A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the son of a little-educated boat-owner in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, had an unparalleled career as a defence scientist, culminating in the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. As chief of the country’s defence research and development programme, Kalam demonstrated the great potential for dynamism and innovation that existed in seemingly moribund research establishments. This is the story of Kalam’s rise from obscurity and his personal and professional struggles, as well as the story of Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag—missiles that have become household names in India and that have raised the nation to the level of a missile power of international reckoning. This is also the saga of independent India’s struggle for technological self-sufficiency and defensive autonomy—a story as much about politics, domestic and international, as it is about science.

Selected quotations from sayings and writings of a former president, scientist, and writer from India.

The author details his humble beginnings as a poor Iowa farm boy who overcame many challenges and obstacles to become one of the most influential modern Christian leaders.

Selected speeches of the President of India during his visits to the Singapur, Philippines, and Republic of Korea in Feb. 2006.

Selected speeches of the President of India during his visits to the Burma and Mauritius in 2006.

A compilation of questions and answers on building a progressive India.

Collections of President Abdul Kalam's speeches and addresses on diverse topics.

With special reference to India.

With a special reference to Sri Lankan youth.

Lecture delivered by the speaker in 1996.

Autobiographical account of the author focused on the development of India.