Atlas Male, 37, Single. Philippines

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  • China Safari International Edition (3)
  • By Paolo Woods, Serge Michel, Michel Beuret
  • Finished on Oct 13, 2011
    
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  China Safari International Edition

  

  For me, this book is quite an eye opener on the state of Sino - African relationship as well as to the power and reach of modern day China.The book is well written and in my view, "balanced" in its portrayal of China both as a partner and exploiter of Africa. However, I should also say that the auth ... (continue)

  For me, this book is quite an eye opener on the state of Sino - African relationship as well as to the power and reach of modern day China.The book is well written and in my view, "balanced" in its portrayal of China both as a partner and exploiter of Africa. However, I should also say that the authors show a woefully and pathetically little understanding of Chinese culture and by extension, the Chinese psyche, which is understandable since the authors are journalists and not anthropologists per se. The authors first provided a micro view of China in Africa, which though balanced tends to be skewed to the negative either due to their personal bias or due to lack of understanding of Chinese culture. This is followed in the latter half (more like latter third) of the book which focused more on the macro aspect of the Sino - African relationship. This is the part wherein the views are more accurately balanced as the authors frame the relationship on a more historical and political - economic context. Because of such structure of the book, I wouldn't strongly recommend this book to the casual reader as the casual reader could be strongly influenced by the first part of the book. I would however, recommend that interested reader to first gain a rudimentary understanding of colonial and post colonial Africa so as to better form an opinion on the subject matter. On a more personal note, I find some of the descriptions of Chinese made by Africans regarding their attitude, their work ethics, their relationship with the locals to be eerily familiar being myself a descendant of Chinese immigrants. As such, I would rather view the comments both disparaging and praiseworthy on a social - cultural context rather than on a economic - political one as expounded by the authors

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  — Oct 14, 2011 | Add your feedback

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  • The Miracle (7)
  • The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth
  • By Michael Schuman
  • Finished on Nov 30, 2011
    
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  The Miracle

  

  An exhaustive history of the Asian Miracle. Colorful, at times funny, and matter of factly, concise, this book by Michael Schuman attempts to "discover" the true story of the Asian Miracle and I'm convinced that he did.
  As the saying goes, "History is but the story of Great Men" and this adage is ... (continue)

  An exhaustive history of the Asian Miracle. Colorful, at times funny, and matter of factly, concise, this book by Michael Schuman attempts to "discover" the true story of the Asian Miracle and I'm convinced that he did.
  As the saying goes, "History is but the story of Great Men" and this adage is no else true than in pages of Michael Schuman's opus. Michael tells the history of the Miracle through its most visible champions, the legendary entreprenuers of Asia from Akio Morito to Azim Premji and the political leaders that "push" for the Miracle to happen from Park Chun Hee to Lee Kuan Yew to Deng Xiao Peng to VJ Singh. Michael details the unwavering visions and the legendary determinations of these champions from its inception to its continuation, often with a hint of admiration and respect even if, Michael Schuman do have critical views on some of the political leaders, most especially, Lee Kuan Yew. This book is filled with anecdotes and quotes of these legends that I find valuable, encouraging, and uplifting and for that alone, it is worth the read.
  Lastly, the last chapter of the book provided the best defense as to why the current regime of trade globalization should be maintained and not isolationalism as advocated by some economic nationalists. Again, that alone is worth the read.

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  — Jan 29, 2012 | Add your feedback

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  • KFC in China (3)
  • Secret Recipe for Success
  • By Warren K Liu
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  • The Bottom Billion (43)
  • Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
  • By Paul Collier
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  • The Aztecs (2)
  • (Peoples of America)
  • By Michael Ernest Smith
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  • The Incas (1)
  • By Terence N. D'Altroy
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  • A History of the Roman Republic (2)
  • By Klaus Bringmann
  • Finished on Jan 29, 2012
    
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  A History of the Roman Republic

  *** This comment contains spoilers! ***

  

  Superbly written even though it is a translation from the original German works of the author. The manner of writing is in the spirit of Edward Gibbon (probably injected by it's English translator)but lack its grandiloquence. Incisive analysis and vivid narration but not too detailed as to bore the ... (continue)

  Superbly written even though it is a translation from the original German works of the author. The manner of writing is in the spirit of Edward Gibbon (probably injected by it's English translator)but lack its grandiloquence. Incisive analysis and vivid narration but not too detailed as to bore the reader. The book has just the right amount of detail to show the fine deflection points in the history of the Roman Republic on its way to become the Roman Empire. As such, this book is an engaging read for me to the extent that combined with its notoriously long chapters and few sections per chapter, I do not know where to find a break in its narration as to afford me a pause for my engrossing read.
  For the unintiated in the study of history, there are two contending thoughts on the view of history. The first viewed history as a deliberate, conscious, logical step by step progress slowly moving towards a strategic goal. The other viewed history as one of many series of accidents and unintended consequences arising from and exploited by power hungry opportunists, disenfranchised plebs, and unwavering idealist alike. This book clearly paints the latter view in its pages. The introduction of so vast a number of characters and personalities serves only to highlights such view. However, despite the parade of individuals that have a major influence in the development of the history of the Roman Republic, I lament that the author didn't put more words in elucidiating the complex motive and thinking of the most important characters in narration of the history of the Republic, namely that of Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, Sulla, Pompeii, and ultimately, Julius Caesar and Augustus. Although I submit that a few more lines or perhaps an entire chapter wouldn't do enough justice to analyze these personalities, which by their own would warrant a separate book.

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  — Jan 29, 2012 | Add your feedback

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  • The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt (26)
  • (Oxford Illustrated Histories)
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  • Light This Candle (1)
  • The Life and Times of Alan Shepard
  • By Neal Thompson
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  • The Art of Choosing (13)
  • By Sheena Iyengar
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  • Day of Empire (12)
  • How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance--and Why They Fall
  • By Amy Chua
  • Started on Jul 5, 2011
    
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  • The Dollar Meltdown (2)
  • Surviving the Impending Currency Crisis with Gold, Oil, and Other Unconventional Investments
  • By Charles Goyette
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  • Free (146)
  • The Past and Future of a Radical Price
  • By Chris Anderson
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  • World Without Islam (1)
  • By Graham E Fuller
  • Finished on Apr 6, 2011
    
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  World Without Islam

  *** This comment contains spoilers! ***

  

  Despite it's provocative title, this book is definitely NOT about anti - Islam. Contrary, the book is pretty much pro - Islam arguing that factors other than Islam that are the root cause of today's problem in the middle east with Islam being, to use the author's word, an "unified vehicle" to presen ... (continue)

  Despite it's provocative title, this book is definitely NOT about anti - Islam. Contrary, the book is pretty much pro - Islam arguing that factors other than Islam that are the root cause of today's problem in the middle east with Islam being, to use the author's word, an "unified vehicle" to present their grievances against the west. From what I understand from reading the book, the author intended this book to be a rebuttal or an anti - thesis to the more controversial book, "The Clash of Civilization", in which the Islamic civilization is painted as patentedly anti - western by nature.
  Although I whole-heartedly agree with the premise of this book, I have to say that I have reservation on SOME of it's proofs that the author used as arguments to justify his premise. Being an amateur historian myself, I felt some of the proofs are "bent, twisted, stretched and at times reinterpreted" to fit his arguments. Furthermore, despite the author's pro - Islamic bent, I do felt that he do carry that Western bias in the interpretation of facts. Finally, the last chapter of book is about policy recommendation to the Obama adminstration on how to handle American's middle eastern policy. And in here, the author showed his idealistic, far left ideological leanings...
  Despite all of this, I find it both interesting and thought provoking about the author's comparison of Islam to the various Christian heresies and ultimately to the Protestant Reformation movement. I recommend this as a must read as a counter balance to the book "The Clash of Civilization" but beware of the book's pitfalls as mentioned.

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  — Apr 10, 2011 | Add your feedback

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  • The Order of Things (105)
  • An Archaeology of Human Sciences (Vintage)
  • By Michel Foucault
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