Review of Nelson Mandela: A History From Beginning to End by Henry Freeman

This book review is written by Eugene Kernes

Book can be found in:
Genre = History

Intriguing Connections = 1) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (South Africa) 2) Biographies: Auto, Memoir, and Other Types, 

3) The Persecuted and The Persecutors

Short Description

Elaborate Description

Overview:

Nelson Mandela admired and emulated his father who was in a leadership position.  After his father’s death, Mandela came to be under the care of a cousin, at which Mandela was treated as part of the royal household.  Learning the nuances of traditional leadership of a large and diverse tribe.  Learning about governance, justice, and conflict resolution.  Mandela became a political activist during academic studies, for which he got into trouble.  Mandela’s early activism inspired many similar campaigns domestically and internationally, but it was inspired by the campaigns of Mahatma Gandhi.  Activism got Mandela and other activist leaders thrown in jail and put on trial for treason.  The activists appreciated their time in jail exchanging ideas about politics and strategies.  The verdict of the Treason trials was not guilty, but it had caused the members to be banned and go underground.  Later, Mandela and others started an armed group.  For this, Mandela was put in jail, but not even this stopped his passion and determination for freedom.  The activist group which Mandela belong to decided to break tradition of not celebrating any individual above another, and use Mandela as the personalized representative for the struggle for freedom.  This paved the way for Mandela’s release, and popularity with which he became South Africa’s first democratically elected president.  

Caveats?

This is a very short book, which means that there are a lot of details being left out.  This book is a good start to an understanding of the background of South Africa, but additional sources would be needed.  

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?

•Who was Nelson Mandela?

•What was Mandela’s childhood like?

•What influence did Mandela’s father have on him and the community?

•Where did Mandela learn about leadership?

•Why did Mandela become and activists?

•Why was Mandela put in jail?

•Why was Mandela used as the representative for the activist groups?

•Why did South Africa fight in WW2?

Book Details

Edition ISBN:  2940153546483

Pages to read:   39

Publication:     2017

1st Edition:      2017

Format:           eBook

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    5

Content          3

Overall           3

Review of The Mandela Revolution: A British Soldier's Inside View of His Rise to Power by Huw Lawford

This book review is written by Eugene Kernes

Book can be found in:
Genre = History

Intriguing Connections = 1) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (South Africa) 2) Biographies: Auto, Memoir, and Other Types, 3) War, 4) The Persecuted and The Persecutors, 5) Why Conflict Occurs And How To Resolve Them?, 

6) The Motive, Method, Ideology, and Consequences of Intervention

Short Description

Elaborate Description

Overview:

Nelson Mandela was the first legitimately elected president of South Africa.  A rule that inherited a need to integrate many disparate groups.  This is a personal account of the military aspect of integration, the merging of disparate groups into a homogenous defense force. To facilitate this goal, an external neutral group would be brought in to provide an honest assessment, which would also provide an external stamp of approval.  A group to oversee integration, education and training, and transparency and fairness.  The external neutral party was the British Military Advisory and Training Team which would witness and report on four of the major military groups.  There is an understanding that happens between soldiers, regardless of whom they serve.  What was learned from the early exchanges was that there was no desire for a civil war.  They all had experienced hardships, and knew that change was needed.  There was much understanding, but also misunderstanding as different cultures collided.  Peace was wanted, but tension could not be avoided and was made worse by a few who caused disruptions.  

Mandela showed up himself to deal with certain grievances, but those who had made the grievances came away surprised by how Mandela handled the situation.  Each group’s members needed to adjust to different expectations as the expectations of a government official was vastly different than the political group they belonged to before.  Being formally part of a government had a life of its own, that everyone involved needed to come to understand.  

Apartheid ideology did a lot of harm, but Mandela did not want to promulgate hate.  Mandela wanted negotiation and compromise, not revenge.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was meant for reconciliation, and restorative justice.  

Caveats?

There is not much background on South Africa.  This book acts more of a supplement to an understanding of South Africa during the time.  It is also less about how Mandela got into power, and more about the military aspects of South Africa when Mandela was in power.  

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?

•Who was Nelson Mandela?

•What did Mandela desire from his position and for South Africa?

•Why was there a need to integrate the military?

•What were the major groups that needed to be integrated?

•What was the purpose of the BMATT (SA)?

•What were some cultural misunderstandings? 

•What are some understandings that occurred between the disparate groups?

Book Details

My Edition was provided by via NetGalley

Edition ISBN:  9781399009058

Pages to read:   202

Publication:     2021

1st Edition:      2021

Format:           eBook

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    3

Content          3

Overall           3

Review of Swann's Way by Marcel Proust

This review was written by Eugene Kernes

Book can be found in:
Genre = Novel

Intriguing Connection = Some Kind of Friendship

Short Description

Excerpts

“The truth was that she could never make up her mind to purchase anything from which no intellectual profit was to be derived, and above all, that profit which good things bestowed on us by teaching us to seek our pleasures elsewhere than in the barren satisfaction of worldly wealth.” – Marcel Proust, Overture, Page 40

“Unfortunately, having formed the habit of think aloud, she did not always take care to see that there was no one in the adjoining room.” – Marcel Proust, Combray, Page 51

“He did not, however, draw her attention to this inconsistency, for he thought that, if left to herself, Odette might perhaps produce some falsehood which would give him a faint indication of the truth.” – Marcel Proust, Swann In Love, Page 287

Elaborate Description

Overview:

Told with reminiscence.  Looking back on life’s events, which includes the family friend Charles Swann.  Containing the narrator’s thoughts during the events.  From times of getting into trouble and the unexpected consequences.  To reading experiences and the sources of pleasure.  From family life and the complexity of bonds.  To falling in love and being jealous.  Thoughts that contain the strategizing before an event, to get an appropriate response, and the varied results that ensue. Each event holds more than just what can be observed.  Along the way is an eclectic array of information and philosophy.  Thoughts on history, and the changing times.  The interplay between ideas and their impact on decisions made.  But what happened in the past cannot be changed, and the decisions made have to lived with.  Rationalizations of the past have their limitations.

 

Caveats?

This is a very tedious book to read, containing poor transitions between ideas.  But, the book’s writing is very consistent with the subject, unfiltered thoughts.  Which makes it feel authentic.

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?

•What are some philosophical ideas that interest you?

•Why discuss Swann’s life?

•What were some childhood experiences?

•What were some experiences with books and reading?

•Why do people fall in love?

•Who was important in Swann’s life?

Book Details

Edition ISBN:  9788827526422

Pages to read:   434

Publication:     2017

1st Edition:      1913

Format:            eBook

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    1

Content          1

Overall           1

Review of Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

This review was written by Eugene Kernes

Book can be found in:
Genre = Economics, Research

Intriguing Connections = 1) Why Do People Think Differently?, 2) War for Your Attention, 

3) The Style of Math, 4) How Does Technology Modify Society?, 

5) How Does Data Get Use, And Misused?

Short Description

Elaborate Description

Overview:

Human thoughts are very complex, making many different ways to access them subject to a variety of limitations.  Big data via the internet is very revealing about people.  What people search for is information that can reveal what they are thinking about.  Providing a different way to learn about people.  There are four ways that big data adds value to research which are 1) new types of data, 2) honest data, 3) zoom on small subsets, and 4) generate causal experiments.  The internet is a primary source of data that uses messy traces, unlike traditional sources of data such as surveys and questionnaires which are very neat.  Big data has many limitations as well, but it can help in a variety of situations.  A problem with big data is that as it enables better predictions about human behavior, the information can be misused by corporations and governments leading to various forms of nefarious discrimination activities.

People tend to be way more honest in their search terms rather than what they claim about themselves.  Depending on the context, they can be honest because of potential consequences, or because there are no consequences.  Surveys are usually anonymous, but people still lie on them because they want to look good.  The desirability bias causes people to lie about who they are relative to who they want to be.  Impersonal data tends to be more honest.  People will confess when they are alone rather than in the presence of others.  Facilitates knowing what people do rather than say they do.

Big data facilitates better understanding of the topics which can lead to better resolution methods.  Big data reveals that individuals are not alone in their insecurities and embarrassing behavior.  Making overt covert suffering.  Google data can highlight many vulnerable people, as they might not want to report their trauma to official sources. 

Offline experiments are time consuming and costly.  The digital space enables cheap and fast randomized experiments.  Gaps in understanding can be filled by testing.  Gaps always exist.  

Big data has limitations.  The numbers measure what can be gathered, not necessarily what is wanted or important.  Models created from the data does not indicate the reason why the model works.  Knowing why models work may not be that important.  But with this limitation, there is no indication of insights that can be gained and ways to improve understanding of the topics.  There are data sources in which do facilitate lying rather than honesty.  When there is no incentive to tell the truth, people make themselves appear better.  Online presence is not always anonymous, and can cater to an audience.

Caveats?

The book is well written with plenty of examples and provides a general understanding of the power and complexity of big data.  There are many topics in this book which are very sensitive, as in very private and personal.  As such, the book may not be appropriate for minors.  

Although big data does open up more opportunities to consider how people think, what matters is how the data is interpreted.  There are a variety of interpretations of the data, of which there can be many misleading interpretations.  Big data does offer lots to think about, but not how to think about what it brings up.

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?

•Why is it hard to understand what people think about?

•What can the internet reveal that other methods cannot?

•What are the benefits of big data?

•What are the limits of big data?

•What are the limits of traditional sources and the internet as a source?

•How can big data be misused?

•Why do people deceive others?

•Where can people be honest?

•What is the use of experimentation? 

•What do Americans think of racism? 

•Do newspapers have a bias? 

•Do people go into echo chambers on the internet? 

Book Details

Edition ISBN:  9780062390875

Pages to read:   187

Publication:     2017

1st Edition:      2017

Format:           eBook

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    5

Content          4

Overall           4

Review of In Defense of Troublemakers: The Power of Dissent in Life and Business by Charlan Jeanne Nemeth

This review was written by Eugene Kernes

Book can be found in:

Genre = Decision Making

Intriguing Connections = 1) Why Do People Think Differently?, 2) The Persecuted and The Persecutors, 3) How to Teach? How to Learn?, 4) To Cooperate Or To Defect?, 

5) Why Is Behavior of Individuals Different When They Are in A Group?, 

6) Ways To Help Oneself and Life Lessons, 7) How To Have A Conversation?

Short Description

Elaborate Description

Overview:

This is a book on how to raise decision making quality.  While searching for consensus hurts decision making, dissent improves decision making.  Assuming the majorities claims narrows thinking and creates poorer decisions.  People speak from the majorities perspective even if the individual is not part of the majority.  Dissent broadens thinking by opening up alternative perspectives.  The benefits of dissent are that thinking becomes more divergent, creative, and creates a search for information about the claims raised.  A reason for not raising alternative ideas is the fear of being ridiculed or rejected.  There are ways to reduce persecution such as anonymity.  Dissent should not be created for its own sake, but should be permitted and embraces when it is present.  By not speaking up, the group suffers and misses opportunities.  What matters for the dissenter is how to argue their ideas, as their ideas allow the group to see those different opportunities, some of which can be much better.  

Consensus is a problem when it goes unchallenged.  When the majority has a position, they influence just because of their numbers.  Facts matter little when people think that the number of people who believe something are more likely to be correct.  People can follow the majority whether it is correct or wrong.  Majorities get public agreement without the people believing the majority position.  

Dissent provides value, even when it is wrong, as it breaks blind following of the majority, and it motivates consideration of alternatives.  Dissenter minority voice influences by reason.  Persuasion by dissenter is time consuming, usually indirect, and contains an artful argumentative style.  Consistency in the dissenter is needed for persuasion, but it is not sufficient.  Dissenters change minds in private rather than publicly.  People tend to agree with dissenters in private, but resist in public.

Playing devil’s advocate does not necessarily work because its not authentic dissent, and as such does not stimulate divergent thinking.  Not criticizing others ideas is not a good tactic as it prevents consideration of the alternatives.  

Caveats?

This book is well written to support those who think differently.  Some caveats of the book include research quality and support for dissent.  

Research that is meant to support the claims have mixed quality.  Some are practical and can be applied to real life, others are to abstract to be appropriate supports of the claims made.  The research needs to be considered more carefully before applying some of the claims.  

This book is very partial in disapproving majority thinking, while only supporting dissent.  Although the reasons to favor listening to dissenters and questioning majority are marvelous, it does reduce the complexity of real life which can prevent appropriate application.  There are reasons that people dissent which does not add value to decision making.  The dissenters can have their own motivations which are not for the benefit of the majority, and prevent majority decision which can help the many.  Sometimes dissenters can prevent quality decision making by the majority by coming up with erroneous alternatives.  Too much dissent can be problematic as well.

There is an attempt in making a case for how to go about with a dissent, but it needs a lot of work as there are many ways in which a dissenter who is right can project their views in a manner that makes them appear wrong.  As in, the way a dissenter presents the information, the dissenter can prevent a search for information rather than inspire the search. 

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?

•What makes decision making better and worse? 

•How does the majority influence decisions?  How does the minority?

•Are majorities always right?

•What do dissenters provide? 

•Why do individuals not raise alternative ideas?

•Should dissent be created? 

•How to argue?

•How not to be succumbed by the majority?

•Can the majority become tyranny? 

Book Details

Edition ISBN:  9780465096305

Pages to read:   137

Publication:     2018

1st Edition:      2018

Format:           eBook

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    5

Content          5

Overall           4