Ed Smith was a budding and talented English cricketer whose hopes for an extended international career were put paid by a freak ankle injury suffered while playing for Middlesex. Undaunted by this set back, Smith substituted a pen for his trusted willow and is currently flourishing in his second avatar as a leading writer … Continue reading Luck: What It Means and Why It Matters by Ed Smith
Month: July 2018
Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf by Oliver Sacks
"I actually think the deafness makes you see clearer. If you can't hear, you somehow see" - David Hockney The aforementioned quote encapsulates the theme and tenor of this magnificent book by the brilliant Dr.Oliver Sacks. Deafness in general and pre-lingual or congenital deafness is particular can have a devastating impact on the physical, mental … Continue reading Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf by Oliver Sacks
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future – Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
An integral part of the now legendary "Paypal Mafia" coterie that included Elon Musk (of Space X and Tesla fame); Reid Hoffman (of Linkedin); Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim (of You Tube), David Sacks of Yammer and Russel Simmons of Yelp, Peter Thiel is today acknowledged as one of the most astute, successful … Continue reading Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future – Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
The unsurpassed purveyor of the satire once gain delivers in inimitable and hard hitting fashion. Writing in a style distinctly 'Vonnegut', one of America's greatest ever novelist wades into the hypocrisy of both the horrors of war and the farcical rigours of post war 'justice meting methods'. Cocking a snook at totalitarianism, fascism and banana … Continue reading Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Life Inspired – Wyatt North
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien has carved out a niche as the unmatched pioneer of the 'legendarium'. With his best immortal epics "The Hobbit" and "The Lord Of The Rings", Tolkien has spawned the emergence of a whole new culture, or rather a counter-culture. While there cannot be many on the Planet boasting ignorance regarding the … Continue reading J.R.R. Tolkien: A Life Inspired – Wyatt North
If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young by Kurt Vonnegut
This short collection of a few simple, practical, fun filled laced with wit and wisdom graduation speeches provides a key insight into the virtues of Kurt Vonnegut the human being, the raw talent of Kurt Vonnegut the master story teller and the intrinsic genius of Kurt Vonnegut one of our generation's most revered, respected and … Continue reading If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young by Kurt Vonnegut
Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student by Richard Bach
When Richard Bach crashed his sea-plane "Puff" after accidentally coming into contact with some high tension wires, very few in the medical fraternity offered the acclaimed author any hopes of survival. Bach however staged a miraculous recovery waking up from a week long coma and within a short span of time even reconstructed "Puff" to … Continue reading Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student by Richard Bach
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
In this where Stephen King-meets-C.S.Lewis-meets-Dean Koontz, Neil Gaiman dazzles in this good versus evil part fairy part horror tale. Judiciously blending the interplay of human emotions with the disconnectedness of childhood, the 'Ocean At The End Of The Lane', is a rich tapestry of imagination, art and erudite articulation. The book begins with the protagonist … Continue reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Free Fall by William Golding
A metaphysical work of magnificent proportions, William Golding once described "Free Fall" as a 'confession' of sorts. Samuel Mountjoy is raised fatherless in the abject slums of Rotten Row. Upon the demise of his mother, he finds a benefactor in Father Watt-Watts who takes the orphan under his custody and arranges for the appropriate schooling. … Continue reading Free Fall by William Golding
Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? by William Poundstone
"You are shrunk to the height of a penny and thrown into a blender. your mass is reduced so that your density is the same as usual. The blades start moving in sixty seconds. What do you do?" If you think that what you have read above represents a random contrivance churned our by a … Continue reading Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? by William Poundstone