Tag Archives: Non Fiction

In My Hands Today…

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The Psychology of Stupidity – edited by Jean-François Marmion, translated by Liesl Schillinger

Stupidity is all around us. But in order to vanquish it, we must first understand it. In The Psychology of Stupidity, some of the world’s leading psychologists and thinkers—including a Nobel Prize winner and bestselling authors—discuss in articles, essays and interviews

  • Why smart people sometimes believe in utter nonsense;
  • How our lazy brains cause us to make the wrong decisions;
  • Why trying to debate fools is a trap;
  • How media manipulation and Internet overstimulation make us dumber;
  • Why the stupidest people don’t think they’re stupid.

In My Hands Today…

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A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders: Surprising Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps – Jonn Elledge

A fascinating and surprising history of the world told through the lines people have drawn on maps

People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very different if a war or treaty or the decisions of a handful of tired Europeans had gone a different way. By telling the stories of these borders, we can learn a lot about how political identities are shaped, why the world looks the way it does—and about human folly.

From the Roman attempts to define the boundaries of civilization, to the secret British-French agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, to the reason why landlocked Bolivia still maintains a navy, this is a fascinating, witty, and surprising look at the history of the world told through its borders.

In My Hands Today…

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Lotharingia: A Personal History of Europe’s Lost Country – Simon Winder

In 843 AD, the three surviving grandsons of the great emperor Charlemagne met at Verdun. After years of bitter squabbles over who would inherit the family land, they finally decided to divide the territory and go their separate ways.

In a moment of staggering significance, one grandson inherited the area we now know as France, another Germany and the third received the piece in between: Lotharingia.

Lotharingia is a history of in-between Europe. It is the story of a place between places. In this beguiling, hilarious, and compelling book, Simon Winder retraces the various powers that have tried to overtake the land that stretches from the mouth of the Rhine to the Alps and the might of the peoples who have lived there for centuries.

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The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World – Peter Frankopan

‘All roads used to lead to Rome. Today, they lead to Beijing.’

When The Silk Roads was published in 2015, it became an instant classic. A major reassessment of world history, it compelled us to look at the past from a different perspective. The New Silk Roads brings this story up to date, addressing the present and future of a world that is changing dramatically.

Following the Silk Roads eastwards, from Europe through to China, by way of Russia and the Middle East, The New Silk Roads provides a timely reminder that we live in a world that is profoundly interconnected. In an age of Brexit and Trump, the themes of isolation and fragmentation permeating the Western world stand in sharp contrast to events along the Silk Roads since 2015, where ties have been strengthened and mutual cooperation established.

With brilliant insight, Peter Frankopan takes a fresh look at the network of relationships being formed along the length and breadth of the Silk Roads today, assessing the global reverberations of these continual shifts in the centre of power – all too often absent from headlines in the West. This important – and ultimately hopeful – book asks us to reassess who we are and where we are in the world, illuminating the themes on which all our lives and livelihood depend.

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The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings from History – Laurence Rees

How could the Nazis have committed the crimes they did? Why did commandants of concentration and death camps willingly – often enthusiastically – oversee mass murder? How could ordinary Germans have tolerated the removal of the Jews? In THE NAZI MIND, bestselling author Laurence Rees combines history and the latest research in psychology to help answer some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why these people were capable of committing the worst crime in the history of the world. Rees traces the rise and eventual fall of the Nazis through the lens of ‘twelve warnings’ – from talk about ‘them’ and ‘us’ to the escalation of racism – whilst also highlighting signs to look out for in present day leaders.

Rees uses previously unpublished testimony from former Nazis and those who grew up in the Nazi system, and in-depth psychological insights including cutting edge work on obedience, authority and the brain. THE NAZI MIND is a revelatory new way of understanding how so many people committed the most appalling crime of the 20th century.