Book summaries (excerpts)
Instead of summarizing the books in my own words, I gathered the top excerpts. I want the spirit of the books to remain intact and I want you to be able to interpret the crumbs of wisdom on your own.
Date is the date on which I read the book.
As a Man Thinketh
Author: James Allen ISBN: 978-1530875269 This is one of the first self-help books ever written (1903!). It's nice to see how things evolve. EXCERPTS Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realizes that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which [...]
How We Learn
Author: Benedict Carey ISBN: 978-0812993899 I wish I read this book before (or at least) during law school! A book about optimizing learning with hands-on advice. EXCERPTS Part One: Basic Theory Memory improved in the first few days without any further study, and only began to taper off after day four or so, on average. The brain doesn’t hold on to nonsense syllables for long, then, because they [...]
The Truth: Sex, Love, Commitment, and the Puzzle of the Male Mind
Author: Neil Strauss ISBN: 978-0062336958 A hilariously funny book about serious relationship questions. How a world famous pick-up artist (Neil Strauss, the author himself) went from picking up women into a commited relationship, escaped it to pursue various relationship styles and ended back in a commited monogamous relationship. A page turner! I want more! [SPOILER ALERT: The author concluded that commited monogamous relationship is bad but still the [...]
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Author: Daniel H. Pink ISBN: 978-1594484803 An interesting book about what really drives us. The book is especially useful if you want to set up an effective remuneration and bonus policy for your employees. EXCERPTS The joy of the task was its own reward. “When money is used as an external reward for some activity, the subjects lose intrinsic interest for the activity,” Rewards can deliver a short-term [...]
Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography
Author: Walter Isaacson ISBN: 978-1451648539 I really enjoyed a realistic (or at least much more realistic than other books and movies) insight into the life of one of the greatest creative geniouses of the 21st century. The book is full of practical wisdom about life and business. True to himself, Walter Isaacson leves no stone unturned, which can make a book to lengthy if you're not a true [...]
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich
Author: Timothy Ferriss ISBN:978-0091929114 Funny, this was one one of the first books that I've read voluntarily. I was approaching the end of my student yeas and I had a giant lump in my throat. The job at a prestiguous corporate law frim was just behing the corner. In a couple of months my relatively worry-free life was about to be replaced by the 40-year 9-9 grind. More [...]
