B.K. Nehru had a lot going for him. He was a tall, dashingly handsome, debonair young man of undoubted ability and integrity. He held many important positions. He was closely related to Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He got his degree from the London School of Economics, qualified for the Indian Civil Service, did his probation in Balliol College, Oxford. He opted for the Punjab cadre and served in many districts till he joined the ministry of finance in the central government. He was member of many Indian delegations to foreign countries, was India's ambassador to Washington, high commissioner in London, governor of Assam, governor of Jammu & Kashmir and then of Gujarat. He was perhaps the only senior bureaucrat who could stand up to Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi and be friendly with Morarji Desai. He even got the better of Krishna Menon and had the gratification of seeing his downfall. All he missed was becoming secretary-general of the United Nations, being elected to the Lok Sabha and becoming finance or foreign minister. Even during his retirement, living in a well-appointed bungalow in Kasauli with his Hungarian-born wife Fori, he is chairman of The Tribune trust. So what is he carping about by calling his autobiography Nice Guys Finish Second? He was, and is, a nice guy. And he has done more things in his life than almost any Indian of his generation.