Born in a small village in Maharashtra, Shivraj Patil aspired to become a lawyer, like many others in his family. But fate had other plans: it propelled him into politics, where he rose step by step in the Congress party to finally hold the post of Union home minister. In this book, he describes his eventful journey, starting with his childhood and his idolization of his grandfather and father, and going on to his years in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, as a minister of state, in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and then minister in the UPA government. He shares his many experiences along the way, his views on Congress veterans and his learnings in the fields of education, marriage laws and science. A must read for those interested in knowing the nitty-gritties of Indian politics.