Do you believe this book?

[zainherb]

Overall I believe the book. Dr. Berrah's accomplishments were impressive, yet I do believe some were embellished versions. It was as if he had the 'Midas touch' where everything he did was successful (turned to gold)!

Yes. While I think Dr Berrah must have been amazing at what he did, there is just no way anyone could be so nearly perfect. It is much easier to believe he embellished some of the narrations. To be controversial or dramatic, I don't know which. But the overall summary of the book must be as close to accurate as possible.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Overall I believe the book. Dr. Berrah's accomplishments were impressive, yet I do believe some were embellished versions. It was as if he had the 'Midas touch' where everything he did was successful (turned to gold)!

Yes. While I think Dr Berrah must have been amazing at what he did, there is just no way anyone could be so nearly perfect. It is much easier to believe he embellished some of the narrations. To be controversial or dramatic, I don't know which. But the overall summary of the book must be as close to accurate as possible.

That is what I think too. As a renowned person in his career, he has no apparent need to lie. So the basic details in this book has to be true. Yet, considering the nature of his work, there has to be atleast minor flaws or failures that he had to face. It is unnatural for one to succeed in every aspect without even a small set back. So, I too think that he has ignored such things and included only the positive parts to make this book more inspirational as well as a dramatic read

[Betty Gitonga]

Having never heard of him before, I read the book with an open mind hoping to learn about him, and I did. Having said that, I do believe his story. There were exaggerations, but it is his story to tell. He can make it as good as he wants.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Having never heard of him before, I read the book with an open mind hoping to learn about him, and I did. Having said that, I do believe his story. There were exaggerations, but it is his story to tell. He can make it as good as he wants.

I disagree. This is not historical fiction and it is a memoir. So you cannot add whatever the details as you wish and tell a story according to your will. Since it is a true story, there are other real world characters who are affected from his story. So if he uses exaggerations, then that is unfair for the readers as well as those other characters who are related to the story as well

[LeighBee]

I do believe what he has written, at least the factual data. I think that anyone, when looking back at their life, is going to see it through rose-colored glasses that paint themselves to be the hero of their own narrative, but every time I came to an occasion that caused skepticism, when it was something documented or public, it seemed that the facts matched the story. Because of this, after about half-way through the novel, I put my skepticism aside and decided to trust him as a reliable narrator likely to have a very human and therefore understandable bias.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I do believe what he has written, at least the factual data. I think that anyone, when looking back at their life, is going to see it through rose-colored glasses that paint themselves to be the hero of their own narrative, but every time I came to an occasion that caused skepticism, when it was something documented or public, it seemed that the facts matched the story. Because of this, after about half-way through the novel, I put my skepticism aside and decided to trust him as a reliable narrator likely to have a very human and therefore understandable bias.

I am not saying that he lied about anything. Maybe he was fully content and happy about his services as a scientist as well as a diplomat. So when looking back, the only things that came to his mind might have been happy and successful memories. That might be the reason for this book being overly positive, even to an extent which is difficult to beluwa

[LeighBee]

[/quote]

I am not saying that he lied about anything. Maybe he was fully content and happy about his services as a scientist as well as a diplomat. So when looking back, the only things that came to his mind might have been happy and successful memories. That might be the reason for this book being overly positive, even to an extent which is difficult to beluwa
[/quote]

I completely agree. In my own life, apart from the deeply embarrassing moments or terrifying ones, I seem to let go of most of the mundane or unpleasant memories and cling to the good ones. So in a memoir, I expect the same.

[Saint Bruno]

Well, lets all have in mind that there is one thing the author is very good at — diplomacy. So I believe the author's story and think that some parts of it could have fine tuned for diplomatic purposes. As a diplomat, you won't want your book to start causing some trouble. Would you?

[Chigo Nwagboso]

I believed that the biography of Dr. Ghoulem and his achievements are real. Because I don't see any reason why he needs to tell lies of his life. In as much, I know that some of these stories might be painted to soothe the readers and it the story very palatable, but, it's not far from the truth. My opinion.

[Kasun Perera]

After reading your question I too searched on internet about this internationally renowned figure. But to my amazement a very little was to be found. It is quite unusual for such a high profile character. So, the only source that give us an in detail view about his life is his memoir. Considering that he is a religious fellow and a man that was true to his word, I think it is okay to believe his book. And I agree that there can be details that are not 100% accurate, but there is no way to cross check them

[Juliet+1]

I think that the basic chain of events is true, but Dr. Berrah probably exaggerated the extent of his involvement in some of them. Right from the beginning of the book, he seemed to enjoy sharing information about his own intelligence, cleverness, good looks, etc. with the reader, and that attitude carried through to the end. But he accomplished a lot, so I think he has a right to brag a bit.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I think that the basic chain of events is true, but Dr. Berrah probably exaggerated the extent of his involvement in some of them. Right from the beginning of the book, he seemed to enjoy sharing information about his own intelligence, cleverness, good looks, etc. with the reader, and that attitude carried through to the end. But he accomplished a lot, so I think he has a right to brag a bit.

Maybe that is the case. Seemingly he loved to show off a bit. Otherwise who will include details regarding his good looks and cleverness in his own writings. Most of people will find it to be awkward. Such praising is often done when a memoir is written by some other author. Anyway, I too think that the outline of the events is not too far away from the actual history

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Well, lets all have in mind that there is one thing the author is very good at — diplomacy. So I believe the author's story and think that some parts of it could have fine tuned for diplomatic purposes. As a diplomat, you won't want your book to start causing some trouble. Would you?

That is a way to interpret it. I think that also have played in his mind when writing this book. As an international diplomat, he could have held to many secret as well as crucial data regarding world peace and politics. So, if he mentioned them with all the true details, it might have caused trouble to some parties, even some countries. So he might have slightly altered the data for the best outcome for everyone

[Sushan Ekanayake]

After reading your question I too searched on internet about this internationally renowned figure. But to my amazement a very little was to be found. It is quite unusual for such a high profile character. So, the only source that give us an in detail view about his life is his memoir. Considering that he is a religious fellow and a man that was true to his word, I think it is okay to believe his book. And I agree that there can be details that are not 100% accurate, but there is no way to cross check them

I agree with you. Since there is no way to cross check what he has written here, we have to believe it whether we like it or not. In the other hand, there is no way that his work have been stated somewhere in detail because of the nature of his work. He worked with world leaders regarding most of the crucial topics. Such sensitive data cannot be divulged fully. So he might have written this book with some control and only including the good things that will harm no one

[rachna_r]

It is obvious that he had exaggerated a few parts of it. If not, I would call him God