Also Read: “What Men Live By and Other Tales” by Leo Tolstoy A collection of twenty-three parables which teach the principles of life and virtues such as temperance, courage, perseverance, simplicity, forgiveness and love. Whatever Tolstoy writes, whether it be love stories, war epics or moral tales, it always leaves a deep impression on the reader. The tales are edifying and entertaining without being overly didactic or sentimental. There is […]
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“Family Happiness” by Leo Tolstoy
In all his other novels I’ve read, Tolstoy was a third-person omniscient narrator, but here he used a first-person narrative as a young woman. Is it conceivable that Tolstoy, who was 31 when he wrote this, knew all the feelings and thoughts of a 17-year-old girl? I was incredulous, and only after many paragraphs into the story did I get used to the narrative. It’s a beautiful story of the […]
Read more“Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim
This book is more about business philosophy than about strategy. The basic concept is simple: Instead of focusing on the technological, operational aspects of the business, or even the final products, rather focus on what type of service you’ll be providing, how does it meet the customers’ needs, and wants and how can you streamline your business to provide more value to the customers (in terms of functions delivered and […]
Read more“Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony” by Lewis Thomas
Having already read his other two works, “The Lives of a Cell” and “The Medusa and the Snail“, I thought I was reasonably familiar with Thomas’ ideas and beliefs, but he still managed to amaze me. Reading this book was like listening to a piece of music with a familiar lyrical tune, there were pleasant wonders here and there, and near the end there was a climax followed by a […]
Read more“Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond
Why are wealth and power unevenly distributed among the nations? Jared Diamond asks the intriguing question in the Prologue, and then proceeds to review the geographical, ecological and agricultural environment of the ancient societies and argue that geographical and ecological factors affect food production, the diffusion of crops, ideas and technologies, and ultimately the distribution of wealth and power. Summary Domestication of wild animals and plants are necessary for food […]
Read more“The Elegant Universe” by Brian Greene
I enjoyed this book on three levels, though initially I felt it made my brain expand. Firstly, understanding physics theories. Greene did a great job explaining the complex physics concepts using analogies and thought experiments. For example, I would have never imagined that quantum tunnel has anything to do with balancing bank accounts or people walking through walls. I’d prefer, however, that he emphasize the Fundamental Postulate and the logical […]
Read more“A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking
Also Read: “A Briefer History of Time” by Stephen Hawking Hawking recounts the evolution of cosmology/physics from the time of the ancient Greek to the present, with emphasis on Newton’s law of gravitation, Einstein’s theory of general relativity, Planck’s quantum and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principles in quantum mechanics, Feynman’s “sum over histories” approach, and the string theory. He also examines the existence of the Big Bang, black holes, worm holes and […]
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