Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Brighter Future

by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Will robots take over the world? When will we meet aliens? How are memories stored inside the brain?
Join A.P.J. Kalam on afascinating quest to explore the realm of science and technology,its extraordinary achievements and its impact on our lives in the days to come. Co-written with Srijan Pal Singh, this book features exciting and cutting edge career paths in areas such as robotics, aeronautics, neurosciences, pathology, paleontology and material sciences in other words, careers that are going to make a difference in the future. The result of extensive research, this book offers a plethora of ground-breaking ideas that will make youngsters think out of the box.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Indian Literature, Self Help

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Tamil: அவுல் பகீர் ஜைனுலாப்தீன் அப்துல் கலாம்) usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was one of India's most distinguished scientists. He was an Aerospace engineer, professor, and chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. During his term as President, he was popularly known as the People's President.

Before his term as India's president, he worked as an aeronautical engineer with DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). He was responsible for the development of India's first satellite launch vehicle,the SLV-3 He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology. Kalam played a pivotal organisational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

He has the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from thirty universities and the country's three highest civilian honours - Padma Bhushan (1981), Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Bharat Ratna (1997).

Former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who became popular as ‘People’s President’, passed away on July 27th, 2015 at the age of 83 in Shillong, India.

Reviews

[Chandan Sinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely wonderful book! I wish I had read this when I was in class 9th because it is the most appropriate for someone at that level. In this competitive and rapidly changing world, a child is faced with a career dilemma quite early in his/her life. Though, I realize it might not be an optimum way to nurture a child, if one is nudged in the right direction early on and he/she remains focused on the chosen path, it may actually work wonders. Pushing the boundaries of human ingenuity is a life-long endeavor and austerity. Thus, this book is like a tiny orb of guiding light to a curious child.

Through this brief exploratory book, filled with his own personal experiences, our beloved Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and his companion author Srijan Pal Singh has struck the right balance between expressiveness and excitement. Focusing on applied STEM fields, he has sought out seven disciplines in this book that are likely to make the most profound impact on the future of humanity - Robotics, Aeronautics, Pathology, Space Science, Neuroscience, Material Science, and Palaeontology. The corresponding imageries from their visits to some of the most renowned universities in the world and the subsequent conversations with professors who are conducting groundbreaking researches in these fields make this book a delightful read in its entirety.

Be sure to gift this book to someone young who might appreciate its worth and be grateful to you for the right inspiration. It is insanely hard to get the sound constructive advice from someone these days.

[Kriti Labh · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I think about One of the greatest scientists of humanity, history, science, and a guide to those scientific pathways which were never discovered. Only one name comes into my subconscious mind, ya you are absolutely right. I am talking about the warm and intensely personal, profoundly passionate personality of a boat owner's son "A.P.J Abdul Kalam" whom I have been following since I first read his book 'The Reignited '. His book starts with a plane crash and meeting some great personalities in a dream. His motto is to Reignite the minds of Youth with motivation and unleash the dormant energy within India and guide the country to greatness. As we know A true patriot guide to a better nation, here he is trying to fill the young minds with patriotism not only towards the country but
towards science and technology. He gave many examples of people who overcome their problems and have fulfilled their dreams which they wished for.
Kalam encouraged students to free the trapped energies and suppressed initiative make them properly harnessed. # One must transform dreams into Actions
By
Kriti Labh
Class - 9

[Bookvook · Rating 5 out of 5]

The future of science and how can you be a part of it. An exceptionally relevant book for children and parents alike who are confused of the various available career choices and choosing the right one.

plethora of information about various fields related to science and the scope in all.

A must read for students graduating from high school and even the ones who are at the cusp of choosing the specialised stream.

[Rahul Venugopal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book from a friend who came back after attending APJs funeral. Thoroughly motivating for any mind who wants to climb the mountain of science. Book is a neat travelogue and covers
Robotics, Aeronautics, Pathologist, Space scientist, Neuroscientist, Material scientist and Paleontologist.

[Senthil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gist of whats happening around in various science fields. Must read for students in 10th and 12th.

[Shivi Pandey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re - Ignited by A P J Abdul Kalam .

Loved the Book . At the starting , the book was filled about life experience of famous scientists and how they suffered to become famous . It had my chapters , the future of it and exercises related to it .
Robotics was my favourite chapter ,when I read the once it fascinated me ,the next time I read it then even It got fascinated . I loved the book overall and had a lovely experience reading it . Thank you for introducing me to this book .

I recommend this book to all the readers out there . Have fun reading it .

Love this book .

[Kyrell Kochar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh take readers on an exciting journey via science and technology. They discuss the tremendous advances in the field and their potential impact on humanity's future. They give us a taste of the intriguing occupations available in various fields of science and technology.Reignited is structured in an interesting question-and-answer format that makes the ideas presented accessible to readers of all ages. It includes fascinating stories, experiences, experiments, examples, and interviews with famous figures from various professions.

[Tanush Aggarwal]

Reignited is a suitable read for teenagers authored by the former Indian president Late Sh. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The book is written in a conversational tone in simple English. It includes 7 chapters each concerning a specific theme which ranges from patriotism to scientific learning. It is no exaggeration to say that each word in the book is an inspiration for readers, old and young alike. I wholeheartedly recommend reading the book out to children to inculcate in them a gratitude to their motherland and helps them long way in motivating them to do their best for their country.

[Khevna Gossain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really amazing book. It gives so much knowledge that you have to read a chapter thrice and every time you will feel that you have learnt something new. My favourite chapter was when there was a talk about robots. I loved that chapter. Overall it was an amazing experience reading this book. It talks about famous scientists, inventors and their discoveries. Loved the book.

[Rahul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely wonderful book! I wish I had read this when I was in class 9th because it is the most appropriate for someone at that level. In this competitive and rapidly changing world, a child is faced with a career dilemma quite early in his/her life.

[Viraj Goel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a book for a layman. Amazing read. Even though I am not from science background, it made me understand complex topics without any hassle. Everyone should read it ones to know science and know about careers is science.Highly recommended.

[Pooja Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from a book reading competition and this book is first of all written by the best seller author of ignited minds. And it is also co-written by srijan pal Singh. From grade II I had planned to become someone who discovers all about the past and this book told me that person is called
a palaeontologist. Then after reading this book I decide to choose Palaeoecologist as my future career. I have just passed in 5th grade and still I always think about which university to go in so this book is very helpful for me and recommended for any parent college student or even a school student who wants to know about which career should they pursue in if they are interested in science

[Akshita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

[Bhavya Manishbhai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (A.P.J. Abdul Kalam) was one of the greatest scientist in India. He worked for the space and missile programmes of India earning him the title of “The Missile Man of India.” He has been a President of India between 2002 and 2007. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from 38 universities and three highest civilian awards namely Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna. He went on a mission to inspire the Indian youths to take the scientific communities of India to skies. Srijan Pal Singh is the co-author of the book who is the scientific advisor of APJ Abdul Kalam. He has been awarded the IIMA gold medal for being an all-rounder student of the year. He has worked with Boston Consulting Group and World Food Program.
From the above information about the authors, it is clear that they are eligible enough to write a book that can inspire the mind of youths. The book “Reignited” is one of such books which target the students of the primary school. Period of primary education is an ideal time to decide about one’s future goals. If students can find their interest in a particular field at such a tender age then it will give them a great initial boost in the long run for preparing for their career. Abdul Kalam being such a great scientist has met many top-notch professors of the world who would lead this generation of humanity to a next level. Having such an exposure makes him a perfect person for career advising and by writing a book about it enables many children to get such a consulting. This book contains all the basic information that is necessary for a person to choose their career in a particular field.
In writing the book, the authors have taken utmost care of the target audience. The book is written in such a lucid language that even a ten-year-old kid will be able to read and understand the book without much effort. Throughout the book, authors have put numerous stories, anecdotes, experiments and conversations which add much more meaning to the context of the topic. The book has been filled with ample of illustrative images and diagrams which makes it interesting to read and understand easily. Many references are taken to which children can easily relate to. Like to explain the strength of Carbon Nano Tubes, the fictional character of Wolverine is used from the movie “X-Men” who is portrayed to possess blades on his fists which are strong enough to cut the rocks.
The book has a descriptive study of the bit lesser-known topics like Robotics, Aeronautics, Pathology, Space Science, Neuroscience, Material Science and Paleontology; these streams of science are not much well-known in India. So, the author has given much detail about these fields which are enough for children to be attracted towards it. The author focuses more on these fields so that the students pursue those not-so-developed areas of science in the nation so that the youth can contribute their efforts in a hope that India can become pioneer in these fields and not just to focus on some core branches of science.
Along with the details of the untouched topics of science, the authors have given information about how to get into those areas. At the end of each chapter of the book, the authors have mentioned the pre-requisites for taking up that particular branch. They even went further describing how to acquire those pre-requisites by stating what a student should opt for from right after the high school to the courses needed to be taken in university.
To develop the interest of the readers in the topic, many questions are also put up like:
What are turbulences?
What is a virus? Is it living or non-living being?
How can a pathologist defeat such clever viruses?
What is dark energy and dark matter?
Can one burn calories by thinking hard? Why do we remember certain things and forget others?
What is the difference between a humanoid and a robot?
How is a spacesuit made?
Then these questions are thoroughly answered with a detailed, yet simple explanation which gives a satisfaction to the reader that they gained much knowledge apart from just a career counseling. The book has been loaded with many talks with experts in a ‘question and answer’ session. These talks cover all the minute doubts regarding the topic.
To explain the topics with ease, the author has penned many of the routine incidents which anyone can easily relate to. For instance, Abdul Kalam wrote one such incidence where his plane got delayed by a couple of hours due to maintenance check as it was struck by lightning. So he got curious about the effects of lightning on a plane and upon landing, he immediately checked on his laptop on the internet to find the details about the same. He further researched how the concept of Faraday’s cage is used to protect the people from such accidents. This small account of his personal life not only provides the insights of the scientific concepts but also shows how a great scientist is different from normal people. He shows the readers how simple it is to do research and feed the curiosity of the mind. The main aim of attaching such incidents is to inspire the children about the research and how they can do it on their own.
One of the salient features of the book is that along with providing career counselling to the readers, it already starts to educate the readers about the respective fields. The chapters start by explaining the history of the corresponding field of science. It shows how the field originated from the events of history like the astronomy was originated from the works of Galileo on heliocentric model while the discovery of phosphorus was discovered by heating human urine by Hennig Brand who did random experiments for his research in alchemy.
Again, since the targeted readers of the book are young students, the design of the book is also given great importance. The title of each chapter is doodled to represent the text embedded in it. For instance, the robotics is written to represent gears, wires, screws, wheels, processor, etc. which gives the overview of the whole topic even before reading the introductory paragraph. The diagrams drawn are also much simple to understand. Like the schematic of a robot or an aeroplane is drawn with simple shapes and labelled neatly with only those parts shown which matter the most rather than conventional engineering diagram mentioning each and every component.
Along with solving the formal scientific queries with the experts, many personal questions have been discussed by them. The most common question that has been asked to all of the experts was why they landed in this career. This specific question clears the mind of the readers about why should they pursue the respective field and also gives a sense of comfort that their decisions are not immature about thinking to go for such “road not taken” paths of career.
Many students have a hard time finding their ideal career because they do not know the kind of work which is being done. So, almost all the experts are also asked the same question “what exactly do you do?” This gives the readers a clear view of what it is like to work in a certain job. Besides, the questions regarding their childhood is also asked to show the readers that even people from a “not so well to do” family background can achieve the hefty heights of being such a great scientist.
Many times parents do not allow their wards to go for the lesser-known areas of science because of the uncertainty in the career in the respective field. So at the end of each chapter there is a section titled “NOTE TO PARENTS” which addresses the parents that how wide the scopes are in that field and the security of future career. It also states the role of a parent in building the future of their child. The author writes about how parents can help their child by stating which kind of books, seminars, gadgets and environment they should provide so that they can bloom better.
The authors have left no stone unturned in inspiring the youth. Each chapter ends with an oath to be taken by the readers in their respective fields. The oath talks about achieving great heights of the respective fields. These may seem unnecessary to an adult but such little things have a great impact on the minds of children. The oath gives the child a feeling that they have been given a responsibility to be a pioneer in the field and contribute greatly in whatever they do. This creates a strong excitement for them to genuinely work hard.
The book is not just a bombardment of information, facts or inspiration but the authors have still added more to it. Each chapter is filled with mini-activities for readers which not only gives them a glimpse of that field but lets them have their baby steps towards the respective fields. As it is said that the first steps in a work are the toughest, these are taken care of by the authors by carefully designing those activities which are not much exhausting but also gives the readers much of overview about that area. These activities are such that children can easily do without any help of others. Since the education system in India is not developed much, a lot of spoon-feeding is done especially to the students of primary school. By doing these activities, they get a sense of independence that even they can carry out tasks on their own.
Observing all the above discussed key-features of the book, one can say that the book is ideal for a child to refer to before deciding his/her own career. The book is loaded with all the necessary information for a student to pursue whatever career they have decided. It is written in much simple language along with fun filled activities to keep the child engaged to the book. It lets child make important decision of their future without making things more complicated or serious. Keeping all of these things in mind it is a must have book for students and one of the most suitable gift to be given as a present to someone.

[Sreeraj R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it! Could have given more stars to it. It is a wonderful book for all students which covers many new and exciting avenues of study and contains many anecdotes from Kalam sir’s experience with renowned experts in their respective fields. Quite an interesting read which also seeks to answer many intriguing questions in a reader friendly way. It sure will inspire students to seek a career off the beaten track.

[Bookish Devil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply Superb

This book basically deals with the latest trends in science and the developing fields which are touted to have a great potential.
The fields discussed in this book are ;
1)Robotics
2)Aeronautics
3)Pathologist
4)Space Scientist
5)Neuroscientist
6)Material Scientist and
7)Paleontologist ( A person who studies about the Fossils,Origin of Life etc)

If you take a particular topic, say, Robotics..
First, There will be an Introduction..Which gives us a fair idea about what that field is and who were the pioneers in that field. Abdul Kalam Sir also shares his own experience with respect to that field in this part.
After Introduction, Comes the Applications of the Field and even more information about that field. Such as .. Where it is used...When it was used.. the upcoming developments etc. Hope you get a gist of what i said. Then there is " Conversation with a science Teacher" . It is basically Q&A's. FAQ's to be precise. The Common doubts regarding the field etc. The answers are very crisp and easy to understand. For example, The big bang theory. We all must have known about it. but Some of us are still unable to explain or understand that event. But Abdul Kalam Sir has given a lot of wonderful examples and illustrations to explain the various Concepts which i feel is too good. He also gives us the basic information about how we can work in that particular field. There are ample illustrations for our better understanding and there is also a Note to parents section where he advises the parents on how to nurture the child's talent in that field.


This book is ideal for teenagers who have enormous interest in science. This book gives a great insight to the up-coming fields and trends in the science industry. Moreover, Being the work of Hon.Former President Abdul Kalam.. This book is truly worth reading.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and quick read. What made me hooked to this book is the way the book is organized. The book deals with the various areas of knowledge - Robotics, Aeronautics, Pathologist, Space Scientist, Neuroscientist, Material Scientist and Paleontologist. The book deals with basic idea of all the fields and how one can study various institutes that provide these subjects along with subject expert interview added to this what the parents can do if the children are interested in the above subjects.

[Sahana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reignited by APJ Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh was a very enlightening book. I liked it very much.
The basic format of this book is Information, Conversations with a Science Teacher, Meet The Expert, Note to Parents, an Oath and sometimes an Exercise.
It was very fascinating, but could be a little dry at times.

[Brij Shyam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It`s a good book for early stage student and for parents too,of course, to make a good decision of carrier by understanding each fields. It`s organised in a good way, ensuring that necessary (can't say sufficient 'cause it depend person to person) thing are explained in order to make a good decision.

[Anubhav · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book for the ones who are (still) in love with Science. It will surely make your inner Science-buds tingle. The language is simple enough for kids to understand and the writing style is intriguing.
A must read for the teachers and parents.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book has lot of problems. From typos to factual errors, the book is more like a self-help book than a popular science book. Read full review at

http://techmusicnmore.blogspot.in/201...

[Sendhilkumar Alalasundaram · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book presents 9 lucrative scientific careers along with the experiences of experts in each field.

A wonderful book for all the science enthusiasts aspiring to explore the various courses science that have profound relevance and scope in the times to come.

[Ravish · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book is informative and inspiring no doubt, but is good for school children only. For someone like me who has already taken a career path, there was very little we can do to ourselves by using the information in book.

[Pradeep Badatiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Best Motivational and Inspiring Book for Indian Youth.

[Jithin S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all high school students who wish to follow a career path in scientific studies. APJ succeeds to inspire me yet again. His enthusiasm is contagious. RIP sir.

[Monalisa Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice and encouraging book for school students!!

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

good for students and concerned parents to see what science can offer in terms of career,
not good for general readers. the only thing i liked is the stylized chapter titles.

[Amna Buheji · Rating 5 out of 5]

The future of science is within the pages of this book!! Very interesting!

[Shiny Ajit · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best gift for a kid !

[Hiranya Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must Read Book.... it really tells the Future of Science!