Book review: 23 Things they don't tell you about capitalism

 

Is looking at the financial crisis with a smile and learning from it possible? Ha-Joon Chang proves it to be so in his book “23 things they don’t tell you about capitalism”

If you are in desperate need for arguments in discussions about capitalism and make your “I know it all and even better friends” go pale from your cutting edge analysis with a smirk, “23 Things they don’t tell you about Capitalism” might be the right read for you.

Book Review: Think and Grow rich

 

What would you think if there was a formula to become rich? What if this formula was pretty simple but there just has to be someone to point it out to you? Napoleon Hill will change the way how you think about yourself and your life plans by using real life examples. This book will tell you how to grow rich.

Book Review: The first twenty minutes

Review of "The first 20 Minutes" a book by Gretchen Reynolds

"The first 20 minutes" was another grab at Easons for the buy One get one half price promotion. Easons's marketing definitely works on me... As i am currently preparing for a marathon i thought it might come in handy to read a book which claims to tell you how to excercise better, train smarter and livelonger.

Gretchen Reynolds is a writer for the New York times column Phys Ed. As a mother, pet owner and fulltime worker she understands the challenges the average Joe faces when it comes to excercising. 

The book mainly describes an accumulation on experiments which have been done on mice, rats, humans, apes and other specimen to see how exercise influences their capabilities regarding movement and intelligence. At the end of each chapter there are tips on how to stretch, improve your balance or keeping a better diet to support your sport efforts.

The book is rather short and fast to read through. The language is easy and straight forward. The balance between description of experiments and the author's own experience is balanced and helps to make the content more accessible. 

I was surprised that low fat chocolate milk could such a good isotonic drink. There was no hesitation to add this to my diet plan to be drunken after my runs and workouts. The insights about stretching came as a surprise to me. Still I would have liked to know how stretching after excercise is evaluated by the experts. In total I took away from this book that science seems to agree to disagree about the major questions of excercising and is following a path of listening to your own body whilst challenging oneself. If you need someone to show you why you should get yourself up and running this book is ideal as the insight on the aging process with and without exercise is compelling. For sport pros this isn't that right choice except you want to take away just one or two new ideas,as there are no detailed training and nutrition plans in this book. Entertaining read for beginners and the generally interested.

Book review: Empire of the summer moon

Colts, Cowboys & Quannah Parker: The last chief of the Comanches

If you like Texas, colts, cowboys, politics, American history and stories about undermined minorities or just one of the mentioned this book will be a delight for you. If you do not like war stories, blood and gore, stories about rape, death and Indians do not waste your time on this formidable book and opt for fantasy.

Book Review: Michael Collins Biography by Timothy Patrick Coogan

National hero and brave soldier or traitor and criminal serial killer?

 

Depending which party you are a member of or vote for in Ireland you might have a very different opinion about this very question. Timothy Patrick Coogan is a well regarded editor and author of books about the IRA, Eamon De Valera and obviously Michael Collins. The scandal in 2012 in which the United States Embassy in Dublin denied Timothy Patrick Coogan twice to enter the country renews the interest in his work.

 

Book review: Malcom X, A life of reinvention

Is Malcolm X a hate preacher or a martyr? Review of “Malcom X:

 A Life of reinvention” by Manning Marable

 

Do you know Malcolm X from posters and t shirts of rappers as a sign of rebellion, with him referring to whites as “White Devils” and being the example of one the most extreme figures of the civil rights movement in the sixties. Is this really all to this historic figure?

On the question of intelligence

What is it about our society that we seem to strive for ever more knowledge? Apparently it is best to be the most knowledgeable person who can constantly outsmart your peers at work or give advice to the ones you love. How does that lead to a more satisfied live? How does this lead to more success? This article expresses my current thoughts on being more intelligent or having more knowledge, which in my opinion are not one and the same thing. The following doesn't claim to be scientifically correct, as I would spent my entire life to produce the evidence. I shall call it common sense or logic, even though Spok might disagree. Let´s think deeper.

Book review of "The path to power" Thatcher's autobiography 

The milk snatcher, the hoarder, the ultimate conservative: The Iron Lady’s Autobiography “The Path to Power”Margaret Thatcher is one of the most, if not the most, controversially discussed and successful woman in modern politics. But how did the daughter of a grocery store owner and student of chemistry in Oxford become the first female and longest serving prime minister of the 20th century?

Book Review  of John F. Kennedy Portrait of a President

 

What would you do if you faced the world at the brink of annilation? How does a political leader keep a clear head while the world is looking up to his administration? How does it affect you personally and your beloved ones? Hugh Sidey delivers incredible insight into the life and mind of John F. Kennedy in his book “John F. Kennedy: Portrait of a president”.