Hello, I am your host Aun Abdi and welcome to the monthly One Minute Book Review podcast, where I break down in more detail the books that I have read and reviewed in the previous month.
This week I will be discussing Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, Fire and Fury: Inside The Trump White House by Michael Wolff, Principles by Ray Dalio, The Whistler by John Grisham, 24 Assets by Daniel Priestley and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
If you would like to hear reviews of each, please listen to the separate One Minute Book Reviews (Sapiens:Fire and Fury:Inside The Trump White House: Principles:The Whistler:24 Assets:The Power of Habit)as I will be expanding on my initial reviews made in the One Minute Reviews so it may contain some spoilers.
So let’s get started, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. I gave this book a four-star rating. The rating is justified as trying to fit 14 billion years of history into 400 pages can be difficult. What Yuval does as I highlight in the One Minute Review is break down the impact that these events have had on the course of history. I appreciate his willingness to do so, but his arguments can be a bit radical. For instance, our current busy lives mean our bodies crave sugars and fats, however, as in the past we would have to hunt for these, now we walk to the kitchen. Furthermore, as the coins it part of the ‘greatest scientific revolution’ known as the Gilgamesh project. Amortality to give eternal life for the human race. The persistent theme of the book and the underlying factor is happiness. Are we happier than we were 15,000 years ago as a species? The evidence suggests not as happiness isn’t if at related to material possessions. To sum up, there are a lot of valid arguments made in the book and provides a lot of talking points. But the book does contain many comments full of exaggeration and sensationalism. Worth its four-star rating based on the impact of the arguments. I am due to read his next book Homo Deus soon, which will explore what that future has in store for humans and robots to live simultaneously.
Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff. Again, I rated this book four stars. Not because of the quality of writing style that left little to the imagination in its discursive tone, but more because of the impact of the allegations that were made in the book. Discussions in the book between Trump and Bannon shed some light on what may have been going on in the White House behind the scenes. The book revealed some “truths” that many of us already knew. Such as Trump running for presidency merely as a way to negotiate a bigger contract for a TV show rather than for the presidency itself. It shouldn’t surprise us given the type of person he is, but it is still a remarkable thing. It was said that Trump tower on the night of the election was one of “disbelieve” and “shock”. How can it be that a man not fully invested in being the president can assume the role? Much has been said about the author and the validity of the comments made in the book. The book has become one of the fastest selling non-fiction books in history, which speaks to how much the world’s attention is invested in the US president and his past. I am sceptical of the majority of the conversations that occurred in the book as they seemed staged and overdramatic, more akin to a West Wing episode than the presidency. A good read in the current climate, we will see how it impacts the administration over time.
Principles by Ray Dalio. One of my favourite reads of the month. Ray Dalio is best known for his role as Founder of Bridgewater Associates a highly successful investment company, details some of the principles that helped him achieve a balanced and prosperous life. As mentioned in the review Dalio suggests that we can break these down into Work and Life principles. I would like to talk more about these as I have started to implement them into my own life and they have proved to be very active so far. First of all, Principles can be developed from failures in your own life or things that you would like to establish from looking and observing others. One of the best Principles I found amongst them all was Trust In Truth. Truth can be a difficult thing to come to terms with our work and lives, however, if we peel back the curtain of right and wrong we can find the truth in anything. I found this very helpful when trying to find personal truths that I was addressing about myself and the people around me. Finding this can be tough but and requires radical transparency between both or multiple parties. I found that this is the case in both works and your personal life. I will be implementing this in more detail and will update when I feel it has more of an impact. The majority of the book focuses on how to create the right company culture, managing teams, hiring prospective employees, and remembering Pareto’s 80/20 principle. I have found that the 80/20 Principle has frequently been mentioned in the last couple of the business books I have reviewed, I will be looking to discuss this soon. Dalio provides a lot of tangible value in Principles and is the reason why I rated it five stars; it will be a book I frequently visit for a source of inspiration.
The Whistler by John Grisham. I am a fan of John Grisham and the genre that he has all most certainly got control of, that being the thriller/action. The Whistler tells the story of an investigator Lacy Stoltz as she tries to infiltrate a casino syndicate that has ties to judges in the area. I rated this book three stars which disappoints me as I am a fan of John Grisham but this book disappointed. It had the usual John Grisham honesty between the characters but lacked the punch when it came to the storyline itself. As I mentioned in the One Minute Book Review it was far too predictable, from Lacy’s partner being injured seriously, to the judge’s action and the ending, there was nothing that I felt jumped out of the page and surprised me. That’s all I have to say, I could have given it fewer stars but felt that the way the characters were structured made up for the storyline.
24 Assets by Daniel Priestley. Probably the most technical business-related book I have read. I rated it four stars as I believed someone who wants to set up their business it provided a lot of value. Priestley discusses what he considers the 24 assets that companies need to thrive in a fast-changing world. The 24 Assets contribute towards the overall impact of a successful business. I haven’t read anything similar to this in the past; it is very in depth and descriptive towards companies and entrepreneurs. The critical distinction made in the book is between setting up a lifestyle and performance business. A lifestyle business focuses on revenue between £300-£2Million, and the emphasis is on enjoying life and a particular type of a lifestyle. The other is a performance business which is higher stress and firefighting much of the time. Both can prove to be successful with the right strategy, which is dependent on your market and own personal goals. In more depth, the assets that Priestley explains are broken down into seven main categories. Some of the main one including Brand assets, which include philosophy and identity. Product assets a core-product and a product for clients. And the most important I think culture assets. These include a key person of influence, which is a lifestyle business would be easy to maintain, however as a company grows this proves to be a bit more difficult given its size and complexity. Priestley has another book with the title Key Person of Influence which I am due to review soon, so keep your eyes and ears out for that. 24 assets is a good read for anyone who wants to learn about business assets and the impact they have on the development of a business. In the One Minute Review, I explained how there is a lot of value for casual readers. That may have been an exaggeration on reflection although there is value, it is possibly not as digestible as I initially thought. However, if you’re business-minded, this book will give you a tremendous amount of value.
Lastly, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. A close call for my favourite book of the month next to Principles. The book highlights how habits shape our habits more than we think so. From day-to-day tasks to shopping and much more, habits dictate how we live our lives. Businesses have used this to their advantage by advertising in an enticing way to sell us a habit that we want rather than the product itself. Habit formation centres on the process known as the ‘habit loop’. The habit loop is a fascinating finding and is rooted in a three-step process. The first being a CUE, a trigger that puts the brain into a certain mode. For instance, if you’re feeling stressed or tired you may need a cigarette to calm your nerves and relax you. It is easier to fix bad habits come from when you’re able to identify cause of the habit. Later on, in the book Duhigg highlights that a way to treat bad habits such as nail biting in one participant’s case was to write down her feelings when a cue to bite her nails was felt. What that was able to do was to realise when the habit occurred how she felt and therefore able to address it. The second part of the habit loop is ROUTINE. Routine is either physical, mental or emotional. The routine is the hardest and most painful thing to change the habit loop. It requires diligence and practise but will produce rewards in the process. The last part is the REWARD, simply enough it tells the brain whether the whole loop to that point is worth remembering, and if so will make sure to follow the same loop again. The Habit Loop was interesting to read and opened my eyes to addressing some of the bad habits I have and how to address them. The golden rule to this habit change, as made famous by Tom Dungy an NFL coach, was to keep the CUE and REWARD the same but just adjust the routine. Easier said than done I know! I could talk at real lengths about this book, and I hope to do so in the future but lastly what I liked about this book was what is known as keystone habits. You’re probably wondering what these are? Keystone habits are habits that once actioned produce other habits as a result. For example, if you were to start exercising more regularly then more than likely you will begin to eat healthier as well. These are habits that cause a chain reaction of habits that let other good habits spawn as well. For example, one keystone habit that I am interested in researching further is meditation. Meditation has both psychological and physical benefits such as reduced blood pressure and a better immune system. Meditation is correlated with increased memory and awareness, reduced stress and anxiety, and improved goal-setting. Meditation is associated with expanded consciousness and awareness, reduced stress and anxiety, and increased goal-setting. Seems to good to be real right?! I have signed up for a class in a couple of weeks so hopefully can feedback and tell a bit more then. Habits are crucial to our lives and living them successfully; if you believe that to be true, then I highly suggest you purchase this book.
That sums up today’s monthly episode looking forward to updating on next month’s reads as well. Please like and subscribe to all the social media’s below and also let me know if there are any books you would like me to review and discuss in detail.
Thanks for reading.
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