Bøker av Rajat Narang

Part 2 of this series analyses as to how, after the transition from nuclear to the thermonuclear weapons, the focus across superpowers shifted towards miniaturization of nuclear warheads and development of novel and difficult to detect & track strategic nuclear delivery vehicles (SNDVs), which witnessed the emergence of ICBMs and SLBMs, after nuclear-tipped torpedoes, thereby, further increasing the risks of nuclear warfare manifold while also reducing the reaction times considerably. The same was underscored by the 1962's Cuba Missile Crisis with the world having almost, nearly reached a nuclear apocalypse with the end of civilization being just seconds away. The recently declassified documents unravel as to how dangerously close the world had come to the verge of that. However, it paved the way for realization of the need for mutual cooperation and multiple treaties to check dangerous nuclear escalations, atmospheric testing & further proliferation. The detonation of a nuclear weapon by China, a developing nation, in 1964 marked the onset of the nuclear weapons age in Asia, further underscoring the need to check nuclear proliferation which ultimately led to the creation of the NPT regime. However, unabated development of nuclear weapons and delivery systems across both sides had ensured, by the end of the highly dangerous decade of 1960s, that thousands of megatons-worth of thermonuclear warheads were deployed atop ICBMs and SLBMs by the two superpowers, capable of annihilating each other certainly, as well as Earth, many times over in just a matter of minutes...the critical minutes to midnight which were critical and were to make the ultimate difference between the continued sustenance of life and the end of civilization on Planet Earth forever...In hindsight, it's purely a miracle that the mankind survived that Nuclear Sword of Damocles for decades..

When the Wright Brothers dreamed of flying like birds; a powered, heavier-than-air flying machine, known as the Wright Flyer, powered by a 12 Hp gasoline engine made of Aluminum block; effectively enabled them to realize their dream in 1903 while also ushering in the 'Age of Flight' for humans. That rudimentary machine & engine paved the way for the development of larger piston engines & propeller powered fighters which proved to be instrumental during the World War I & II and later gave way to the emergence of turbojets (during the final years of World War II) and ultimately had their metamorphosis into turbofans by the middle of the last century.The initial human quest to fly like birds, thus, quickly & effectively turned into the need to move from Point A to Point B efficiently & in the quickest possible way, via air, especially in the post war-era. It got a tremendous impetus following the onset of the Jet Age in the 1950s propelled by the turbofans powered commercial jets. However, the jet age, too, like earlier, brought with it multiple, high stakes Technology Wars and R&D Dogfights for market domination & supremacy fought bitterly among the major aircraft OEMs as well as Engine manufacturers. These contests effectively translated into lasting victories, leading to establishment of duly sustained market dynasties for some, while some others lost their early-mover advantages, way & initial market successes completely by failing to capitalize on them owing to parallaxes, average strategic choices & moves which were further accentuated by unfavorable market forces & headwinds and some real,outright blunders.This is the analysis-based story of those complex strategy choices, decisions & moves made by leading turbofan engine OEMs of the era (since the dawn of the jet age) amid the heat of the raging battles and the myopic errors caused by the prevailing fog-of-war and their eventual outcomes & repercussions. The analysis also factors in the critical & pivotal role played by the prevailing market forces, macroeconomic trends and lastly chance which collectively proved to be the presiding, ultimate judges with their judgments & verdicts ultimately determining the fates as well as destinies of engine programs as well as the OEMs producing them.It is also the story of path-breaking innovations, products & technologies, some of which, aided by the prevailing favorable market forces, disrupted the commercial aviation market fundamentally while carving a niche for themselves initially & ultimately going on to virtual market dominance. However, there were some others as well, which, despite of being disruptive, were way ahead of their time and were ultimately discarded by the market forces owing to being out of alignment with current market realities of the time only to re-emerge, reincarnated in an entirely new form now, to solve complex sustainability challenges and to shape a new, sustainable future for commercial aviation, chosen to be resurrected, ironically, by the very same market forces which had once sealed their fates…Part 1 of the two-part book series analyzes the Aviation era starting with the Dawn of Jet Age to the End of Cold War while Part 2's coverage ranges from the Onset of the Globalization Era to the Post-Pandemic Revenant.Note: It is not a technical book and traces, analyzes & chronicles the evolutionary journey of aircraft engines in commercial aviation (since the dawn of the jet age) from the market side with the strategy perspective presented in a highly comprehensible, simple to understand language as well as manner.

When MSD announced his sudden retirement from international cricket in August 2020, two die-hard fans; a trainer, leadership coach & workplace psychologist and the other a researcher; set out to create a farewell gift for him in the form of a book on his leadership. Combining forces with their craze for cricket at the core & leveraging their respective domain competencies, they have analyzed & decrypted MSD's leadership process and zeroed-down upon the underlying secret ingredients behind his stupendous success & greatness as a leader. Offering practical insights, concepts and actionable principles; supplemented by examples drawn from MSD & the cricket field, other sporting arenas, military leadership and the business world; the book offers a clear roadmap & blueprint on the MSD way of leadership which could be applied readily by anyone looking to successfully lead a team to peak performance while also realizing their true potential.

A tour-de-force take on the key aspects, attributes, principles and nuts & bolts of M.S. Dhoni's leadership playbook which have effectively paved the cricketing legend's journey from the swashbuckler & firebrand Dhoni at the outset, who gained the cricketing world's attention by leading a bunch of rookies to the T20 World Cup win in 2007, to the highly revered & Captain Cool MSD who has truly become a legend of the game being the only soul on this planet to have won the triple crown of Cricket...

A tour-de-force take on the fabled Airbus vs. Boeing arch-rivalry and decrypting the relative strategy playbooks of the two Transatlantic rivals & aerospace giants from 1970s to 2020. It deciphers Airbus' meteoric rise in the narrow body aircraft market from a virtual industry underdog to a worthy & equal adversary within a span of 3+ decades and Boeing's fall from grace following the 737MAX disaster. Business & Product Strategy have been the core pivots & anchors around which it has been structured. It analyzes as to how the battles have panned out with the decryption of tactical execution as well as strategy brilliance and faux-pas'. The book is meant for anyone seeking actionable insights & practical lessons in Business Strategy from the two Aviation Giants operating with highly contrasting playbooks and is going to be akin to a thrilling ride in a barnstormer's airplane providing a bird's eyeview of the high octane aerial action from the top. If you love aviation and/or are smitten by strategy then this is the passenger seat for you to grab... Hop in!

The Maverick is back after a long span of 36 years and so has been his need for speed. However, he has been missing his old steed, the formidable F-14 Tomcat and its unmatched capabilities with its Mach 2.34 top speed, complex variable sweep wing system and the powerful APG-9 radar capable of tracking & engaging multiple targets from beyond-visual-ranges with its lethal AIM-54 Phoenix missiles. In this high octane tactical dogfight and aerial battle among the birds of fray, we lock on to the top U.S. 4.5 and 5th generation fighter jet aircraft programs to analyze their abilities to meet Maverick's need for speed in the 21st century as a truly worthy successor to the venerable F-14 Tomcat. We compare the iconic F-14 Tomcat with the other in-service, comparable twin-engine, twin-tail U.S. fighter jets on technical specifications, armament & weapon systems and overall capabilities, in order, to zero down on to the ultimate supersonic flying machine which would come closest to matching the Tomcat's speed & maneuverability and satiating Maverick's 'Need for Speed' given that 5th generation modern tech, including, super cruise and stealth abilities have become critical for survival in a radically altered threat environment where multi-layered air defenses have become ubiquitous and long-range stand-off weapons norm of the day...