Published back in 2005, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, is a compilation of information of American life before the Europeans started visiting.
1491
My Thoughts
My thoughts are all over the map on this book. The narrative is so different from that which I was taught that I find myself questioning the sources. However, if true, the information is pretty amazing. The notion of the Americas as a completely settled land and that it was domesticated by the native peoples is pretty amazing. After confirming with my sons in High School, this is indeed what is being taught in the school curricula. I will have to find some supporting information but I did enjoy the book.
“The 6 Keys” is a book written by Jillian Michaels that explores the six essential pillars of health and wellness. In this book, Michaels draws on her years of experience as a fitness expert and life coach to provide readers with practical advice on how to improve their physical and mental well-being. The six keys include nutrition, hydration, sleep, mindfulness, movement, and community, and Michaels provides detailed guidance and strategies for how to optimize each of these areas in one’s life. The book is designed to help readers achieve a balanced and healthy lifestyle, leading to increased energy, vitality, and overall well-being. Published in October of 2018.
The 6 Keys
My Thoughts
I was looking for a book that would help me motivated to lose some weight and exercise. This one did pretty well. While I’m not particularly a fan of Ms. Michaels, I thought she had some good ideas in the book. (There were some things over the top as well such as replacing your furniture with only solid wood due to the harmful effects of “off gassing” from pressed wood.) She attempts to make cellular functions and nutrition understandable and her general approach is close to my personal beliefs of moderation in all things.
Recommendation
A good book for motivation but can be long in places.
Published in Sep of 2020, Think Like a Monk is the quasi-autobiographical experiences of a man who left relative wealth and success to join the Vedic monk lifestyle at an ashram in Mumbai, India. This book gives some of his story, some life lessons, and his thoughts in general.
Think Like a Monk
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the book. In fact, I was on several long plane flights with a nasty case of poison ivy and I found his breathing techniques very helpful.
The real gem I found in the book was the perspective on introspection. What do we really need and what do we really want? I believe it is a very good idea to sit down and really think about your life from time to time.
Recommendation
It was a fun read. I would recommend it to anyone.
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain was published in 2013. The following was taken from Barnes and Noble.
Drawing on important new research in the field of interpersonal neurobiology, Siegel explores exciting ways in which understanding how the brain functions can improve the lives of adolescents, making their relationships more fulfilling and less lonely and distressing on both sides of the generational divide.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brainstorm-daniel-j-siegel-md/1116149182 taken 5 June 2021
Brainstorm
My Thoughts
I was surprised by this book in that I didn’t get that much out of it. It’s true Dr. Siegel spends some time talking about adolescents but none of it was really a revelation. Perhaps I’ve read too much of this kind of literature but it seemed like this was more about how the brain works than specifically how the adolescence brain works or what to do about it. The author peppers the book with personal stories and observations. Most of which seemed to be effective in getting across his message.
Recommendation
It was okay. If you are unfamiliar with how the brain is organized and how it changes through normal development, this may be a good book for you.
“How to Be Human: An Autistic Man’s Guide to Life” was published in April of 2021 and is the autobiographical account of Jory Fleming, a high functioning person with autism who won a Rhodes Scholarship for the University of Oxford. A writer (Lyric Winik) did a series of interviews with Jory and strung them into the narrative that became this book. The book attempts to explain how Jory thinks and his perspective on life.
How to be Human
My Thoughts
Though I found the material interesting, I don’t believe it is relatable to other people with autism. To paraphrase Jory, “this is just how I think” and “I find it harder to relate to other people with autism.” My hat is off to Jory for what he has been able to achieve. Or more specifically, my hat is off to Jory’s mom who has given him daily support for his entire life.
Honestly, I’m bothered by some aspects of the popular notion of autism. There seem to be many people who romanticize autism and seem to see it as a net benefit. (E.g. Someone might claim a person with autism has an above-average IQ. These people evidently don’t know what autism is or how IQ is measured.) While these people aren’t actually diagnosed with any disorder, they are more than happy to claim the benefits as they see them. The usual humble brag is something akin to “I have Asperger’s.” This is usually an excuse for being socially awkward and/or a poor attempt to claim superior skills in analytical tasks. However, I’m not sure most of these people have been confronted by someone who has severe autism. Someone who is incapable of communication and truly does not “see” the world around them. Just like Jory’s mom, there are unsung heroes who devote their lives to making the world a better place for these people.
In short, all of us think differently. Autism is a spectrum which means there comes a point when the spectrum bumps up against the “normal.” Of course, that leads to another question, “What is normal?” Answer? “Normal” is just another bell curve of behaviors. The line between “normal” and “autistic and even “sane” and “insane” is uncomfortable thin. It all comes down to definitions and those definitions are always in flux.
So… I believe there is likely a little autism in all of us and we are all just a little off. That doesn’t give us super rain-man mental powers and most of us are able to negotiate society. We all feel awkward at times and some of us are insensitive jerks. It’s how we play the hand we are given which makes the difference. If it was all you could do not to kill someone on the way to work then I say, “good for you!” (However, if that’s how close you are to the line, expect the rest of us to lock you up somewhere safe in the near future.) The rest of us will continue doing what we can to do our best, day by day and sometimes hour by hour.
Published in April of 2020, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor is a study on the meditations of Marcus Aurelius and stoicism in general. The book guides you through the history of stoicism and through some of it’s main tenets.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this book and it was a compelling read. I felt the author did a great job of going through the histories and linking them to the present day. I also enjoyed that the author had come to my University and one of my employees had filmed him talking about the book. So I got a little bonus.
Published in December of 2020, Embrace the Suck is a book about taking on and overcoming the obstacles in life from the perspective of a former Navy SEAL.
Embrace the Suck
My Thoughts
This was a decent read and pretty motivating. I felt he was a little over the top with some of his descriptions and language but I guess that’s par for the course. He had some practical applications which, had I followed them, would have made the read more impactful.
Published in November of 2015, Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates gives the story of one of America’s first conflict overseas. It details how we went from paying ransoms to fighting in our own self-defense putting us on to the world stage.
Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates
My Thoughts
This was a very interesting book. Given that I work with Marines, you would think I would have been more familiar with this story but there was a lot that surprised me. I knew we paid off the pirates to leave our ships alone until we were ready to defend ourselves but I didn’t know how close that struggle was or the real story. This was a pivotal moment in our history and could have gone very differently.
Published in 2014, Left of Bang is the book outlining the ideas of the Combat Hunter program in the Marine Corps.
Left of Bang
My Thoughts
A very interesting book but I believe the author is correct when he mentions how most people have already learned how to do this. I’ve had many conversations over the years with people who understand and who do not. When you’ve really been to a dangerous place, you tend to continue to be on alert. You continue to watch and observe. The Marines call this “situational awareness” and if they want extra attention put on it they say, “Put your head on a swivel!”
It is a hard concept to teach but a harder one two learn. To quote my old Sensai, “pain makes believers.” It has been interesting to see this program come and go in the Marine Corps.
Recommendation
I’m glad I read it but I’m not sure how much I got out of it. The biggest benefit was the jargon they used for the concepts they were illustrating.
Published in January of 2017, A World in Disarray is a sobering view of geopolitics from Richard Haass who is an American diplomat and has been president of the Council on Foreign Relations since July 2003. The book outlines the major struggles and players of the world at the time President Trump came into office.
A World in Disarray
My Thoughts
As the book started, I thought this was very dated material. It is amazing how much has changed since early 2017. I think few people have really been paying attention of how the United States has moved throughout the international community during the Trump administration. There was real fear with Russia, North Korea, and China before he took office. While there are still issues there, we aren’t anywhere close to what existed as he took office.
That said, it is vital we keep looking back to history to instruct our steps forward. In our hyper-connected world, we seem to be so swayed in the thoughts and trends of the moment that we forget these roads have been traveled before. We can watch how they play out and it isn’t pretty.
I’m very interested to see where we go under the Biden administration. Will the world powers took to the United States for guidance? Will they the respect us? Fear us? Perhaps they will simply disregard us as we squabble over the ridiculous and eat ourselves alive with a runaway debt.
