Book Summary: The Practice by Seth Godin
Seth Godin’s “The Practice” is a collection of (not particularly well organised) blog posts put into a book. There are a couple of decent points in there but overall it’s not worth a read.
Author: To Summarise
Book Summary: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
In Guns, Germs and Steel, Diamond sets out to answer a question posed by one of his New Guinean friends: why did human development proceed at such different rates on different continents? This is a detailed summary of the 20th anniversary edition of the book published in 2017.
Book Summary: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
In this detailed summary of Never Split the Difference, learn the negotiation techniques used by FBI hostage negotiators and how to apply them to your daily life.
Criticisms of “Bullshit Jobs” by David Graeber
Graeber got 4 things wrong in his book, Bullshit Jobs. (1) That the rise of the information economy is bad. (2) That there has been a “bullshitization” of work. (3) That bullshit jobs are almost always demoralising. (4) The reasons for the inverse relationship between social value and economic value.
What I think Graeber got right in “Bullshit Jobs”
In this post I outline what I think David Graeber got right in his book, Bullshit Jobs. Other
My 7 categories of “bullshit jobs”
In the book Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber suggested 5 categories of bullshit jobs. However, I found it more useful to look at […]
Why I started this site
Update (as at Sep 2024): While this post still reflects why I started this site, my reasons for continuing it have changed. […]
Book Summary: Bullshit Jobs – A Theory by David Graeber
In 2013, David Graeber published an article On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant. The article went viral. It got a lot of attention in social media and the mainstream press. Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, is Graeber’s attempt to flesh out some of the ideas in his 2013 article.
Book Summary: Destined for War by Graham Allison
Destined for War is about the dynamic that arises when a rising power (China) threatens the existing ruling power (America). Allison looks back at examples of similar past dynamics starting with Athens and Sparta, and suggests ways in which we can learn from history and hopefully avoid war.
Book Summary: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
Talking to Strangers is about how difficult it is to understand other people. It is well-written and contains many engaging examples. Unfortunately, the examples do not illustrate Gladwell’s points well and his analysis is not very rigorous.