Not many politicians are given to write about their life and times and those that do often evoke little interest and much less enthusiasm. But L.K. Advani’s My Country My Life stands apart. To say just that is to underestimate its essence and character. It is, simply put, more than an autobiography. It is history, philosophy, political commentary, personal observations of a passing scene, all put together in language felicitous that even Jawaharlal Nehru, a fastidious autobiographer himself would have happily applauded.

There are two ways in which LK Advani’s autobiography My Country, My Life can be read. The first is to approach it as a primary source of contemporary history by a person who was either an important decision- maker or had a ringside view of political developments from the early-1970s. The second is to read the 942-page tome as a road map to the mind of a man who has played a seminal role in reshaping the political contours of India.

It is a bit late in the day to review LK Advani's magnum opus, My Country, My Life, since at least 100 others have done so already. But having taken more than three weeks to actually read it, I am convinced that the reviewers, both in the print and electronic media, did no more than desperate rapid reading, culling out "juicy" parts with the primary intent of sensationalising its apparent flaws.

Lal Krishna Advani has long been revered, and equally reviled, as a truer representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) than Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Ever since he led the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1990, he has symbolized the party’s core beliefs, while Vajpayee played the malleable mascot suitable for latter-day coalition politics. Now, after Vajpayee’s retreat and his ascent as the party’s prime ministerial candidate, along comes My Country, My Life, a self-portrait that presents him as Vajpayee’s natural successor.