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Walk The Talk: Decoding Politicans
In the fourteen years of NDTV’s Walk The Talk Shekhar Gupta has interviewed more than 600 stellar guests—an outstanding feature for one of Indian TV news channel's most respected shows is the wide diversity of its guests. These range from heads of states to national, regional and international politicians and public figures, from Indian and global film stars to Nobel Laureates, scientists, economists, sports stars (not limited to cricket), spiritual gurus, business tycoons, philanthropists and, of course, activists. This book focuses exclusively on political leaders and public figures.
Many of these conversations are path-breaking and some extremely rare. For example, leaders like Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao have never before engaged in freewheeling, recorded conversations in such detail. Others have broken new ground since—Narendra Modi, L.K. Advani, Pranab Mukherjee, Mayawati and even M. Karunanidhi. There are also global thought leaders and heads of state: David Cameron, Henry Kissinger and Pushp Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, among others. There is also the rarest of rare interviews with the former RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan.
It was challenging to choose just twenty-five political personalities and voices to feature in this selection. And one criterion has been to try and pick those conversations that mark political shifts and change. Hopefully, these will help provide an understanding of recent political history and how we have reached the point we are at today, in the words of these very significant and interesting people.
Many of these conversations are path-breaking and some extremely rare. For example, leaders like Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao have never before engaged in freewheeling, recorded conversations in such detail. Others have broken new ground since—Narendra Modi, L.K. Advani, Pranab Mukherjee, Mayawati and even M. Karunanidhi. There are also global thought leaders and heads of state: David Cameron, Henry Kissinger and Pushp Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, among others. There is also the rarest of rare interviews with the former RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan.
It was challenging to choose just twenty-five political personalities and voices to feature in this selection. And one criterion has been to try and pick those conversations that mark political shifts and change. Hopefully, these will help provide an understanding of recent political history and how we have reached the point we are at today, in the words of these very significant and interesting people.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
368 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2017
42 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 31, 2018
Shekhar is a journalist who could interview Modi one day and Sonia Gandhi the next. This access is the book's biggest strength but otherwise,most of the interviews lose the spark when converted from an interview recorded over a casual walk to print. Readable but a Youtube playlist of the interviews is preferable to the book.
August 16, 2019
One of the principal reasons why I choose to read Non-Fiction is because of such factual writing. And when the writing is actually based on multiple interviews, (more a case of rendezvous with Shekhar Gupta) it is bound to be crisp and worth a keep.
Shekhar Gupta is an absolute gem. His understanding of personalities and more so of the politicians, is so astute and unassuming, that he gets the elite, to reveal the unearthed. And very unlikely of his contemporaries, who can be assertive to the extent of having confronted the interviewed and the viewers/readers.
The book contains abridged version of his interviews of the prominent, from his show 'Walk The Talk', and encapsulates the selected important conversations. From Narendra Modi to Nawaz Sharif, the writing (read dialogues) is absorbing.
On one of his interactions with the former RSS Chief, K.S. Sudarshan (who had a disliking for Atal Behari Vajpayee), had hoped for the likes of Vajpayee, to have stepped down from the power. This was aptly quoted in the newsprint by Shekhar Gupta, to which Vajpayee retorted, but smilingly, "Haan haan aap kyon rokenge. Aap kahenge boliye, boliye, bolte rahiye ki Atal Ji buddhe ho gaye hain". 🙂📚
Shekhar Gupta is an absolute gem. His understanding of personalities and more so of the politicians, is so astute and unassuming, that he gets the elite, to reveal the unearthed. And very unlikely of his contemporaries, who can be assertive to the extent of having confronted the interviewed and the viewers/readers.
The book contains abridged version of his interviews of the prominent, from his show 'Walk The Talk', and encapsulates the selected important conversations. From Narendra Modi to Nawaz Sharif, the writing (read dialogues) is absorbing.
On one of his interactions with the former RSS Chief, K.S. Sudarshan (who had a disliking for Atal Behari Vajpayee), had hoped for the likes of Vajpayee, to have stepped down from the power. This was aptly quoted in the newsprint by Shekhar Gupta, to which Vajpayee retorted, but smilingly, "Haan haan aap kyon rokenge. Aap kahenge boliye, boliye, bolte rahiye ki Atal Ji buddhe ho gaye hain". 🙂📚
June 19, 2018
Some books are very different and engaging as compared to the other books and when there's one that focuses on the topics that you have heard a lot about it's worth all your time you spend reading it. And this one book was one of that kind.
I already was a fan of the author and a regular follower of the NDTV at a time, also, though I did miss out on a lot of parts of the Walk the Talk TV series, this one book was enough to cover everything for me.
The book follows 25 of the most engaging episodes of the show in a textual form telling you exactly what went on in the conversation though getting some inside glimpses would have really levelled up the game but assuming they were left behind for the best, you will find yourself enjoying each of the episodes. And the author had made sure to present, just like Journalists should do, the unbiased and non-vision focused view of the events.
He has narrated the incidents as a viewer rather than an active member of the same. The book isn't just a souvenir of the show but also a historical collection of the opinions of some significant people concerned with many specific points of the history whether it is PM Modi's interview from the days of Gujrat violence of 2004 or the opinions of former UK prime ministers.
What makes it book even more special is how carefully the episodes in this book are selected covering almost everything politically important to the reader, making it a good crash course of someone wanting to know the path-breaking opinions at some rare political points in the Indian History.
Coming to the book itself, I really loved the book's cover and the way its text is accompanied by some beautiful illustrations. And gratefully, getting a hardcover edition of the same added a subtle importance to it.
I'll recommend it to anyone interested in Indian Politics, journalism and interesting records of some real-time political discussions.
SinghWithBooks.wordpress.com
I already was a fan of the author and a regular follower of the NDTV at a time, also, though I did miss out on a lot of parts of the Walk the Talk TV series, this one book was enough to cover everything for me.
The book follows 25 of the most engaging episodes of the show in a textual form telling you exactly what went on in the conversation though getting some inside glimpses would have really levelled up the game but assuming they were left behind for the best, you will find yourself enjoying each of the episodes. And the author had made sure to present, just like Journalists should do, the unbiased and non-vision focused view of the events.
He has narrated the incidents as a viewer rather than an active member of the same. The book isn't just a souvenir of the show but also a historical collection of the opinions of some significant people concerned with many specific points of the history whether it is PM Modi's interview from the days of Gujrat violence of 2004 or the opinions of former UK prime ministers.
What makes it book even more special is how carefully the episodes in this book are selected covering almost everything politically important to the reader, making it a good crash course of someone wanting to know the path-breaking opinions at some rare political points in the Indian History.
Coming to the book itself, I really loved the book's cover and the way its text is accompanied by some beautiful illustrations. And gratefully, getting a hardcover edition of the same added a subtle importance to it.
I'll recommend it to anyone interested in Indian Politics, journalism and interesting records of some real-time political discussions.
SinghWithBooks.wordpress.com
August 12, 2018
Fourteen years ago, NDTV’s Shekhar Gupta set on an endeavour to candidly interview several guests which are both politically path breaking as well as extremely rare. In these fourteen year, he interviewed over 600 guests who range from heads of states to national, regional and international politicians and public figures, from Indian and global film stars to Nobel Laureates, scientists, economists, sports stars (not limited to cricket), spiritual gurus, business tycoons, philanthropists and, of course, activists.
In September, 2017, Rupa publications came out with a compilation of 25 interviews from the series. These 25 interviews are important to understand the tumultuous political history of the past 4-5 decades. The book is an exact transcript of what transpires in the actual interview in the show. What distinguishes it from the YouTube playlist is the lack of awkwardness. Shekhar Gupta is a senior journalist but the stellar personalities he interviews are probably enough to make him nervous and awkward. There are silences which can be quite embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. This is where the book rescues you and focuses your attention on the actual dialogue and not the way it materialised during the interview. This one single point was enough for me to read this book.
The content, as expected, is at times extraordinary as well as extremely disappointing. One might feel that Mr. Gupta is quite soft towards some politicians, which might have been the requirement of the show to justify the candidness of the conversation. But the audience is not wrong in expecting some real answers too. One might also complain that the exact transcript could have been augmented with some behind the scenes instances as well as more opinions by Shekhar Gupta himself which although present, seems incomplete at times.
All in all, the book is a good read to understand how the last few decades shaped themselves and how all these people witnessed the transformation first hand.
In September, 2017, Rupa publications came out with a compilation of 25 interviews from the series. These 25 interviews are important to understand the tumultuous political history of the past 4-5 decades. The book is an exact transcript of what transpires in the actual interview in the show. What distinguishes it from the YouTube playlist is the lack of awkwardness. Shekhar Gupta is a senior journalist but the stellar personalities he interviews are probably enough to make him nervous and awkward. There are silences which can be quite embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. This is where the book rescues you and focuses your attention on the actual dialogue and not the way it materialised during the interview. This one single point was enough for me to read this book.
The content, as expected, is at times extraordinary as well as extremely disappointing. One might feel that Mr. Gupta is quite soft towards some politicians, which might have been the requirement of the show to justify the candidness of the conversation. But the audience is not wrong in expecting some real answers too. One might also complain that the exact transcript could have been augmented with some behind the scenes instances as well as more opinions by Shekhar Gupta himself which although present, seems incomplete at times.
All in all, the book is a good read to understand how the last few decades shaped themselves and how all these people witnessed the transformation first hand.
January 11, 2026
Completed reading first book of the year, Walk the talk from Shekhar Gupta. To be honest the book deceived me. I thought the book to be a memoir of Mr Guptas interview experiences similar to Karan Thapar's Devils Advocate. But the former turned to be the verbatim of interviews. Yet it was interesting and helped to have a glimpse of political personalities across spectrum and understand certain decisive moments of Indian politics.
June 8, 2018
‘Walk the talk: Decoding Politicians ‘ is an enlightening read which is worth your time. Consisting of 25 interviews of eminent personalities, this book published by Rupa Publications is a wonderful asset to your bookshelf.
Read my full review at: https://youarethewholegalaxy.wordpres...
Read my full review at: https://youarethewholegalaxy.wordpres...
May 21, 2018
Book: Walk the Talk: Decoding Politicians
Author: Shekhar Gupta
Price: Rs.595
Publisher: Rupa Publication
About the Book:
In the fourteen years of NDTV’s Walk The Talk Shekhar Gupta has interviewed more than 600 stellar guests—an outstanding feature for one of Indian TV news channel's most respected shows is the wide diversity of its guests. This book focuses exclusively on political leaders and public figures. Many of these conversations are path-breaking, and some extremely rare. For example, leaders like Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao have never before engaged in freewheeling, recorded conversations in such detail. There is also the rarest of rare interviews with the former RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan. It was challenging to choose just twenty-five political personalities and voices to feature in this selection. And one criterion has been to try and pick those conversations that mark political shifts and change. Hopefully, these will help provide an understanding of recent political history, and how we have reached the point we are at today, in the words of these very significant and interesting people.
My Review:
Being a fan of Shekhar Gupta’s style of communication, talking style and a follower of Walk the Talk series of NDTV, I have watched most of the episodes of this show on YouTube. NDTV started this show fifteen years back in 2003.
This book is the collection of top 25 episodes of Walk the Talk in textual form. So, it’s exactly like the video, without any change that’s a sad part and what reader would love to know is the behind the scene things and something special and Mr.Gupta’s view on the episodes.
But being a follower of Walk the Talk series it’s a good souvenir or a good book to have, a collection of best 25 interviews. This book starts with the interview of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji when he was the CM of Gujrat in 2004 and ends with the interview of Shri. Harkisan Singh Surjeet.
Some interesting interviews are of our former PMs P.V. Narasimha Rao and Vishwanath Pratap Singh and famous politician KS Sudarshan. Interestingly we have two foreign leaders former PM of the United Kingdom David Cameron and Henry Kissinger.
Actually, it’s a great book which will be the roadmap for new age politics. I would rate this book 4 out of 5, a very good rating. For me, it's a wonderful book to read and to have in one's bookshelf.
Author: Shekhar Gupta
Price: Rs.595
Publisher: Rupa Publication
About the Book:
In the fourteen years of NDTV’s Walk The Talk Shekhar Gupta has interviewed more than 600 stellar guests—an outstanding feature for one of Indian TV news channel's most respected shows is the wide diversity of its guests. This book focuses exclusively on political leaders and public figures. Many of these conversations are path-breaking, and some extremely rare. For example, leaders like Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao have never before engaged in freewheeling, recorded conversations in such detail. There is also the rarest of rare interviews with the former RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan. It was challenging to choose just twenty-five political personalities and voices to feature in this selection. And one criterion has been to try and pick those conversations that mark political shifts and change. Hopefully, these will help provide an understanding of recent political history, and how we have reached the point we are at today, in the words of these very significant and interesting people.
My Review:
Being a fan of Shekhar Gupta’s style of communication, talking style and a follower of Walk the Talk series of NDTV, I have watched most of the episodes of this show on YouTube. NDTV started this show fifteen years back in 2003.
This book is the collection of top 25 episodes of Walk the Talk in textual form. So, it’s exactly like the video, without any change that’s a sad part and what reader would love to know is the behind the scene things and something special and Mr.Gupta’s view on the episodes.
But being a follower of Walk the Talk series it’s a good souvenir or a good book to have, a collection of best 25 interviews. This book starts with the interview of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji when he was the CM of Gujrat in 2004 and ends with the interview of Shri. Harkisan Singh Surjeet.
Some interesting interviews are of our former PMs P.V. Narasimha Rao and Vishwanath Pratap Singh and famous politician KS Sudarshan. Interestingly we have two foreign leaders former PM of the United Kingdom David Cameron and Henry Kissinger.
Actually, it’s a great book which will be the roadmap for new age politics. I would rate this book 4 out of 5, a very good rating. For me, it's a wonderful book to read and to have in one's bookshelf.
November 18, 2018
Fourteen years ago, NDTV’s Shekhar Gupta set on an endeavour to candidly interview several guests which are both politically path breaking as well as extremely rare. In these fourteen year, he interviewed over 600 guests who range from heads of states to national, regional and international politicians and public figures, from Indian and global film stars to Nobel Laureates, scientists, economists, sports stars (not limited to cricket), spiritual gurus, business tycoons, philanthropists and, of course, activists.
In September, 2017, Rupa publications came out with a compilation of 25 interviews from the series. These 25 interviews are important to understand the tumultuous political history of the past 4-5 decades. The book is an exact transcript of what transpires in the actual interview in the show. What distinguishes it from the YouTube playlist is the lack of awkwardness. Shekhar Gupta is a senior journalist but the stellar personalities he interviews are probably enough to make him nervous and awkward. There are silences which can be quite embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. This is where the book rescues you and focuses your attention on the actual dialogue and not the way it materialised during the interview. This one single point was enough for me to read this book.
The content, as expected, is at times extraordinary as well as extremely disappointing. One might feel that Mr. Gupta is quite soft towards some politicians, which might have been the requirement of the show to justify the candidness of the conversation. But the audience is not wrong in expecting some real answers too. One might also complain that the exact transcript could have been augmented with some behind the scenes instances as well as more opinions by Shekhar Gupta himself which although present, seems incomplete at times.
All in all, the book is a good read to understand how the last few decades shaped themselves and how all these people witnessed the transformation first hand.
In September, 2017, Rupa publications came out with a compilation of 25 interviews from the series. These 25 interviews are important to understand the tumultuous political history of the past 4-5 decades. The book is an exact transcript of what transpires in the actual interview in the show. What distinguishes it from the YouTube playlist is the lack of awkwardness. Shekhar Gupta is a senior journalist but the stellar personalities he interviews are probably enough to make him nervous and awkward. There are silences which can be quite embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. This is where the book rescues you and focuses your attention on the actual dialogue and not the way it materialised during the interview. This one single point was enough for me to read this book.
The content, as expected, is at times extraordinary as well as extremely disappointing. One might feel that Mr. Gupta is quite soft towards some politicians, which might have been the requirement of the show to justify the candidness of the conversation. But the audience is not wrong in expecting some real answers too. One might also complain that the exact transcript could have been augmented with some behind the scenes instances as well as more opinions by Shekhar Gupta himself which although present, seems incomplete at times.
All in all, the book is a good read to understand how the last few decades shaped themselves and how all these people witnessed the transformation first hand.
November 23, 2019
Very insightful
October 9, 2017
The scripts of the famous TV show featuring prominent politicians across the spectrum makes interesting reading...especially noteworthy - P.V. Narasimha Rao, Advani, Modi, Sonia Gandhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav, V.P. Singh, etc.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews