So as promised i am back with my new review. This one is about a book which mom always told me to read but which I always kept postponing.

I had previously read “Final Diagnosis” when I was in my high school. It was a marvellous book by any standards you chose to apply. I had bought “Overload” along with it but somehow through act of fate or lethargy didn’t bother to read. Now that I am in college I heard my friend from EEE saying that his teacher had recommended reading it in context of knowing more about how a power company works. So at the end of this summer vacation I brought it along for a ride- it barely made it through a day in the train.

As with “Final Diagnosis” Arthur Hailey takes you into the gritty details- the clockwork, the gears and the cogs- of the industry which he disects along the way. The main character of this novel is Nim Goldman, VP of the Ultra Mega Corporation GSP&L. Arthur Hailey as before(it’s hard to avoid the comparison) does not create a stereotypical superhero with keen intelligence, perfect skills, etc. What he gives us is a real life(sort of) person with weaknesses- moral, physical, emotional. The story details how a modern(well it was written in 1979) power distribution and generation company faces humongous challenges- opposition from anti-capitalists, environmentalists and even politicians. These challenges are witnessed first-hand by Nim who is a vehicle for representing the challenges which the company faces.

The skill of Arthur Hailey is in selecting a background which was as true in yesteryears as it is now. You can’t stop but wonder - did this guy have a time machine? The story is fast paced and full of twists and turns- there is a sense of urgency, helplessness, introspection and whole other gamut of feelings which you’ll feel while reading this book. Read it and see how a super critical industry can be described in layman’s terms.

So starting this week I’ll start a scoring system:

overall: 8⁄10

pace: fast(out of fast, medium, slow)

content: 4⁄5