of self, the triumph of honour, and the fact that freedom always prevails.

Haley honestly traces his Afro-American lineage to a remote central African village and in doing so, puts forth an ironic thesis that it is not Africa that is black but the US that has been blighted by bigotry and ignorance.

If India has to make a name for itself in the global economy in the coming years, we will have to emulate "" without compromise "" the Pandavas at the end of the Mahabharata where, not too unlike the protagonist of Roots, the journey was completed not by the one who was the smartest or the slickest, but by the one who had unwavering determination, belief and faith. This is my credo and Roots has added immensely to it.

Sandeep Agarwal, Managing Director, Alps Industries

---

Roots

Author: Alex Haley
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 0385037872

Top 10 business bestsellers
BOOKWORM

The World Is Flat
Author: Thomas L Friedman
Publisher: Penguin Books
Price: Rs 560
ISBN: 0141022728

Freakonomics
Authors: Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: Rs 270
ISBN: 0141025808

Screw it, Let's do it
Author: Richard Branson
Publisher: Virgin Books
Price: Rs 150
ISBN: 0753510995

The Leadership Genius of Alfred P Sloan
Author: Allyn Freeman
Publisher: Tata McGraw-Hill
Price: Rs 349
ISBN: 0071457968

The Toyota Way
Author: Jeffrey K Liker
Publisher: Tata McGraw-Hill
Price: Rs 275
ISBN: 0070587477

Hot Commodities
Author: Jim Rogers
Publisher: Random House
Price: Rs 964
ISBN: 140006337X

Why We Want You To Be Rich
Authors: Donald J Trump and Robert T Kiyosaki
Publisher: Rich Press
Price: Rs 795
ISBN: 1933914025

Execution
Authors: Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Publisher: Random House
Price: Rs 650
ISBN: 0609610570

Good To Great
Author: Jim Collins
Publisher: Random House
Price: Rs 705
ISBN: 0066620996

The Intelligent Investor
Author: Benjamin Graham
Publisher: Harper Business Essential
Price: Rs 554
ISBN: 0060555661

List by Oxford Bookstore