Wings of Fire, the autobiography of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was co-authored by
- A.Arun Tiwari
- B.Y. S. Rajan
- C.Sanjaya Baru
- D.Robert Kanigel
Correct answer
A. Arun Tiwari
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Arun Tiwari. Wings of Fire was written by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari, a scientist who had worked under Kalam in the missile programme. The book describes Kalam's boyhood at Rameswaram, his training as an aeronautical engineer and his years with the space and defence establishments.
Option B, Y. S. Rajan, did collaborate with Kalam but on a different book, India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium, so he is the most plausible distractor in the set. Option C, Sanjaya Baru, wrote The Accidental Prime Minister about his years as media adviser to Manmohan Singh and has no connection with Kalam's books. Option D, Robert Kanigel, is the American writer who wrote The Man Who Knew Infinity, the biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Read the full article: Famous Autobiographies and Biographies: Book and Author Pairs
Practice Questions
View allThe autobiography titled The Story of My Experiments with Truth was written by
- A.Jawaharlal Nehru
- B.Mahatma Gandhi
- C.Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- D.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Mahatma Gandhi
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Mahatma Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth is the autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, written originally in Gujarati and later translated into English. It covers his childhood, his years as a student in London, his work in South Africa and the shaping of his ideas on truth and non violence, and it stops well before the final phase of the national movement.
Option A, Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote An Autobiography, published in Britain as Toward Freedom, besides The Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History. Option C, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, wrote India Wins Freedom, an account of the last years before independence and of partition. Option D, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, did not write an autobiography; his letters and speeches were published in collected volumes by others after his death.
Which of the following books is a biography and not an autobiography?
- A.Long Walk to Freedom
- B.Playing It My Way
- C.The Man Who Knew Infinity
- D.Wings of Fire
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Man Who Knew Infinity
Explanation
The correct answer is C, The Man Who Knew Infinity. The book was written by Robert Kanigel about the mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, so the writer and the subject are two different people, which makes it a biography. Ramanujan himself left no account of his life, and the book was built from letters, records and the recollections of those who knew him.
Option A, Long Walk to Freedom, was written by Nelson Mandela about his own life and is therefore an autobiography. Option B, Playing It My Way, is the cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's own account of his career and is likewise an autobiography. Option D, Wings of Fire, was written by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam with the help of Arun Tiwari, but the life described is Kalam's own, so the presence of a co-author does not turn it into a biography.
The book India Wins Freedom was written by
- A.Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- B.Rajendra Prasad
- C.Jawaharlal Nehru
- D.Subhas Chandra Bose
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. India Wins Freedom is Azad's account of the last decade of the freedom struggle, of the Cabinet Mission and of the events that led to partition. Azad was president of the Indian National Congress during a crucial period and later became the first education minister of independent India.
Option B, Rajendra Prasad, wrote his own autobiography and books such as India Divided, but not this title. Option C, Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote An Autobiography, The Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History, all of them separate works. Option D, Subhas Chandra Bose, wrote An Indian Pilgrim, an unfinished autobiography, and The Indian Struggle, a political history of the movement, so neither matches the book named in the question.
Playing It My Way is the autobiography of which sportsperson?
- A.Kapil Dev
- B.Sunil Gavaskar
- C.Sachin Tendulkar
- D.Rahul Dravid
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Sachin Tendulkar
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Sachin Tendulkar. Playing It My Way is the autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar and was published shortly after he retired from international cricket. It covers his boyhood in Mumbai, his coaching under Ramakant Achrekar and his long career for India.
Option A, Kapil Dev, wrote Straight from the Heart, which deals with the 1983 World Cup victory among other events of his career. Option B, Sunil Gavaskar, wrote Sunny Days, and also Idols and Runs n Ruins, so he is a frequent name in the same question set. Option D, Rahul Dravid, has not written an autobiography of this name; the books associated with him were written by others about his career, which is exactly the distinction between autobiography and biography that the question is testing.
The Accidental Prime Minister, an account of the working of the Prime Minister's Office, was written by
- A.Manmohan Singh
- B.Sanjaya Baru
- C.Daman Singh
- D.Natwar Singh
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Sanjaya Baru
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Sanjaya Baru. Sanjaya Baru served as media adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and wrote The Accidental Prime Minister as an insider's account of those years. Because it is written by an observer rather than by the subject, the book is counted as a memoir about Manmohan Singh and not as his autobiography.
Option A, Manmohan Singh, did not write the book, and assuming that he did is the mistake the question is designed to catch. Option C, Daman Singh, is his daughter and wrote Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan, a family account of her parents, which is a different book altogether. Option D, Natwar Singh, wrote his own memoir One Life Is Not Enough, which deals with his career in the foreign service and in politics.