SSC
'Wings of Fire' is the autobiography of:
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Answer: Option A — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Detailed Solution
- J. Abdul Kalam. "Wings of Fire: An Autobiography" is the autobiography of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, India's "Missile Man" and the 11th President of India (2002-2007). It was written with Arun Tiwari and published in 1999.
About the book:
It describes Kalam's childhood in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, where he sold newspapers to help his family, and his education at St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, and the Madras Institute of Technology.
It covers his work at ISRO, where he was project director of SLV-3, India's first satellite launch vehicle, which put the Rohini satellite into orbit in 1980.
It describes his leadership of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) at DRDO, which developed missiles such as Agni and Prithvi.
It covers his life up to 1991 and is full of lessons on hard work, perseverance and teamwork.
Other books by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam:
"India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium" (1998, with Y. S. Rajan).
"Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India" (2002).
"Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges" (2012), a sequel to "Wings of Fire".
"My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions" (2013).
"Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji" (2015).
About Dr. Kalam (1931-2015):
- He played a key role in the Pokhran-II nuclear tests (1998).
- He received the Padma Bhushan (1981), Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Bharat Ratna (1997).
- He was called the "People's President".
- His birthday, 15 October, is observed in many places as "World Students' Day".
- He died on 27 July 2015 while giving a lecture at IIM Shillong.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Vikram Sarabhai is the "Father of the Indian space programme".
Homi J. Bhabha is the "Father of India's nuclear programme".
- V. Raman won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1930).
Quick tip
Remember: "Wings of Fire" = A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1999, with Arun Tiwari); also "Ignited Minds", "India 2020", "Turning Points"; Kalam = Missile Man, SLV-3, Bharat Ratna 1997.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.