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The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Brief Summary
Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since.
Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind.
Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings. —Rob Lightner
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Brief Summary
WHY IT’S SO HARD FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT RACISM.
The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
In this "vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and "allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence.
These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.
ISBN:9780807047415
Author:Robin DiAngelo
The Firm The Story of McKinsey and It...
Brief Summary
The story of McKinsey & Co., America’s most influential and controversial business consulting firm, "an up-to-date, full-blown history, told with wit and clarity” (The Wall Street Journal).
If you want to be taken seriously, you hire McKinsey & Company. Founded in 1926, McKinsey can lay claim to the following partial list of accomplishments: its consultants have ushered in waves of structural, financial, and technological change to the nation’s best organizations; they remapped the power structure within the White House; they even revolutionized business schools. In The New York Times bestseller The Firm, star financial journalist Duff McDonald shows just how, in becoming an indispensable part of decision making at the highest levels, McKinsey has done nothing less than set the course of American capitalism.
But he also answers the question that’s on the mind of anyone who has ever heard the word McKinsey: Are they worth it? After all, just as McKinsey can be shown to have helped invent most of the tools of modern management, the company was also involved with a number of striking failures. Its consultants were on the scene when General Motors drove itself into the ground, and they were K-Mart’s advisers when the retailer tumbled into disarray. They played a critical role in building the bomb known as Enron.
McDonald is one of the few journalists to have not only parsed the record but also penetrated the culture of McKinsey itself. His access puts him in a unique position to demonstrate when it is worth hiring these gurus—and when they’re full of smoke.
ISBN:9781439190999
Author:Duff McDonald
South Sudan The State We Aspire to by...
Brief Summary
South Sudan: The State We Aspire To was conceived and written mid-2009, two years to the conduct of the referendum on self-determination. The comprehensive peace agreement provided the people of Southern Sudan’ this inalienable right after nearly five decades of conflict.
Peter Adwok Nyaba incisively discusses the high expectations and hopes the people of southern Sudan had, mixed with anxiety that characterises the fluid and unpredictable nature of the interim period leading to independence of South Sudan in 2011, and hence the title. In this second edition of South Sudan: The State We Aspire To, written after the eruption of violence in December 2013, the events vindicated what the author correctly discussed the situation southern Sudan was in as being ‘on the horns of a great dilemma’ or the attitude of its leaders being ‘between treason and stupidity.’ It was inevitable that the internal crisis in The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)/Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) leadership and failure to pursue socioeconomic development commensurate with its liberation ideology would plunge the country into hell on earth.
Nyaba’s prime objective in The State We Aspire To, is to provoke a debate, inside and outside the SPLM and South Sudan at large, on the political future of South Sudan. He argues that the SPLM top leadership, cadres and general membership are collectively responsible for what is happening to this young nation having willfully abandoned the ideals for which the South Sudanese people sacrificed in the wars of national liberation. "I have criticized the SPLM leadership for its dismal performance in GOSS over the last six years, and I really mean it. There is no justification whatsoever for this performance except that SLPM suffered from a congenital ailment which afflicted its leaders.” (Peter Adwok Nyaba)
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Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Breif Summary
At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life.
With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.
Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.
ISBN:9780307592736
Author:Cheryl Strayed
What Got You Here Wont Get You There ...
What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful.
America's most sought-after executive coach shows how to climb the last few rungs of the ladder The corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They're intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic.
But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle--and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference.
These are small "transactional flaws" performed by one person against another (as simple as not saying thank you enough), which lead to negative perceptions that can hold any executive back.
Using Goldsmith's straightforward, jargon-free advice, it's amazingly easy behavior to change. Executives who hire Goldsmith for one-on-one coaching pay $250,000 for the privilege. With this book, his help is available for 1/10,000th of the price.
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman's brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our "two minds"—the rational and the emotional—and how they together shape our destiny.
Through vivid examples, Goleman delineates the five crucial skills of emotional intelligence, and shows how they determine our success in relationships, work, and even our physical well-being. What emerges is an entirely new way to talk about being smart.
The best news is that "emotional literacy" is not fixed early in life. Every parent, every teacher, every business leader, and everyone interested in a more civil society, has a stake in this compelling vision of human possibility.
The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Mu...
Brief Summary
When the undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave in 1643 and wrote The Book of Five Rings, a manifesto on swordsmanship, strategy, and winning for his students and generations of samurai to come, he created one of the most perceptive and incisive texts on strategic thinking ever to come from Asia.
Musashi gives timeless advice on defeating an adversary, throwing an opponent off-guard, creating confusion, and other techniques for overpowering an assailant that will resonate with both martial artists and everyone else interested in skillfully dealing with conflict. For Musashi, the way of the martial arts was a mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess—and it is this path to mastery that is the core teaching in The Book of Five Rings.
William Scott Wilson’s translation is faithful to the original seventeenth-century Japanese text while being wonderfully clear and readable. His scholarship and insight into the deep meaning of this classic are evident in his introduction and notes to the text. This edition also includes a translation of one of Musashi’s earlier writings, "The Way of Walking Alone,” and calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura.
ISBN:9781590309841
Author:Miyamoto Musashi, Shiro Tsujimura and William Scott Wilson
We The Scarred by Mukoma Wa Ngugi
Brief Summary
Mukoma Wa Ngugi’s novel We, The Scarred, formerly known as Mrs Shaw, has today been revealed by its publisher Paivapo Publishers.
Author, poet and academic Mukoma Wa Ngugi came into the African literary scene with the two novels Nairobi Heat and its sequel Killing Sahara (Black Star Nairobi). The two are crime fiction offerings featuring an African American police Detective Ishmael Fofona and Kenyan law enforcement badass David Odhiambo. You can read our reviews of Nairobi Heat and Killing Sahara (Black Star Nairobi). The writer has written many other things including the poetry collection Logotherapy (2016) and the nonfiction The Rise of African Novel (2018).
In 2015, the author unleashed the Ohio University Press published novel Mrs Shaw about the fictional East African Kwatee Republic of the 1990s, its dictatorship about to fall, and its exiles preparing to return. We here at JamesMurua.com loved it and reviewed it for the Daily Nation here.
The African rights for this book have been acquired by Paivapo Publishers who have opted to give the book the name We, The Scarred which really makes sense. Anyone who reads the novel will know that Mrs Shaw was not the central character in the title so it was really strange that this was its name. The new cover of the title, designed by Shubnum Khan with graphics by Megan Ross, has been unveiled today and you can see it in its glory below.
ISBN:9780639946146
Author:Mukoma Wa Ngugi
The Magic by Rhonda Byrne
Brief Summary
One word changes everything...
For more than twenty centuries, words within a sacred text have mystified, confused, and been misunderstood by almost all who read them. Only a very few people through history have realized that the words are a riddle, and that once you solve the riddle—once you uncover the mystery—a new world will appear before your eyes.
In The Magic, Rhonda Byrne reveals this life-changing knowledge to the world. Then, on an incredible 28-day journey, she teaches you how to apply this knowledge in your everyday life.
No matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter what your current circumstances, The Magic is going to change your entire life!
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ISBN:9781451673449
Author:Rhonda Byrne
South Bs Finest by Makena Maganjo
Nairobi in the 1990s.
Three families.
Their lives interweave as the find themselves living across from each other in an idyllic middle-class neighbourhood, Malaba Estate, South B.
As the decade charges on, their lives begin to show similarities in the secrets they keep and the mistakes they make.
Funny. Thought-provoking. Surprising. Endearing.
This is a coming of age story about friendship in all of its varied shades and intrigues. It is the kind of story that you try to savour only to gallop through the pages -- enchanted by characters, gripped by the authors enticing style.
Makena Maganjo is definitely a worthy addition to the corpus of African writers, and South B?s Finest is a fine work of art!
Originals by Adam Grant
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World.
In Originals the author addresses the challenge of improving the world from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all?
Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent.
Learn from an entrepreneur who pitches his start-ups by highlighting the reasons not to invest, a woman at Apple who challenged Steve Jobs from three levels below, an analyst who overturned the rule of secrecy at the CIA, a billionaire financial wizard who fires employees for failing to criticize him, and a TV executive who didn’t even work in comedy but saved Seinfeld from the cutting-room floor. The payoff is a set of groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and improving the status quo.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Brief Summary
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.
Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration.
She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the "strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us.
Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.
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Luo Girl from Infancy to Marriage by ...
Brief Summary
With the exception of those women who move with their husbands to the towns, the majority of rural married women go through a period of living under the close supervision of their mothers-in-law. The duration of this time depends on the mutual feeling between wife and mother-in-law.
The married woman must learn everything possible about her new family. The mother-in-law tells her about the various sources of food and assists her to fit into her new life in the manner desired. Very often this involves unlearning certain things she has learnt at home. Among other things, she must learn the meal hours and individual tastes of those in the new family, and this brief probationary period gives character to her future relationship with them. At this time a mean woman is soon known by her behaviour; moreover, in the earlier stages of her married life a young wife is constantly accompanied by a companion who reports her general attitude to the family.
Other women in the home may also send her on errands wherever they wish, the idea being to test her character in the communal life of women. Hence unpopularity would have a profound effect upon her, and through her, upon her husband. But although she is under the authority of her mother-in-law or someone occupying the same position, her mother-in-law's actions are also open to censure by the other women. The problem of fitting a wife into this new life is thus a family affair.
Great importance is still attached to the traditional schooling of wives, but modern young women sometimes rebel against this ordered regime, choosing rather to do as they please in their new homes.
ISBN:LuoGirlfromInfancytoMarriage001
Author:Simeon H Ominde
How to Make One Million Dollars in Re...
Brief Summary
Stocks may soar and crash, but one investment constantly increases in value: choice real estate. Tyler G. Hicks, a world-renowned authority and bestselling author on the subject of real estate investments, shares his proven strategies for finding and financing properties with wealth-building power. Current, comprehensive, and reliable, this guide delivers the know-how and hands-on tools to build a real estate fortune in a few short years -- with little or no cash required.
Filled with true stories of men and women who have followed Hicks' methods with amazing results, How To Make Million$ In Real Estate In Three Years Starting With No Cash emphasizes "safe" risks, savvy borrowing, and pyramid investments. Exploring a wide range of options -- from single-family homes to malls, from vacant land to offshore waters -- this resource leads the way to not only fast but lasting financial success.
Page after page, this book comes through with incredible insider secrets -- including how to sell the rights to thin air for hard cash. This completely updated edition also features an extensive directory, listing thousands of sources for additional information and guidance.
ISBN:9780134236742
Author:Tyler G Hicks
1000 Kikuyu Proverbs by G Barra
Brief Summary
African love and traditions have over the years been kept alive through oral transmission from generation to generation.In 1000 Kikuyu Proverbs, each proverb is printed in Kikuyu, and then translated directly into English.
In most cases the English equivalents of these Kikuyu proverbs have been given, in bold letters.
This book will make very good readership and acts as an excellent source of material for Oral literature.
ISBN:B0000CKLPE
Author:G Barra
Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rat...
Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow: A Landmark Study of Great Leaders, Teams, and the Reasons Why We Follow.
Nearly a decade ago, Gallup unveiled the results of a landmark 30-year research project that ignited a global conversation on the topic of strengths. More than 19 million people have since taken Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment, which forms the core of several books on this topic, including the #1 international bestseller StrengthsFinder 2.0.
In recent years, while continuing to learn more about strengths, Gallup scientists have also been examining decades of data on the topic of leadership. They studied more than 1 million work teams, conducted more than 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders and even interviewed more than 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life.
In Strengths Based Leadership, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Rath and renowned leadership consultant Barry Conchie reveal the results of this research. Based on their discoveries, the book identifies three keys to being a more effective leader: knowing your strengths and investing in others’ strengths, getting people with the right strengths on your team, and understanding and meeting the four basic needs of those who look to you for leadership.
As you read Strengths Based Leadership, you’ll hear firsthand accounts from some of the most successful organizational leaders in recent history, from the founder of Teach For America to the president of The Ritz-Carlton, as they discuss how their unique strengths have driven their success. Filled with novel research and actionable ideas, Strengths Based Leadership will give you a new road map for leading people toward a better future.
A unique access code allows you to take a new leadership version of Gallup’s StrengthsFinder program. The new version of this program provides you with specific strategies for leading with your top five strengths and enables you to plot the strengths of your team based on the four domains of leadership strength revealed in the book.
Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella's life - an emptiness once filled by love.
So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, she is shocked out of herself. Turning her back on her family she embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author of this work.
It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into an exotic world where faith and love are heartbreakingly explored...
Kaizen by Sarah Harvey
Brief Summary
Kaizen: The Japanese Secret to Lasting Change?Small Steps to Big Goals.
Reach your goals with Kaizen—the Japanese art of gentle self-improvement
From Hygge to Ikigai, positive philosophies have taken the world by storm. Now, Kaizen—meaning "good change”—will help you transform your habits, without being too hard on yourself along the way. With Kaizen, even the boldest intention becomes a series of small, achievable steps. Each person’s approach will be different, which is why it’s so effective.
First popularized by Toyota, Kaizen is already proven in the worlds of business and sports. Here, Sarah Harvey shows how to apply it to your health, relationships, money, career, hobbies, and home—and how to tailor it to your personality. Kaizen is the key to lasting change!
ISBN:9781529005356
Author:Sarah Harvey
The Bribery Syndrome by Joe Khamisi
The Bribery Syndrome: How Multinational Corporations Collude with Dictators to Raid Africa's Natural Resources.
A shocking narration of how global multinationals make billions of dollars in profits by bribing corrupt African dictators and public officials to secure lucrative contracts in some of the most critical economic sectors in Africa. Dozens of foreign company executives have been jailed and/or fined heavily for violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act.
The book focuses on 28 corrupt leaders in sub-Saharan Africa who cozy up with company executives of some of the largest corporations in the world. Both the officials and the global conglomerates make huge amounts of money using kickbacks, bribery, and corruption while millions of Africans languish in poverty. The Bribery Syndrome is a compelling read.
