Get ready for a unique experiences
Too many topics, and too few books.
Each of the books on the list today, deals with a unique topic. From a disease that made people dance to the Ebola outbreak, a lot of ground is covered.
If you are looking for something new to read, these books are a perfect pick.
We have compiled a short summary of each of them. Hope you’ll like them.
This story is crazy.
Have you heard of people dancing till they die?
That happened in 1518. In July of 1518, a girl named Frau Toffea started to dance uncontrollably. Other people joined in.
“The minds of the choreomaniacs were drawn inwards tossed about on the violent seas of their deepest fears.”
They danced for days and weeks on end, collapsing from tiredness and dehydration. Some even died.
This book details this bizarre incident in history. It took place in Strasbourg.
The writer analyzes the issues of that time and what might have been the cause of this bewildering illness. People of that time though viewed it as a spiritual disease bestowed as punishment by a Saint.
The dancing plague reminds me of the hysterical jerkings of people who are attending mass communions or spiritual gatherings. You must have seen some footage of a preacher blessing a gathering and some people going berserk.
Waller concludes that this illness was indeed psychological, a psychic contagion.
This book is a rather interesting one because it tells you about a historical event that is surely hard to believe.
Buy A Time to Dance, a Time to Die: The Extraordinary Story of the Dancing Plague of 1518 by John Waller On Amazon
2. The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization by Peter Zeihan
Is the world going to go in reverse?
This book provides a rather frightening view of the future of the world’s global trade.
The author does make some sweeping assumptions.
He says that the current trade and political order exists because of America. As the writer puts it, the economic landscape is “addicted to American strategic and tactical overwatch.”
America is not going to sustain it for much longer, he says. Global trade will fall apart.
“We are completely capable as a species of devolving into a fractured, dark, poor, hungry world while still increasing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Well, I might be wrong but I thought China was an up-and-coming superpower.
However, the author says that in the 2020s the world will fall apart. He predicts a future where all the countries will have to produce their own goods and grow their own food.
“One way or another, our “normal” is going to end, and end soon.”
An interesting outlook for sure. People outside America might have a hard time relating to this book.
Are ghosts real?
The author has a PhD in psychology.
He has also performed as a magician in his teenage years.
Wiseman rejects the existence of the supernatural. Things like ghosts and psychic readings.
To back his claim up, he explains the human tendency to believe in the unseen. He also goes into detail about various techniques used by psychics, ghost hunters, etc.
“Our beliefs do not sit passively in our brains waiting to be confirmed or contradicted by incoming information. Instead, they play a key role in shaping how we see the world.”
Through psychological evidence and scientific research, the author makes us skeptical about the paranormal.
According to the book, most of the paranormal experiences can be explained through confirmation bias and the placebo effect.
This book will leave you feeling empowered as you learn the tricks employed by those who claim to be well-versed in paranormal activities.
Liar liar! Pants on fire!
Tania Head was a survivor of the 9/11 attacks. Her fiance died in the collapse of the twin towers.
In the years to come, she became a champion for the survivors. She met politicians and led the group of survivors.
But…
It was all a lie. A fabricated story. Tania, whose real name was Alicia Estevez Head, was not in the US when the 9/11 attacks occurred.
This book tells her story.
“On September 27, 2007, the headline on the front page of the Times read, ‘In a 9/11 Survival Tale, the Pieces Just Don’t Fit.’”
She was from Barcelona. She came to the US in 2002. After reading up on the 9/11 attacks, she fabricated a story and got into the spotlight.
She was finally exposed in 2007.
“So is Alicia delusional? Does she really believe her alternative reality? Some experts believe so.”
The book also gets into her possible motives. Alicia’s trauma therapist, Sam Kedem says that she has an extreme need to solicit attention.
This book will break your heart and make you angry.
Are we failing in dealing with addiction?
This book takes us to the rehab centers, the doctors prescribing addictive medication, and the role of politicians.
The author discusses in detail how addiction has been dealt with and what can be done better.
“I wanted to be honest and to live life without the looming fear of having to hide something”
Fisher, a doctor himself, has struggled with addiction too. His experience adds a personal touch to the book.
“While there may be no natural cut point between people with addiction and the rest of humanity, the fact of a continuum does not mean we cannot discern one state from another.”
The author also talks about racism. It is assumed that non-white people are more addicted. As Fisher shows us, that is not the case.
This book will fill you with empathy for those struggling with addiction.
What are we missing about happiness?
The most interesting thing in this book is the difference between pleasure and happiness.
The author says that pleasure is felt in the body through the hormone dopamine.
Happiness and contentment are experienced through the hormone serotonin.
Dopamine is addictive.
“Pleasure (reward) is the emotional state where your brain says, This feels good — I want more, while happiness (contentment) is the emotional state where your brain says, This feels good — I don’t want or need any more.”
When there is a constant release of dopamine, it overwhelms serotonin. This unbalance can lead to a number of mental disorders like depression, anxiety, etc.
What are corporations selling us?
Pleasure.
Be it sugar or social media, all of them are killing our happiness.
“… the frequent checking of cell phones, waiting for something to change, is linked to anxiety and depression. Of course, again, correlation is not causation.”
This book will open your eyes for the better.
Humans’ search for knowledge will never end.
Deutsch tells us about mankind’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
He says that all progress comes from the human desire to explain stuff. And this doesn’t happen through senses only. It also happens through thinking and analyzing.
“There is only one way of thinking that is capable of making progress, or of surviving in the long run, and that is the way of seeking good explanations through creativity and criticism.”
The author puts to rest the claims that human progress will stop.
We don’t know what is there to be discovered. So, the progress must go on.
“The ability to create and use explanatory knowledge gives people a power to transform nature…”
Humans guess stuff. And then they try to find supporting evidence. This is how knowledge is formed.
The author gives the example of stars shining in the sky. No human has visited a faraway star. Yet we know they are a ball of burning gasses.
This book will make you look forward to the future in anticipation of what is to come.
Ebola, where did it come from?
Not going to lie, the details in this book are horrifying.
I have heard of Ebola in passing terms. But is it this invasive and deadly? I didn’t know.
“When people asked him why he didn’t work with those viruses, he replied, I don’t particularly feel like dying.”
The Ebola virus invades all the soft tissue and causes severe vomiting and bleeding.
The author tells us about the Kitum Cave, where two tourists had caught a filovirus. The author also goes to explore the Kitum cave, albeit in a hazmat suit.
“You can’t fight off Ebola the way you fight off a cold. Ebola does in ten days what it takes AIDS ten years to accomplish”
The percentage of people dying from Ebola is huge.
As many as 90% of those affected by Ebola die.
History, archeology, and adventure.
‘The Lost City of the Monkey God’ or the ‘White City’ as it is known has been the stuff of legends.
The author tells us about its history and background.
“No civilization has survived forever.”
After that, Preston also tells us about his own search for the Lost City. His experience reads like an adventure. He talks about what they encounter on the quest. Snakes, jaguars, insects, and more.
“The Maya created a vibrant and brilliant society that, in the end, failed to adjust to a changing environment and the needs of its people…”
When the team comes back from the expedition, they are struck by the ‘deadly leishmaniasis.’
The author tells us about the struggles after the team was affected.
The book also reminds us about the importance of acquainting ourselves with our history.
Art and Paris…
Impressionism is a painting style. It includes small visible brushstrokes.
Through the scene of arts in Paris in the 19th century, the author tells us about the rise of the impressionist style.
“The Emperor believed that these tyrannical methods had been necessary in order to forge the thriving, modern nation that France had finally become.”
He also acquaints us with two famous painters, Ernest Meissonier and Édouard Manet. There are other artists too.
The author explores the connection between arts and politics.
“Top hats and frock coats were by 1863 a distinctly modern costume.”
We travel back to the 19th century as we visit different art galleries in Paris. This book is filled with art, history, and political realities.
If you are an art lover, you will enjoy it. I must warn you though, this book is a bit dense.
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