What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Concise 33 Strategies of War’

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Updated 02 April 2023
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Concise 33 Strategies of War’

  • Part two delves into organizational or team warfare, command-and-control, “controlled-chaos” and morale

“The Concise 33 Strategies of War” was written by Robert Greene and produced by Joost Ellferson in 2006.

It contains timeless lessons based on centuries of religious, political and philosophical views on warfare.

Greene’s third book draws upon military history, business management and psychology.

The 33 strategies of the title are divided into five parts. Part one, “Self-directed Warfare,” talks of the necessity of cutting ties with past fears and temporary emotions in the face of conflict.

It says that to become a “true strategist,” one must understand that emotional subjectivity can cloud strategies, that waging war on oneself is crucial to leave that comfortable space and that one must win the battle against themselves first.

Greene argues that impartiality does not exist. “A sharply worded question, an opinion designed to offend, will make them react and take sides.”

Part two delves into organizational or team warfare, command-and-control, “controlled-chaos” and morale.

Parts three and four, defensive and offensive war respectively, tackle deterrence strategies or how to create a threatening presence and how to pick your battles and win the war.

In part five, “Unconventional (Dirty) War,” Greene says that “to try to stay clean out of a sense of morality is to risk defeat.”

Greene is a best-selling author of numerous other books that combine and connect rich and dense texts into one guide. He wrote his famous texts “The 48 Laws of Power,” “The Art of Seduction,” and “Mastery.”

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘What Insects Do, and Why’

Updated 16 December 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘What Insects Do, and Why’

Author: Ross Piper

“What Insects Do, and Why” takes you on an unforgettable tour of the insect world, presenting these amazing creatures as you have never seen them before. 

This stunningly illustrated guide explores how insects live, ranging from elegant displays of courtship to brutal acts of predation, and provides insights into the marvelous diversity of insects all around us.

Along the way, Ross Piper discusses insect evolution, reproduction and life cycles, feeding strategies, defenses, sociality, parasite-host interactions, human impacts on insects, and more.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Brainjacking’

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Updated 15 December 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Brainjacking’

  • The book examines how techniques such as storytelling, advertising and political strategies are used to inform, influence, and manipulate people

Author: Brian Clegg

The 2024 book “Brainjacking: The Science of Influence and Manipulation” by Brian Clegg delves into the ways science and technology influence human behavior and decision-making.

I read this fascinating 288-page book cover-to-cover in one go. The writing style is fluid and not too cumbersome.

“‘The Matrix’ film portrayed a visceral, fictional kind of brainjacking, which is the term I’m using to indicate mechanisms that enable our brains to be changed by others, often without conscious awareness that this is happening,” Clegg writes, explaining his choice in title.

“This is entirely different from brainwashing,” he continues. “Brainjacking is a more subtle, far more widespread, and more interesting activity.”

The book examines how techniques such as storytelling, advertising and political strategies are used to inform, influence, and manipulate people. The book connects hot topics like artificial intelligence, big data, and subliminal messaging to reveal both the obvious and subtle forms of manipulation in modern life.

Clegg, a writer known for making complex scientific ideas accessible to general audiences, is the perfect author for this topic. Two of the British author’s previously published books were longlisted for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books.

With a background in physics, Clegg explores the intersections of science, technology and human behavior.

At the end of “Brainjacking,” he writes: “If there is one takeaway, I would like to stress that it is to be more aware of ‘brainjacking’ as it happens all around — both to you and by you. Embrace it where it's good; reject it where it is negative. But most of all, enjoy this particularly human activity.”

 


What We Are Reading Today: Wassily Kandinsky

Updated 15 December 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: Wassily Kandinsky

Authors: Larry Warsh and Dieter Buchhart

The great Russian modernist painter and theorist Wassily Kandinsky was one of the pioneers of abstraction in Western art.

Few documents provide more insight into his evolution from figural to abstract art—or into the development of abstraction in the early 20th century—than the pages of his sketchbooks.

Featuring previously unpublished drawings, “Wassily Kandinsky: The Sketchbooks” is a comprehensive selection of hundreds of sketches from 12 notebooks Kandinsky kept between 1889 and 1935.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Rising Sea’ by Ravi Vakil

Updated 14 December 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Rising Sea’ by Ravi Vakil

Decades ago, Mumford wrote that algebraic geometry “seems to have acquired the reputation of being esoteric, exclusive, and very abstract, with adherents who are secretly plotting to take over all the rest of mathematics.”

The revolution has now fully come to pass and has fundamentally changed how we think about many fields of mathematics.

This book provides a thorough foundation in the powerful ideas that now shape the landscape, with an informal yet rigorous exposition that builds intuition for the formidable machinery. 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals’

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Updated 14 December 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals’

  • The book has a recipe for nearly every taste and mood and offers up ways to make various baked goods, casseroles, meaty dishes and desserts such as cakes, puddings, pies and more

Living legend Dolly Parton, known for her big blonde hair and larger-than-life personality, released her 2024 cookbook “Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals,” with her younger sister, Rachel Parton George, celebrating family, food and love.

The book is divided into 12 chapters, each representing a different month of the year, filled with seasonal dishes.

These meals are not just about cooking, but reflect the sisters’ shared memories, traditions and creative approaches to food. The sisters emphasize that cooking is a way to express love and bring people together, with Parton noting: “Food for the heart, food for the mind, food for the soul, and food for the table.”

While not everyone can whip up lyrics like Parton, who famously wrote massive hits “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day, the book gives us each a chance to make a symphony with ingredients, and lovers of her work can create meals that will make their stomachs sing in their own kitchens.

The collection includes a variety of recipes ranging from playful dishes such as February’s Garden Salad with Miracle Madness Dressing to April’s Slaw of Many Colors (nod to her song title) and October’s Brainiac Jell-O to classic comfort foods, with stories attached to each meal that connect to their upbringing and the women who inspired their cooking.

The book has a recipe for nearly every taste and mood and offers up ways to make various baked goods, casseroles, meaty dishes and desserts such as cakes, puddings, pies and more.

You will find plenty of classic southern favorites that will be slathered, battered and devoured.

For Parton and George, the kitchen has always been the heart of their home. They write: “The kitchen— any kitchen — is so much more than a room. It’s often the center of the home.”

The sisters remember how cooking was central to their family life, with Parton stepping up to cook when their mother could not. In the spirit of their shared experiences, the cookbook offers more than just meals; it’s an invitation to create memories around the table with loved ones.

“Good Lookin’ Cookin’” is a heartfelt gift from the Parton sisters, blending personal stories and delicious recipes — inviting readers to share in the joy and nourishment that food can provide. Even after you’ve worked from 9-5.

Parton sums it up with: “We hope this book brings as much joy and nourishment to others as it has to us.”