en-US Tue, 08 Apr 2025 04:45:52 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 115596
The publication of The Wealth of Nations in 1776 coincided with America's Declaration of Independence, and with this landmark treatise on political economy, Adam Smith paved the way for modern capitalism, arguing that a truly free market - fired by competition yet guided as if by an 'invisible hand' to ensure justice and equality - was the engine of a fair and productive society. Books I - III of The Wealth of Nations examine the 'division of labour' as the key to economic growth, by ensuring the interdependence of individuals within society. They also cover the origins of money and the importance of wages, profit, rent and stocks; but the real sophistication of his analysis derives from the fact that it encompasses a combination of ethics, philosophy and history to create a vast panorama of society.

This edition contains an analytical introduction offering an in-depth discussion of Smith as an economist and social scientist, as well as a preface, further reading and explanatory notes.]]> 544 Adam Smith 0140432086 Zainab 5 books-for-life 3.88
author: Adam Smith
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/27
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: books-for-life
review:

]]> 22374395
The publication of The Wealth of Nations in 1776 coincided with America's Declaration of Independence, and with this landmark treatise on political economy, Adam Smith paved the way for modern capitalism, arguing that a truly free market - fired by competition yet guided as if by an 'invisible hand' to ensure justice and equality - was the engine of a fair and productive society. Books I - III of The Wealth of Nations examine the 'division of labour' as the key to economic growth, by ensuring the interdependence of individuals within society. They also cover the origins of money and the importance of wages, profit, rent and stocks; but the real sophistication of his analysis derives from the fact that it encompasses a combination of ethics, philosophy and history to create a vast panorama of society.

This edition contains an analytical introduction offering an in-depth discussion of Smith as an economist and social scientist, as well as a preface, further reading and explanatory notes.]]> 570 Adam Smith Zainab 0 to-read 3.73
author: Adam Smith
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.73
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 452235 ��
For a young lawyer on the make, it was an offer Mitch McDeere couldn’t a position at a law firm where the bucks, billable hours, and benefits are over the top. It’s a dream job for an up-and-comer—if he can overlook the uneasy feeling he gets at the office. Then an FBI investigation into the firm’s connections to the Mafia plunges the straight and narrow attorney into a nightmare of terror and intrigue.��With no choice but to pit his wits, ethics, and legal skills against the firm’s deadly secrets—if he hopes to stay alive…]]> 501 John Grisham 044021145X Zainab 0 to-read 4.26 1991
author: John Grisham
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32307358 This an alternate cover for B01LY7FD0D

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend a major announcement--the unveiling of a discovery that "will change the face of science forever." The evening's host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a renowned global figure. Kirsch, who was one of Langdon's first students at Harvard two decades earlier, is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough . . . one that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence.

As the event begins, Langdon and several hundred guests find themselves captivated by an utterly original presentation, which Langdon realizes will be far more controversial than he ever imagined. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirsch's precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Reeling and facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao. With him is Ambra Vidal, the elegant museum director who worked with Kirsch to stage the provocative event. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch's secret.

Navigating the dark corridors of hidden history and extreme religion, Langdon and Vidal must evade a tormented enemy whose all-knowing power seems to emanate from Spain's Royal Palace itself . . . and who will stop at nothing to silence Edmond Kirsch. On a trail marked by modern art and enigmatic symbols, Langdon and Vidal uncover clues that ultimately bring them face-to-face with Kirsch's shocking discovery . . . and the breathtaking truth that has long eluded us. Origin is stunningly inventive--Dan Brown's most brilliant and entertaining novel to date]]> 482 Dan Brown Zainab 2 I have to say plot was pretty weak and there is this creepy Winston guy who's been shown as very resourceful and everything but keeps annoying you throughout the book. However, Brown certainly knows well how to engage his readers somehow. And oh, it's a little bit predictable as well. Sadly, deserves no more than two stars.

Merged review:

As always, it's all about Science, Religion and Art. And, of course, about Langdon cracking codes with a pretty female friend. About Popes, Scientists and whoever comes between them. So, at first, it seems like Science and Religion "are" at odds and then Langdon jumps in with doubts and questions with no answers.
I have to say plot was pretty weak and there is this creepy Winston guy who's been shown as very resourceful and everything but keeps annoying you throughout the book. However, Brown certainly knows well how to engage his readers somehow. And oh, it's a little bit predictable as well. Sadly, deserves no more than two stars.

Merged review:

As always, it's all about Science, Religion and Art. And, of course, about Langdon cracking codes with a pretty female friend. About Popes, Scientists and whoever comes between them. So, at first, it seems like Science and Religion "are" at odds and then Langdon jumps in with doubts and questions with no answers.
I have to say plot was pretty weak and there is this creepy Winston guy who's been shown as very resourceful and everything but keeps annoying you throughout the book. However, Brown certainly knows well how to engage his readers somehow. And oh, it's a little bit predictable as well. Sadly, deserves no more than two stars.]]> 3.87
author: Dan Brown
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.87
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2017/11/05
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:
As always, it's all about Science, Religion and Art. And, of course, about Langdon cracking codes with a pretty female friend. About Popes, Scientists and whoever comes between them. So, at first, it seems like Science and Religion "are" at odds and then Langdon jumps in with doubts and questions with no answers.
I have to say plot was pretty weak and there is this creepy Winston guy who's been shown as very resourceful and everything but keeps annoying you throughout the book. However, Brown certainly knows well how to engage his readers somehow. And oh, it's a little bit predictable as well. Sadly, deserves no more than two stars.

Merged review:

As always, it's all about Science, Religion and Art. And, of course, about Langdon cracking codes with a pretty female friend. About Popes, Scientists and whoever comes between them. So, at first, it seems like Science and Religion "are" at odds and then Langdon jumps in with doubts and questions with no answers.
I have to say plot was pretty weak and there is this creepy Winston guy who's been shown as very resourceful and everything but keeps annoying you throughout the book. However, Brown certainly knows well how to engage his readers somehow. And oh, it's a little bit predictable as well. Sadly, deserves no more than two stars.

Merged review:

As always, it's all about Science, Religion and Art. And, of course, about Langdon cracking codes with a pretty female friend. About Popes, Scientists and whoever comes between them. So, at first, it seems like Science and Religion "are" at odds and then Langdon jumps in with doubts and questions with no answers.
I have to say plot was pretty weak and there is this creepy Winston guy who's been shown as very resourceful and everything but keeps annoying you throughout the book. However, Brown certainly knows well how to engage his readers somehow. And oh, it's a little bit predictable as well. Sadly, deserves no more than two stars.
]]> 93904
When The Machine That Changed the World was first published in 1990, Toyota was half the size of General Motors. Twenty years later Toyota passed GM as the world’s largest auto maker. This management classic was the first book to reveal Toyota’s lean production system that is the basis for its enduring success.

Authors Womack, Jones, and Roos provided a comprehensive description of the entire lean system. They exhaustively documented its advantages over the mass production model pioneered by General Motors and predicted that lean production would eventually triumph. Indeed, they argued that it would triumph not just in manufacturing but in every value-creating activity from health care to retail to distribution.

Today The Machine That Changed the World provides enduring and essential guidance to managers and leaders in every industry seeking to transform traditional enterprises into exemplars of lean success.]]> 352 James P. Womack 0743299795 Zainab 5
The book actually reminded me of my first job as a design engineer (not for the right reasons). I might have applied myself more efficiently and more in the manufacturing and process management side of things, had I read it earlier. Design processes, optimization of parts, and my MD's favorite, System Engineering, could have been leaner. Anyway, would love an opportunity to use what I learned from this book in my future endeavors.

I will write a detailed review soon that'll cover the following:
1. How the American and European auto manufacturers got interested in the Japanese.
2. What techniques each industry used before Lean Production.
3. Superiority of Japanese total quality management, build-in-quality, feedback loop systems.
4. Contribution of Japanese labor in decision-making.]]> 4.00 1990
author: James P. Womack
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/07
date added: 2023/08/08
shelves:
review:
Sometimes, I just mix the content with the writing. The writing was off, draggy, too research-businessy for me. But the content was good. There were a lot of charts and tables that I conveniently ignored. Why not? I'm not writing a research paper. Also, I got my way through the main thesis (a few charts did help). And the thesis was that lean production is the best thing that happened to the auto-manufacturing industry, and even if it has its teeny-tiny flaws, it's self-improving and ever-evolving. Thanks to Toyota boys: Eiji Toyoda and Taichi Ohno.

The book actually reminded me of my first job as a design engineer (not for the right reasons). I might have applied myself more efficiently and more in the manufacturing and process management side of things, had I read it earlier. Design processes, optimization of parts, and my MD's favorite, System Engineering, could have been leaner. Anyway, would love an opportunity to use what I learned from this book in my future endeavors.

I will write a detailed review soon that'll cover the following:
1. How the American and European auto manufacturers got interested in the Japanese.
2. What techniques each industry used before Lean Production.
3. Superiority of Japanese total quality management, build-in-quality, feedback loop systems.
4. Contribution of Japanese labor in decision-making.
]]> 21343 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable that is as enthralling and instructive as his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams.

Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight.

Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders.]]> 228 Patrick Lencioni 0787960756 Zainab 0 to-read 4.09 2002
author: Patrick Lencioni
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 840 257 Donald A. Norman 0465067107 Zainab 0 to-read 4.14 1988
author: Donald A. Norman
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 36030 ��]]> 800 Colin Wilson 1842931075 Zainab 0 to-read, religion 3.95 1971
author: Colin Wilson
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1971
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/20
shelves: to-read, religion
review:

]]> 34757960 In his acclaimed new bestseller, now in paperback, James Hawes tells the story of Europe's most admired and feared country, from Julius Caesar to Angela Merkel. With more than 100 maps and images, this is a fresh, concise and entertaining attempt to answer the question: are the Germans really us, or them?]]> 226 James Hawes 1910400416 Zainab 0 currently-reading 3.71 2017
author: James Hawes
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 739091


The military is entrenched in the corporate sector and controls the country's largest companies and large tracts of real estate. So Pakistan's companies and its main assets are in the hands of a tiny minority of senior army officials. Siddiqa examines this military economy and the consequences of merging the military and corporate sectors. Does democracy have a future in the new Pakistan? Will the generals ever withdraw to the barracks. Military Inc. analyzes the internal and external dynamics of this gradual power-building and the impact that it is having on Pakistan's political and economic development.]]> 292 Ayesha Siddiqa 0745325459 Zainab 0 currently-reading 3.74 2007
author: Ayesha Siddiqa
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/14
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 314386
An authoritative observer of the nationalist cause with strong political contacts on both sides of the border, Coogan sets the historical context for the resurgence of centuries-old tensions that led to the civil protest and pogroms of 1969. He examines the reasons for -- and the snowballing reactions to -- the introduction of British forces to the streets of Derry and Belfast. Photos bring the events and personalities sharply into focus as he insightfully probes the spread of IRA violence to key locations in Britain, and the responses of the British government, its troops, and various Union organizations.

In this new edition, Coogan discusses the continuing argument over weapons, the resumed IRA bombings in February 1996, and the significance of recent elections. Having gained the confidence of the combatants, he presents exclusive interviews and examines the prospects for peace.

"Coogan fills this book with quotes, personal reportage, and wry wit.... This title should be part of any history or current events collection". -- Library Journal Starred Review]]> 491 Tim Pat Coogan 1570981442 Zainab 3 3.97 1995
author: Tim Pat Coogan
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2022/04/10
date added: 2022/04/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 164277
Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish transformed parenting with their breakthrough, bestselling books Siblings Without Rivalry and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk. Now, they return with this essential guide that tackles the tough issues teens and parents face today.

Filled with straightforward advice and written in their trademark, down-to-earth style sure to appeal to both parents and teens, this all-new volume offers both innovative, easy-to-implement suggestions and proven techniques to build the foundation for lasting relationships. From curfews and cliques to sex and drugs, it gives parents the tools to help their children safely navigate the often stormy years of adolescence]]> 224 Adele Faber 0060741252 Zainab 4
If you have teenage kids, nieces, nephews, students, read Adele. She's good. ]]> 3.92 2005
author: Adele Faber
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/22
date added: 2022/03/22
shelves:
review:
I don't know. I didn't need to read this book. I could have written this book because I would just like to think that I can get kids and teens to feel comfortable enough to open up about their weird worlds and actually listen to my advice. But. But. I still enjoyed it.

If you have teenage kids, nieces, nephews, students, read Adele. She's good.
]]> 34889190 The Art of Sanctions, Richard Nephew offers a much-needed practical framework that focuses not just on the design of sanctions but, crucially, on how to decide when sanctions have achieved maximum effectiveness and how to improve them along the way.

Nephew--a lead participant in the design and implementation of sanctions on Iran--develops guidelines for interpreting targets' responses to sanctions based on two critical factors: pain and resolve. The efficacy of sanctions lies in the application of pain against a target, but targets may have significant resolve to resist, tolerate, or overcome this pain. Understanding the interplay of pain and resolve is central to using sanctions successfully and humanely. With attention to these two key variables, and to how they change over the course of the sanctions regime, policy makers can pinpoint when diplomatic intervention is likely to succeed or when escalation is necessary. Focusing on lessons from sanctions on both Iran and Iraq, Nephew provides policy makers with practical guidance on how to calibrate pain and measure resolve in the service of strong and successful sanctions regimes.]]> 232 Richard Nephew 0231180268 Zainab 0 currently-reading 3.68
author: Richard Nephew
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/14
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 57700574
Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. What Everyone Needs to Know�� is an updated edition of Serhy Yekelchyk's 2015 publication, The Conflict in Ukraine. It addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians. The book explains how independent Ukraine fell victim to crony capitalism, how its people rebelled twice in the last two decades in the name of democracy and against corruption, and why Russia reacted so aggressively to the strivings of Ukrainians. Additionally, it looks at what we know about alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, the factors behind the stunning electoral victory of the political novice Volodymyr Zelensky, and the ways in which the events leading to the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump have changed the Russia-Ukraine-US relationship.

This volume is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the forces that have shaped contemporary politics in this increasingly important part of Europe, as well as the international background of the impeachment proceedings in the US.
]]> 230 Serhy Yekelchyk 0197532136 Zainab 4 3.87 2015
author: Serhy Yekelchyk
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/11
date added: 2022/03/12
shelves:
review:
Serhy knows what questions people might have about Ukraine. He addresses them all very succinctly. Very straightforward. No BS.
]]> 28409315 281 Marie-Violaine Louvet 1137551089 Zainab 4 3.50
author: Marie-Violaine Louvet
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/11
date added: 2022/03/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 38748983 A major theoretical statement by a distinguished political scholar explains why a policy of liberal hegemony is doomed to fail

It is widely believed in the West that the United States should spread liberal democracy across the world, foster an open international economy, and build international institutions. The policy of remaking the world in America’s image is supposed to protect human rights, promote peace, and make the world safe for democracy. But this is not what has happened. Instead, the United States has become a highly militarized state fighting wars that undermine peace, harm human rights, and threaten liberal values at home.

In this major statement, the renowned international-relations scholar John Mearsheimer argues that liberal hegemony—the foreign policy pursued by the United States since the Cold War ended—is doomed to fail. It makes far more sense, he maintains, for Washington to adopt a more restrained foreign policy based on a sound understanding of how nationalism and realism constrain great powers abroad. The Great Delusion is a lucid and compelling work of the first importance for scholars, policymakers, and everyone interested in the future of American foreign policy.]]> 328 John J. Mearsheimer Zainab 0 to-read 4.05 2018
author: John J. Mearsheimer
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59797879 In The Great Joe Biden and the Rise of Twenty-First-Century Fascism, New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio host Glenn Beck argues that the American way of life will not survive the Great Reset and warns us to stop it before it's too late to reverse course.

An international conspiracy between powerful bankers, business leaders, and government officials; closed-door meetings in the Swiss Alps; and calls for a radical transformation of every society on earth—the Great Reset sounds like it is one henchman-with-an-eyepatch away from being the plot for the next James Bond movie.

But the Great Reset is not a work of fiction. It is a highly influential movement among the world’s elite to “reset�� the global economy using banks, government programs, and environmental, social, and governance metrics. If they are successful and the Great Reset is finalized, it would put substantially more economic and social power in the hands of large corporations, international institutions, banks, and government officials, including Joe Biden, the United Nations, and many of the members of the World Economic Forum.

In The Great Joe Biden and the Rise of Twenty-First-Century Fascism, Glenn Beck uses his trademark blend of humor, storytelling, and detailed analysis to reveal for the first time the unbelievable truth about the Great Reset, tying together nearly two decades of groundbreaking research about authoritarian movements and their efforts to fundamentally transform the United States.

The roadmap to stopping the Great Reset begins with fully understanding what the free peoples of the world are up against, and no resource provides more information about this radical movement than Glenn Beck’s The Great Joe Biden and the Rise of Twenty-First-Century Fascism.]]> 321 Glenn Beck Zainab 1 Nope. 4.45
author: Glenn Beck
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2022/02/22
date added: 2022/02/22
shelves:
review:
Nope.
]]> 18386
How, Tolstoy asks, does an unreflective man confront his one and only moment of truth?

This short novel was an artistic culmination of a profound spiritual crisis in Tolstoy's life, a nine-year period following the publication of Anna Karenina during which he wrote not a word of fiction.
A thoroughly absorbing, and, at times, terrifying glimpse into the abyss of death, it is also a strong testament to the possibility of finding spiritual salvation.]]> 86 Leo Tolstoy Zainab 0 to-read 4.12 1886
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1886
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 34859698 496 Fawaz A. Gerges 0691167885 Zainab 0 to-read 3.72 2018
author: Fawaz A. Gerges
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 6240926 Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and beyond. He clarifies why our civilizations grew up oblivious to each other, what happened when they intersected, and how the Islamic world was affected by its slow recognition that Europe—a place it long perceived as primitive and disorganized—had somehow hijacked destiny.]]> Tamim Ansary 1433272261 Zainab 0 to-read 4.36 2009
author: Tamim Ansary
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 110890
The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI's counterterrorism chief, John O'Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.

As these lives unfold, we see revealed: the crosscurrents of modern Islam that helped to radicalize Zawahiri and bin Laden . . . the birth of al-Qaeda and its unsteady development into an organization capable of the American embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS Cole . . . O'Neill's heroic efforts to track al-Qaeda before 9/11, and his tragic death in the World Trade towers . . . Prince Turki's transformation from bin Laden's ally to his enemy . . . the failures of the FBI, CIA, and NSA to share intelligence that might have prevented the 9/11 attacks.

The Looming Tower broadens and deepens our knowledge of these signal events by taking us behind the scenes. Here is Sayyid Qutb, founder of the modern Islamist movement, lonely and despairing as he meets Western culture up close in 1940s America; the privileged childhoods of bin Laden and Zawahiri; family life in the al-Qaeda compounds of Sudan and Afghanistan; O'Neill's high-wire act in balancing his all-consuming career with his equally entangling personal life--he was living with three women, each of them unaware of the others' existence--and the nitty-gritty of turf battles among U.S. intelligence agencies.

Brilliantly conceived and written, The Looming Tower draws all elements of the story into a galvanizing narrative that adds immeasurably to our understanding of how we arrived at September 11, 2001. The richness of its new information, and the depth of its perceptions, can help us deal more wisely and effectively with the continuing terrorist threat.]]> 469 Lawrence Wright 037541486X Zainab 4
The common theme I found in most books on international terrorist networks based in Muslim-dominated conflict zones (I could have said words like 'jihadists' or worse 'Islamists,' but that's plain stupid, and I'm not gonna explain that. Figure it out.) is that the leaders of terrorist outlets like al-Qaeda and EIJ actually believed in what they were doing. You know. Bombing and killing foreign, not-so-foreign, and Muslim kuffar. But the main guy all these Osamas and Zawahiris and alikes took inspiration from was a practically non-violent but intellectually wild Egyptian 'Islamic' scholar Sayyid Qutb.

I don't know, man. I tried to read the intellectual ramblings of this Qutb guy, but he sounded so confused and boring. Yet these morons found a genius in his ideas. Well, he was a genius in the sense that he hit these practical terrorists where it hurt them.

That's why today I see all the academics writing long-ass essays explaining one simple idea so that another stupid man out there doesn't take them too seriously. Words have unintended but definite consequences.

It sounds more like a rant than a review. Sure. But trust me, I enjoyed feeling uncomfortable and annoyed and frustrated throughout the read. You might as well.

Anyway, there's a bunch of stuff on the beef between the CIA and the FBI in the book. Their usual crap. Who's a better patriot. Whatever that means. But for that, I liked the mini-series based on the book better. If I remember it correctly, it's on Prime.]]> 4.34 2006
author: Lawrence Wright
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/17
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves:
review:
Nice thriller. The sad part was it was all real.

The common theme I found in most books on international terrorist networks based in Muslim-dominated conflict zones (I could have said words like 'jihadists' or worse 'Islamists,' but that's plain stupid, and I'm not gonna explain that. Figure it out.) is that the leaders of terrorist outlets like al-Qaeda and EIJ actually believed in what they were doing. You know. Bombing and killing foreign, not-so-foreign, and Muslim kuffar. But the main guy all these Osamas and Zawahiris and alikes took inspiration from was a practically non-violent but intellectually wild Egyptian 'Islamic' scholar Sayyid Qutb.

I don't know, man. I tried to read the intellectual ramblings of this Qutb guy, but he sounded so confused and boring. Yet these morons found a genius in his ideas. Well, he was a genius in the sense that he hit these practical terrorists where it hurt them.

That's why today I see all the academics writing long-ass essays explaining one simple idea so that another stupid man out there doesn't take them too seriously. Words have unintended but definite consequences.

It sounds more like a rant than a review. Sure. But trust me, I enjoyed feeling uncomfortable and annoyed and frustrated throughout the read. You might as well.

Anyway, there's a bunch of stuff on the beef between the CIA and the FBI in the book. Their usual crap. Who's a better patriot. Whatever that means. But for that, I liked the mini-series based on the book better. If I remember it correctly, it's on Prime.
]]> 21206786 How Much Land Does A Man Need? gives a delightful insight into old Russian values]]> 66 Leo Tolstoy Zainab 0 to-read 4.15 1886
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1886
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25241317 Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Joby Warrick reveals how the strain of militant Islam now raising its banner across Iraq and Syria spread from a remote Jordanian prison with the unwitting aid of American military intervention.

����������When he succeeded his father in 1999, King Abdullah of Jordan released a batch of political prisoners in the hopes of smoothing his transition to power. Little did he know that among those released was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a man who would go on to become a terrorist mastermind too dangerous even for al-Qaeda and give rise to an Islamist movement bent on dominating the Middle East.
�������� Zarqawi began by directing hotel bombings and assassinations in Jordan from a base in northern Iraq, but it was the American invasion of that country in 2003 that catapulted him to the head of a vast insurgency. By identifying him as the link between Saddam and bin Laden, the CIA inadvertently created a monster. Like-minded radicals saw him as a hero resisting the infidel occupiers and rallied to his cause. Their wave of brutal beheadings and suicide bombings continued for years until Jordanian intelligence provided the Americans with the crucial intelligence needed to eliminate Zarqawi in a 2006 airstrike.
�������� But his movement endured, first called al-Qaeda in Iraq, then renamed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, seeking refuge in unstable, ungoverned pockets on the Iraq-Syria border. And as the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, ISIS seized its chance to pursue Zarqawi's dream of a sweeping, ultra-conservative Islamic caliphate.��
�������� Drawing on unique access to CIA and Jordanian sources, Joby Warrick weaves together heart-pounding, moment-by-moment operational details with overarching historical perspectives to reveal the long trajectory of today's most dangerous Islamic extremist threat.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 368 Joby Warrick 0385538227 Zainab 4 4.29 2016
author: Joby Warrick
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/11
date added: 2022/02/11
shelves:
review:
Umm. ISIS is the outcome of bad high politics.
]]> 23727 130 Hayao Miyazaki 1417651040 Zainab 0 to-read 4.49 1982
author: Hayao Miyazaki
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 52090 The New Yorker, Hannah Arendt’s authoritative and stunning report on the trial of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann sparked a flurry of debate upon its publication.

This revised edition includes material that came to light after the trial, as well as Arendt’s postscript directly addressing the controversy that arose over her account. A major journalistic triumph by an intellectual of singular influence,

Eichmann in Jerusalem is as shocking as it is informative—an unflinching look at one of the most unsettling and unsettled issues of the twentieth century that remains hotly debated to this day.]]> 312 Hannah Arendt Zainab 0 to-read 4.22 1963
author: Hannah Arendt
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1963
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 30967867
«Επιβλητικό, τολμηρό, συναρπαστικό βιβλίο... Τα θέματα ξεδιπλώνονται με τέχνη, αφήνοντας την αίσθηση του χιούμορ που διαθέτει το βιβλίο ανέπαφη και τους χαρακτήρες να αναπτύσσονται με τέτοια μαεστρία, που νομίζεις ότι θα βγουν από τις σελίδες του βιβλίου.»
(Newsweek)]]> 805 Michael Chabon 9601409661 Zainab 0 to-read 3.92 2000
author: Michael Chabon
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 537182
"If a reader were to select only one book in order to gain insight into women's status and prospects in Islamic society, this study should be the one chosen for its clarity, honesty, depth of knowledge and thought-provoking qualities." --Arab Book World

In this expanded and updated edition, with a new introduction on Muslim women and fundamentalism, Mernissi argues that Islamic fundamentalism is in part a defense against recent changes in sex roles and perceptions of sexual identity.

Fatema Mernissi (1940��2015) was a leading advocate for women’s rights in the Muslim world. In 2003, she was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature along with Susan Sontag. Mernissi’s works have been translated into thirty languages.]]> 224 Fatema Mernissi 0253204232 Zainab 3
It was Fatema's Ph.D. dissertation, and it did sound like a Ph.D. dissertation is all I have to say. Maybe, it's because it was written back in the 70s-80s. It must have been new and interesting when it came. But now when academia is full of dissertations on gender theories in Muslim-dominant societies, I'm done with the whole subject.]]> 3.83 1975
author: Fatema Mernissi
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1975
rating: 3
read at: 2022/01/21
date added: 2022/01/24
shelves:
review:
Interesting start with 'Why Does the Veil Scare Europe?' Other than that, I'm not sure how I feel about this one.

It was Fatema's Ph.D. dissertation, and it did sound like a Ph.D. dissertation is all I have to say. Maybe, it's because it was written back in the 70s-80s. It must have been new and interesting when it came. But now when academia is full of dissertations on gender theories in Muslim-dominant societies, I'm done with the whole subject.
]]> 35162917 0 Said Shabbar 1565645405 Zainab 3
Let's just say it was necessary. But not really. ]]> 2.80
author: Said Shabbar
name: Zainab
average rating: 2.80
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2022/01/12
date added: 2022/01/12
shelves:
review:
Well.

Let's just say it was necessary. But not really.
]]> 314972
At the intersection of the natural and supernatural, myth and history, dream and science, lies Mircea Eliade’s novella.�� Now in its first paperback edition, the psychological thriller features Dominic Matei, an elderly academic who experiences a cataclysmic event that allows him to live a new life with startling intellectual capacity. Sought by the Nazis for their medical experiments on the potentially life-prolonging power of electric shocks, Matei is helped to flee through Romania, Switzerland, Malta and India.�� Newly endowed with prodigious powers of memory and comprehension, he finds himself face to face with the glory and terror of the supernatural.�� In this surreal, philosophy-driven fantasy, Eliade tests the boundaries of literary genre as well as the reader’s imagination.

Suspenseful, witty, and poignant, Youth Without Youth��illuminates Eliade’s longing for past loves and new texts, his erotic imagination, and his love of a thrilling mystery.�� It was adapted for the screen in 2007 as Francis Ford Coppola’s first feature film in over ten years.

��“A wonderful blend of realism, surrealism, and fantasy, [Eliade’s novellas] suggest the importance of the mythic and the supernatural to finding meaning in the everyday. Highly recommended.�� ��Library Journal
��
��Youth Without Youth reads like a surreal collaboration by Jorge Luis Borges, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Carl Jung. Mircea Eliade left me with the rare sense that I had been entertained by a genius.”—William Allen, author of Starkweather and The Fire in the Birdbath and Other Disturbances]]> 140 Mircea Eliade 0226204154 Zainab 0 to-read 3.95 1976
author: Mircea Eliade
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53386116
Known today as hijras in India and khwajasaras in Pakistan, these predominantly Muslim communities once held important political, social and spiritual positions. They were respected as agents of the supernatural, with powers to bless or curse, and often worked as eunuchs in the harems and palaces of the Muslim aristocracy. But under British colonialism the hijras were criminalized and persecuted, entrenching long-lasting taboos that these communities continue to fight against today.

Among the Eunuchs reveals a vast variety of interpretations of religion, gender and sexuality, illuminating how deeply culture informs our lifestyles and experiences. In a world where identity is an ideological battlefield, Jagiella complicates binaries and dogma with a rich and reflective analysis of gender across the world. Her fascinating journey speaks to all who draw from multiple cultural roots, have relations across borders, or find themselves juggling more than one identity.]]> 304 Leyla Jagiella 1787383873 Zainab 0 to-read 4.00
author: Leyla Jagiella
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 7494700 404 Michael Rothberg 080476218X Zainab 0 currently-reading 4.16 2009
author: Michael Rothberg
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/02
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 1072704 336 Michael Rothberg 0816634599 Zainab 0 to-read 3.89 2000
author: Michael Rothberg
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51136720 The Implicated Subject builds on the comparative, transnational framework of Rothberg's influential work on memory to engage in reflection and analysis of cultural texts, archives, and activist movements from such contested zones as transitional South Africa, contemporary Israel/Palestine, post-Holocaust Europe, and a transatlantic realm marked by the afterlives of slavery. As these diverse sites of inquiry indicate, the processes and histories illuminated by implicated subjectivity are legion in our interconnected world. An array of globally prominent artists, writers, and thinkers--from William Kentridge, Hito Steyerl, and Jamaica Kincaid, to Hannah Arendt, Primo Levi, Judith Butler, and the Combahee River Collective--speak to this interconnection and show how confronting our own implication in difficult histories can lead to new forms of internationalism and long-distance solidarity.]]> 337 Michael Rothberg 150360960X Zainab 0 to-read 4.24
author: Michael Rothberg
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 22626
From Socrates to Sartre presents a rousing and readable introduction to the lives, and times of the great philosophers. This thought-provoking book takes us from the inception of Western society in Plato’s Athens to today when the commanding power of Marxism has captured one third of the world. T. Z. Lavine, Elton Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University, makes philosophy come alive with astonishing clarity to give us a deeper, more meaningful understanding of ourselves and our times.

From Socrates to Sartre discusses Western philosophers in terms of the historical and intellectual environment which influenced them, and it connects their lasting ideas to the public and private choices we face in America today.

From Socrates to Sartre formed the basis of from the PBS television series of the same name.]]> 426 T.Z. Lavine 0553251619 Zainab 0 to-read 3.98 1984
author: T.Z. Lavine
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55244733
This innovative coursebook introduces students to interdisciplinary theoretical tools for understanding contemporary religiously diverse societies—both Western and non-Western. Using a case-study model, the text considers: Understanding Religion is designed to provide a strong foundation for instructors to explore the ideas presented in each chapter in multiple ways, engage students in meaningful activities in the classroom, and integrate additional material into their lectures. Students will gain the tools to apply specific methods from a variety of disciplines to analyze the social, political, spiritual, and cultural aspects of religions. Its unique pedagogical design means it can be used from undergraduate- to postgraduate-level courses.]]> 583 Paul Hedges 0520298918 Zainab 5
Covers almost every other theory and method used today in the study of religion. Simple writing, no BS. Flows like the elixir of life (pun intended). Read.]]> 4.33
author: Paul Hedges
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
review:
So, it was the key book for the Religion: Knowledge and Experience seminar-an optional class. Unfortunately, I was too busy with bureaucracy to even think about going through the course description. But when I did, it was too late for registration. So I took the class anyway. Good people, insightful stuff. Totally worth it.

Covers almost every other theory and method used today in the study of religion. Simple writing, no BS. Flows like the elixir of life (pun intended). Read.
]]> 26532538 470 Edward Cavanagh 0415742161 Zainab 0 to-read 4.75 2016
author: Edward Cavanagh
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.75
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 29769464
Do you want to be a (better) manager? Whether your answer is “yes,�� or “no,�� or “I don’t know,�� this book is for you. If you don’t know, the book should help you decide—or help you do the right things while you postpone your decision. If your answer is “yes,�� many of the book’s essays are designed to guide you successfully in that direction. And if your answer is “no,�� many of the essays will show you how to avoid waking up one day to discover that somehow you have become a (worse) manager.]]> 211 Gerald M. Weinberg Zainab 4 4.00 2014
author: Gerald M. Weinberg
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/06
date added: 2021/12/24
shelves:
review:

]]> 5380803 Despite a long history of external threats and internal strife, the Roman Catholic Church and the broader phenomenon of Catholicism remain a vast and valuable presence into the third millennium of world history. What are the origins of the Catholic Church? How has Catholicism changed and adapted to such vast and diverse cultural influences over the centuries? What great challenges does the Catholic Church now face in the twenty-first century, both within its own life and in its relation to others around the world? In this Very Short Introduction, Gerald O'Collins draws on the best current scholarship available to answer these questions and to present, in clear and accessible language, a fresh introduction to the largest and oldest institution in the world. O'Collins explains clearly and concisely where the Catholic Church comes from, what it believes and practices, the sacraments and the Church's moral teaching, and where it is heading. The book also includes a timeline of events in the history of Catholicism and useful suggestions for further reading.

]]> 160 Gerald O'Collins 019954591X Zainab 2 It was okay-ish. 3.17 2008
author: Gerald O'Collins
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 2021/12/24
date added: 2021/12/24
shelves:
review:
It was okay-ish.
]]> 34673467
Varoufakis sparked one of the most spectacular and controversial battles in recent political history when, as finance minister of Greece, he attempted to renegotiate his country’s relationship with the EU. Despite the mass support of the Greek people and the simple logic of his arguments, he succeeded only in provoking the fury of Europe’s political, financial and media elite. But the true story of what happened is almost entirely unknown �� not least because so much of the EU’s real business takes place behind closed doors.

In this fearless account, Varoufakis reveals all: an extraordinary tale of brinkmanship, hypocrisy, collusion and betrayal that will shake the deep establishment to its foundations.

As is now clear, the same policies that required the tragic and brutal suppression of Greece’s democratic uprising have led directly to authoritarianism, populist revolt and instability throughout the Western world.

'Adults In The Room' is an urgent wake-up call to renew European democracy before it is too late.]]> 561 Yanis Varoufakis Zainab 4
Before reading the book, I was afraid I won't be able to grasp the whole essence of complicated European politics; but it turns out, politics is the same everywhere. It's economy, stupid.

Thanks to Yanis, will be spending a tiny fraction of my time watching European news. From European news, I mean Democracy Now, which is American btw.

If it's still not clear from my ramblings at this hour of the night, let me say it clearly: I liked the book.

]]> 4.31 2017
author: Yanis Varoufakis
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/22
date added: 2021/12/21
shelves:
review:
Greece is the third world of Europe; the European troika is... well... it's what it is.

Before reading the book, I was afraid I won't be able to grasp the whole essence of complicated European politics; but it turns out, politics is the same everywhere. It's economy, stupid.

Thanks to Yanis, will be spending a tiny fraction of my time watching European news. From European news, I mean Democracy Now, which is American btw.

If it's still not clear from my ramblings at this hour of the night, let me say it clearly: I liked the book.


]]> 25817547
In the fourteen years between his time in New York with value-investing guru Benjamin Graham and his start as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett managed Buffett Partnership Limited, his first professional investing partnership. Over the course of that time—a period in which he experienced an unprecedented record of success—Buffett wrote semiannual letters to his small but growing group of partners, sharing his thoughts, approaches, and reflections.

Compiled for the first time and with Buffett’s permission, the letters spotlight his contrarian diversification strategy, his almost religious celebration of compounding interest, his preference for conservative rather than conventional decision making, and his goal and tactics for bettering market results by at least 10% annually. Demonstrating Buffett’s intellectual rigor, they provide a framework to the craft of investing that had not existed before: Buffett built upon the quantitative contributions made by his famous teacher, Benjamin Graham, demonstrating how they could be applied and improved.

Jeremy Miller reveals how these letters offer us a rare look into Buffett’s mind and offer accessible lessons in control and discipline—effective in bull and bear markets alike, and in all types of investing climates—that are the bedrock of his success. Warren Buffett’s Ground Rules paints a portrait of the sage as a young investor during a time when he developed the long-term value-oriented strategy that helped him build the foundation of his wealth—rules for success every investor needs today.]]> 352 Jeremy C. Miller 0062415565 Zainab 0 currently-reading 4.01 2016
author: Jeremy C. Miller
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 6334 288 Kazuo Ishiguro 1400078776 Zainab 0 to-read 3.85 2005
author: Kazuo Ishiguro
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3869
Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,�� of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.]]> 226 Stephen Hawking 0553380168 Zainab 5 4.22 1988
author: Stephen Hawking
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/12
date added: 2021/11/12
shelves:
review:

]]> 57935190 288 Ben Shapiro Zainab 3
(Not saying you care.)

One extra star for being the devil's advocate. ]]> 4.18 2021
author: Ben Shapiro
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/11/02
date added: 2021/11/02
shelves:
review:
Okay. I get it, Ben. Doesn't mean I'm convinced.

(Not saying you care.)

One extra star for being the devil's advocate.
]]> 2168736 The Four Million (1906) is a collection of short stories by American writer O. Henry. Inspired by his experiences as a fugitive and in prison, these stories address themes of poverty, persecution, and hope.

The Four Million refers to the population of New York City, where O. Henry was living at the time of its composition. Containing twenty-five works of short fiction, the collection includes several of the author's best-known stories. "The Gift of the Magi" is a heartwarming story of a young married couple who struggle to afford gifts for one another in the days leading up to Christmas. Delia, placing her husband's happiness before her own, sells her own hair in order to afford a platinum pocket watch chain. When she returns home, however, she finds that Jim has made a similar sacrifice. In "The Skylight Room," a typist named Miss Leeson tries to find work while renting the smallest room at Mrs. Parker's boarding house. In a moment of quiet desperation, she names a star "Billy Jackson" while staring out of the room's tiny skylight, a view she soon struggles to afford. "The Cop and the Anthem" follows a homeless man named Soapy. As winter approaches, he commits a series of petty crimes in order to be taken to the shelter of jail. When his attempts fail, however, he discovers that justice has a cruel way of revealing itself. The Four Million, one of O. Henry's finest works, is an exemplary collection of short fiction that showcases the author's empathetic and hopeful outlook on poverty and American life. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of O. Henry's The Four Million is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.]]> 154 O. Henry 1434625818 Zainab 4
So here I am. Feeling alright after a long time. ]]> 4.03 1906
author: O. Henry
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1906
rating: 4
read at: 2021/10/25
date added: 2021/10/25
shelves:
review:
No time to read long-long novels these days. But I've been feeling lately that I'm forgetting how a decent story feels like. So tried to explore my Books app for nice and free and short stories to read. O. Henry was the first name that popped up.

So here I am. Feeling alright after a long time.
]]> 58670115
In The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergen provides the first reevaluation of the man responsible for precipitating America’s long wars with al-Qaeda and its descendants, capturing bin Laden in all the dimensions of his life: as a family man, as a zealot, as a battlefield commander, as a terrorist leader, and as a fugitive. The book sheds light on his many contradictions: he was the son of a billionaire, yet insisted his family live like paupers. He adored his wives and children, depending on two of his wives, both of whom had PhDs, to make important strategic decisions. Yet he also brought ruin to his family. He was fanatically religious, yet willing to kill thousands of civilians in the name of Islam. He inspired deep loyalty yet, in the end, his bodyguards turned against him. And while he inflicted the most lethal act of mass murder in United States history, he failed to achieve any of his strategic goals.

The lasting image we have of bin Laden in his final years is of an aging man with a graying beard watching old footage of himself, just another dad flipping through the channels with his remote. In the end, bin Laden died in a squalid suburban compound, far from the front lines of his holy war. And yet despite that unheroic denouement, his ideology lives on. Thanks to exclusive interviews with family members and associates, and documents unearthed only recently, Bergen’s portrait of Osama will reveal for the first time who he really was and why he continues to inspire a new generation of jihadists.]]> 405 Peter L. Bergen Zainab 3
Anyway, what I understood from Peter’s depiction of Osama is that Osama had good executive skills but poor critical analysis. He was a typical teenager looking for a thrill in something better than his rich father’s boring construction business �� who wanted an identity apart from dozens of his siblings��.

So, violence was naturally interesting to him. A Salafi professor at some Saudi university who fled Egypt because of his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood taught him about the rightness and righteousness of his version of jihad. But Osama going rogue is not all on Mr. Professor (I’ve forgotten his name but do remember that he was the brother of famous Egyptian scholar Sayyid Qutub). No, Osama can’t be absolved of his actions because of some childhood trauma (i.e. education).

Sure, he was born in violent times (who isn’t?). But he was the one who chose to add to the violence of the violent times. Now, from violent times I mean, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Osama and his eventual enemy �� the USA �� did all they could to breed terrorists aka the Mujahideen even before the Soviet invasion through construction projects and American taxpayer’s dollars respectively.

Peter refrains to comment on or hint at a possible agreement between the two. His use of language is careful. A bit too careful for my taste. Sure, Peter. Your book, your rules. But no problem, I’ll hint at such ‘possibility.��

Anyway, he kind of overplays American ‘ignorance�� about whom they were funding thousands of dollars in Afghanistan. But as he doesn’t need to be careful about what the ISI thinks of his book, he talks rather carelessly about how the ISI was the only means between the American taxpayers�� dollars and Afghan Mujahideen. As the book is about Osama, I won’t write passages on the role of the CIA before the Afghan War. I mean, you get the frustration, I hope.

Funding the Afghan Mujahideen for the war was not enough for the kind of thrill Osama was seeking. So, he started leading them on the ground against Soviet Russia. Now, if you have met any war-zone guys in your real life then you’ll know how it’s difficult to settle back in normal life. Fighters and funders have a toxic yet deep relationship with warzones. So did Osama.

And then there’s some haze in the book that fails to show clearly why Osama started loathing the US. Peter says something like “Bin Laden opposed the fact that non-Muslims were defending the holy land of Arabia,�� after “the Saudis turned to their longtime allies, the Americans, for military support�� against Iraq’s Saddam Hussain who invaded Kuwait in 1990, and who could potentially attack Saudi Arabia. Osama was adamant that he should defend Saudi Arabia against Saddam, not the USA, because…he wanted to. Also because the US troops were, well, non-Muslims.

So it’s okay to accept funds for Afghan Mujahideen with filthy non-Muslim money only if the filthy non-Muslims stay out of the holy land. Genius.

I mean, really? I won’t pretend to buy this reason. Maybe, Osama just wanted to be famous. Maybe, that’s not really why he had to go through all the pain. I still don’t know. No one ever ‘really�� will.
But I understand one thing from all of this chaos. The chaos he contributed to is here to stay.

Go on and read potential readers, if you want to know the dirty details. It’s a fine book with a lot of words. And reading a lot of words never hurts if you see things critically.]]> 4.21 2021
author: Peter L. Bergen
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/10/12
date added: 2021/10/12
shelves:
review:
Really tried hard to get into Osama’s mind �� found out eventually that you simply can’t if it’s not an autobiography.

Anyway, what I understood from Peter’s depiction of Osama is that Osama had good executive skills but poor critical analysis. He was a typical teenager looking for a thrill in something better than his rich father’s boring construction business �� who wanted an identity apart from dozens of his siblings��.

So, violence was naturally interesting to him. A Salafi professor at some Saudi university who fled Egypt because of his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood taught him about the rightness and righteousness of his version of jihad. But Osama going rogue is not all on Mr. Professor (I’ve forgotten his name but do remember that he was the brother of famous Egyptian scholar Sayyid Qutub). No, Osama can’t be absolved of his actions because of some childhood trauma (i.e. education).

Sure, he was born in violent times (who isn’t?). But he was the one who chose to add to the violence of the violent times. Now, from violent times I mean, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Osama and his eventual enemy �� the USA �� did all they could to breed terrorists aka the Mujahideen even before the Soviet invasion through construction projects and American taxpayer’s dollars respectively.

Peter refrains to comment on or hint at a possible agreement between the two. His use of language is careful. A bit too careful for my taste. Sure, Peter. Your book, your rules. But no problem, I’ll hint at such ‘possibility.��

Anyway, he kind of overplays American ‘ignorance�� about whom they were funding thousands of dollars in Afghanistan. But as he doesn’t need to be careful about what the ISI thinks of his book, he talks rather carelessly about how the ISI was the only means between the American taxpayers�� dollars and Afghan Mujahideen. As the book is about Osama, I won’t write passages on the role of the CIA before the Afghan War. I mean, you get the frustration, I hope.

Funding the Afghan Mujahideen for the war was not enough for the kind of thrill Osama was seeking. So, he started leading them on the ground against Soviet Russia. Now, if you have met any war-zone guys in your real life then you’ll know how it’s difficult to settle back in normal life. Fighters and funders have a toxic yet deep relationship with warzones. So did Osama.

And then there’s some haze in the book that fails to show clearly why Osama started loathing the US. Peter says something like “Bin Laden opposed the fact that non-Muslims were defending the holy land of Arabia,�� after “the Saudis turned to their longtime allies, the Americans, for military support�� against Iraq’s Saddam Hussain who invaded Kuwait in 1990, and who could potentially attack Saudi Arabia. Osama was adamant that he should defend Saudi Arabia against Saddam, not the USA, because…he wanted to. Also because the US troops were, well, non-Muslims.

So it’s okay to accept funds for Afghan Mujahideen with filthy non-Muslim money only if the filthy non-Muslims stay out of the holy land. Genius.

I mean, really? I won’t pretend to buy this reason. Maybe, Osama just wanted to be famous. Maybe, that’s not really why he had to go through all the pain. I still don’t know. No one ever ‘really�� will.
But I understand one thing from all of this chaos. The chaos he contributed to is here to stay.

Go on and read potential readers, if you want to know the dirty details. It’s a fine book with a lot of words. And reading a lot of words never hurts if you see things critically.
]]> 51174256 A groundbreaking, controversial dive into the role psychedelics have played in the human experience of the Divine throughout Western history, and the answer to a 2,000 year old mystery that could shake the Church to its foundations.

The Immortality Key connects the lost, psychedelic sacrament of Greek religion to early Christianity—exposing the true origins of Western Civilization. In the tradition of unsolved historical mysteries like David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon and Douglas Preston's The Lost City of the Monkey God, Brian Muraresku’s 10-year investigation takes the reader through Greece, Germany, Spain, France and Italy, offering unprecedented access to the hidden archives of the Louvre and the Vatican along the way.

In The Immortality Key, Muraresku explores a little-known connection between the best-kept secret in Ancient Greece and Christianity. This is the real story of the most famous human being who ever lived (Jesus) and the biggest religion the world has ever known. Today, 2.4 billion people are Christian. That's one third of the planet. But do any of them really know how it all started?

Before Jerusalem, before Rome, before Mecca—there was Eleusis: the spiritual capital of the ancient world. It promised immortality to Plato and the rest of Athens's greatest minds with a very simple formula: drink this potion, see God. Shrouded in secrecy for millennia, the Ancient Greek sacrament was buried when the newly Christianized Roman Empire obliterated Eleusis in the fourth century AD.

Renegade scholars in the 1970s claimed the Greek potion was psychedelic, just like the original Christian Eucharist that replaced it. In recent years, vindication for the disgraced theory has been quietly mounting in the laboratory. The rapidly growing field of archaeological chemistry has proven the ancient use of visionary drugs. And with a single dose of psilocybin, the psycho-pharmacologists at Johns Hopkins and NYU are now turning self-proclaimed atheists into instant believers. No one has ever found hard, scientific evidence of drugs connected to Eleusis, let alone early Christianity. Until now.

Armed with key documents never before translated into English, convincing analysis, and a captivating spirit of quest, Muraresku mines science, classical literature, biblical scholarship and art to deliver the hidden key to eternal life, bringing us to what clinical psychologist William Richards calls "the edge of an awesomely vast frontier."

Featuring a Foreword by Graham Hancock, the New York Times bestselling author of America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization.]]> 352 Brian C. Muraresku 1250207142 Zainab 0 currently-reading 4.24 2020
author: Brian C. Muraresku
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/10/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 32603498 For decades we have been told a story about the divide between rich countries and poor countries.

We have been told that development is working: that the global South is catching up to the North, that poverty has been cut in half over the past thirty years, and will be eradicated by 2030. It’s a comforting tale, and one that is endorsed by the world’s most powerful governments and corporations. But is it true?

Since 1960, the income gap between the North and South has roughly tripled in size. Today 4.3 billion people, 60 per cent of the world's population, live on less than $5 per day. Some 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. The richest eight people now control the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world combined.

What is causing this growing divide? We are told that poverty is a natural phenomenon that can be fixed with aid. But in reality it is a political problem: poverty doesn’t just exist, it has been created.

Poor countries are poor because they are integrated into the global economic system on unequal terms. Aid only works to hide the deep patterns of wealth extraction that cause poverty and inequality in the first place: rigged trade deals, tax evasion, land grabs and the costs associated with climate change. The Divide tracks the evolution of this system, from the expeditions of Christopher Columbus in the 1490s to the international debt regime, which has allowed a handful of rich countries to effectively control economic policies in the rest of the world.

Because poverty is a political problem, it requires political solutions. The Divide offers a range of revelatory answers, but also explains that something much more radical is needed �� a revolution in our way of thinking. Drawing on pioneering research, detailed analysis and years of first-hand experience, The Divide is a provocative, urgent and ultimately uplifting account of how the world works, and how it can change.]]> 368 Jason Hickel 1785151126 Zainab 0 to-read 4.64 2017
author: Jason Hickel
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.64
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3602116
Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary
readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context.

The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.

About the For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.]]> 311 Augustine of Hippo 0199537828 Zainab 0 to-read 4.04 400
author: Augustine of Hippo
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.04
book published: 400
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1277029 464 Kate Kelly 0684815311 Zainab 3 3.86 1993
author: Kate Kelly
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2021/09/15
date added: 2021/09/15
shelves:
review:

]]> 50364458
Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the polarized politics of our time, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalisation and rising inequality. Sandel highlights the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success - more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility, and more hospitable to a politics of the common good.]]> 272 Michael J. Sandel 0241407605 Zainab 5
In The Tyranny of Merit, Michael has decided to reach a conclusion, and that too, a really simple one. That a good society (I kept reading it as a just society) should ideally aspire for equality of condition, not equality of opportunity, because:

-without equality of condition, equality of opportunity through a 'meritocratic system' is a hollow promise that is never fulfilled;

-merit is an illusion that breeds conceit among the already affluent who are looking for ways to justify their ascribed status;

-meritocracy alienates the already marginalized;

-the meritocratic system is too individualistic;

-a society that depends on the success of scattered and detached individuals and hopes it would miraculously work out for the common good is no good

And finally, because merit does not mean fairness.

While fairness is compassionate and forgiving and encouraging, merit is cold and demanding and discouraging.

I'd choose fairness over merit any day.

Note: I wanted to give it four stars initially because I 'wanted' it to be as engaging as Michael's video lectures. Then I remembered that I just claimed that I'd choose fairness over merit any day. Today's just another day.]]> 4.18 2020
author: Michael J. Sandel
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/13
date added: 2021/09/15
shelves:
review:
I stumbled upon Michael's work while scrolling through YouTube. The title read: Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? The series could not really reach any conclusion on 'what's the right thing to do' because, you see, justice is complex, situational, and difficult. But as Michael says, we must not stop questioning because of the fear of skepticism.

In The Tyranny of Merit, Michael has decided to reach a conclusion, and that too, a really simple one. That a good society (I kept reading it as a just society) should ideally aspire for equality of condition, not equality of opportunity, because:

-without equality of condition, equality of opportunity through a 'meritocratic system' is a hollow promise that is never fulfilled;

-merit is an illusion that breeds conceit among the already affluent who are looking for ways to justify their ascribed status;

-meritocracy alienates the already marginalized;

-the meritocratic system is too individualistic;

-a society that depends on the success of scattered and detached individuals and hopes it would miraculously work out for the common good is no good

And finally, because merit does not mean fairness.

While fairness is compassionate and forgiving and encouraging, merit is cold and demanding and discouraging.

I'd choose fairness over merit any day.

Note: I wanted to give it four stars initially because I 'wanted' it to be as engaging as Michael's video lectures. Then I remembered that I just claimed that I'd choose fairness over merit any day. Today's just another day.
]]> 40019568 188 Lauren Sapala 0998853631 Zainab 0 to-read 4.58 2018
author: Lauren Sapala
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 17563539 A short story about the universe and your place in it.

"You were on your way home when you died. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. ... And that’s when you met me."

The Egg is a short story written by Andy Weir, his most popular, and follows a nameless 48-year-old man who discovers the "meaning of life" after he dies. The story is about "you" (in the second person), and God, who is "me" (in the first person). God says that you have been reincarnated many times before, and that you are soon to be reincarnated once more, leading to quite a few existential questions.

Andy Weir (1972-) built a career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian (2011), allowed him to live out his dream of writing fulltime. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail.]]> 3 Andy Weir Zainab 0 to-read 4.21 2009
author: Andy Weir
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 49075230 172 Raymond C Barfield 3838213505 Zainab 4 3.33
author: Raymond C Barfield
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.33
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/03
date added: 2021/09/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 1128541 528 Mark Curtis 0099448394 Zainab 4 4.24 2003
author: Mark Curtis
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/27
date added: 2021/09/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 6053700
See also the authors' Smart but Scattered Teens and their self-help guide for adults. Plus, an academic planner for middle and high school students and related titles for professionals.]]> 314 Peg Dawson 1593859872 Zainab 3 3.96
author: Peg Dawson
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2021/08/18
date added: 2021/08/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 45306313
“A must-read for anyone wanting to better understand what has already happened here in America and what lies ahead if Trump is reelected in November��. A magisterial account of the money and violence behind the world’s most powerful dictatorships.”��–Washington Post

In this shocking, meticulously reported work of narrative nonfiction, an award-winning investigative journalist exposes “capitalism’s monster”—global kleptocracy—and reveals how it is corrupting the world around us.

They are everywhere, the thieves and their people. Masters of secrecy. Until now we have detected their presence only by what they leave behind. A body in a burned-out Audi. Workers riddled with bullets in the Kazakh Desert. A rigged election in Zimbabwe. A British banker silenced and humiliated for trying to expose the truth about the City of London.

They have amassed more money than most countries. But what they are really stealing is power.

In this real-life thriller packed with jaw-dropping revelations, award-winning investigative journalist Tom Burgis weaves together four stories that reveal a terrifying global web of the troublemaker from Basingstoke who stumbles on the secrets of a Swiss bank, the ex-Soviet billionaire constructing a private empire, the righteous Canadian lawyer with a mysterious client, and the Brooklyn crook protected by the CIA.

Glimpses of this shadowy world have emerged over the years. In Kleptopia, Burgis connects the dots. He follows the dirty money that is flooding the global economy, emboldening dictators, and poisoning democracies. From the Kremlin to Beijing, Harare to Riyadh, Paris to the White House, the trail shows something even more the thieves are uniting. And the human cost will be great.]]> 464 Tom Burgis 0062883674 Zainab 4
Anyway. It was a tiring read. My eyes hurt; my brain's shut down. But at least now I know, with sufficient real-life examples, how money is laundered. It indeed is an art. But the artists are really crooked.]]> 3.77 2020
author: Tom Burgis
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/10/24
date added: 2021/08/15
shelves:
review:
Tom deserves billions of dollars in a Swiss account for having kept track of difficult people with difficult names. It so deserves a screenplay. Trump and likes won't like it, sure. But it'll be like a combination of the Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Maybe, the Malaysian kleptocrat would like to fund another masterpiece with his dirty money. Hmm. That'll be fascinating.

Anyway. It was a tiring read. My eyes hurt; my brain's shut down. But at least now I know, with sufficient real-life examples, how money is laundered. It indeed is an art. But the artists are really crooked.
]]> 51872079 ��
Hassan Abbas provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of this towering yet divisive figure and the origins of sectarian division within Islam. Abbas reveals how, after Mohammad, Ali assumed the spiritual mantle of Islam to spearhead the movement that the prophet had led. While Ali’s teachings about wisdom, justice, and selflessness continue to be cherished by both Shia and Sunni Muslims, his pluralist ideas have been buried under sectarian agendas and power politics. Today, Abbas argues, Ali’s legacy and message stands against that of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Taliban.]]> 288 Hassan Abbas 0300229453 Zainab 0 to-read 4.21 2021
author: Hassan Abbas
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 44131145 310 Christopher Paul Clohessy 1463239378 Zainab 0 to-read 4.79
author: Christopher Paul Clohessy
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.79
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57873303 The six-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, Fox News star, and radio host Mark R. Levin explains how the dangers he warned against in the “timely yet timeless�� (David Limbaugh, author of Jesus Is Risen) bestseller Liberty and Tyranny have come to pass.

In 2009, Mark R. Levin galvanized conservatives with his unforgettable manifesto Liberty and Tyranny, by providing a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for halting the liberal assault on Constitution-based values. That book was about standing at the precipice of progressivism’s threat to our freedom and now, over a decade later, we’re fully over that precipice and paying the price.

In American Marxism, Levin explains how the core elements of Marxist ideology are now pervasive in American society and culture—from our schools, the press, and corporations, to Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and the Biden presidency—and how it is often cloaked in deceptive labels like “progressivism,�� “democratic socialism,�� “social activism,�� and more. With his characteristic trenchant analysis, Levin digs into the psychology and tactics of these movements, the widespread brainwashing of students, the anti-American purposes of Critical Race Theory and the Green New Deal, and the escalation of repression and censorship to silence opposing voices and enforce conformity. Levin exposes many of the institutions, intellectuals, scholars, and activists who are leading this revolution, and provides us with some answers and ideas on how to confront them.

As Levin writes: “The counter-revolution to the American Revolution is in full force. And it can no longer be dismissed or ignored for it is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.�� And, like before, Levin seeks to rally the American people to defend their liberty.]]> 317 Mark R. Levin Zainab 1 The Democratic Party, aligned with its surrogates in the media, academia, and the bureaucratic Leviathan, colluded to discredit and cripple Trump’s presidency, and destroy him personally, by unleashing an onslaught of slanders, conspiracy theories, criminal and congressional investigations, impeachments, and coup attempts, the likes of which this nation has never experienced. The unremitting, harmonized, and ferocious blitz was aimed not only at the former president, but his followers and voters.

2. He loves to quote himself.
Again, I wrote nearly a decade ago that these mass movements are “intolerant of diversity, uniqueness, debate, etc., for [their] purpose requires a singular focus. There can be no competing voices or causes slowing or obstructing society’s long and righteous march. [They rely] on deceit, propaganda, dependence, intimidation, and force. In its more aggressive state, as the malignancy of the enterprise becomes more painful and its impossibility more obvious, it incites violence inasmuch as avenues for free expression and civil dissent are cut off. Violence becomes the individual’s primary recourse and the state’s primary response. Ultimately, the only way out is the state’s termination.��

3. He occasionally likes to slur same-old-same-old economic determinist slurs on the evil person Marx was.

4. He is also proficient at writing a full page by copying and pasting several paragraphs (just like I did in this review) from poor translations of Rousseau, Hegel, and Marx's work and occasionally quoting himself in between.

5. He loves to quote Eric Hoffer. Eric is the author of The True Believer. He sounded like a decent guy with decent reservations with the radical Leftist movements. I might give him a read.


No wonder I loved the book. It was 'nice and good.' It made me smile. It made me jump from my echo chamber to someone else's echo chamber. No, it wasn't convenient. But nothing nice and good is convenient, you see.

Seriously though, I do think that cancel culture is annoying; the global Left is overpowered by identity politics; it hasn't achieved anything nice and good in developing countries with their intellectual elitism and urban movements (mostly on the part of the Liberals who happen to be economically conservative, but wait, talk to a progressive and they'll disown them immediately); victim mentality is a curse.

But Mark, see, progressives already know that. Progressives are just..people. Why so much hate? Works best for Fox news.]]> 4.16 2021
author: Mark R. Levin
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2021
rating: 1
read at: 2021/08/08
date added: 2021/08/08
shelves:
review:
1. So Mark loves to use the thesaurus to elongate his rants on the American Left and, of course, validate Trump's 'nice and good' presidency.
The Democratic Party, aligned with its surrogates in the media, academia, and the bureaucratic Leviathan, colluded to discredit and cripple Trump’s presidency, and destroy him personally, by unleashing an onslaught of slanders, conspiracy theories, criminal and congressional investigations, impeachments, and coup attempts, the likes of which this nation has never experienced. The unremitting, harmonized, and ferocious blitz was aimed not only at the former president, but his followers and voters.

2. He loves to quote himself.
Again, I wrote nearly a decade ago that these mass movements are “intolerant of diversity, uniqueness, debate, etc., for [their] purpose requires a singular focus. There can be no competing voices or causes slowing or obstructing society’s long and righteous march. [They rely] on deceit, propaganda, dependence, intimidation, and force. In its more aggressive state, as the malignancy of the enterprise becomes more painful and its impossibility more obvious, it incites violence inasmuch as avenues for free expression and civil dissent are cut off. Violence becomes the individual’s primary recourse and the state’s primary response. Ultimately, the only way out is the state’s termination.��

3. He occasionally likes to slur same-old-same-old economic determinist slurs on the evil person Marx was.

4. He is also proficient at writing a full page by copying and pasting several paragraphs (just like I did in this review) from poor translations of Rousseau, Hegel, and Marx's work and occasionally quoting himself in between.

5. He loves to quote Eric Hoffer. Eric is the author of The True Believer. He sounded like a decent guy with decent reservations with the radical Leftist movements. I might give him a read.


No wonder I loved the book. It was 'nice and good.' It made me smile. It made me jump from my echo chamber to someone else's echo chamber. No, it wasn't convenient. But nothing nice and good is convenient, you see.

Seriously though, I do think that cancel culture is annoying; the global Left is overpowered by identity politics; it hasn't achieved anything nice and good in developing countries with their intellectual elitism and urban movements (mostly on the part of the Liberals who happen to be economically conservative, but wait, talk to a progressive and they'll disown them immediately); victim mentality is a curse.

But Mark, see, progressives already know that. Progressives are just..people. Why so much hate? Works best for Fox news.
]]> 21557152
The book uses a structure that mirrors many university courses on Freud and psychoanalysis - explaining and contextualising Kant's theories, which have been among the most influential in Philosophy. The book starts by introducing Kant and his way of thinking and arguing, before looking at how Kant answered three key What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope? In doing so, Professor Wicks introduces the reader to all of Kant's key work, including The Critique of Pure Reason.

Teach Yourself titles employ the 'Breakthrough method', which is designed specifically to overcome problems that students face.
- "I find it difficult to remember what I've read."; this book includes end-of-chapter questions and summaries, and flashcards of key points available on-line and as apps
- "Most books mention important other sources, but I can never find them in time."; this book includes key texts and case studies are summarised, complete with fully referenced quotes ready to use in your essay or exam.
- "Lots of introductory books turn out to cover totally different topics than my course."; this book is written by a current university lecturer who understands what students are expected to know.]]> 256 Robert Wicks 1444191268 Zainab 0 to-read 4.26 2014
author: Robert Wicks
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 389597 326 Jeffrey C. Alexander 0520235959 Zainab 0 religion, to-read 3.84 2004
author: Jeffrey C. Alexander
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/02
shelves: religion, to-read
review:

]]> 18723449
In autumn 2001, U.S. and NATO troops were deployed to Afghanistan to unseat the Taliban rulers, repressive Islamic fundamentalists who had lent active support to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda jihadists. The NATO forces defeated and dismantled the Taliban government, scattering its remnants across the country. But despite a more than decade-long attempt to eradicate them, the Taliban endured—regrouping and reestablishing themselves as a significant insurgent movement. Gradually they have regained control of large portions of Afghanistan even as U.S. troops are preparing to depart from the region.
��
In his authoritative and highly readable account, author Hassan Abbas examines how the Taliban not only survived but adapted to their situation in order to regain power and political advantage. Abbas traces the roots of religious extremism in the area and analyzes the Taliban’s support base within Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. In addition, he explores the roles that Western policies and military decision making�� not to mention corruption and incompetence in Kabul—have played in enabling the Taliban’s resurgence.]]> 280 Hassan Abbas 0300178840 Zainab 0 currently-reading 4.03 2014
author: Hassan Abbas
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 49437450 175 Chris Do Zainab 0 to-read 4.34
author: Chris Do
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 887168 164 Patricia Crone 0521541115 Zainab 0 to-read 3.90 1986
author: Patricia Crone
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 49587256 *One of Bloomberg's Best Books of the Year*The master geopolitical forecaster and New York Times bestselling author of The Next 100 Years focuses on the United States, predicting how the 2020s will bring dramatic upheaval and reshaping of American government, foreign policy, economics, and culture. In his riveting new book, noted forecaster and bestselling author George Friedman turns to the future of the United States. Examining the clear cycles through which the United States has developed, upheaved, matured, and solidified, Friedman breaks down the coming years and decades in thrilling detail.�� �� ��American history must be viewed in cycles—particularly, an eighty-year "institutional cycle" that has defined us (there are three such examples—the Revolutionary War/founding, the Civil War, and World War II), and a fifty-year "socio-economic cycle" that has seen the formation of the industrial classes, baby boomers, and the middle classes. These two major cycles are both converging on the late 2020s—a time in which many of these foundations will change. The United States will have to endure upheaval and possible conflict, but also, ultimately, increased strength, stability, and power in the world.�� �� ��Friedman's analysis is detailed and fascinating, and covers issues such as the size and scope of the federal government, the future of marriage and the social contract, shifts in corporate structures, and new cultural trends that will react to longer life expectancies. This new book is both provocative and entertaining.]]> 256 George Friedman Zainab 3
So, George's main thesis is that the US tends to dive into crises at the end of two types of cycles: institutional and socio-economic cycles.

It takes the US about 80 years to complete its institutional cycle after which it goes through radical systemic (procedural, legal, etc.) changes. Why? Because separation of power leads to conflict when accountability isn't in order, when times have changed, and when laws and old institutional attitudes no longer work.

The socioeconomic cycle takes 50 years to complete, and just like the institutional cycle, ends in conflict, cynicism, and chaos. Again, people are so pissed off at the end of this cycle about the state of the society, health, economy, racism, and the state of the State that they overtly show their distaste for the government and the state institutions.

So according to George, the Americans are going through their 3rd institutional and 5th socio-economic cycles. But this time, both happen to end at the same time i.e. in the mid-2020s, and hence Trump impeachment because of Russian involvement, riots, extreme polarization, poor healthcare, far too expensive education, student loans, unemployment, wars, and whatnot.

But George also claims that the US will eventually overcome these problems just like it has been able to do so in history. Problems don't mean it's letting China or Russian get its place. It just means that the US will have to do more and do it faster to combat the end of these cycles. And just like that, it shall pass.

It's a pretty decent thesis. But cyclic history, umm, I'm not sure. I do like the idea of course, but the evidence he gives is limited to the exact dates of the start and the end of each cycle. He misses out (maybe deliberately) on what happens during these cycles.

Also, the first part was too patriotic for me to digest. It's all about glorifying the moral project called America that exists beyond the United States of America. Come on. The second part was related to the cycles, and it did compensate for the unnecessary glorification. The third was supposed to provide the solutions to deal with the American problems, but it was a bit underwhelming. You'll see when you'll read.

But above all, where's your precious geopolitics, George?]]> 3.95 2020
author: George Friedman
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/07/15
date added: 2021/07/16
shelves:
review:
An easy read. Surprisingly not boring.

So, George's main thesis is that the US tends to dive into crises at the end of two types of cycles: institutional and socio-economic cycles.

It takes the US about 80 years to complete its institutional cycle after which it goes through radical systemic (procedural, legal, etc.) changes. Why? Because separation of power leads to conflict when accountability isn't in order, when times have changed, and when laws and old institutional attitudes no longer work.

The socioeconomic cycle takes 50 years to complete, and just like the institutional cycle, ends in conflict, cynicism, and chaos. Again, people are so pissed off at the end of this cycle about the state of the society, health, economy, racism, and the state of the State that they overtly show their distaste for the government and the state institutions.

So according to George, the Americans are going through their 3rd institutional and 5th socio-economic cycles. But this time, both happen to end at the same time i.e. in the mid-2020s, and hence Trump impeachment because of Russian involvement, riots, extreme polarization, poor healthcare, far too expensive education, student loans, unemployment, wars, and whatnot.

But George also claims that the US will eventually overcome these problems just like it has been able to do so in history. Problems don't mean it's letting China or Russian get its place. It just means that the US will have to do more and do it faster to combat the end of these cycles. And just like that, it shall pass.

It's a pretty decent thesis. But cyclic history, umm, I'm not sure. I do like the idea of course, but the evidence he gives is limited to the exact dates of the start and the end of each cycle. He misses out (maybe deliberately) on what happens during these cycles.

Also, the first part was too patriotic for me to digest. It's all about glorifying the moral project called America that exists beyond the United States of America. Come on. The second part was related to the cycles, and it did compensate for the unnecessary glorification. The third was supposed to provide the solutions to deal with the American problems, but it was a bit underwhelming. You'll see when you'll read.

But above all, where's your precious geopolitics, George?
]]> 19821063 For the centennial of its original publication, an irresistible Graphic Deluxe Edition of one of the most beloved books of the 20th century

Perhaps the greatest short story collection in the English language, James Joyce’s Dubliners is a vivid and unflinching portrait of “dear dirty Dublin�� at the turn of the twentieth century. These fifteen stories, including such unforgettable ones as “Araby,�� “Grace,�� and “The Dead,�� delve into the heart of the city of Joyce’s birth, capturing the cadences of Dubliners�� speech and portraying with an almost brute realism their outer and inner lives. Dubliners is Joyce at his most accessible and most profound, and this edition is the definitive text, authorized by the Joyce estate and collated from all known proofs, manuscripts, and impressions to reflect the author’s original wishes.

]]> 275 James Joyce 0143107453 Zainab 0 to-read 3.94 1914
author: James Joyce
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1914
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 45132984 Please Note That The Following Individual Books As Per Original ISBN and Cover Image In this Listing shall be Dispatched

Robert Greene 3 Books Collection

The Laws of Human
Robert Greene is a master guide for millions of readers, distilling ancient wisdom and philosophy into essential texts for seekers of power, understanding and mastery. Now he turns to the most important subject of all - understanding people's drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves.

The 33 Strategies of
Robert Greene’s groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, and Mastery, espouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to help readers vanquish an enemy, ensnare an unsuspecting victim, or become the greatest in your field. In The 33 Strategies of War, Greene has crafted an important addition to this ruthless and unique series.

The 50th
]]> 0 Robert Greene 9123787821 Zainab 0 to-read 4.88
author: Robert Greene
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.88
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 22907913 only that were all the Brits sent to Sri Lanka. This text shows Britain bears heavy responsibility for why so many Tamil people had to flee and still cannot return.Once the military history has been pieced together, the chronology shows relentless and calculated assistance from Britain for Sri Lanka’s war against the Tamil independence movement at each step,particularly when Colombo’s resolve appeared to be wavering and peace was a possibility.This report draws on original research conducted at the UK National Archives and from Freedom ofInformation requests, as well as pooling together disparate information that is available in the public domain. It was carried out part-time over eighteen months from January 2013 on a voluntary basis. If there are omissions or errors please let me know and I will endeavour to make corrections. Although
I have assumed the reader will have some background familiarity with the Sri Lankan conflict, hopefully this is still accessible as a stand alone document.]]> 48 Phil Miller Zainab 0 to-read 4.14 2014
author: Phil Miller
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 48856331
Like its mysterious name, Keenie Meenie Services escaped definition and to this day has evaded sanctions. Now explosive new evidence - only recently declassified - exposes the extent of these war crimes, and the British government's tacit support for the company's operations. Including testimonies from SAS veterans, spy chiefs and diplomats, we hear from key figures battle-hardened by the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Iranian Embassy siege. Investigative journalist Phil Miller asks, who were these heroes, terrorists, freedom fighters or war criminals?

This book presents the first ever comprehensive case against Keenie Meenie Services, providing long overdue evidence on the crimes of the people who make a killing from killing.]]> 352 Phil Miller 0745340784 Zainab 0 to-read 4.19
author: Phil Miller
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53054943 The hidden story of the wanton slaughter -- in Indonesia, Latin America, and around the world -- backed by the United States.

In 1965, the U.S. government helped the Indonesian military kill approximately one million innocent civilians. This was one of the most important turning points of the twentieth century, eliminating the largest communist party outside China and the Soviet Union and inspiring copycat terror programs in faraway countries like Brazil and Chile. But these events remain widely overlooked, precisely because the CIA's secret interventions were so successful.

In this bold and comprehensive new history, Vincent Bevins builds on his incisive reporting for the Washington Post, using recently declassified documents, archival research and eye-witness testimony collected across twelve countries to reveal a shocking legacy that spans the globe. For decades, it's been believed that parts of the developing world passed peacefully into the U.S.-led capitalist system. The Jakarta Method demonstrates that the brutal extermination of unarmed leftists was a fundamental part of Washington's final triumph in the Cold War.]]> 320 Vincent Bevins 1541742400 Zainab 0 to-read 4.62 2020
author: Vincent Bevins
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 2191850 274 Walter Kaufmann 088326059X Zainab 0 to-read 4.25
author: Walter Kaufmann
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25808841 616 Andrew Heywood 1137535571 Zainab 5 Highly recommended for readers interested in global politics, International Relations, Political Science, and Modern History.

]]> 4.43 2011
author: Andrew Heywood
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2019/12/01
date added: 2021/07/01
shelves:
review:
I stumbled on Global Politics when a friend of mine and I decided to upload all the ebooks we had on shared cloud storage. 'Global Politics' sounded like a typical textbook name for IR students, but when I went through the contents and the structure of the book, I had to read it. Loved the brief essays spread throughout the book that deconstruct chunks of global histories through opposing IR/sociological perspectives and theories.
Highly recommended for readers interested in global politics, International Relations, Political Science, and Modern History.


]]> 629 Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an examination of how we live, a meditation on how to live better set around the narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father & his young son.]]> 540 Robert M. Pirsig 0060589469 Zainab 0 to-read 3.78 1974
author: Robert M. Pirsig
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1974
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 36653486 340 Keith J. Cunningham 0984659277 Zainab 3
I mean, some of the insights he shares are quite insightful, but dragging it to another 100 pages makes the book sound like 'Mmm... kool-aid.'

Suggestion: The book asks good questions at the end of each chapter under the heading Thinking Time. That's the action-oriented part of the book you can actually use to take calculated risks and make rational decisions about your business or whatever. I'm gonna use Thinking Time questions to structure my thinking time because that's what I need.
]]> 4.33
author: Keith J. Cunningham
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2021/06/26
date added: 2021/06/26
shelves:
review:
FORTY-EIGHT CHAPTERS? Seriously, Keith? I wonder what your editor was thinking (if they were 'really' thinking). It could have been a decent action-oriented book if Keith had hired an A-player who had 'the technical chops to do the job.'

I mean, some of the insights he shares are quite insightful, but dragging it to another 100 pages makes the book sound like 'Mmm... kool-aid.'

Suggestion: The book asks good questions at the end of each chapter under the heading Thinking Time. That's the action-oriented part of the book you can actually use to take calculated risks and make rational decisions about your business or whatever. I'm gonna use Thinking Time questions to structure my thinking time because that's what I need.

]]> 18520627
- Yazeed
- Gurmukh Singh Ki Wasiyat
- Aakhri Salute
- Jhooti Kahaani?
- Tetwaal Ka Kutta
- 1919 Ki Ek Baat
- Chor
- Nikki
- Mummy
- Jaeb-e-Kafan]]> 210 سعادت حسن منٹو 9693520963 Zainab 0 to-read 3.95 1951
author: سعادت حسن منٹو
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1951
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 137763
"There is not a story in this collection that does not have the breath of life, achieve the full suspension of disbelief that is so particularly important in [this] type of fiction," wrote the Saturday Review . With an introduction and notes by Phyllis Cerf Wagner and Herbert Wise.]]> 1056 Phyllis Fraser Zainab 0 to-read 4.34 1944
author: Phyllis Fraser
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1944
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53231680 A revolutionary new approach to ADD/ADHD featuring cutting-edge research and strategies to help readers thrive, by the bestselling authors of the seminal books Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distraction

"An inspired road map for living with a distractible brain . . . If you or your child suffer from ADHD, this book should be on your shelf. It will give you courage and hope."--Michael Thompson, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling co-author of Raising Cain

World-renowned authors Dr. Edward M. Hallowell and Dr. John J. Ratey literally "wrote the book" on ADD/ADHD more than two decades ago. Their bestseller, Driven to Distraction, largely introduced this diagnosis to the public and sold more than a million copies along the way.

Now, most people have heard of ADHD and know someone who may have it. But lost in the discussion of both childhood and adult diagnosis of ADHD is the potential upside: Many hugely successful entrepreneurs and highly creative people attribute their achievements to ADHD. Also unknown to most are the recent research developments, including innovations that give a clearer understanding of the ADHD brain in action. In ADHD 2.0, Drs. Hallowell and Ratey, both of whom have this "variable attention trait," draw on the latest science to provide both parents and adults with ADHD a plan for minimizing the downside and maximizing the benefits of ADHD at any age. They offer an arsenal of new strategies and lifestyle hacks for thriving with ADHD, including

- Find the right kind of difficult. Use these behavior assessments to discover the work, activity, or creative outlet best suited to an individual's unique strengths.
- Reimagine environment. What specific elements to look for--at home, at school, or in the workplace--to enhance the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the ADHD mind.
- Embrace innate neurological tendencies. Take advantage of new findings about the brain's default mode network and cerebellum, which confer major benefits for people with ADHD.
- Tap into the healing power of connection. Tips for establishing and maintaining positive connection "the other Vitamind C" and the best antidote to the negativity that plagues so many people with ADHD.
- Consider medication. Gets the facts about the underlying chemistry, side effects, and proven benefits of all the pharmaceutical options.

As inspiring as it is practical, 'ADHD 2.0' will help you tap into the power of this mercurial condition and find the key that unlocks potential.




RUNNING TIME => 7hrs.

©2021 Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (P)2021 Random House Audio]]> 208 Edward M. Hallowell 0399178732 Zainab 4 4.05 2021
author: Edward M. Hallowell
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/08
date added: 2021/06/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 4069 Man's Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.]]> 165 Viktor E. Frankl 080701429X Zainab 0 to-read 4.39 1946
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 33026239 The Art of Witty Banter carefully examines the art, nuance, and mechanics of banter and charm to make you witty comeback machine, the likes of which your friends have never seen. You’ll be able to handle, defend, disarm, and engage others in a way that makes you comfortable and confident with each growing day.Transform "interview" conversations into comfortable rapport.Patrick King is an internationally bestselling author and Social Skills and Conversation Coach. As someone who teaches people to speak for a living, he’s broken wit and banter down to a science and given you real guidelines on what to say and when. Make a sharp, smart, and savvy impression �� every time.There’s no guesswork here �� you’ll get exact examples and phrases to plug into your daily conversations. 18 specific points to up your charisma quotient. How will you be clever, be quick, and be interesting?•Why the questions you use make people freeze.��How to master teasing, witty comebacks, and initiating jokes and humor.•What free association is and how it makes you quick-witted.��How to create an instant “in-group�� and inside joke with someone.As well •The reactions and exact phrases to make yourself be heard.��How to create your Conversation Resume.•The best types of compliments to give and what you’re doing wrong.��What a fallback story is and how it can save you.Conversation is the key to all that you want in life. Moving up in your career, making new friends, and romantic success - it all starts from the same foundation of conversation. So make the most out of them and specialize in witty banter. If you can roll with any punch, be quick and lively, and make it look effortless, what would that say about you? You’ll have a waiting list for your new friends! Make the best impression on your first try, and never be worried that you’re boring anyone again.Click the BUY NOW button at the top right of this page!This is the third book in the “How to be More Likable and Charismatic�� series as listed Improve Your Think on Your Feet, Witty Banter, and Always Know What To Say with Improv Comedy Techniques2. Improve Your People How to Connect With Anyone, Communicate Effectively, Develop Deep Relationships, and Become a People Person3. The Art of Witty Be Clever, Be Quick, Be Interesting - Create Captivating Conversation4. Principles of Skills for a Memorable First Impression, Captivating Presence, and Instant Friendships5. Magnetic How to Build Instant Rapport, Be More Likable, and Make a Memorable Impression �� Gain the It Factor6. Better Small Talk to Anyone, Avoid Awkwardness, Generate Deep Conversations, and Make Real Friends]]> 151 Patrick King Zainab 3
Anyway, he was successful in making me actively think about the dynamics of any good or bad conversations that have made it to my permanent memory. It seems like I have the tendency to push a conversation to awkwardness, and I don't even realize it when I'm talking, especially to kids. So, to test the validity of Patrick's tips, I talked to my very young cousins about their school, 'life,' and stuff. Stuff I'm not usually interested in. It was the first time I was 'talking' to them, and it turned out pretty good. For them. I was too busy testing the tips. And now their mother wants me to teach them So, yeah.

Thank you, Patrick. ]]> 3.16
author: Patrick King
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.16
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/25
date added: 2021/06/01
shelves:
review:
So I picked it up because it was short and very much accessible. Few chapters in I knew it was not about the art of witty banter. Cool for me; didn't want that either. But Patrick, come on. You could have chosen a better/relevant name.

Anyway, he was successful in making me actively think about the dynamics of any good or bad conversations that have made it to my permanent memory. It seems like I have the tendency to push a conversation to awkwardness, and I don't even realize it when I'm talking, especially to kids. So, to test the validity of Patrick's tips, I talked to my very young cousins about their school, 'life,' and stuff. Stuff I'm not usually interested in. It was the first time I was 'talking' to them, and it turned out pretty good. For them. I was too busy testing the tips. And now their mother wants me to teach them So, yeah.

Thank you, Patrick.
]]> 133518
The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three.

Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.]]> 246 Tim O'Brien 0767902890 Zainab 0 to-read 4.14 1990
author: Tim O'Brien
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 24945404
In this highly readable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps, a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels, Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight—for good.]]> 315 Jason Fung 1771641258 Zainab 5 4.32 2016
author: Jason Fung
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/21
date added: 2021/05/22
shelves:
review:
Jason knows his stuff. And he knows how to tell it.
]]> 34066798 The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers—Now a Paramount+ with Showtime series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.]]> 462 Amor Towles Zainab 0 to-read 4.28 2016
author: Amor Towles
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 11989
It tells the story from the point of view of a narrator of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. The narrator remains unknown until the start of the last chapter, chapter 5 of part 5. The novel presents a snapshot of life in Oran as seen through the author's distinctive absurdist point of view.

The book tells a gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.

The Plague is considered an existentialist classic despite Camus' objection to the label. The novel stresses the powerlessness of the individual characters to affect their destinies. The narrative tone is similar to Kafka's, especially in The Trial, whose individual sentences potentially have multiple meanings; the material often pointedly resonating as stark allegory of phenomenal consciousness and the human condition.]]> 308 Albert Camus Zainab 5 4.05 1947
author: Albert Camus
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1947
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/01
date added: 2021/05/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 313605 200 Roger Fisher 0140157352 Zainab 4
I'm not big for structured reviews. I prefer personal ones. But I think a few takeaways always help those who live structured lives. Again, totally unnecessary.

1. Don't bargain over positions, it will take you away from the actual substance of talks and your real achievable goals/interests. Successively defending your positions will drain you out and make you feel like a loser if it's compromised to reach an agreement with the other party.

2. Moderation is the key to any dispute resolution mechanism (the book didn't say that, but I implied from its contents). And there's midway between soft and hard methods of negotiation called 'principled negotiation'. It is what the name suggests. Use a soft approach with people but stick to the agreed principles of the talks.

3. If a party doesn't play along on principled grounds, bring their 'tactics' to an open discussion. But don't criminalize them or portray them as liars. It'll destroy your chances to talk in the future. And talks always come around because you entered the negotiation process as you thought it was the best way out of that conflict.

4. Read it yourself. I read it through an international talks perspective, you might find the principled method applicable to everyday conflicts and interactions.

My only problem with the book:

Umm. It just gets too neo-liberal at times especially when the author uses examples from famous world disputes. 'Free-World' syndrome is real in the White world. But that's a separate debate we'll have some other day.]]> 3.95 1981
author: Roger Fisher
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/25
date added: 2021/05/12
shelves:
review:
I'm getting generous with non-fiction writers. That's weird. I think textbooks are not appreciated enough. It is sort of a textbook. Very academic at its core. Again, thanks to the random stranger for buying it for me. It rarely so happens that you get good books when you work around books. Mostly, it's vampire romances that you have to politely refuse to. Anyway. It's anything but vampire romance. It actually added a bit of practical value to the disarray of thoughts I reckon at times. I find it funny and refreshing that they have terms dedicated to everyday insights we get through our modest experiences. But mostly I find it funny. Not a fan of business how-tos and don'ts, but hello, if you're something about high politics, I'll welcome you gladly. It's not about traditional high politics. It's too nice for that. It's ideal. I'm okay with ideal if it has even a tiny bit of tendency for practicality. It does.

I'm not big for structured reviews. I prefer personal ones. But I think a few takeaways always help those who live structured lives. Again, totally unnecessary.

1. Don't bargain over positions, it will take you away from the actual substance of talks and your real achievable goals/interests. Successively defending your positions will drain you out and make you feel like a loser if it's compromised to reach an agreement with the other party.

2. Moderation is the key to any dispute resolution mechanism (the book didn't say that, but I implied from its contents). And there's midway between soft and hard methods of negotiation called 'principled negotiation'. It is what the name suggests. Use a soft approach with people but stick to the agreed principles of the talks.

3. If a party doesn't play along on principled grounds, bring their 'tactics' to an open discussion. But don't criminalize them or portray them as liars. It'll destroy your chances to talk in the future. And talks always come around because you entered the negotiation process as you thought it was the best way out of that conflict.

4. Read it yourself. I read it through an international talks perspective, you might find the principled method applicable to everyday conflicts and interactions.

My only problem with the book:

Umm. It just gets too neo-liberal at times especially when the author uses examples from famous world disputes. 'Free-World' syndrome is real in the White world. But that's a separate debate we'll have some other day.
]]> 54968118 The Double Helix on her bed. As she sped through the pages, she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the code of life. Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn’t become scientists, she decided she would.

Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions, she would help to make what the book’s author, James Watson, told her was the most important biological advance since his co-discovery of the structure of DNA. She and her collaborators turned ��a curiosity ​of nature into an invention that will transform the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions.

The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been a digital age, based on the microchip, computer, and internet. Now we are entering a life-science revolution. Children who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code.

Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses? What a wonderful boon that would be! And what about preventing depression? Hmmm…Should we allow parents, if they can afford it, to enhance the height or muscles or IQ of their kids?

After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and, with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, won the Nobel Prize in 2020.]]> 536 Walter Isaacson 1982115858 Zainab 3 4.23 2021
author: Walter Isaacson
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/11
date added: 2021/05/11
shelves:
review:
Jennifer isn't the only code breaker. There, that's my review. All else is pure science I'm too exhausted to explain. Maybe I will. Someday.
]]> 337907
Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story—of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.]]> 709 Mark Z. Danielewski Zainab 5 4.03 2000
author: Mark Z. Danielewski
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/01
date added: 2021/05/10
shelves:
review:
I don't remember when I read it. All I remember is it was crazy! And I liked the craziness.
]]> 52269471 For the first time, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower tells the inside story of the data mining and psychological manipulation behind the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit referendum, connecting Facebook, WikiLeaks, Russian intelligence, and international hackers.

Mindf*ck goes deep inside Cambridge Analytica's "American operations," which were driven by Steve Bannon's vision to remake America and fueled by mysterious billionaire Robert Mercer's money, as it weaponized and wielded the massive store of data it had harvested on individuals in--excess of 87 million--to disunite the United States and set Americans against each other through psychological manipulation. Bannon had long sensed that deep within America's soul lurked an explosive tension. Cambridge Analytica had the data to prove it, and in 2016 Bannon had a presidential campaign to use as his proving ground.

Christopher Wylie might have seemed an unlikely figure to be at the center of such an operation. Canadian and liberal in his politics, he was only twenty-four when he got a job with a London firm that worked with the U.K. Ministry of Defense and was charged putatively with helping to build a team of data scientists to create new tools to identify and combat radical extremism online. In short order, those same military tools were turned to political purposes, and Cambridge Analytica was born.

Wylie's decision to become a whistleblower prompted the largest data crime investigation in history. His story is both exposé and dire warning about a sudden problem born of very new and powerful capabilities. It has not only exposed the profound vulnerabilities and profound carelessness in the enormous companies that drive the attention economy, it has also exposed the profound vulnerabilities of democracy itself. What happened in 2016 was just a trial run. Ruthless actors are coming for your data, and they want to control what you think.]]> 288 Christopher Wylie 1984854631 Zainab 0 to-read 4.35 2019
author: Christopher Wylie
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32301945
The U.S. tax code is a total write-off. Crammed with loopholes and special interest provisions, it works for no one except tax lawyers, accountants, and huge corporations. Not for the first time, we have reached a breaking point. That happened in 1922, and again in 1954, and again in 1986. In other words, every thirty-two years. Which means that the next complete overhaul is due in 2018. But what should be in this new tax code? Can we make the U.S. tax system simpler, fairer, and more efficient? Yes, yes, and yes. Can we cut tax rates and still bring in more revenue? Yes.
��
Other rich countries, from Estonia to New Zealand to the UK—advanced, high-tech, free-market democracies—have all devised tax regimes that are equitable, effective, and easy on the taxpayer.�� But the United States has languished. So byzantine are the current statutes that, by our government’s own estimates, Americans spend six billion hours and $10 billion every year preparing and filing their taxes. In the Netherlands that task takes a mere fifteen minutes! Successful American companies like Apple, Caterpillar, and Google effectively pay no tax at all in some instances because of loopholes that allow them to move profits offshore. Indeed, the dysfunctional tax system has become a major cause of economic inequality.
��
In A Fine Mess, T. R. Reid crisscrosses the globe in search of the exact solutions to these urgent problems. With an uncanny knack for making a complex subject not just accessible but gripping, he investigates what makes good taxation (no, that’s not an oxymoron) and brings that knowledge home where it is needed most. Never talking down or reflexively siding with either wing of politics, T. R. Reid presses the case for sensible root-and-branch reforms with a companionable ebullience. This affects everyone. Doing our taxes will never be America's favorite pastime, but it can and should be so much easier and fairer.]]> 288 T.R. Reid 1594205515 Zainab 0 to-read 4.23 2017
author: T.R. Reid
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 35255667 310 Asher Susser 9652241075 Zainab 0 to-read 3.91
author: Asher Susser
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 34315419
A Blessed Olive Tree is a series of short stories that will take you on a spiritual journey. It begins by exploring the reason for our existence, and then it moves on to highlight the reasoning behind the five pillars of Islam. After touching upon “Shariah�� (the religious law), you will enter the land of “Tariqa�� (the mystical path) to explore love, loving, and being loved. You will then come across “Haqiqa�� (the truth), and find answers to some of the queries in your mind. You will finally experience the land of “Marifa�� (gnosis), and catch a glimpse of the ultimate connection with the Divine. This entire journey is covered in twenty simple short stories.

"A sufi literary masterpiece"
(Muslim revert and author Adam Hafiz, UK)

"Truly a treasure"
(Ayanna, Reviewer on ŷ������, USA)

"A wise book"
(Manar, #7 top reviewer on ŷ������, Iraq)

"perfect for teaching younger readers, and reminder for older readers"
(Khurram Alavi, #10 best reviewer on ŷ������, UK)

"So inspiring for all Muslims and non Muslims."
(Fatima Haleem, #17 best reviewer on ŷ������, Iraq)

"All short stories are based on Islamic facts and taking roots from Quran"
(Necmi Coban, #45 top reader on ŷ������, Turkey)

"...gave a very deep impact to my heart.
It has been long since I felt so at ease with myself and my thoughts changed."
(Sizarifalina Ali, #30 best reviewer on ŷ������, Malaysia)

"After almost each story I felt warmth in my heart"
(Arezoo Alipanah, #99 top reader on ŷ������, Iran)

"The sequence...oh this is genius."
(Shabrina Fadhila, Reviewer on ŷ������, Indonesia)

"...each story containing heartfelt lessons of hope, faith, struggle, success and happiness."
(Phi T. Waani, #83 best reviewer on ŷ������, Pakistan)

"An exceptional read that was"
(Tarik Mahtab, #72 best reviewer on ŷ������, Bangladesh)

"Reading this book feels like reading a fairy tale 1001 nights!"
(Arvia Maharhani, #53 best reviewer on ŷ������, Indonesia)

"Metaphorical stories feeding one's spirit with faith"
(Rabbia Riaz, #39 best reviewer on ŷ������, Pakistan)

"I was taken on a journey which became more enjoyable with each turn of the page."
(Saima, Reviewer on ŷ������ USA)

"...help Muslims and non-Muslims to understand Islam better"
(Aya, #41 best reviewer on ŷ������, Egypt )

"...told in a fun way that doesn't require reading huge volumes of religious texts"
(Hafsa, #17 best reviewer on ŷ������, Kenya)

"...this book came as a ray of sunshine or noor in these devastating times."
(Nafisa Tarannum, #46 top reviewer on ŷ������ Bangladesh)

"This was good, great, interesting, Charmin, magical"
(Abdel Rahman Amin, #75 top reviewer on ŷ������, Egypt)

"This is indeed a metaphorical masterpiece"
(Ain Mc, Reviewer on ŷ������ Malaysia)]]> 140 Zain Hashmi 154290806X Zainab 0 to-read 4.00
author: Zain Hashmi
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3873 496 Karen Armstrong 0517223120 Zainab 0 currently-reading 3.89 1993
author: Karen Armstrong
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 40876575 Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today.

After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, reminds us it needn't be this way—and in some places it isn't. Rutger Bregman's TED Talk about universal basic income seemed impossibly radical when he delivered it in 2014. A quarter of a million views later, the subject of that video is being seriously considered by leading economists and government leaders the world over. It's just one of the many utopian ideas that Bregman proves is possible today.

Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think can happen. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, and beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he champions ideas whose time have come.

Every progressive milestone of civilization—from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy—was once considered a utopian fantasy. Bregman's book, both challenging and bracing, demonstrates that new utopian ideas, like the elimination of poverty and the creation of the fifteen-hour workweek, can become a reality in our lifetime. Being unrealistic and unreasonable can in fact make the impossible inevitable, and it is the only way to build the ideal world.]]> 262 Rutger Bregman 0316471909 Zainab 3
Rutger is Rutger, and I was just too much in my head with my great and irrational expectations from him. He didn't disappoint.


]]> 4.24 2014
author: Rutger Bregman
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/05
date added: 2021/05/05
shelves:
review:
I was kind of expecting Elizabeth Warren's 'I have a plan' approach by the author, but Rutger is more into evaluating radical-sounding theoretical plans—universal basic income, open borders, and a 15-hour workweek—with real-time short-scale experiments and their results.

Rutger is Rutger, and I was just too much in my head with my great and irrational expectations from him. He didn't disappoint.



]]> 42041926 The Scout Mindset, Galef shows that what makes scouts better at getting things right isn't that they're smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else. It's a handful of emotional skills, habits, and ways of looking at the world--which anyone can learn. With fascinating examples ranging from how to survive being stranded in the middle of the ocean, to how Jeff Bezos avoids overconfidence, to how superforecasters outperform CIA operatives, to Reddit threads and modern partisan politics, Galef explores why our brains deceive us and what we can do to change the way we think.]]> 288 Julia Galef 0735217556 Zainab 3
However (there's always that however), what I did not like was the same-old-same-old tradition among modern-day non-fiction writers who think it's the best strategy to make it to that 200+ pages by adding as many evidences as they can to validate their precious insights. It's annoying. I don't want to get used to this stupid tradition just because Julia is good with choosing her page adders.

Anyway. I'm sharing one of the cases to show you what Julia's precious insights are all about.

So, back in the 70s, when Susan Blackmore was a freshman at Oxford University studying psychology, just like her other college mates, she decided to use drugs to experience her newly-gotten freedom. She eventually found her spirit being lifted up towards the ceiling (reminds me of Jessie from Breaking Bad). But the thing was, she could see her body lying on the bed. That first experience with drugs changed her mindset about the paranormal. After that experience, she would wear stupid costumes, perform cute rituals, and read tarot cards to listen to her spirit guides and all. She also changed her academic focus to parapsychology. Did her Ph.D., and eventually found that all the evidence she had that proved the existence of the paranormal was only chance-based.

She couldn't easily go back to being that annoying skeptic in the family especially when she had been ghost-hunting for a living to save people from their supposed demons (I still have to look it up). She became that annoying skeptic anyway, because truth, you know.

Seeking truth, by all means, that's the thesis. Julia uses billions of cases and case studies to make her point that you should always reach conclusions based on accuracy-motivated reasoning (the Scout mindset) and not directionally-motivated reasoning (the Soldier mindset aka half-truth, biases-based rationalizing). She made her point well.

But the thing is how do you objectively separate the truth from the crap when there is so much crap we feed on on the daily basis? Reminds me of that Netflix documentary called Surviving Death. In the first episode, people narrate their near-death/full-death experiences. Most of them witnessed their spirits being lifted from their bodies (mostly during an operation), saw the doctors struggling to keep the body alive, then suddenly, felt like dissolving into all colorful things like the intermediary phase where the spirits go, and still made back to this world because "it just wasn't their time."

For me, consistency of evidence doesn't always mean truth. But, but, but another parapsychologist as shown in the same episode showed that in most of these cases, the survived lot mentioned the specific details like the position of a particular doctor standing in whatever direction, performing whatever specific thing that the patient could not have possibly mentioned had he/she not seen it from a distance with eyes fully open and in a state of consciousness.

And yet again, see, all the patients were drugged as per the regular operating procedures. So, yeah.

The book left me with this final thought: What the hell is clarity?

Note: I have updated my review system as I get to read more these days. Now, the books I feel conflicted about (most of them) get 3 stars. It's just easy.]]> 4.09 2021
author: Julia Galef
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/27
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves:
review:
Julia picks interesting cases to support her claim, so in a way, she satisfied my selfish want to find stories in the non-fiction. Thanks, Julia.

However (there's always that however), what I did not like was the same-old-same-old tradition among modern-day non-fiction writers who think it's the best strategy to make it to that 200+ pages by adding as many evidences as they can to validate their precious insights. It's annoying. I don't want to get used to this stupid tradition just because Julia is good with choosing her page adders.

Anyway. I'm sharing one of the cases to show you what Julia's precious insights are all about.

So, back in the 70s, when Susan Blackmore was a freshman at Oxford University studying psychology, just like her other college mates, she decided to use drugs to experience her newly-gotten freedom. She eventually found her spirit being lifted up towards the ceiling (reminds me of Jessie from Breaking Bad). But the thing was, she could see her body lying on the bed. That first experience with drugs changed her mindset about the paranormal. After that experience, she would wear stupid costumes, perform cute rituals, and read tarot cards to listen to her spirit guides and all. She also changed her academic focus to parapsychology. Did her Ph.D., and eventually found that all the evidence she had that proved the existence of the paranormal was only chance-based.

She couldn't easily go back to being that annoying skeptic in the family especially when she had been ghost-hunting for a living to save people from their supposed demons (I still have to look it up). She became that annoying skeptic anyway, because truth, you know.

Seeking truth, by all means, that's the thesis. Julia uses billions of cases and case studies to make her point that you should always reach conclusions based on accuracy-motivated reasoning (the Scout mindset) and not directionally-motivated reasoning (the Soldier mindset aka half-truth, biases-based rationalizing). She made her point well.

But the thing is how do you objectively separate the truth from the crap when there is so much crap we feed on on the daily basis? Reminds me of that Netflix documentary called Surviving Death. In the first episode, people narrate their near-death/full-death experiences. Most of them witnessed their spirits being lifted from their bodies (mostly during an operation), saw the doctors struggling to keep the body alive, then suddenly, felt like dissolving into all colorful things like the intermediary phase where the spirits go, and still made back to this world because "it just wasn't their time."

For me, consistency of evidence doesn't always mean truth. But, but, but another parapsychologist as shown in the same episode showed that in most of these cases, the survived lot mentioned the specific details like the position of a particular doctor standing in whatever direction, performing whatever specific thing that the patient could not have possibly mentioned had he/she not seen it from a distance with eyes fully open and in a state of consciousness.

And yet again, see, all the patients were drugged as per the regular operating procedures. So, yeah.

The book left me with this final thought: What the hell is clarity?

Note: I have updated my review system as I get to read more these days. Now, the books I feel conflicted about (most of them) get 3 stars. It's just easy.
]]> 28815
You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.]]> 320 Robert B. Cialdini 006124189X Zainab 2 4.21 1984
author: Robert B. Cialdini
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1984
rating: 2
read at: 2021/01/19
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves:
review:
Too much Malcolm Gladwell-like. Even the cases Robert uses are the same. It was ok at best.
]]> 10644930
In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane �� and insanely possible �� mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.

In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald...]]> 849 Stephen King 1451627289 Zainab 0 to-read 4.33 2011
author: Stephen King
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 6763725 81 Mark Fisher 1846943175 Zainab 0 to-read 4.20 2009
author: Mark Fisher
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 28512671
Blending the informed analysis of The Signal and the Noise with the instructive iconoclasm of Think Like a Freak, a fascinating, illuminating, and witty look at what the vast amounts of information now instantly available to us reveals about ourselves and our world—provided we ask the right questions.

By the end of an average day in the early twenty-first century, human beings searching the internet will amass eight trillion gigabytes of data. This staggering amount of information—unprecedented in history—can tell us a great deal about who we are—the fears, desires, and behaviors that drive us, and the conscious and unconscious decisions we make. From the profound to the mundane, we can gain astonishing knowledge about the human psyche that less than twenty years ago, seemed unfathomable.

Everybody Lies offers fascinating, surprising, and sometimes laugh-out-loud insights into everything from economics to ethics to sports to race to sex, gender and more, all drawn from the world of big data. What percentage of white voters didn’t vote for Barack Obama because he’s black? Does where you go to school effect how successful you are in life? Do parents secretly favor boy children over girls? Do violent films affect the crime rate? Can you beat the stock market? How regularly do we lie about our sex lives and who’s more self-conscious about sex, men or women?

Investigating these questions and a host of others, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz offers revelations that can help us understand ourselves and our lives better. Drawing on studies and experiments on how we really live and think, he demonstrates in fascinating and often funny ways the extent to which all the world is indeed a lab. With conclusions ranging from strange-but-true to thought-provoking to disturbing, he explores the power of this digital truth serum and its deeper potential—revealing biases deeply embedded within us, information we can use to change our culture, and the questions we’re afraid to ask that might be essential to our health—both emotional and physical. All of us are touched by big data everyday, and its influence is multiplying. Everybody Lies challenges us to think differently about how we see it and the world.]]> 338 Seth Stephens-Davidowitz 0062390856 Zainab 0 to-read 3.88 2017
author: Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 22537557
We typically associate success and leadership with smarts, passion and luck. But in today's hypercompetitive world, even those gifts aren't enough. Get Big Things Done argues that the game changer is a thoroughly modern skill called Connectional Intelligence. Virtually anyone can maximize his or her potential, and achieve breakthrough performance, by developing this crucial ability.

So, what is it? Put simply, Connectional Intelligence is the ability to combine knowledge, ambition and human capital, forging connections on a global scale that create unprecedented value and meaning. As radical a concept as Emotional Intelligence was in the 90s, Connectional Intelligence is changing everything from business and sports to academics, health and politics by quickly, efficiently and creatively helping people enlist supporters, drive innovation, develop strategies and implement solutions to big problems.

Can a small-town pumpkin grower affect the global food crisis? A Fortune 500 executive change her company's outdated culture through video storytelling? A hip-hop artist launch an international happiness movement? Or a scientist use virtual reality games to lower pain for burn victims? The answer, you'll read, is a resounding yes. Each of these individuals is using Connectional Intelligence to become a power player to get big things done.

Erica Dhawan and Saj-nicole Joni's Get Big Things Done unlocks the secrets of how the world's movers and shakers use Connectional Intelligence to achieve their personal and professional goals--no matter how ambitious.]]> 256 Erica Dhawan 1137279788 Zainab 2 3.53 2015
author: Erica Dhawan
name: Zainab
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2021/03/31
date added: 2021/03/31
shelves:
review:
So much evidence to support so little. Drag.
]]> 4060560
Jerry Weinberg, author of The Psychology of Computer Programming and more than forty nonfiction books, sets out to disprove destructive notions about testing and testers in Perfect Software And Other Illusions About Testing. With a blend of wit, storytelling, and jaw-dropping insight that has won him fans around the world, Weinberg deftly separates what is expected, significant, and possible in software testing. He destroys fallacies and steers readers clear of common mistakes.

We test because people are not perfect, and simply testing more does not guarantee better quality. This book guides test strategy development that's scalable for any project.

Topics include:

- Why Not Just Test Everything?
- Information Immunity
- What Makes a Test Good?
- Major Fallacies About Testing
- Determining Significance
- Testing Without Machinery
- and much more.]]> 200 Gerald M. Weinberg 0932633692 Zainab 3
Recommended for software testers/developers/managers (especially the managers).]]> 4.12 2008
author: Gerald M. Weinberg
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2021/03/24
date added: 2021/03/27
shelves:
review:
I hope I can use Gerald's insights on some fine day in my life.

Recommended for software testers/developers/managers (especially the managers).
]]> 55539565 Think Again is a book about the benefit of doubt, and about how we can get better at embracing the unknown and the joy of being wrong. Evidence has shown that creative geniuses are not attached to one identity, but constantly willing to rethink their stances and that leaders who admit they don't know something and seek critical feedback lead more productive and innovative teams.

New evidence shows us that as a mindset and a skilllset, rethinking can be taught and Grant explains how to develop the necessary qualities to do it. Section 1 explores why we struggle to think again and how we can learn to do it as individuals, arguing that 'grit' alone can actually be counterproductive. Section 2 discusses how we can help others think again through learning about 'argument literacy'. And the final section 3 looks at how schools, businesses and governments fall short in building cultures that encourage rethinking.

In the end, learning to rethink may be the secret skill to give you the edge in a world changing faster than ever.]]> 307 Adam M. Grant 1984878107 Zainab 3 4.12 2021
author: Adam M. Grant
name: Zainab
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/03/27
date added: 2021/03/27
shelves:
review:
Made me rethink a lot. Thank you very much. But I think I'm done with my dose of pseudo-sciences for this year. And it's March only.
]]>