Though I appreciate the fact that the author provides a rich compendium of historical situations and how great leaders faced adversity i wouldn't callThough I appreciate the fact that the author provides a rich compendium of historical situations and how great leaders faced adversity i wouldn't call this book practical.
It provides no real direction into how to handle "things" (which is a testament of the futility of self development books) in everyday life.
Still it is a good read for trivia lovers !...more
**spoiler alert** The first 100 pages felt like carrying a hard boulder to the peak of a hill. Multiple dialogues happening across multiple timelines **spoiler alert** The first 100 pages felt like carrying a hard boulder to the peak of a hill. Multiple dialogues happening across multiple timelines with characters that are thrown in like gladiators in the colloseo.
There was however a point in the book after which you start to understand the story, and eventually get used to Llosa's style of narration.
The author does a good job hiding important pieces of the story-puzzle and keeping them until the very end.
The book at the core is about a teenager that hits puberty and wants to rebel against his rich and everloving father by joining a communist party (dad being one of Odria's main supporters) , followed with running from home and dropping law school , becoming a journalist and severing all contacts with his family.These decisions will haunt him later in life.
The book was ok but not as good as the reviewers made me believe.The ending was bitter....more
Fabtastic book.The level of detail with which the author presents the war is astonishing.
To think that Thucydides puts together the timeline of a 30 yFabtastic book.The level of detail with which the author presents the war is astonishing.
To think that Thucydides puts together the timeline of a 30 years war would be hard even in modern times but to do it in 5th century BC is on a completely new level (considering the frugality of written texts at that time).
Not only does he present the stages of the war with extreme rigourousity but he also gets us accustomed with the whole greek world from the mainland city states (Athens,Sparta,Corinth,Thebes,Argos,Megara) to most of the islanders (Lemnos,Lesbos,Samos) , Asia Minor and also the Greek colonies in Sicily.
From my point of view regarding Athens, the book is a testimonial for the saying "don't eat more than you can chew" and just like in Germany in WW2 ....don't start a second front when you haven't concluded the situation of the former one.
The book also proves that it takes only one charismatic, ambitious man to lead the city to glory or total ruin.In our case that would be Pericles or Demosthenes and Alcibiades.
A must read for anyone interested in ancient history & civilisation....more
I feel i must start with a statement : This is hands down THE BOOK for anyone interested in learning Erlang.
Even though Erlang as an ecosystem (languagI feel i must start with a statement : This is hands down THE BOOK for anyone interested in learning Erlang.
Even though Erlang as an ecosystem (language , platform) is huge , the author did a terrific job in separating it in some big sections: -basic erlang (syntax), BIF's (processes, links and monitors, refs,exceptions...) ,OTP and its behaviours ,deployments, distribution, testing, dyalizer and much more
The book is written in an entertaining and humoristic manner. It is heavy on explanations , tips and complete code examples (top down approach usually).
The only drawback to this book is that as a developer after writing my first app i found the build toolchain used in the book is no longer the preffered option by the Erlang community .The new way of building your apl is via a tool named rebar which i found not that straightforward for me. I wished the author would cover it also.
Aside from this little impediment the book is great and i recommend it to anyone interested in Erlang !...more
I was eager to read this book for a very long time. The book opens with Tiberius reign.What i found most intriguing was the readiness of aristocrats toI was eager to read this book for a very long time. The book opens with Tiberius reign.What i found most intriguing was the readiness of aristocrats to open their veins when faced with criminal/financial charges or anything that could affect their honor , charges that in many cases had no solid ground. The willingness to commit suicide instead of facing trial is mesmerizing to me.
I appreciated the detail of the whole Germannic operation ( Romans under Germannicus assaulted Germannia avenged Varus and recovered the eagles). I was really hoping the book to focus more on Caligula and even more on Claudius. What i did get as a reader was petty intrigues and plots of Claudius wives which nonetheless ended in the death of the emperor.
That being said ,the least expected and most interesting part of the book was the reign of Nero. This part has it all: Assasinations of relatives (mother , brother) , conquest of Armenia and defeat of Parthia , intrigues , plots , decrees , and lets not forget the burning of Rome and also early christian persecutions.
We also get a glimpse on Nero's tutor , Seneca , his rich lifestyle seriously in sharp contrast with his preachings of frugality and minimalism (lets not forget he became the father of stoicism)
All in all the book was decent but not great and this is only thanks to the last part saving grace....more
This book made me aware of what i eat everyday . Through a thoroughly examination of the processes that are happening inside one's body , Campbell theThis book made me aware of what i eat everyday . Through a thoroughly examination of the processes that are happening inside one's body , Campbell then proves how a plant based diet is the solution to most of everyday hard illnesses like: diabetes , cancer and heart problems ..etc.
What i found lacking though is the fact that he doesn't quite actually explain how should one consume enough B12 vitamin when living with a vegan diet....more
Definetly a must read for anyone interested in designing fault tolerant large scale systems.This book covers most hot topics and problems encountered Definetly a must read for anyone interested in designing fault tolerant large scale systems.This book covers most hot topics and problems encountered by organizations when trying to scale , operate and extend their infrastructure. The style of writing is entertaining and still the author is does not shy from tackling hard problems like consensus algorhytms, database engines , synchronization in distributed systems, CAP , efficient indexing ..etc...more
**spoiler alert** A totally must read for anyone thst is considering investing in the stock market. This book covers everything from types of investmen**spoiler alert** A totally must read for anyone thst is considering investing in the stock market. This book covers everything from types of investments, balance sheets, management , subsidiaries, ammortization , and perhaps the most important is the variety of real world examples taken from the stock market (1920-1939) and illustrated as charts, spreadsheets ..and how the author is analyzing each company in that specific setup and draws conclusions. A totally must read !...more
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