Brief commentary on an electic selection of books and other media relevant to business, the sciences and life-long learning that we think you’ll enjoy.
We’ve been slow in uploading our reviews, but we did want to give you an idea of what’s ahead. Check out our first review: Arabian Nights. We believe that the other, still-unlinked, titles listed are worthy of your consideration. (Not a complete list!)
Ancient
Don’t dismiss ancient (two-millennium-plus) works. They beautifully (and sometimes scarily!) illustrate that human nature doesn’t materially change. It’s only the environment that changes. You’ll find yourself comparing modern people and institutions with the ancients.
- Aesop’s Fables
- Arabian Nights
- Tale of Genji
- The Histories (Herodotus)
- Way of Tau
Classic
Acknowledged top-quality works that have appealed to multiple generations and have withstood the test of time.
- Eustce Diamonds
- Poor Richard’s Almanac
- Origin of Species
- Sherlock Holmes, Volume I
- War and Peace
- Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volumes I, II, III
Contemporary
While not yet acclaimed “Classic,” many of these items have enjoyed best seller status or, in our opinion, offer considerable intellectual or entertainment value. Several of their authors, we think, deserve to be considered a worthy successor to an acknowledged Classic writer. One such is Amor Towles (A Gentleman in Moscow) whose writing is reminiscent of Tolstoy’s — albeit a whole lot less wordy!
Disclaimer: We collaborated on the first item, People, Places and Tough Plastics, with the author, Howard Irvin, now deceased. He was a pioneer in developing ABS plastics used in telephone housing, children’s building bricks and many other “unbreakable” products. He retired as President of Borg Warner International.
- People, Places and Tough Plastics
- Buddha in the Attic
- Forest Bathing
- A Gentleman in Moscow
- Girl in the Window
- The Healer Within
- The Monkey’s Wrench
- A Plague of Frogs
- Sister Carrie
BioFables
These are books in a series we’re writing for children and their parents, teachers and others to spark interest and help learn STEM and other practical subjects. These books are not included in the various Knowledge Branch indexes because each book covers a huge variety of science, humanities and even business topics. The links go to the description in the relevant pages of our BioFables site. You will find detailed information on the topics covered in each chapter of every book.