New Delhi, Nov. 8 -- That Ratan Tata's long-awaited biography, austerely titled Ratan Tata: A Life and penned by retired bureaucrat Thomas Mathew, appeared within days of his death, could have been fortuitous. The death sent people across the world scurrying to find out more about, arguably, one of the most recognised Indians. But there's a cloud hanging over the book: Tata had not approved the manuscript of what was to be an "authorised biography" and it was consequently published as an "independent work" by HarperCollins though Mathew had wide and unparalleled access to Tata's papers and correspondence.

From what we know of him, it would most likely have been the reverential, hagiographical tone that offended him. That's not so much th...