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List of Books Written by Dr Abdul Kalam

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Dr. Abdul Kalam - An Inspiration for All of Us

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was an Indian Aerospace Scientist born on 15th October 1931 in the city of Rameswaram on Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu. His full name was Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (eleventh President of India). He pursued Physics and Aerospace Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology and spent the next four decades as the scientist and the science administrator chiefly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (in short: DRDO), and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). 


He was directly linked to India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He was titled The Missile Man of India because of his pioneer works on the development of ballistic missiles and launch vehicle technologies. Also, he played an eminent political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first generic nuclear test by India in 1974.


Being a person with blazing motivation, he was and will always be the inspiration for all of us. To understand what life is and how to be a teacher of oneself, we will go through the list of 25 inspirational books written by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. The list of books written by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam will ignite young minds and build the courage to think differently.


Dr. APJ Kalam: Childhood Days to Being One of The Greatest Man 

During his school days, Abdul Kalam was an average student but was always acknowledged as a hard-working student with a field desire to learn. He used to spend long stretches of time studying mathematics. After schooling at Schwartz Higher Secondary School, located at Ramanathapuram, in 1954, he graduated from Physics at the Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, which was affiliated with the University of Madras.

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After completing his graduation in 1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment unit of the DRDO as a scientist after becoming a member of the Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS). He was also part of the INCOSPAR committee functioning under Vikram Sarabhai, a well-known space scientist of that time.


Further, in 1969, he switched to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).  Kalam’s path to success opened when he got the position of project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit in July 1980. 


Following this, in 1965, he independently started working on an expansible rocket project at DRDO. For his enthusiastic determination, in 1969, Kalam received the government's approval that helped him expand the programme to include more engineers in his project.


During the period of 1963 to 1964, Kalam visited various places, like NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, then Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Wallops Flight Facility as well. Additionally, he received an invitation from Raja Ramanna to eyewitness the country's first nuclear test, Smiling Buddha, as the representative of TBRL (Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory). 


Also, he served as the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the PM and Secretary of the DRDO from July 1992 to December 1999 and then the Chief Project Coordinator, along with Rajagopala Chidambaram, during the testing phase of Pokhran-II, and so on, the list of Kalam’s success is never-ending. However, a great man always comes up with great ideas that he stores in the form of writings, so now, let us look at Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam that teaches us how to be one’s teacher to achieve huge accolades.


List of Books Written By Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

The below table comprises the List of 25 inspirational books written by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam:

S.No.

25 books: List of Books written by APJ Abdul Kalam

What Does the List of Books written by APJ Abdul Kalam Book Talk About?

Publishing Year: List of Books Written by Dr. Abdul Kalam

1.

India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium: A sight to bring India among the first five economic powers in 2020

This book investigates in depth the weaknesses and strengths of India’s economy and offers a vision of how India can rise among the world's top four economic powers by the year 2020


Kalam says that it should be the dream of every citizen to see India as a developed country.

1998

2. 

Wings of Fire: An Autobiography

An autobiography of Kalam says that a person who with sheer grit and hard work achieves success should share his/her story with people so that they may find inspiration and strength in their life.

1999

3. 

Ignited Minds: Unleashing the power within India

Through this book, our former president delves deep into the reason why India filled with talented and ambitious young minds could not overtake the world yet.

2002

4.

The Luminous Sparks: A Biography in Verse and Colours: Spark of desires

This book is full of poems and biographical notes accompanied with matching and thought-provoking visuals, created by renowned painters, to nurture and bring forth all that is kind, gentle, and sincere in human nature.

2004

5.

Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life: A guide on Life With Purpose

This book is a vision to guide one’s soul. Also, this will help people to stay happy in the world of pressures and conflicts.

2005


Co-Author - Arun Tiwari

6. 

The mission of India: A Vision of Indian Youth:  A vision of every Indian youngster

A book with an intention to ignite the young minds with a plethora of ideas in bringing forth the positive change in India 2020.

2005

7.

Inspiring Thoughts: Quotation Series

Inspirational quotes to do better in one’s life.

2007

8.

You Are Born To Blossom: Take My Journey Beyond - Difficulties bring out the best in a man

Teaches a lesson on how to lead a life out of one’s shell and do something. 


To enjoy success, a person needs many difficulties.  

2011


Co-author: Arun Tiwari

9.

Scientific India: A Twenty-First Century Guide to the World around Us - A Guide to India’s mind-boggling accolades in the scientific domain in recent years.

The Scientific Indian discusses the curious and adventurous young mind that desires to be tomorrow’s scientists and technologists.


Also, this book encourages us to dream big, and work hard to make our dreams come true.

2011


Co-author - Y.S. Rajan


10.

Failure to Success: Legendary Lives

This book suggests that Failure is the only path to success

2011


Co-author: Arun Tiwari

11.

Target 3 Billion

This book boldens the issues arising in rural India and suggests measures to improvise the standard of living. It also discusses the inclusive development project called PURA (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas). 

2011


Co-author: Srijan Pal Singh

12.

You are Unique: Scale New Heights by Thoughts and Actions: Thought Transformation book

Through this book, Kalam says that everyone is unique and can reach new heights by changing the path of thoughts and actions to the positive one.

2012


Co-author: S. Poonam Kohli

13.

Turning Points: A Journey through Challenges

This book expresses the U-turns of challenges along the Journey of Success.

2012

14.

Indomitable Spirit

He who has Indomitable Spirit is unstoppable.

2013

15.

Spirit of India

This book talks about the vision that is obligatory for making India a developed nation which is possible by bringing the spirit of nationalism to the fore.''

2013

16.

Thoughts for Change: We Can Do It

Tuning the direction of thoughts to a positive one, a man can do anything in his life.

2013


Co-author:  A. Sivathanu Pillai

17.

My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions

Through his book, Kalam suggests us ways of transforming our dreams into reality.

2013

18.

Governance for Growth in India

Through this book, Kalam expresses his vision for India and the contribution which each citizen must make for the same. 

2014

19.

Manifesto for Change

This book tells us what we

need to do to accomplish the goal of harnessing the energy in our youth so that they contribute to the nation’s growth, also the united Parliament that makes

Constructive discussion to come out of petty party politics and

build an enlarged national vision and a plan of action that looks at

development from the ground level to giant strides in infrastructure and

Bridging down the urban-rural disparity. 


2014


Co-author: V. Ponraj

20.

Forge Your Future: Candid, Forthright, Inspiring

This novel contains Dr. Kalam’s interactions with millions of people via platforms, like emails, face-to-face meetings, and on Facebook, who discussed their problems with him and sought solutions from Dr. Kalam

2014

21.

Beyond 2020: A Vision for Tomorrow’s India



22.

The Guiding Light: A Selection of Quotations from My Favourite Books: Interesting Quotes on Life

Lists all the quotations Kalam loved from the books he read.

2015

23.

Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Brighter Future

This book suggests ways to explore various options, like robotics, neurosciences, paleontology, and other fields which may help create a better world for future generations.

2015


Co-author: Srijan Pal Singh

24.

The Family and the Nation

In this book, we learn that a strong and happy family can lead to the birth of a noble nation, where we can talk of rising economic prosperity and a strong and confident India.

2015


Co-author: Acharya Mahapragya

25.

Transcendence My Spiritual Experiences

In this book, Kalam shares his spiritual  experiences with Pramukh Swamiji 

2015


Co-author: Arun Tiwari


So, the above list of books written by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam contains are very important for various competitive examinations. Going through them will help you enhance your general knowledge.


Fun Facts: List of Books Written by Dr. Abdul Kalam

Below is the list of amazing Dr. Kalam Life story facts:

  • Dr. Kalam earned aeronautical engineering degree from the Madras Institute of Technology (Madras now known as Chennai) and in 1958, he joined DRDO.

  • During the period 1992 and 1997, Dr. Kalam was scientific adviser to the defense minister, and later, he served as the principal scientific adviser (period: 1999–2001) to the government at a rank of a cabinet minister.

  • Kalam wrote an autobiography named “Wings of Fire” in 1999 along with numerous books. This book was first published in English, later on, it was translated into 13 languages including Chinese, French, and so on. There are additionally six biographies that talk of Kalam’s life story.

  • Kalam earned honorary doctorates from 48 universities and institutions from both India and abroad. Among these, the two were the country’s highest honours, the first one was Padma Vibhushan received in 1990 and another was the highest civilian award - Bharat Ratna received in 1977.

FAQs on List of Books Written by Dr Abdul Kalam

Q1: What Was Abdul Kalam Famous For? What Was his First Vision?

Ans: Abdul Kalam was an Indian scientist and politician who played a vital role in India's missile and nuclear weapons program development. He was the eleventh president of India between the period 2002 and 2007. 


His first vision was to transform India into a developed country, he focused on five areas in combination that relied on India's core competence, natural resources, and talented manpower for synergy action to double the GDP growth rate and recognize the Vision of Developed India.

Q2: Who was called the Missile Man of India?

Ans: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of India, he was a paramount person behind the development of missiles, like Agni and Prithvi. Moreover, he authored numerous inspirational books for all ages, including the famous Wings of Fire, Ignited Minds, and Manifesto for Change that inspires children and adults to pursue their dreams.