Mere Mortals Book Reviews

From one of the most distinguished admirals of our time and a former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, a meditation on leadership and character refracted through the lives of ten of the most illustrious naval commanders in history, alongside the 10 characteristics of effective leadership. Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."Above is a typical funny passage that one can find in 'The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe' by Douglas Adams. This is the 2nd book of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy trilogy and follows the adventure of Arthur, Ford, Zaphod and Trillian as they continue their random, absurd, highly illogical journey. They travel through time and space to get a good meal and enjoy the end of the universe.I summarised the book as follows. "The plot (if you can even call it that) is so zany and has so little structure that each chapter could almost be read as a stand-alone short story. What comes out in the writing of Adams is the classic British deadpan humour and his unique gift with wordplay. A fun, forget the troubles of the world type of book. Hope you enjoy it as I did!"I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!If you would like to support the channel, you can grab yourself a copy of the book here! https://amzn.to/3jJEsYsTimeline:(0:00) - Synopsis(2:58) - Wordplay and classic British deadpan(6:08) - Personal Observations(10:27) - Summary (11:55) - Pragmatic Takeaway: Learn some new wordsConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

This episode of the Mere Mortals book review covers 'The Wealth of Nations' by Adam Smith. This is a classic book of economics that lays out the general principles of wealth, particularly in relation to nations. It is a dense, long book to get through and has the old style of English language (it was first published in 1776), making it very difficult to read. I personally could only get through about 10% of the 570-something pages. A good book for those who want to read what would be one of the first ground-breaking books on economics, as long as you are prepared to grind away. I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

An exploration into the inner world of yourself.'Demian' by Hermann Hesse is a psychological journey of facing fear, pursuing the inner voice and preparing oneself for a life of lonesome transcendence. Young Emil Sinclair grows out of adolescence into early manhood with the help from his enigmatic friend Max Demian. The book is narrated by Sinclair and reveals the challenges he must confront to transform beyond his initial, somewhat weak and naïve beginning. I summarised the book as follows. "Somewhat bizarre at times but the calm mood that runs throughout is perfect. I personally gained much wisdom from this book and believe there are many life lessons to be gained from it. Highly recommended, especially for those interested in understanding the inner voice/mind and how it can be used as a force for good."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!If you would like to support the channel, you can grab yourself a copy of the book here! https://amzn.to/3n4gBVvTimeline:(0:00) - Synopsis(4:40) - The inner voices(8:31) - Depression: Requires conscious confrontation to defeat(11:20) - The moral voice and unlearning preconceptions(14:42) - Summary(15:49) - Pragmatic Takeaway: Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

'Invisible Man' is a commentary of American society in the late 1940's as told from the perspective of an unnamed African American narrator. The book is fictional but contains similarities to real events experienced by Ralph Ellison during his lifetime. It changes between pure narration to lyrical prose, poetic drama and even fantastical dreamlike scenarios. The narrator experiences a loss of identity due to the societal insistence of viewing him solely as part of his racial group. He undergoes a journey from hopeful and naïve to hardened and calloused, almost to the point of breaking. It is a sad, gloomy and at times, downright disgusting portrayal of American life (battle royal scene for example) as seen through the eyes of the narrator. Recommended for those looking for a perspective of American racism and willing to endure a long book (581 pages). As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

A book that is 'For Madmen Only'!'Steppenwolf' by Hermann Hesse is the semi-fictional, semi-autobiographical tale of Harry Haller, a man whose nature is part man and part wolf. Hesse wrote this (his 10th novel) in 1927 during a prolonged existential crisis caused by the Great War, marriage problems and a severe depression. It explores themes of suicidal depression, the plurality of inner voices/desires and intense loneliness.I summarised the book as follows. "It's rather gloomy and sad with parts of ecstatic exuberance. It does explore some deep (rather unpleasant) aspects of the human condition and for certain types of people I think will really connect. However, I really didn't like the character of Haller, in fact I detested him. He displayed such bad personal qualities that I found it hard to empathise with him and the ending in the magical theatre was just a bit too weird for me.I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!If you would like to support the channel, you can grab yourself a copy of the book here!https://amzn.to/3DNXHZ1Timeline:(0:00) - Intro & Synopsis(4:02) - Plurality of inner voices(8:26) - The importance of direction(10:00) - Personal Observations(14:54) - Summary(16:09) - Pragmatic Takeaway: Read more Hermann Hesse!Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

What can terrorists teach you about how to negotiate?'Never Split The Difference' by Chris Voss (with Tahl Raz) is about how to use negotiation skills in real life. The main author is an ex-FBI negotiator who learnt the principles of effective negotiation from real world experience with kidnappers, bank robbers, terrorists, sales people, academics and businessmen. The book is an exposition of his main lessons, told through a mix of history, stories, advice and psychology.I summarised the book as follows. "There are some key pieces of information that can be applied to negotiations in every day life. These range from using techniques (such as mirroring and finalising affirmation), creating empathy and controlling your emotions to simple advice (make sure you are negotiating with the people who actually make the decisions). A great book for someone looking to improve their negotiation skills, but without the whole 'system' that usually comes with such books." I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!If you enjoyed this review and would like to support the team, feel free to use our referral link here! https://amzn.to/3kOuEM6Timeline:(0:00) - Synopsis(4:49) - Negotiation tips(8:14) - Never split the difference(13:44) - Summary (15:22) - Pragmatic Takeaway: Examine my own negotiation skills Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

This episode of the Mere Mortals book review covers 'Elon Musk' by Ashlee Vance, published in 2015. The book is a biography of the billionaire and founder (somewhat disputed) of SpaceX, Tesla & SolarCity. We are taken through a journey from his early childhood in South Africa, rich tech startup kid to fighting for his businesses during the 2008 GFC and beyond. A somewhat polarising and temperamental figure at times, the book gives a good insight into his life as well as some of the personality traits that helped him to become one of the richest people on the planet. As always, hope you enjoy!Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

This episode of the Mere Mortals book review covers 'On Liberty' by John Stuart Mill, published in 1859. The book is an essay of his ideas regarding freedom, liberty, the shortcomings of democracy, role of the government and human rights. It is split into 5 parts: introduction, of the liberty of thought and discussion, of individuality as one of the elements of well being, of the limits to the authority of society over the individual and applications.The book is extended in its reach and covers a lot of ground. This is a seminal text on the question of freedom and raises questions that are still asked in today's time. The book is short but the text is difficult to read due to the style and grammar structure of the 19th century. Worth a check out if you are into the ideas of liberty/freedom and are willing to work to understand them. As always, hope you enjoy!If you enjoyed this review and would like to support the team, feel free to use our referral link here! https://amzn.to/3DDbrWoConnect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

This episode of the Mere Mortals book review covers 'Scale: The Universal Laws of Life And Death In Organisms, Cities And Companies' by Geoffrey West. This book promised to deliver so much, but unfortunately fell a little bit short. In it a theoretical physicist turned biologist tries to discover what characteristics of animal, cities and companies are similar independent of size. He manages to show this in some very convincing graphs that occur throughout the book, one of the books actual strong points.The first three chapters are very solid and draw the attention with some interesting, not well known facts (such as that the average life span of heartbeats for just about every mammal is 1.5 billion). It begins to fade in the middle section of the book as he starts beginning some personal digressions, which while entirely in his right (it's his own damn book), are just not super interesting or written in a style that will make you agree/intrigued.He ends with his look at cities and companies, which unfortunately gets bogged down and to me felt like he could have shortened these chapters or make them 'pop' more. A decent book but nothing that will ever be known as a classic. 6.5/10.If you enjoyed this review and would like to support the team, feel free to use our referral link here! https://amzn.to/3DFeU6PConnect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show