Critical Masses - discussing books and life

La Bottarga is the New Direction of the Blog! More to come...

2010-04-18T18:11:00.000+02:00

Spring

2010-04-11T17:11:00.000+02:00

New Direction

2010-04-11T16:55:00.003+02:00

I have an uncompleted post on the book "Legacy of Ashes" about the history of the CIA. The finished book stack above my computer continues to grow as well. Yet, I do not feel like writing book reviews for the time being.

I have been spending a bit of time considering the next direction for my blog but have not come to any conclusions for the time being. It is not far off but not there yet either. In the meantime any suggestions are appreciated.

Until then, happy hay fever.

tblaze

Nexus by Mark Buchanan

2010-02-13T12:29:00.009+01:00

Subtitle: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks

I am fascinated by networks. Certainly the social networking websites currently available are revealing in a less abstract manner how far our connections are really spread. The most rewarding aspect of joining these sites was the initial 30 minutes after having signed-up when you were quickly reconnected with ex-colleagues and long-forgotten high school acquaintances. From there it is mostly downhill and I am still amazed by those who find so many non-commercial ways to occupy their time posting, tweeting and chatting away.

I spend little time on these sites and am becoming more and more skeptical that they will be able to retain their entertainment value (and massive subscriber growth) before being besieged by individuals and companies trying to push their products and services on you. A recent interview from a Pepsi marketing manager I unfortunately saw on CNN should give a clear indication of what is to come. Pepsi's desire to have a "conversation" with its customers does not bode well to those who find a large aspect of Facebook's appeal to be the limited advertisements pasted on its pages.

However, I do confess to having a soft spot for LinkedIn. It has focused on the business community from day and is now evolving into a profitable company with a clear business model. By being a site catering to business users, it is somehow more justified to find ways to drive revenue - a luxury not necessarily granted to Facebook.

LinkedIn is so great because it allows the users to really see the reach of their networks. By using the "people" search function on the site, I discover to have contacts in Madagascar, Saudi Arabia and Suriname and all of them are only one contact removed from me - meaning that they are connected to someone in my own 170-person network. 20 years ago these same networks existed but it was just much harder to visibly construct them.

The premise of Nexus is that there is scientific evidence demonstrating how the network that links the six billion of us is not completely random in nature but actually has a certain structural configuration. The author then demonstrates how such network structures are not just relevant for human acquaintanceship.

Buchanan introduces the argument by referring to a fascinating experiment conducted by the psychologist, Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. I was familiar with Milgram for the famous test that bears his name yet was unaware he was also credited what came to be know the "six-degrees of separation".

In the Six-Degrees test, Milgram mailed at random letters to people living in Omaha, Nebraska and asked them to forward the letter to a stockbroker friend of his in Boston. He provided no address for the stockbroker but instead asked them to send it to someone who they believed to be "socially closer" to him than they were. Most of the letters made it to his friend as each subsequent recipient forwarded the letter to the next person applying the same request. The most surprising aspect was that it did not take hundreds of mailings but six.

It was then the work of two other academics, Watts and Strogatz, who when further studying Milgram's test, found these six-degree connections to be neither orderly nor random but somewhere in between. These patterns took on an even greater significance when they started examining other types of networks such as electric power grids, human brain cells or the world wide web only to discover clear similarities in all of them.

Before returning to the book, let's look at an example given by one of my professors, Dr. Karen Stephenson, during my graduate studies that should help in understanding how these networks are patterned:

Think of the organization you work in. Most likely it has some type of hierarchical structure of management. Yet by looking at this pyramid, does it really show how the organization is networked together? It is true that the person at the top holds a lot of decision making power but it is certainly bound to be the case that individuals scattered throughout the ranks wield a disproportional amount of network power. These linchpins are the types of people you go to for questions, information or advice and most certainly others turn to them as well.

If every person in the organization drew lines to each person they contacted throughout the day for a question or advice and then all of these drawing were compiled together, you would see a web-like structure emerge. In this web certain people would be crucial "hubs" as they would appear as being connected to a lot of other people as well. Interestingly enough, it is probably the people towards the top of the pyramid who have the fewest connections to others in the organization.

This type of network formation exists in all the communities we interact with on a daily basis. Yet how is it that we are connected in such a short number of steps to people on the other side of the globe if we interact only with our local communities? It is by people acting as "bridges" to other groups far beyond the ones we are involved with at a local level. The exchange student you still keep in touch a couple times a year via email serves as a bridge to her entire network of friends and family back home. Lose connection with her and this whole world (even if you are in no way actively apart of it) disappears.

As stated earlier, this network layout applies to other areas of science as well. One of the more vivid examples is the development of the world wide web. Internet pages are being developed randomly and frequently. However if you look at the links between all of the billions of web pages, you find once again Internet pages acting as "hubs" and a certain order to the random development. What it also means based on the study that examined the network of the web is that even as another billion webpages are added, the number of clicks required to navigate will not change by more than one or two clicks.

These "small world networks" thus make information, electricity or gossip travel much faster than a world without them.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

2010-01-31T11:45:00.010+01:00

When I was home in Seattle a few months ago I took a trip to my favorite book store, The Elliott Bay Book Company, in Pioneer Square - the city's most historic neighborhood. Unfortunately, it was most likely my last visit at its current location. The bookstore is preparing to move to another part of the city. Considering the fate of many independent bookstores, this outcome is far from terrible. And reflecting on it objectively, I should actually be happy.

For those of you unfamiliar with Seattle, Pioneer Square captures perhaps the last glimpse into the origins of our modern city. While I have a hard time believing the commercial- residential buildings constructed in the last decade that include a Quizno's Subs and tanning salon on the ground floor will withstand the tests of time from an architectural standpoint, Pioneer Square with its brownstone edifices offered something different. This "difference" also included the aroma of stale beer and urine on the vast majority of its sidewalks. Yes, Pioneer Square is truly dying and with the loss of Elliot Bay it's destined to become an urban carcass of its former self. Notwithstanding the verbal assault by numerous panhandlers and con artists, I thoroughly enjoyed the trips into Pioneer Square to visit the bookstore. There is a certain sense of loss. Yet as I already said, the move will actually benefit me because Elliot Bay will now be located in an area I actually do frequent for its nightlife.

It was exactly for this reason that Elliot Bay was forced to move locations after a very difficult last 12 months in terms of sales. An independent bookstore relies on foot traffic, especially in the evening. And you can trust me that those going out in Pioneer Square after dark were not the same market segment likely to pop into the reading room to hear an author present her latest work.

I respect Elliot Bay's store as well as its business model and wish it the best of success! We should all be cheering it on as the outcome "post-move" will tell us a lot about what businesses will work and which will fail in the future. One mantra of business strategy is based around the belief that a company must either focus on being a cost leader or a high value-add specialist. Finding yourself in the middle is a recipe for disaster due to the competition you will face from both sides.

Elliot Bay Bookstore does not discount its books. In the days of Amazon, I know it is a hard concept to grasp that a bookstore may actually sell its goods at the list price found in small print on the back of the cover. But it is the case. They do this because they clearly recognize that a war based on price cannot be won against the likes of online retailers or massive chain stores. What they do offer is exceptional staff who know what they are talking about. My favorite thing to do there (and what can also be done in an excellent music or wine shop) is to go in with a set amount you want to spend, say $100, and let them recommend different books for you based on your interest. It is a great way to get guidance in new directions you may have not normally ventured and it is not something Amazon can offer you - even though they try.

However, as this move is eluding to, the specialization they are offering may still not be enough. It is my belief that our ever enduring quest for low prices is devastating large aspects of value and we are not fully aware of it. This value is what lies between a normal versus a basement bottom price. Before parting on too extreme of a tangent, I will just say that the subject of pricing will be further addressed in an upcoming post.

And how is this connected to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? I was in Madrid last July. It was a balmy afternoon and we had made an appointment to meet a friend who was getting off work for her lunch hour. She arrived toting the huge, hardback copy of this book. She was in full addiction mode and was unwilling to part with it even on her lunch break.

During my discussion with a salesperson at Elliot Bay a few months back, I noticed my basket of books becoming disproportionately overrepresented with non-fiction and I therefore asked him for a good piece of 2009 fiction. He pointed me towards this book and thinking back on my friend in Madrid, I grabbed it without hesitating.

It is certainly an engrossing story which combines mystery, sex, violence and Sweden. I consumed it in a couple of days much in the same way I would plow through a good TV series if I had the whole thing on DVD. It is entertainment above all else.

Straw Dogs by John Gray

2010-01-16T16:36:00.007+01:00

Subtitle: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals

I have confessed in other postings that my background in philosophy is far from profound. However, it is a subject (in a very broad definition) that is calling out to me with greater regularity. I have read few of the great works and each attempt to do so thus far has been a struggle. On the other hand, I am always in search of modern day thinkers from whatever academic discipline who are writing about society in a more robust, and shall we say, philosophical context. It is very difficult to do so without tying in the arguments of some of history's great minds and therefore provides me a way to slowly develop a better understanding of some of their principle theses. Wrapped in the discussion of modern society makes it a much less abrupt approach.

One of my favorite current writers is Nassim Taleb, renown author of Fooled By Randomness and later The Black Swan. In an interview I saw of him he recommended two modern scholars - Karen Armstrong and John Gray - for their intellectual excellence in their respective fields. Gray is the former professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics and author of several books. He has written on globalization, religion and philosophy. As is often the case, shorty after being introduced to him and his works, I came across several articles reviewing a recently published book of his.

Straw Dogs was published in 2002. It is a collection of musings stitched together by Gray's underlying belief that humans, in their rather modern distortion of humanist thought, have essentially created a new faith but fails to recognize it as such. This form of humanity, grounded in its roots of Christianity, is based on progress and mankind's ability through such progress to create a better world. Gray argues that "to believe in progress is to believe that, by using the new powers given to us by growing scientific knowledge humans can free themselves from the limits that frame the lives of other animals."T his humanistic vision of progress, outside of science, is a myth fabricated only recently in Western society. It was not long ago when humans thought of themselves as equal to other animals. In many cultures they were even worshiped by humans.

Gray recognizes that humans are a highly developed, and incredibly destructive species. Since our arrival in the New World 12,000 years ago, approximately 70% of the world's species have been eliminated which is quickly approaching the same number caused by whatever event, most likely a meteor, wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

At the same time, our destructive species is raging on in fierce debate about how - through science - we can save the earth from the overheating caused by greenhouse gases. Perhaps it is Earth's means of ridding itself us?

Ironic to me is how many of the central responses to climate change revolve around the use of elaborately developed technological tools to save us from such overheating. Humans have never been farther removed from nature as they are now. It is through the abandonment of certain forms of technology that we will make the easiest and fastest gains in this battle. Changing the way we eat based on a diet of local vegetables and occasional meat consumption and distancing ourselves from the meat industry would make enormous gains. Walking or bicycling as opposed to the frequent use of the automobile is a very simple concept that proves incredibly difficult to grasp. In a later chapter Gray reminds us that the average American puts in 1600 hours in the car to get 7500 miles: less than five miles per hour. Not much more than what someone would walk in the same time. It is obvious the automobile represents more to us than a form of transportation.

Straw Dogs is not a book on environmentalism, however the example demonstrates a certain fallacy in human thought based on scientific progress. Many other such anecdotes make up the remainder of the book though I found they begin to stray more and more from his central thesis along the way. Nonetheless, they are fascinating and provocative. It is a book that does not need to be read from start to end but can be "dipped into at will" as well. Either way, it will get you thinking.

The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett

2010-01-06T14:49:00.004+01:00

After three rather arduous non-fiction reads, I was more than eager for a quick injection of crime mystery, one of my favorite fictional genres. Hammett, most famous for The Maltese Falcon, is certainly one of the most well-regarded American mystery writers. And it was a late night viewing of The Maltese Falcon with its solid performance from Bogart and a quirky and devilish Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo that prompted me to dive further into the works of Hammett.

It is clear that Hammett knows what he is writing about after having been a private investigator for many years. His writing style is tight, direct with no superfluous words. In both The Maltese Falcon and The Dain Curse the stories move at a breakneck speed. To be honest, some time the speed and number of characters in the latter was too much for me. I often had to flip back a few chapters to remind myself who was who and what had they done. The book does not disappointment but it did not leave me floored either.

What crime/mystery writers do you like?

When Markets Collide by Mohamed El-Erian

2009-12-17T19:34:00.005+01:00

Subtitle: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change

As 2009 comes to a close and we prepare for the unknowns of 2010, it seems a just time to quickly summarize the current status of our global economy.

There is a global shift taking place from the traditional power centers - the U.S. and to a lesser degree Western Europe - towards heavily populated, emerging players. This shift, which would have taken place even without the near collapse of our financial system, is now intertwined with the decisions made to stave off disaster over the last year.

The United States acted as the motor for growth and consumption over the last fifty years. The American consumer has driven this consumption, especially over the last twenty years, through debt. We are all aware this can no longer occur and a shift towards savings and debt repayment means consumption will have to come from elsewhere. This U.S. led consumption has made an enormous impact on other countries as well. By importing more goods than it exported, the U.S. generated a large current account deficit resulting in the sending of vast sums of US dollars to the exporting countries. Oil producing nations have likewise accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars due to the exporting of oil to the U.S. and other rich world countries. Amassed with US dollars these countries through vehicles such as sovereign wealth fund, are seeking a home for their liquid dollar assets - from homes on the French Riviera to large stakes in Morgan Stanley.

As exporting nations have been producing goods for the U.S. at low cost, they have put ever more demand on natural resources (commodities). They have begun to see an upward pressure on wages as their local economies grow. Both of these factors, demand for commodities and increasing wages, will fuel inflation. Add on top of this the government spending in the rich world in the forms of various stimulus plans and inflationary concerns abound even though we are currently in a quasi-deflationary period.

Basic demographics are also changing with Europe's population getting older, the US being in between and countries such as Brazil possessing a rather young population. Governments will have to respond accordingly as they struggle to provide the services these population segments require. Demands for certain goods and services will become more relevant based on these shifts.

The above encapsulation of global economics is the context within which El-Erian, the world's largest bond investor, and former directer of Harvard's Endowment fund, frames this concise and relevant text. The majority of the book is spent setting the stage for what is to come and what has developed over the last few eventful years.

He then attempts to outline measures that can be taken to benefit from these shifts taking place. How as investors can we accumulate the wealth needed to support a prosperous future? And, equally as important, how can we counter balance our portfolios to prevent massive loss through huge downswings in markets or erosion of certain asset classes due to inflationary effects?

I am no longer in possession of the book so I can only recall what stayed with me since I read it over one month ago. This will have certainly been meshed together with my own beliefs. Perhaps this is a more useful exercise. Some points for investing in the future:

1. Develop a view of the global economy and dedicate a certain percentage of assets to the shifts you believe likely to occur. If inflation is a concern due to rising wages in Southeast Asia, commodities, real estate or inflation protected securities will be safer bets than cash or certain types of equities.

2. Watch out for "home bias". Investors have the tendency to buy stocks from their home country, especially in the U.S. but also in other countries as well. Active Swedish investors place 48% of their invested money in Swedish stocks even though Sweden makes up 1% of the global economy (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008). Investing in what you know makes sense up to a certain degree but does not warrant such a disproportional approach. This is equally true in the States where a robust and transparent equity market warrants a large percentage of investment focus but not the absurdly high percentages most Americans have in their home market.

3. Emerging Market Government Bonds can essentially be grouped with more traditional bond types as their government balance sheets are in healthier shape than many more traditional markets, e.g. Greece and Ireland.

The Prize by Daniel Yergin

2009-11-22T18:12:00.015+01:00

To claim The Prize to be a book on the history of oil already by such definition limits the impact this commodity has had on the development of society over the last 150 years. What it really is is an analysis of global economic and military history over this time period framed within the context of oil.

The book begins by concentrating on the historic period before World War I when Winston Churchill, as civilian head of the Royal Navy, began to see the importance of replacing the coal fired fleets of the British navy with those using oil in order to gain in speed and agility. Yergin chooses this as his starting point, even though he then moves back 60 years to the true founding, because this was an important turning point in how oil was used. It was at this time when oil became a "disruptive technology" as it moved from an energy source mainly used for providing light to one that would become the standard form of fuel for all transportation.

After this introduction, The Prize returns to its chronological unfolding using as the starting point a key series of scientific discoveries regarding oil's potential uses and then later to the first wave of major U.S. discoveries. Though oil's history can be dated back long before this, the foundation of oil as an industry and major fuel source has an American heritage. .

In 1859 the Drake Well in central Pennsylvania was hit thus sparking the first wave of oil mania. This mania brought all types of people from expert scientists and geologists to green thumb enthusiasts with nothing to lose. The creation of boom towns in desolate parts of the U.S. became common. These towns would quickly be erected often to satisfy the needs of the fortune seekers (booze and prostitution). Means for distributing the oil would be hastily devised with a very short term approach to get the black liquid to far off markets. Once the source showed signs of reduced volumes or a bigger source was discovered elsewhere, the towns would quickly find their streets and brothels empty. The comparisons between the boom towns and the massive cookie cutter neighborhoods erected in the last five years in the States during our latest housing boom are strikingly similar.

The next part of the book explores how the fragmented industry, from finding the oil to distributing it, paved the way for on opportunity of massive levels of consolidation and vertical integration. It was seized and later exploited mainly by one man - John Rockefeller of Standard Oil. Rockefeller bought other oil companies both large and small, keeping the efficient ones and merely closing down the others to limit any potential threat of competition. Standard Oil was the first true monopoly in the U.S., controlling 90% of the oil derivative, kerosene. Its dominance led way to growing discontent of the American public who lacked alternatives to Standard Oil products and became more aware of the incredible fortune being amassed by Rockefeller as a result. In 1911 the Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil be split into 32 different regional companies who would then compete with each other for customers and markets.

World War I was a very labor intensive struggle fought and won in the trenches with limited reliance on machinery. World War II, as painted by Yergin, was a war in which oil played a decisive role in the outcome. Both Japan and Germany lacked domestic sources of oil and were therefore dependent on other countries, namely Romania and Indonesia, to provide the oil needed to power their ships, planes and tanks. The lack of this crucial resource and the failure in certain cases to effectively distribute it to the divisions in need led to losses at key junctures in World War II events . An interesting example is how German troops, led by the brilliant Rommel, were unable to seize control North Africa to the extent desired because at key battles they were without fuel needed to power their panzer tanks.

The U.S. and Russia were instead at a particular advantage because they could rely on domestic fuel sources. An agreement between the U.S. and the U.K. also meant Britain, whose North Sea source would not be found until decades later, was also able to receive its needed share of American oil. However, having access domestically is only one part needed for success. How you manage your operations is another. Yergin's description of a floating fuel station comprised of numerous ships and tankers that were able to provide fuel to other ship fleets in the South Pacific was fascinating. Though the author dedicated several chapters explaining why Japan and Germany were greatly hindered by their lack of oil, I found the book thin on other examples of Allied success.

The post-World War II era led to the rise of what Yergin defines as the "the Hydrocarbon man", i.e. the individual consumer who developed an ever growing thirst for oil. It also was the period of the oil producing dominance of the Middle East region. The book is probably at its strongest here. It brilliantly explains how the major oil companies established themselves with marketing (downstream) channels in the consuming countries and favorable partnerships with Middle Eastern countries. By providing technical expertise in this region they were given a disproportionately large share of the revenue generated from each new barrel. Later Yergin clearly explains how OPEC was born and the economic significance it played in the market - essentially by controlling two levers - setting supply levels as well as prices per barrel.

The 800-page book is referred to as "the Bible" of oil history. The magnitude of this industry in terms of global scale and historical importance over the last 150 years means that in order to effectively write one, all-encompassing volume a certain high level approach and style is necessary. Yergin succeeds in incorporating the macro level history and economic connections oil has played over this time period. However, by taking such an approach it is inevitable that some other aspects regarding such an important subject will be less adequately addressed.

I respect the focus Yergin took in writing the book and his unrelenting ability not to defer from it. However, there were two main faults I found in doing so. The impression he gave when discussing the "hydrocarbon man" and his insatiable thirst for oil was that the oil companies were passively responding to the demand for their product that was being begged for by consumers. However it was never discussed how this demand was stimulated to such excessive levels. What was lacking in the text was an adequate explanation as to why consumption levels grew at such astounding rates over these years. What were the relationships like between the auto manufactures and the oil companies? Certainly these industries were strongly connected to the centers of power in Washington D.C. yet was never mentioned.

Hydrocarbon man became dependent on the automobile due to lack of alternatives. The classic example of the removal of all tram lines in Los Angeles certainly encouraged such behavior yet it, nor any other relevant example was even eluded to. And why were such large vehicles in such demand? Yergin refers to the adaption of the first fuel economy standards in 1975 of 27.5 mile per gallon within 10 years as revolutionary step which led to a drastic reduction in oil consumption. Though the book was published in 1990, a few years prior to the SUV boom, it is hard for his praise of such regulation not to ring hollow considering the impressive gas mileage of the Ford Expeditions and other "light trucks" exempt from these standards. Such SUVs went on to make up 50% of all vehicle sales in the U.S. The automakers gained on the higher profit margins of these vehicles as well as special deprecation status they were granted for business purposes. Oil companies also make more money the more often consumers need to fill up their cars. Such a thrust by automakers towards these types of vehicles certainly pushed hydrocarbon man's demand for oil. These type of factors were absent in his book.

The focus of The Prize as a work of economic history also meant that the small time victims of such a massive industry were ignored. As someone who is far from an expert on the industry, I am still aware of tragic stories such as the one of Ken Saro-Wiwa's, who fought against Shell and the Nigerian government because of the environmental damage the oil drilling was causing in the Niger delta. A reference, at least collectively, to the victims of the oil industry as well as the environmental impact it has made was something due in the book yet was nowhere to be found.

Regardless, The Prize is required reading for those on all sides of the debate as it provides the foundation to what has become the lubricant of our daily lives.

L'eleganza del Riccio (The elegance of the Hedgehog) by Muriel Barbery

2009-09-27T16:30:00.005+02:00

Ah, France! This novel, with such French attitude, scoffs at the wealthy for their shallowness, as well as their unmerited sense of cultural superiority over the social classes below them. Barbery does this by focusing her story around two central characters: the door-woman of an elegant resident building in central Paris and the twelve year old daughter of one of the families living in the building. Both of these characters are made to be the most culturally and intellectually astute individuals in the novel, much more so than the barbarians that grace the floors of the building.

It would be easy to dismiss the stereotypes portrayed of French society as cliche', however, they are made so apparent throughout the novel that their blatancy somehow makes them comical. Instead, the subtler aspects of the book touch on more philosophical arguments regarding such subjects as art, beauty, the purpose of life, and human existence - shall we say the pain et beurre of French intellectual thought.

The story is simple and for this reason pleasurable. The door-woman, Ms. Michel, lives what at first glance appears to be a monotonous life, ignored by the inhabitants of the building. However, she finds comfort in this solitude and actually makes all efforts possible to draw as little attention to herself as possible. To do so she must hide all her intellectual pursuits as not to raise any questions in the eyes of the pseudo-intellects around her. However, they are probably too stupid to pick up on them anyway. When Ms. Michel is not reading Russian literature, she is hammering away at the shallow and miserable lives of the rich around her. There is a certain sense of irony here since the pursuits such as shopping, shampooing hair multiple times and wearing make-up are looked down upon by her that is until she catches the eye of a new resident to the building - Mr. Oke, a retired Japanese.

Mr. Oke, being someone truly steeped in culture and intellectual capacity is quickly able to see how the door-woman is not a typical type. He then begins inviting her to various activities much as Richard Gere did to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. The response of Ms. Michel is not much different in that those superficial activities of the wealthy become appealing as soon as someone comes along who is interested in her.

When compared to modern American novels, this book is more layered in that it offers a straightforward story of its characters but also dives deeper into more philosophical discussions. There are a lot of cultural references as well. What I see as being the major difference when compared to modern American novels is how Barberry writes to a more educated, cultured audience than most writers do in the States. As this book was the bestselling one in France over the last couple of years, we can assume therefore, that it was read by people of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Heaven help us if it had only remained in the upper echelons of French society!

Remix by Laurence Lessig

2009-08-19T22:43:00.007+02:00

The subtitle is "making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy"

I do not want to start off this post by saying something cliche' like any working in ecommerce, new media, or Internet services should read this book though the temptation is there. Instead I will say that in my own line of work this book has already given me a new way to approach certain arguments and a new way to conceptualize how the Internet and its economic and sociological implications are developing at present time.

Remix is a comfortable, insightful and at times funny read. It is written by a Stanford law professor with a very strong background in Internet and commerce. He presents the book with simple language and clear examples which tend to favor a more business or political audience than one specialized in law.

The central argument of this book is that our copyright laws in the digital economy are outdated and ineffective - ineffective for both consumers of copyrighted content and the suppliers of it. It is a system that penalizes the small actors on stage but also complicates matters for big business who spend endless amounts of money policing those who abuse the current laws. There needs to be news ways to tax the revenue generated by the sale of artists' goods.

The copyright laws in place were developed in an analog world when sharing a record meant physically giving the copy to someone else thus taking the copy away from yourself. Later on with the advent of cassette, records and photocopy machines, it became possible to make lower quality copies of music or books while keeping the original. However, the situation has changed dramatically with digital technology. The "copy" has a new definition. Now an MP3 file copy is identical to the original. When a copy is made the original is not effected. The Internet and high-speed data networks make the dispersal of these copies simple and fast.

One argument that resonated with me is how outdated copyright laws are impeding the development of a new forms of culture and expression. The way users in the digital world paste a collage of photos, sample music or piece together multimedia presentations is something new that needs to be promoted as a new form of cultural expression. Copyright laws which make a DJ ask for permission to use a 10 second sample of someone else's music slowdown this development. Not only do they restrict the spawning of new culture they also punish these "aggregating artists" as well as other smaller businesses and entrepreneurs lacking the resources to battle the legal bureaucracy of copyright. It is essentially another way the US government is picking winners alla GM. Large record labels, for example, benefit at the expense of smaller players. By supporting these traditional, established players we risk missing out on the birth of new, unknown industries which would result from this cultural innovation.

Lessig's book was a bit thin on alternative ways artists could be properly paid for their work. One suggestion was to add a tax onto Internet access. This tax would then be divided among artists based on what percentage of the total volume of file sharing traffic their songs made up. However, the lack of alternatives does not hinder the book in my eyes.

What I appreciated most about Remix was how it attempted to address an issue we are facing now in modern society. It is a book for the business community that does not heap praise on past "heroes" but instead provides means to better conceptualize the digital economy and how it is developing before our eyes. It also reminds us of how such an economy is blurring the lines between business and society in a way that has not been seen for a long time.

Herzog by Saul Bellow

2009-08-09T17:33:00.003+02:00

"I think I can say, however, that I have been spared the chief ambiguity that afflicts intellectuals, and this is that civilized individuals hate and resent the civilization that makes there lives possible. What they love is an imaginary human situation invented by their own genius and which they believe is the only true and the only human reality." Saul Bellow

The above quote was taken from one of the hundreds of letters, never sent, that were written by the protagonist of this novel - Moses Herzog. Herzog's letters are rich with philosophical insight and show the depth with which Bellow was able to write.

However, the purpose of this post is to turn to the readers of my blog to ask their own interpretation of Herzog. The book centered on one character the entire time. We are provided access to his writings, conversations and thoughts. Yet, even with such insight I struggled to understand him and therefore could not fully appreciate the book. What was driving him? How enraged was he by the divorce with his wife? How did he view modern society? I am curious for answers to these questions. Fresh insight from others is always appreciated.

Separati in Patria (Seperated within the same Country) by Giovanni Floris

2009-07-18T12:08:00.010+02:00

Giovanni Floris, a journalist by trade, hosts one of the best weekly programs on Italian television. The format of Ballarò is just varied enough not to bore the viewer. The majority of the transmission is centered around five or six guests, made up mostly of politicians but also professors, business leaders, and journalists arguing with each other in typical Italian fashion. It is Floris' role to weave together the questions, responses and debates into something cohesive. He does a fine job. There are interludes in the arguing in the form of 5-10 minute investigative journalism pieces put together from various locations in Italy.

Seeing how Floris often has little occasion to state his own opinions, I was curious to read his recently published book on one of the most significant issues affecting Italy, the enormous economic differences between the north and south of the country. The subject is of personal interest to me for several reasons, one being that a large part of my undergraduate thesis was dedicated to the Southern Italy's economic difficulties. And like most things in Italy, it is not an easy matter to unwind due to the economic, sociological and historic factors all at play. The largest failure of Floris' book is that he touches on each of these fields but fails to sufficiently address any of them.

The first part of the book looks at the socioeconomic statistical differences between northern and central Italy compared to the South. For starters, removing Southern Italy, the GDP per capita of the country would be higher than Germany, UK, France or Spain. The vast majority of business leaders and politicians at the national level come from the North. Residents in the North read more books than those South and supposedly speak more Italian and less local dialect - though I missed any figures supporting this claim. It appeared to me that his main thesis was built on the belief that the differences between the regions of Italy are strictly economic and less cultural as many people are likely to believe.

One example which proved to be most interesting in supporting his central thesis was the favorable benefits five autonomous regions - regione a statuto speciale (Sicilia, Sardegna, Valle d'Aosta, Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia) received, i.e. money. While the island regions of Sicilia and Sardegna are part of the south, the remaining three are located in the north. These three regions receive more money from the state than they delve out in taxes. Other northern regions instead are left fitting the bill, receiving or spending much less than what they generate in tax revenues and seeing enormous amounts of capital flow south as well to these smaller, northern regions. It was not clear to me Floris' position on the matter. Certainly their are cultural idiosyncrasies in these special regions, for example the majority of residents in Trentino-Alto Adige speak German as their mother tongue. However, Italy in itself is made up of very local cultural entities. Is Floris claiming that these regions play up the cultural distinctiveness in order to protect the economic benefits they receive? Though the example was a fascinating one, I missed his message.

Another point Floris touches on, though briefly, is that the northern regions are in a geographically favorable position as they are much closer to other, rich, European markets. Though Floris did not mention it, it is important to see how on the other hand many parts of Southern Italy are closer in distance to countries such as Croatia, Tunisia, Albania, and Libya - not exactly enormous consumers of foreign goods and services - than they are to Milan.

What was lacking was a discussion on more of the geographic and climatic aspects present that greatly favor the north. If only Floris had seen my thesis paper! The land in the north is much more fertile compared to the south. Anyone who has seen The Passion of Christ (filmed in Matera) or remembers the scenes of a young Al Pacino in The Godfather walking through the arid country side, can recognize it to be a difficult place to grow stuff. Also, it is simply more difficult to work in hot weather.

These points are not meant to serve as excuses for southern Italy's inability to improve its condition. All indicators for me see the situation deteriorating. The infrastructure is far below average European levels. Investing in the region is risky (and costly) which makes the decision to put a new factory in Croatia as opposed to Puglia a more sensible decision. This same argument also loosely applies to tourism, an area which should be one of the foundations of the the southern Italian economy. However, without a clearly defined strategy for this industry most parts of the south are left in a dangerous middle position. Unable to compete on cost with other sunny destinations such as Egypt or Turkey and lacking the infrastructure to support a more high class type of tourist, an area with incredible food, beaches and people sees the majority of tourism from other European countries go elsewhere.

As the length of this post continues to grow, it becomes apparent the difficulty an author has when writing about such a broad subject. Focus too much on one field and you find yourself in a silo ignoring other equally important factors. Attempt to touch on all of them and leave the reader with more questions than answers as interesting arguments are raised only to be quickly hurried through to get at the long list yet to be addressed. Floris chose the second approach and was not successful in putting together a well-structured and well-argued book.

Couples by John Updike

2009-07-13T20:02:00.005+02:00

The characters in Couples sure do drink a lot - cocktails, often gin based. Though gin came from the UK, I consider it to be the red, white and blue of spirits. Even though the main focus of this wonderful novel centered on adultery, I was more intrigued by the role alcohol played in American life from post World War II up until today.

I have the impression so much of the dionystic fury during the booming post-war decades was fueled by booze: the 5 pm cocktail on the porch, the late summer neighborhood BBQ kicked off with martinis , or the boat drinks while idling on some vessel in the harbor. The cocktail in se represents this period of iconic bliss which is not as prevalent now as it was before. Though the consumptions of spirits is certainly something better done without, I do see a small reflection of our society in the splinters of ice floating atop of stub glass.

Couples was written in 1968, long before I was even born. Yet, it still brought back memories of my own childhood spent in the late summer months on the East Coast.

The story is based on a series of families living in a small community south of Boston. These young, educated couples spend incredible amounts of time entertaining each other with dinner, drinking, and pick-up basketball games that then lead into beers then dinner and more drinking. The stresses of long commutes, grueling travel schedules, or duel working parents, did not seem to be too relevant in these carefree times. Instead, the majority of the characters mental resources were dedicated to plotting their next extramarital affair. The detail and description of these sexual encounters is risque at times, hilarious at others.

The setting in the small town above the long beaches of the Atlantic accompanied my own sand filled vacation very nicely.

Cathedral by Raymond Carver

2009-07-12T20:54:00.004+02:00

The stories in Cathedral are longer compared to those in the previous two collections. I am not the first to say it, but after having read through a series of Carver's works, one can see the development he made as a writer. There were many Carver readers who saw signs in Cathedral of something larger than a short story ready to come out if we had not lost this great American writer at such an early age.

After having read through several dozen stories, I was eager to settle down with a more substantial piece of literature. John Updike's Couples proved to be exactly the type of novel which I was in need of.

The Partnership - The Making of Goldman Sachs by Charles D. Ellis

2009-06-23T19:55:00.004+02:00

There are two facets of our global economy which have an enormous impact on all levels of society - financial markets and oil. Both of these industries have experienced massive growth over the last half century that their impact has already played a role in shaping modern history. It is therefore important that I feel comfortable with my own understanding of these subjects even though it can be a tough go at times to read such material. There are plenty of other books I would prefer to be leisurely enjoying on my freetime.

The Partnership is a book about the history of Goldman Sachs - arguably the most successful investment bank in the market. Its rise from a modest American bank into a global superpower of finance is one of the greatest expressions of US-styled capitalism ever witnessed. It will forever make up a part of business history. Even more, several of its CEOs and partners have gone onto important public positions, thus meaning that GS' reach has effects on the political sphere as well.

Even in this time of resentment towards investment banks, there are certain positive traits that Goldman Sachs deserves to be commended for. Its belief in meritocracy, team results, and absence of politicking is commendable. There are lessons to be learned for any business manager in areas such as goal setting for employees, recruiting and running effective meetings.

To fully appreciate the book does require a certain level of financial understanding. I have a basic understanding of the subject and at times struggled to grasp certain concepts being discussed. This leads to another point: what level of understanding is required before you are justifiably allowed to bash the banking sector? Certainly there are plenty (millions) of people who, after having read a handful of articles on the industry since the crisis came into full swing, feel their insights are worthy of getting them on the short list for the Nobel Prize in economics.

I have read several books on the industry, taken a few courses and follow financial papers with regularity and I still do not feel adequate discussing the topic. However, I will make a small observation regarding The Partnership, which was published in 2008 before the crack of Lehman Brothers. Would Ellis have written this book in such a glowing light if he were publishing it in 2009? His praise for the firm rings much more hollow now after seeing how the events in finance have unfolded. Throughout the book he painted a picture of an institution that had made next to no mistakes. The last chapter was written just when first signs of the sub-prime crisis was emerging and he made it look as if Goldman Sachs had if anything profited from the situation. We now know this not to be true.

Goldman Sachs had to convert itself to a holding company so it could gain eligibility to the Federal Reserves emergency lending facilities. Yes, Goldman Sachs has already paid back the US government for lending it received but it did need government assistance to stave off collapse. Adding these points to an additional chapter would have not been enough for this book. It would really require a complete reexamination of the superior, worshiping tone that permeates throughout every page.

Goodbye Germany! For the next few weeks I will be heading to the sunny shores of Italy. In terms of the upcoming summer reads that will be making the journey with me are Bellow"s "Herzog" and Updike's "Couples". I look forward to writing about them when I am back.

What we Talk About When we Talk about Love by Raymond Carver

2009-06-14T16:06:00.006+02:00

This post is really a continuation of my previous one on Raymond Carver

I have not read many short stories in my time. After now having completed the second collection by Carver I am beginning to appreciate the skill involved in delivering messages about the characters using very little text. A full length novel has the luxury of being able to develop characters over time, and often still does not succeed. How do you, therefore, accomplish it in seven pages? Perhaps "developing" the character is not even the right term. How do you give glimpses of insight into the characters that allow you to, even momentarily, understand them? I am finding Carver's writing to rely on the logical thinking of his readers. Each sentence has a purpose in his writing and he leaves it up to us to determine their significance based on our own interpretation.

There are two stories that stayed with me the most. The first one is titled "Viewfinder". It is about a man with no hands who takes photographs of peoples houses and then sells them to the owners. He visits one house where the owner offers him coffee not necessarily because of his hospitable nature but instead due to a nagging curiosity to see how a man with two hooks for hands would hold the cup.

The second has the same title as the book itself. It is essentially a discussion between two couples about love. Their openness to elaborate on the more intimate aspects of their relationships is greatly aided by two bottles of gin. The conversation is good, honest and disturbing.

Will you Please be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver

2009-06-06T12:13:00.008+02:00

I do not exactly recall how I first came across Slavoj Zizek. I believe it was in my search for contemporary philosophers who discuss the events of modern society at a deeper level than journalism is able to do. A few online pieces of his work proved to be rather interesting, especially his fascination in film and the underlying messages it often conveys. So, I was happy to see an interview with him in the Financial Times a few months after my initial introduction. The interview jumps from the financial crisis to Marxism and even includes a brief anecdote on the movie, Titanic. However, it was one reference he made to the film, Short Cuts that caught my attention. He claimed it be a Hollywood film which deserves to be called "art" compared to many "fake" European films. This stuck with me namely because I remember as an early teen looking at the VHS case of Short Cuts at my local Blockbuster. It was a blue case with little cut outs of all the different actors in the movie. I never did rent it, most likely opting for True Lies instead.

Nearly 15 years after having first seen it dawning the wall of the New Release section at Blockbuster, I finally sat down to watch Short Cuts. It did not disappoint. As an American living abroad now for several years, I am becoming more and more curious about my native country. I find myself constantly in search of those cultural works which best describe the true essence of the U.S. This serves two purposes. The first is that it allows me to have a portfolio of recommendations for those individuals who actually show a curiosity in better understanding the U.S. and its people beyond the stereotypes often conveyed by our own pop culture. I have not come across many interested takers yet but I am ready when it does happen. The second is simply because I relate to these albums, books, or films more now than when I am living in America. I appreciate them more, mainly due to nostalgia. Returning to Short Cuts it depicts the real life of normal people living in the more mundane neighborhoods of Los Angeles and confronts the difficulties they face in their day-to-day lives.

The film was based on the short stories of Raymond Carver. The director, Robert Altman, took a dozen of Carver's stories and weaved them together. The Criterion Collection of this film included a documentary on Carver. Thus my introduction to Carver began here with the first scene being of his widow reading one of his poems above his gravestone in Port Angeles. I only discovered he was buried there after the fact. However, I only needed to see the evergreens in the background running up to the cliffs edge above a large body of water to know that she was in the Pacific Northwest. Such an interesting string of connections served as the sign to me that the author's works deserved reading.

Will you Please be Quiet, Please? is Carver's first collection of short stories. He lived his entire life on the West Coast and this comes through in the stories. I found myself relating with his words. I have two more collections of his short stories to read and will describe in my future posts those that I enjoyed the most. In the meantime, go and rent Short Cuts. It is certainly no longer in the New Release section of Blockbuster, especially the one on N.E. 8th in Bellevue which closed down two years ago. Actually, the action "go and rent" isn't really valid any more either. It can be substituted with "go to 'Your Favorites' folder on your browser, left click, Search on Netflix 'Short Cuts', left click three times".

15 years is a long time.

The Ambassadors by Henry James

2009-05-17T13:12:00.005+02:00

I often found myself calling out to my junior year high school English teacher while reading The Ambassadors. I can only describe this undertaking as a literary journey in its purest form and frankly it was not one I was prepared to make on my own. Ms Tramontine would have certainly provided the explanations needed to fully appreciate some of the finest uses of the English language I have ever come across.

The journey was the same as one would experience in its more traditional definition with moments of frustration and confusion later disregarded after witnessing glimpses of sheer beauty - in this case a result of a series of sentences written with such fluidity that left me smiling and then rereading the prose out loud.

I have since read a handful of literary reviews on this work that James claimed to be his best. One theme emerging more than once is how it is a difficult book to break into initially. I concur, succeeding only to do so in the last one hundred pages.

The story in itself, is simple in nature especially when comparing it to modern fiction which is constantly being required to push the creative envelope. A young American in the early 20th century is having too much fun in Paris. His concerned mother sends her fiancée to convince the son to return to the States to take over their successful business. However, upon arrival the fiancée is overcome with the beauty and splendor of Paris and its gens. He meets the son and his friends who he finds to be fabulous in all senses. Several different women play vital roles throughout the story yet the book is free of sex and expressions of hedonism. Yet, James' greatest ability is how he enhances the tensions in these relationships using the subtle aspects of human nature often not written about - the longer than usual glance, the words not spoken in that moment.

I do want to read this book again as there is bound to be so much more to be gotten from it. If anyone in my vast blog audience would like to join me on this journey please let me know. I cannot offer to be the guide, per se, but perhaps the role of the scout could be a more realistic and suiting one.

Se Questo è un Uomo (If This is a Man) by Primo Levi

2009-05-01T21:10:00.006+02:00

Primo Levi was an Italian Jew who fought against the fascists during the second the World War. He was captured at the age of twenty five and sent to Auschwitz for one year from 1944-1945. Educated as a chemist, he went on to write what is probably the most highly regarded account by an Italian of life in the concentration camps. He went on to become a successful journalist until his suicide in 1987, 42 years after having survived Auschwitz. After having read his simple and honest recount it becomes more understandable how such an experience cannot be forgotten in one lifetime. The memories still haunted him four decades later.

My own childhood education gave a fair amount of attention to World War II and in particular to the stories of Holocaust survivors. However, it had been fifteen years since I had read a personal account of this nature. It is important for all of us to do for the simple reason that it reminds us how fortunate we are.

It is my impression that pop culture with its happy endings, perfectly manufactured characters, and material excess often has the reverse effect than that which is intended. I often hear the justification to be how people need something light, easy, and happy that allows them to relax after a stressful day. Therefore, watching your standard formula Hollywood film or flipping through Maxim are accepted means for overcoming the difficulties of the day-to-day grind. But what often is happens is that society is instead presented with a reality that does not exist and worse yet, leaves them desiring something unattainable. You cannot have rock hard abs in just six weeks.

A book of this nature, instead, pulls at such a vast range of emotions. One cannot read it without feeling a reoccurring sadness and anger. Yet, for me, the positive aspects were greater. I understood the true strength of the human spirit - capable of overcoming the unimaginable. I was able to see how true individualism without the help of others does not exist. It was impossible to survive a lager without the partnership of at least one other person.

On a more superficial level, the winter at its coldest is something I will no longer be able to complain about when I have a warm down coat and a heated house. Winter for those in a concentration camp meant working 12 hour days in wooden shoes, a cotton shirt and a canvas jacket with temperatures at -20 degree.

Stories such as this allow us to better content ourselves with what we have instead of subliminally pointing out our physical imperfections or small bank account. Finding this self-contentment is a truly relaxing experience which is more likely to be found in a difficult book than in season four of Desperate Housewives.

Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam

2009-03-31T19:53:00.004+02:00

After having finished Hope against Hope which spoke of the condition of Russia in 1930's, I decided to swing in the opposite direction with the next book. In this case, Bowling Alone maps the sociological progression of the American community after World War II by examining the external relationships that Americans have with one and another. In 1930's Russia, no clubs, teams, or organizations could exist except one - the State. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the USA, where people are given the full freedom to take part in any community-based organization that exists. And, if one does not exist, we are entitled to create our own. This freedom of social involvement is one of the most crucial aspects of a vibrant democracy. Unfortunately, it has been in consistent decline since the late 1960's. Putnam attempts to seek out why this is the case and what can be done about.

The first part of the book introduces an important theme running through America. There are more clubs and organizations now than there ever were in the preceding decades. How then can one say that club memberships are down? What Putnam shows is how the dynamics of membership in these clubs are different. Today, there are all types of clubs imaginable. Organizations like Greenpeace, the NRA, or the Sierra Club have millions of members. However, the vast majority of these members will never actually come together to discuss a new approach to recycling or the caliber of their assault rifle. Instead they will rely on these organizations to act as lobbies mainly for political purposes. It is the other type of clubs that Putnam says are at risk: local Kiwanis, Boy Scouts, and Knights of Columbus.

Why have these organizations seen their memberships decline? Putnam plows through piles of data in search for the answer. However, like much in life, there is never just one justification. Instead, he identifies a few key contributors, which come as no surprise. Longer commutes, television viewing, duel income households and a generations shift, e.g. Americans in the 1940s were united by World War II. All of this leads to a reduction in social capital, which along side human and physical capital are crucial components of a successful society.

People that interact with others often are happier, more civic and less likely to commit crimes than those who are isolated. The communities in which social interconnectedness is strong, is a better, safer place to live than a less connected society. And, what I found to be most interesting is that encouraging certain aspects of social capital will lead to positive effects in what, at first glance, would seem not related.

For example, North Carolina scores 41st in the nation on SAT scores in High school while Connecticut scores 8th. According to Putnam, "by controlling for all the other ways in which the two states differ (wealth and poverty, race, adult education, and so on), for North Carolina to see education outcomes similar to Connecticut's, according to our statistical analysis, residents in the Tar Heel state could do any of the following: increase their turnout in presidential elections by 50%; double their frequency of club meeting attendance, triple the number of non-profits per thousand residents." As he goes on to explain, these factors above have a greater effect on test scores than many traditional, and often costly, education policies such as reducing class room size. Social capital is more difficult to measure but its presence in our lives cannot be ignored when attempting to tackle many of the problems facing our schools, inner cities, or entire states.

The question that I kept waiting to be answered is - so what do we do now? It never really was. I have a hard time believing the findings of this book came as a huge surprise back in 2000 when it was written. Has the situation improved since then? Have the I-pod or Facebook done more to worsen the situation? Has September 11th brought us together like World War II did in to previous generations?

On an even more philisophocial level, are these devices and trends simply a reflection of our society and the direction in which we want to go? Is it wrong if we find more satisfaction in isolating ourselves from others than in meeting with others? I, personally, believe it is. However, more importantly, my human instincts often act as my guide pushing me towards interaction with others. For me it is the best guide. However, I am not burdened by many of the damaging factors Putnam atributes to the reduction of our social interaction, namely a grueling commute or excessive TV watching. Eliminating these two factors would certainly open a new world up to hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. It seems like a good start could be to put down the remote. Let's start there.

Hope Against Hope by Nadezhda Mandelstam

2009-03-21T14:35:00.003+01:00

One of the reasons I decided to write this blog was to become a more critical reader. Now as I read a book, I begin to formulate the arguments that are then discussed on this page. My most recent read proved to be a difficult text on a few different levels and as I type these words I am still unsure how to encapsulate the subject matter. Therefore, I now understand why George Steiner of the New Yorker is quoted as saying, "nothing one can say will either communicate or effect the genius of this book. To pass judgment on it is almost insolence-even judgment that is merely celebration and homage." I was not able to fully grasp the genius of this memoir written about Russia in the 1930's but I can relate in the difficulty of actually passing judgment on the work.

A dear friend of mine with a deep knowledge of communism has always told me that Marx's political ideology was never meant for a country like Russia. Certainly the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 led way to a complete transformation of a society at all levels - from economic to cultural. However the tactics used by Stalin to "pacify" society for the betterment of all led to a nation gripped by fear who saw millions of its citizens sent to the forced labor camps to die.

Within this period any type of expression deemed disruptive to the state was not tolerated. Those involved risked death. The intellectuals who supplied cultural material to the country did so either in a state-sponsored position or underground. The first approach meant that all poems, books and music were subject to government approval while the latter meant living a transitory life with no security, money, or assistance. Many of these individuals were seen as a nemesis to the state and were arrested and sent to camps.

Hope Against Hope could be the best and most humanistic account we have of what life was like during that period for someone who opposed the state. It is the memoir written by the wife of Oris Mandelstam - one of Russia's most famous poets. These two individuals spent their entire marriage on the run mainly due to one poem Mandelstam wrote which included two negative lines about Stalin. A poem! Arrest! What absurdity.

Our history of Russia and the will of man are both richer thanks to this book. Having access to this period cannot be taken for granted because so many millions of pages of text, be it poems, biographies or novels, never made it beyond the eyes of the secret police who confiscated and later destroyed them. The fact that this memoir survived is a miracle in its own right.

Ghost Wars by Steve Toll

2009-02-14T17:36:00.009+01:00

History is fascinating because of its continuous progression through time. Events that have already taken place will combine themselves with events yet to occur. This combination will create future outcomes that will then be discussed and written about as history. Three major, international events are unfolding before our eyes without any foreseeable end in sight. Their story is yet to be completed, their history not yet ready to be declared. The link which connects Iraq, Afghanistan and the financial crisis is how each are in some form a consequence of how the United States has managed itself and viewed the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

So much of our past has up until now been condensed into historic episodes - The Great Depression, World War II, Vietnam & 1968, The Cold War. How will the episode we are currently living through be later defined? What overarching conclusions, yet to be drawn, will weave these three events together? These are questions I have been asking myself with greater regularity.

I have found it interesting to see Ronald Reagan's name emerging with greater frequency in the international media when discussing the Financial crisis. An icon of fiscal conservatives, his disdain for government involvement in the market has within the last year been called into question like never before. From a military and foreign policy perspective we have seen how those from the Reagan school, i.e. Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz, struggled to see the world through a Post-Cold War lens when orchestrating their military strategies in the Middle East. This school had viewed the world up until 1989 in terms of good and evil. As a result, it was easier to mount a military and propaganda-based war against a single, devilish individual than it was to understand and make understood the country of Afghanistan. Once again, September 11, 2001 was carried out by the Al-Qaeda members located at camps in Afghanistan. Iraq had no involvement in it.

"Ghost Wars - The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001", will certainly be consulted for years to come as an essential read for those seeking a historic context behind September 11th. The book is laid out in a perfect chronological sequence. It does an excellent job of tying in the numerous individuals who in some way played a significant role in the developments of Afghanistan over the last 30 years. And it does so by adequately introducing the individuals, something that was not accomplished in the book, Paris 1919, for example.

To summarize Afghanistan from the US perspective, the CIA was heavily involved in the country as it was battling the Soviets in the early 1980's. Unable to conquer this incredibly difficult country, the USSR withdrew which led to a decline in US interest in the region. From that point up until September 2001, the US did not take a position on the country due to several complicated relationships it had in place with Pakistani and Saudi intelligence as well as one particular warlord in Northern Afghanistan.

The U.S. was well aware of Bin Laden's presence in the country. Its failure to capture him can be hailed as a truly bi-partisan effort. Clinton was too often bogged down with his own personal issues and with different poorly timed election campaigns. The eight months Bush was in office prior to September 11th, showed a cabinet wide lack of interest in terrorism and Bin Laden even though the CIA was ringing the alarm bells months before the attacks.

However, in the end, Ghost Wars proves that blame cannot be placed on one person. September 11th was a result of a series of mistakes and several instances of bad luck which accumulated over two decades to finally detonate with the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon. the book also hints that "the system" in place regarding international law on such issues as assassination, had been constructed before the rules of war were turned on their head with the introduction of a new, more deadly form of international terrorism.

I fully recommend this book and strongly urge people to read it especially considering the critical juncture we find ourselves at in the start of 2009 with a new president. Obama will be forced to make the decision whether to drastically increase the troop presence, and therefore causalities, or to withdraw from the country all together as the Soviets did thirty years ago. Our current approach is simply not working.

The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester

2009-01-27T19:01:00.004+01:00

The Story of the Oxford Dictionary

In modern day and age it is difficult to conceptualize what it means to undertake a project so massive in scale that the person leading it will most likely not live long enough to see its completion. Where do you derive your motivation from when you are aware that the satisfaction of conclusion will probably not be experienced? Yet, it is in these life-devoting undertakings that many of our worldly treasures came to be. While the current global economy is paying dearly for its overfixation on short term results, it is worth reflecting back on the marvels in history that took years, decades, or centuries to complete. The thirteen week business quarter is such a short period of time that many of these accomplishments certainly did not even show any physical change over 91 days. Now careers are ended and projects scrapped if tangible results cannot be demonstrated in this timeframe.

Michaelangelo worked four years on the Sistine Chapel which is equivalent to about an afternoon's worth of time when compared to the seventy years required to assemble the Oxford English dictionary (OED). This dictionary has little in common with the pocket Webster II crammed into many modern home libraries. The objective of this dictionary was to give definition to all words used in the English language and to reference the previous uses of each word. This required a level of research of the endless number of potential texts that is difficult to comprehend as it reached from New Zealand to the United States. A project of this nature demanded collaboration across oceans imaginable in modern times with email and phone, less so at the turn of the 20th century. To further complicate matters, many of the dictionaries most essential collaborators were volunteers whose only connection to the OED was their passion for reading and interest in the project.

Winchester's account of this story is average overall, fascinating in certain places. We are introduced to several interesting characters whose efforts made up the impressive piece of human achievement today called the OED. To become editor of the OED required a certain type of individual, to say the least. A love for the English language was important but not adequate, mainly because our language derives from so many continental European influences. English represents a combination of these languages in many ways and therefore the editors of the OED were fluent in over ten.

So, what is the outcome of this work? It is a masterpiece that documents our complete language. Since its release in 1928 there has been one new edition with several supplements for the new words appearing in the modern form of our language. The third edition is one quarter complete. The OED is currently celebrating its 80th birthday with a commemorative edition of this twenty volume masterpiece. The offer expires in four days - price for the set? $895. Too bad we just missed Christmas.

Nudge by R. Thaler and C.R. Sunstein

2009-01-11T12:04:00.007+01:00

UPDATE: Sunstein has become the "legal czar" for the Obama administration.

Access to nearly endless choice is one of the defining elements of the capitalist world we live in, unless you are one of my North Korean or Cuban followers. Allow any firm the ability to offer their goods or services to the market. Those with the strongest offering will find success, while those not able sell their goods and make a profit will, in their own right, cease to exist. GM not included.

The premise of this book deals with how human beings make decisions in response to these choices and how they can be "nudged" into doing so as to better benefit themselves. For economists all decisions are rational while in reality we know this is not the case. Human instincts are very strong and are weighed down by various biases which prevent a rational decision making process.

A trip to the supermarket confirms that companies are well aware of this irrational decision making and they take all the steps to "nudge" you towards their product by paying more for eye-level shelf space, wafting the smell of baking bread throughout the store, and placing milk at the back of the store.

The gist of the book is built around the following - the placement of a certain, more expensive, yogurt may convince me to buy one I normally would not, but I have hundreds of future opportunities to correct this poorly made decision. However, certain decisions regarding investments, retirement plans, health care, and university are drastically limited. So much so that many of these decisions will be made perhaps only one time in your life. Better not screw it up, to say it mildly. Yet, just like the yogurts in the supermarket, the number of healthcare or pension plans has become endless. How do we nudge people to make the best decision regarding these important long term subjects?

One example of how to nudge effectively without restricting choice is by selecting, well-researched and balanced default options for people while always allowing them the choice to select a plan for themselves. With Medicare, this would mean by default that a selection of prescription medicine plans for the elderly would be made from one of the 60 available plans based on previous prescription records of the recipient. This seams logical enough. In reality, when the overhaul of Medicare took place in 2003, the default option for prescriptions medicine plans was in most cases "non-enrollment" or "random selection". To further complicate matters, the process for selecting the plan (from 60 of them!) was not very clear for various reasons explained in the book.

This is an entertaining and insightful read. It demonstrates how, namely, government and its associated bodies can direct the majority of its citizens, from school lunchrooms to organ donations, to mutually beneficial outcomes without imposing sweeping regulation.

The Eagle and the Fried Chicken by Vittorio Zucconi

2009-01-07T08:40:00.005+01:00

I enjoy Zucconi the journalist, who acts as the US correspondent for La Reppublica newspaper in Italy. Perhaps the enormous letdown of this book was amplified even more because I had expected much more from this author. I guess I will continue to read Zucconi's articles but not his books.

A Man without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

2009-01-04T16:26:00.003+01:00

Supposedly, Vonnegut broke a promise he made never to publish another book when he put together a series of ramblings and published it shortly before his death in 2008. The book is far from a success, considering the reputation of the author that I have developed over the years even though I have never, until now, read one of his books. However, it does serve as an interesting starting point for me - beginning with the last work of an author. He talks mainly about his own life. What he had to say was intriguing. There was just not enough of it.

At one point he briefly discusses socialism in the USA and his own Socialist leanings. After a lifetime in America I can assume that even Vonnegut began to develop an appreciation of the free market considering he compiled a few writings into a book which can be read in an afternoon and sold it for $23.95. He must have known that his fan base was large and loyal enough to pay to get their hands on his last insights.

Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan

2009-01-04T14:58:00.006+01:00

The title of this book refers to the six month period after World War I, when all the countries involved in the war, and many who were not, descended on Paris to negotiate the peace treaty, later to be known as the Treaty of Versailles. The three central figures shown on the book cover were Woodrow Wilson (USA), Lloyd George (UK), and Clemenceau (France). Vittorio Orlando (Italy) rounded out the "Big Four" but he and his country acted more like the little, whiny stepbrother that the older brother and his two buddies had to invite to along in order to play 2 on 2. These three central characters had an enormous task, which was bound not to succeed 100% due to the endless numbers of variables involved in the negotiation.

The three themes most present in the negotiations were borders, ethnicity and reparations, with the first two often being related. What became clearer while reading this book is how before the Great War the modern day definition of borders did not exist. This was mainly a result of colonization outside Europe and the size of the Austria-Hungarian Empire (AHE) inside of it. After the fall of the AHE, Europe found itself with certain ethnic groups scattered throughout the continent who before had lived under the umbrella of the empire. Such examples included Germans in Romania and Italians in Croatia. Defining the borders and determining where these ethic groups should live was an impossible task, especially in Yugoslavia. The repercussions were still being witnessed in the Balkan War 80 years after.

How to handle the reparations was the other critical issue to be resolved during the six months in Paris namely by determining how much money Germany needed to pay the UK and France. Demand too much and the German economy would become crippled, too little and they would rise to power again too quickly. The overarching question was how the Big Four, through reparations and new border alignments could ensure Germany became strong but not dominant. History confirms that an outright answer in 1919 was not readily available.

The majority of the chapters in Paris 1919 are written about each individual country involved in the negotiations. The sections on Greece and Turkey were particularly fascinating. Others, such as the tension in China and Japan, seemed out of place. I say this because the reader is led to believe that the majority of the focus will be centered around the three main figures (just look at the cover) and how they would negotiate with Germany. I was left without a true feeling of what was driving these three individuals. Equally, the sections on Germany were not much more in depth than those on the rise of Ataturk in Turkey. The conclusion focused entirely on Germany, while the book was truly international in its scope. This is understandable considering the events which would follow twenty years later. However, the "German question" did not come across as the outright, central theme of the book as the conclusion leads the reader to believe.

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra

2008-12-08T21:41:00.005+01:00

I am back. It was a long journey but well worth the effort. This trip was in the metaphysical sense though real none the less. Vikram's dense novel leads the reader through the underworld of Mumbai, weaving an intricate tale of gang lords and detectives. I was introduced to this novel by Rampini's account of modern India that I had read over the summer. Sadly, this fictional work took on a whole new meaning as half way through reading it, the tragic real life terrorist attacks occurred.

Rampini described how Chandra lived among Mumbai's gangsters for several months to put together the material for this book. It shows. The depth of the story and the characters is wonderful. This book further confirmed to me the important role fiction plays in our learning. A well-written tale is able to provide a certain type of shading on a certain subject that non-fiction is not capable of doing. I thoroughly recommend this novel to anyone interested in crime, mob bosses, India or all three. It will entertain you while opening the door into many cultural nuances of the Indian culture.

Everything is Connected by Daniel Barenboim

2008-10-29T22:03:00.004+01:00

Daniel Barenboim is a music director, conductor, and pianist. He performed his first live concert at the old age of seven. Since then he has been traveling the world as a musician of the highest level. He was music director of the Chicago Symphony from 1991 until 2006 after which he become director of the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin.

His life story is equally impressive having been born to Russian Jews in Buenos Aires. in 1952 his family immigrated to Israel. The title of this books represents his beliefs as a person and a citizen of the world. The argument, reflected in this title, is that the means in which music is studied, performed and listened to can be applied to all aspects of human interaction. He succeeds in making strong associations between music and world events, namely the conflict in Israel and Palestine. If political leaders applied the same set of skills required by musicians in a symphony, great advancements could me made. Most impressive, is how Barenboim has acted on his theory by bringing together young, aspiring musicians from Syria, Egypt, Palestine and Israel into one symphony. This group of young adults travel the world together in demonstration of their ability to overcome religious and geographic conflict through cooperation in music. If music could be described in words, it would serve no purpose. For this reason, the cooperation that is required, which does not depend on words but actions, has accomplished more than politicians were able over the last ten years.

Barenboim certainly has a deep understanding of modern culture, philosophy and language in addition to his profound music skills. He introduces certain philosophers in this book. I would have liked to see a stronger connection made between philosophy and music in what ended up being a rather short book. What Barenboim confirmed, though, is how true "maestri" almost always have deep knowledge and passion for certain fields outside their own area of expertise.

Barbarians at the Gate by Burrough & Helyar

2008-10-19T14:54:00.004+02:00

I had to interrupt the book I was reading because the events occurring in the global financial markets dutifully called for such action. Instead of reading the daily news and agonizing over what was unfolding, I decided to turn back in time, not long ago, when new, creative financial instruments were allowing private equity firms to takeover companies by running up enormous debt. This process is known as a Leveraged Buyout (LBO) and it was rife on Wall Street in the Geckoesque period of the mid 1980's.

The creativity of our modern day financiers is amazing. Without launching into the populist calls for their heads that one could read in the newspapers these days (not me though), the fundamental truth remains that out capitalist system, with its constant evolution, require such magical tools of finance. They are required in order to maintain the same growth levels that investors of all types have become accustomed to. However, the Western world is no longer in a post-war boom phase. The conditions are much more mature in nature and we need to start considering how our societies should be shaped in the "post-modern economy". There are only so many financial spells to cast; cheap-labor arbitraging opportunities to exploit, and wars to start. However, lets not get to far ahead of ourselves.

"Barbarians" tells the story, over a six month period, of the takeover of RJR Nabisco, the maker of Ritz crackers, Oreo cookies and Doral cigarettes by KKR, a major private equity firm. We do not need to look as far back as the 1930's to draw similarities to today's dilemmas. Just as barely- employed recent graduates were snapping up two bedroom condos over the last year with ridiculous amount of leverage, i.e. no money down on a $300,000 condo, private equity firms, with the help of Wall Street investment bankers, were purchasing Main Street companies, either private or publicly held, using enormous leverage ratios (little cash and lots of junk bonds). In both situations, the problems began when repayment on the loan amounts was brought into question.

I can only imagine what is being said in the newspapers and online over the last month. Why were the bankers so greedy? Didn't they see it coming? Are profits never enough? The answers - yes, yes, no. My favorite metaphor in the book was told by one investment banker. If you have 11 beauty pageant contestants in a room and in walks a $100 prostitute, you still have 11 beauty pageant contestants and a hooker. But if a prostitute walks in and tells them she earns $1m, the room is immediately made up of 12 hookers. The investment banks, just like the friends of our condo-buying recent graduate, have a hard time resisting when others around them are making money. Equally, once you are making lots of money, you are not going to stop out of goodwill for mankind. Oil companies know their resources will one day finish and drilling next to the house of a cute polar bear is the wrong thing to do just as a guy slinging mortgages out of his guestroom making $25,000 a month knew that he was probably selling a mortgage or two too many to people who would have been better off renting. Finally, the rampant growth opportunities are simply going to be harder and harder to come by.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The true tragedy would be if we live through the difficult upcoming years without giving thought to the direction we are going. It is this "pioneering capitalism" which needs to be reevaluated. There need to be checks in place along the way. Government does not have to be the enemy of economic growth. In truth, it can and will need to be an enabler by improving infrastructure that allow for smoother business and by educating its people to be the most competitive in changing times. And, yes, it needs to remember that it is often the last line of defense for untethered economic pursuits whose long term costs for society often dwarf the short term profits of a few.

The Arabs by David Lamb

2008-09-18T19:22:00.004+02:00

In this case, the accompanying photo helps set the feeling for this book. The question I propose my enormous reader-base: would you feel comfortable breaking out this book on the bus or subway? David Lamb wrote "The Arabs" in 1987. The title reflects this on several levels. I never really like people to know what I am reading when I am on the train, per se. When ARABS is written in huge, red, capital letters, even less so. Why does it feel strange to me?

Regardless, I enjoyed this light read on the Arabs, a definition Lamb gives to include the area from Morocco moving east until Oman. The edition I read included a post 9/11 update, which was essentially a chance for Lamb to cash in on the tragedy by adding a new introduction and a handful of sentences about the connections to the event. Right move in my eyes, mainly because no one in the States cared about this part of the world until they were forced to.

The account is based on his writings and recollections during his time as the L.A. Times Bureau chief in Cairo. Yes, another one! It reads like the travel book that it is. What I found to be most interesting is how the writing has not been skewed by the 9/11, which offers a pre-event perspective.

As I enjoy following threads in both thought and reading, it is important to make the connection between my study of modern German history and the Middle East. Obviously, much of the shaping of this part of the world are a direct consequence of World War II, which led to the creation of the State of Israel. What Lamb argues is that even without Israel the Arab countries, due to how they are governed, would still be rife with problems though perhaps to a lesser degree. The Palestine - Israel conflict, often seen to be the number one factor causing tension in the Middle East and beyond, continues to trudge on because it is not in the interest of other Muslim that it is resolved.

I do not want to delve too deep into this argument because it is complex and I know next to nothing about it. The next post will be a review on a book written by an Argentine-Palestinian music conductor residing in Berlin. The title of the book is Everything is Connected. Let's see if this is really the case. Until then...

The Catholic Church by Hans Küng

2008-09-07T12:23:00.008+02:00

This book, by the professor of Theology at Tübingen University in southern Germany, is a short history explaining the developments of the Church through time. The Church in this definition refers to the Roman Catholic one, who, as this short history explains, has seen its power and influence in the world wither away over the 1500 year mainly as a result of its own doing.

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the finest representations of rigid hierarchy present today. Decisions come from the top down with little significance given to the input and opinions of its large following at the bottom. The Church created numerous layers of organization from priest to bishop, cardinal and beyond. The effects of this were that Catholics always had a local messenger of God, the priest, who was available and willing to pardon people for their sins. The rise of Luther in the early 16th century called for a direct connection between believers and God. Too many mid-level managers. The repurcussions of this split between the Catholic and what would become the Protestant Church had enormous cultural effects and still today greatly define the differences between Northern and Southern Europe.

The frustrating aspect of the Church is that there were several key points in history in which the setting was ideal for a new direction to be taken. However, each time the conservative option that would preserve the hierarchical power structure was always taken.

In all this it is easy to forget about one important figure - Jesus! The Church and the pope, who is suppose to be the voice of Jesus on Earth, constantly distant themselves from this humble and peaceful figure by refusing to ask one simple question: Is this what Jesus would have wanted for his Church? One of the few positive trends in the current Catholic religion is that there is a very strong grassroots, community-oriented, church at the local level. The members of this church (non-capital "C") are much closer to the embodiment of what Jesus was and what he would have wanted. These people are running soup kitchens in parish basements, gathering clothing during the winter months for the poor, and teaching immigrants the local language for better integration. It sure seems a far cry away from a Pope who dresses himself in silk, gold and jewels at every public event he is present at.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John K. Toole

2008-08-23T19:17:00.006+02:00

I do not have to much to add about this wonderful book that has not already been said by Mr. Abrams here.

Except I now know where the name of my dear friend's cat comes from. I was not convinced that he was capable of naming his cat, Ignatius, after the founder of the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church.

This book was very refreshing after slugging through the very intense non-fiction work by Stern. Actually, I reached for this book about half way through the other like a lost wanderer in the Gobi desert would do for a bottle of water. A Confederacy of Dunces is funny and written in such a tight manner that not one word seems superfluous.

The Five Germanys I have Known by Fritz Stern

2008-08-08T20:16:00.007+02:00

There is the wonderful scene in Woody Allen's "Manhattan" when he is at a party with what could be a "cast from a Fellini film". He is talking about how Nazis are planning to march in New Jersey and recommends that he and others gang up with bricks and bats to go teach them a lesson. One of the other party guests responds that he read a devastating satire piece in the Op-Ed section of the NY Times on the issue. Allen's response is that satire is one thing "but bricks and baseball bats really get to the point."

When I read Fritz Sterns epic memoir I couldn't help but chuckling every now thinking back to this scene. Stern is one of the top German historians in America. His life began in a part of Germany that now belongs to Poland. In the lead up to WWII Stern, age 12, and his entire family immigrated to the USA therefore escaping persecuting at the hand of Hitler. Stern's career as a professor at Columbia University allowed him to become a leading expert in the country and people who he justifiably despised for having forced to leave his country of birth. Stern's quest throughout the post World War II period is to explain "the German question" through rigerous historical study. A second compenent of his work was explaining his discoveries while also applying socialogical theories to current events shaping that period in time. He does so very effectively and does not at all come across with rancor towards the Germans.

The most amazing thing about reading this book, which combines history within the context of a memoir, is how for fifteen dollars I was able to read over the past few weeks an accumulation of knowledge and experience amassed over a period of 70 years - condensed into 500 pages. This is the power of reading! Overall, I enjoyed the book and learned so much about our modern history. Stern has lived an incredibly rich life having met and befriended numerous top figures in politics, academics and science. Truly impressive.

However, I do have a few rants regarding Fritz's book. The first is in regards to the Woody Allen scene mentioned above. I remember one point in the book where Fritz Sterns became enraged by some occurrence of current events, I believe regarding the Vietnam war. His furious outrage drove him sit down and write an op-ed letter to the Times. With all that rage I sure feel sorry for the poor stamp which certainly had to pay a dear price. At times Sterns belief in the effects of the written word seemed too overblown.

The second objection I had to his memoir - did Stern ever make a mistake in his remarkable life? I would have liked to have seen reference to an instant or two when the choice he made was the wrong one or a direction he took he reflects back on with a certain regret. It would have added a level of humbleness and humility that was lacking throughout.

Finally, I was bothered (jealous?) of how he described the countless number of brilliant people he met. I never knew there were so many synonyms for the word "intelligent" but Stern managed to use all of them when talking about his family, friends and acquaintances. It seemed like everyone he knew was smart beyond all belief. Fritz, hang out with some stupid people every now and then. It may do you some good.

La Speranza Indiana (The Indian Hope) by Federico Rampini

2008-07-22T20:08:00.011+02:00

I have become good friends with several Indian student colleagues while in Rotterdam. Their most remarkable attribute is the curiosity they have in "Western culture". They are generally very eager to learn about our traditions, history and way of doing things in society and in business. My experiences with other Americans and Europeans is rather different. The boom in tourism and the easier access to foreign information has led a lot of Westerns I have met to think they are experts on a country/region basing their knowledge on little experience. I attribute the main cause to be a lack of listening skills. I constantly have the feeling that people I meet in international environments are always ready to tell me how it is. They are much less eager to listen to how it could be. My friends from India possess the dying ability to listen to what others have to say. Perhaps this eagerness to learn is a contributing factor to the growth and optimism in their country. This book, along with the next one I will be reviewing, demonstrate such a profound knowledge and understanding of the countries the authors are writing about, that the reader cannot help but feel the dwarfing effects in respect to our superficial travel culture made of Lonely planet, wikipidia and a digital camera.

It was my friends' curiosity in my culture that drove me to read this book on their own. It is the least I could. Rampini is a successful Italian journalist specifically focusing on Asia. His book is very similar in structure to The Good Rain which I reviewed a month back. Both books move along a current journey through the land, weaving in contemporary issues with historical events. This style makes for entertaining reading as new subjects and historical anecdotes come and go with a certain freshness. On the other hand, it does make it hard to follow a chronological unfolding of events. This book opens the door to a country dripping with intrigue. The writer also provides an Italian perspective that I found to be fascinating.

I have been thinking a lot about perspective in writing lately. Coming from the Anglo-American world with its dominant language provides numerous benefits as well as negative aspects. The fact we have access to so many books, journals, magazines, and blogs (!) gives us the possibility to immerse ourselves in the smallest of niche subjects. However, the perspective an American or English writer brings to their field has been conditioned heavily by the society in which they were raised. A certain historical bias is always alive in writing.

This leads me to ask, what is the need for an Italian journalist to write about India when the subject has certainly been amply documented by hundreds (thousands?) of Anglo writers? Because the Italian reader interested in India views the country differently than the way an American reader would. Rampini explores the intrigue the West has always possessed for India mainly by discussing the works on the subject written by Schopenhauer and Hesse. In addition, Italians themselves, from the early explorers to Passolini in the 70's, have documented their journeys. Remember that Venice was the largest port in Europe during the 16th century thus acting as the hub for the imports (mainly silk and spices) arriving from India. These occurrences are not nearly as relevant to an American because 1) philosophy is a subject that is not integrated into the school curriculum in America while a large part of Italian high school students are forced to study it. It may be seen as a form of punishment at the time but something certainly remains in the academic formation. 2) America was founded after the fall of Venetian dominance so our perspective of history naturally has a much shorter time frame.

So, I was introduced to the complexity India reading a book in Italian that introduced me to German thinkers I knew little about. Actually, my own understanding of India is largely "Italian influenced", first by Tiziano Terziani (a future post will introduce him to those unfamiliar) and now Federico Rampini. It is all very exciting...at least to me.

Philosophy and the Real World, An Intro to Karl Popper by Bryan Magee

2008-06-29T17:53:00.006+02:00

There are two ways of interpreting this title: 1) Idiots guide to Karl Popper or 2) Short book for someone too lazy to actually read Karl Popper's works. Both are valid in this case. Karl Popper is an Austrian philosopher who spent the majority of his adult life in the UK. He is a philosopher on science whose main theories carry over into modern society as well. He was introduced to me (not physically) through the two books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan. Fooled by... is a book I highly recommend reading, Black Swan less so. Taleb is certainly a disciple of Popper. To learn more on Popper I decided to seek out a book introducing him to a layman like myself. I have read very little philosophy in my life for the simple reason that it puts me to sleep - and not in the metaphorical sense. I always held the belief that when the time was right philosophy would come to me because I was ready. I don't know if that time has come, but I did make it through this book without falling asleep (too much).

Popper's central argument revolves around the following example. It is not possible to make the observation statement "all swans are white" even if you have observed one thousand, ten thousand or one million white swans without seeing any other colored swans. However, it takes just seeing one black swan to derive the statement "not all swans are white". What I took from Popper was that in science you must look for problems, i.e. black swans instead of searching for occurrences that confirm your hypothesis. In this quest to falsify your findings is when true discovery happens. However, this is difficult for scientists and humans because being "right" just feels so damn good.

By seeking out the problems with your argument is the manner in which you strengthen it. Popper is a true believer in critical feedback stating that people should be eager to receive feedback on their work because it gives them the opportunity to truly improve upon it.

Being right feels good. Taleb in his two books takes this idea to the financial world and points out the problems this can cause. However, it also holds true in politics as well. There is growing concern of tribalism in America according to The Economist. As Norman Mailer said in an interview before the 2004 elections. "How is Bush going to win? I don't know one person voting for him." There is more and more tendency to surround ourselves with people who are more willing to confirm what you have to say instead of opposing it. This certainly may make for more peaceful dinner parties but it is not going to really spur interesting political debate.

Remaining on the subject of society and politics, it was Popper's argument that it is the government's role to minimize avoidable suffering. This falls in line with his overarching belief in addressing problems in order to arrive at improvements. It seems very practical to me. Seek out the low hanging fruit of societal suffering and make it better. He feels this to be the proper direction because it is impossible to determine what defines happiness but it is quite easy to know what makes people unhappy such as sleeping under a bridge or not having food to eat. It is interesting to think of the USA's protection of the endless pursuit of happiness.

I recommend this book. The ideas that are touched upon can be applied to business, society and science. So each person can take something from this introduction to Popper.

Awakenings by Oliver Sacks

2008-06-29T16:35:00.007+02:00

I have never been very interested in science and more specifically medicine and have read few books on the subject. It is my impression that disease and medicine are fields that people seek knowledge about when they personally become effected by the subject matter. Fortunately, I have not been confronted with such at this point in my life. On a friends recommendation, I read Dr. Sacks' book. It is excellent.

Dr Sack's spent seven years working with patients effected with severe cases of Parkinson's disease. Over this time period he was responsible for administering the "miracle drug" LDOPA to the patients. He kept a journal on how each of these patients reacted to drug. The responses were incredible. Parkinson's is a terrible disease that left many of those affected in this book without the possibility to move or speak. Many were considered "living dead" for how severe they were afflicted. LDOPA immediately increased levels of mobility and speech. However, this is just one part of it and the amazing aspects of its effects are best left for the reader to discover. One interesting aspect was that LDOPA has a coming down phase I can only imagine is very similar to what illicit drug-users would experience as well.

The story of LDOPA is told through the individual journal entries of each of the patients. Yet this is only one component which makes this book so impressive. Sacks' writing style is exceptional when compared to any writer - even more so the case when recognizing that he is a medical doctor by trade. His ability to examine modern Western medicine as a whole adds an additional level of intrigue as does the way he intertwines the subject with philosophy.

His biggest concern with the direction we are taking in modern medicine is how doctors approach diagnosing a disease. What is lacking is a holistic approach in the process. Doctors must recognize that past experiences contributed in some way to the development of the disease. These experiances go back way before the patients "first symptom". A disease cannot be boxed and packaged and is never the same because we, as people, are not the same. The true answer to the cure may be in understanding the person before checking boxes to determine what type of disease they have. Sacks recognizes the important role Freud played in his psychoanalytical study of human nature. Past history, be it a result of genetics or events, both have their effects on the present. This point, as well as the reference to Freud, lead nicely into the next review on Karl Popper.

The Good Rain by Timothy Egan

2008-06-16T23:03:00.006+02:00

I would recommend this book...to anyone raised in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) who is currently living away from home and is a bit nostalgic. I will be curious to know the thoughts of non-PNWers or PNWers still living in the area if they have read or decide to read this book.

Timothy Egan is the Seattle correspondent for the New York Times. I came across his writing in a very particular way. One morning while purusing the NY times online, I read an editorial written by a Stanford undergraduate student studying in Italy. She was writing about the impressions she had of being an American in Bologna while another student from Seattle (Amanda Knox) was being held in an Italian prison as a murder suspect after her British roommate was found fatally stabbed in their apartment in Perugia. Anyone from Seattle, Italy or the UK will know of this story.

I was very impressed with the article written by the Stanford student. Only later, while reading an Italian paper, was it mentioned that the writer's father wrote for the NY Times. This same article inferred that this was the reason her article was published. Regardless, the father is Timothy Egan, author of The Good Rain.

The Pacific Northwest is truly a region without borders. It stretches into British Columbia and moves down through Western Oregon. There is certainly something that links people from this area. The terrain plays a role as people from the area are comfortable both with the ocean and in the mountains. The long gray and drizzly winters become normal for those adapted but standout for the new arrivals.

Egan certainly loves the PNW and represents it very well in this book and in his Times articles and blog . Even when he writes about the Iraq war you can tell he is not doing it from the 42nd floor of a Manhattan skyscraper.

This book is about the history of the region. He travels from one area to the next tying in current events with historical ones. He justifiably declares the importance of the geography giving particular focus to the Columbia river and Cascade Mountains. He also drives home the message (perhaps too often) that the Army Corp of Engineers mutilated a lot of rivers in the area with dam construction thus drastically reducing the salmon runs. As a result, the way of life of the Indians in the area was altered forever because they were no longer able to fish the rivers they had depended on for 10,000 years. European Americans push west certainly did not help the situation either as Indian land was snatched up with support from the federal government and was only relinquished after drawn out court rulings, which were often too late.

This book was written in 1990 which in Seattle terms is a lifetime ago. The city has changed so much since then. This book demonstrates how European Americans moving west wanted to take as much from the land as possible in the shortest amount of time. They also felt that the power of man could conquer the massiveness of the terrain mainly though engineering. Land protection, zoning laws, pollution, were not terms that were digested well by the new arrivals. My fear is that these same issues are still not given enough consideration as the population in the Seattle region is estimated to reach four million over the next two decades. Many things I am seeing, hearing, and reading are convincing me that a book such as Egan's holds vital messages that are still relevant today.

Impuniti by Antonello Caporale

2008-05-24T15:58:00.005+02:00

The title of this book translates to "Unpunished: Story of a incapable, wasteful, and happy system ". Caporale is writing about the political system in Italy. This book has not been translated into English and I doubt that it will be. I have spent a large part of my mental efforts over the last seven years in attempting to understand modern Italian history. If I had wisely dedicated my intellectual resources to the forces of good instead, who knows what I may have accomplished - perhaps there would now be nuclear fusion test station in my basement.

When writing about Italy the most difficult task is being able to do so in under 3000 words. I am greatly fascinated by the post WWII history of Italy and will certainly (attempt to) write about it more in the future. To briefly summarize the political and economic situation in Italy right now, it is a near disaster. You can forget about the rolling Tuscan hills and barolo wines if you attempt to unravel this political ball of yarn.

Caporale is a journalist for La Reppublica, a left-leaning major newspaper in the country. In this book he travels the peninsula exposing how numerous politicians have managed to waste billions of Euros mainly on large-scale infrastructure projects that were never realized. However, more important than these countless examples of politicians abusing their power at the expense of the Italian taxpayer, is the fact that these same politicians are rarely held accountable in court; are never forced to look into a camera and say "I made a mistake"; and are not turned on by their peers.

This lack of accountability is the theme that runs through this book and which represents the missing element in the modern political system. Italy can no longer hide in the shadows of the rest of Europe because they now are part of Europe. This means that the country will be held to the same standards as other European Union members. The vast majority of national and local governments are more than capable of improperly managing vast sums of money. I have no problem there. But heads have to roll every now and then to at least strike a little fear into the heart of the politicians. And this happens in modern democracies, not including Il bel paese.

The fact that a member of parliament in Italy is the highest paid in all of Europe while the average Italian wages are among the lowest speaks for itself. Politicians are concerned about preserving their caste. It does not matter if they are from the left or right. This "caste" has become the talk of the country over the last year since a book with the same title was written by Gian Antonio Stella. Caporale's book is an offspring of Stella's. The question is for how long can you talk without action? And here is the core of the problem, these politicians are capable of outlasting the talk because the action, mainly judicial, simply takes too long. They know that they will not have to face the fire because the average Italian can only be appalled by the amount of inefficiency and waste a certain number of times before they simply tune it out. I know because I am quickly reaching that level and I am not even Italian - nor do I live in the country!

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

2008-05-15T22:14:00.004+02:00

This book is a work of historical fiction. In 1909 Sigmund Freud visited the United States for his first and last time. He returned to Vienna thereafter declaring it a land of savages. We really proved him wrong nearly 100 years later. American Gladiators is coming back.

This book is about Freud and his psychoanalytical friends working together to solve a murder that has taken place during their visit. Rubenfeld does tie in a few of basic principles of Freud's contribution to psychology which may benefit some. This way you can have this pseudo sense of intellectual stimulation while you are reading what really is the simplest of murder mysteries. I would not not recommend this book. Instead I would highly recommend reading the stories of Sherlock Holmes instead. It is hard not be satisfied after having read one of Arthur Conan Doyle's timeless tales. To me it seems like the better option.

The Berlin Wall by Frederick Taylor

2008-05-04T10:46:00.008+02:00

In April 2008 I visited Berlin for the first time in my life. The city intrigued me on numerous levels. I knew very little about the city and its history upon arrival. Nor did it improve much in the whirlwind three-day tour, between late evenings in the bars and long lunches with the Italian parent-in-laws. However, I did not have any regrets. In all honesty, I actually chose not to do too much research on the city before my arrival because I wanted to be a blank slate upon seeing the city for the first time. Then once having left I could properly select areas of interest which I felt drawn to for further study.

The case remained that I knew little about the modern history of Berlin, the Cold War and the Wall. Therefore, a general introduction was needed. For me, history is a giant bucket with an endless amount of holes in it, like swiss cheese. Water is filled in the bucket and is therefore coming out of all the holes. By studying one certain part of history over time you may cork one of those holes but this does not stop the water from coming out the other holes. I feel like I am constantly running around this bucket not even with cork, but with scotch tape, merely trying to patch up those points in history I embarrassingly know so little about. The Berlin Wall by Frederick Taylor acted as a piece of scotch tape for the fifty year period since World War II. The hole is now covered but something at the more in-depth level is still missing.

Taylor is a British professor who has studied and wrote about Germany since his undergraduate years. As an academic, I can only imagine that he was torn with what type of work to create. The unfortunate trend in modern writing is that non-fiction has really been divided into two camps. The first is the academic camp, with its over-specialization, concentration on details, endless citing, and overall low readability. The second is for the "masses" camp, which more or less, runs exactly opposite to the academic camp. I believe that a truly successful book on history is somehow able to blend the positive aspects of both of these camps. Unfortunetly, it is a near impossible task.

Taylor clearly selected writing a book for the masses. It is a book that would sit well at newspaper kiosk at Berlin Tegel airport ideal for a rather ignorant tourist leaving Berlin to purchase before his Sunday evening flight. These are more or less the conditions in which I purchased the book. Taylor assumes the task of creating "readable historic non-fiction". Berlin provides an excellent backdrop to succeed in doing so with stories of espionage, fearless escapes, and Cold War political drama.

After World War II Berlin was divided into four segments granted to the Ally victors - and France. As the divergence between Communist Russia and Capitalist America grew, the city of Berlin was forced to live out this division on an extremely concentrated level. Germany's communist leaders, many of whom fled to Moscow during the war, were able to return to Germany to enact that which had been taught to them during their time in Moscow. While East Germany represented the socialist state, Berlin - an island in the sea of East Germany, continued to exist in its divided nature due to the agreements made by the Allies post WWII.

The creation of the wall was a response of East Berliners/Germans seeking refuge in West Berlin where from they were able to fly out of Berlin altogether into West Germany. This exodus of citizens of the East did not bode well with its leaders who were dedicating a lot of time and energy in convincing its citizens that socialism was a superior form of government. The wall was erected on 13 August 1961 to prevent further migration to the West. It remained in place for 30 years.

It was my belief that there were so many exciting occurrences on the Cold War world stage to write about as well as the fascinating personal stories of people living between East and West Berlin. Taylor does a fine job of discussing both. The weakness of the book was his need to emphasize the drama of the events and readability of his writing. I feel that the events in their own right speak for themselves. Instead Taylor adds certain phrases that would be more suited for the low brow fiction section of that kiosk at the Tegel Airport. Without quoting the book specifically, I recall on numerous occasions that certain people did one thing or another "with devastating consequences". Or some political leader who "made a decision, a decision with grave repurcussions". In instances like these I felt Taylor was trying just a little too hard. I would have preferred to have read about these "decisions" on my own and decide for myself if a "choice - a choice he would come to regret" was truly such. Instead he was deciding for me and in a manner better suited for poorly written spy novel.

Overall, the book acts a decent introduction to Berlin history. It will now be up to me, or anyone else interested in this period, to seek out more specific works that dive more in-depth into the countless subjects that this book touches on but does fully address. Areas that perked my interest which I will begin investigating further are: 1) the role Moscow played during WWII, specifically in how it taught and trained future communist leaders; 2) more personal stories about those living in Berlin.