Rate The Last Book You Read!

[Federate]

Re: Rate The Last Book You Read!

Very interesting = 6.5/10?

[MrHyeSev]

Re: Rate The Last Book You Read!

Very interesting = 6.5/10?

Ya, not the best book I've read, there were some lame parts but oither than that it was a good book

[Siggie]

Re: Rate The Last Book You Read!

I finished reading the book
Night Kills
...very interesting

I give it a 6.5/10

You might want to give the author since there can be multiple books with the same titles sometimes. I assume you meant Lutz's Night Kills?
I'm glad you're reading, but may I suggest something like 1984 for your next read if you're ready to graduate to something more substantive?

[Siggie]

Re: Rate The Last Book You Read!

Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . .
Phillip Plait, Ph.D.

9/10

Very well done. Nothing short of what I would expect from Phil.
It's interesting and very accessible thanks to his gift for explaining complex cosmological/astronomical phenomena for the layperson.

A lively astronomy primer that uses cataclysmic scenarios to explain the universe’s most fascinating events.

According to astronomer Philip Plait, the universe is an apocalypse waiting to happen But how much do we really need to fear from things like black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and supernovae? And if we should be scared, is there anything we can do to save ourselves? With humor and wit, Plait details the myriad doomsday events that the cosmos could send our way to destroy our planet and life as we know it. This authoritative yet accessible study is the ultimate astronomy lesson.

Combining fascinating—and often alarming—scenarios that seem plucked from science fiction with the latest research and opinions, Plait illustrates why outer space is not as remote as most people think. Each chapter explores a different phenomenon, explaining it in easy-to-understand terms, and considering how life on earth and the planet itself would be affected should the event come to pass. Rather than sensationalizing the information, Plait analyzes the probability of these catastrophes occurring in our lifetimes and what we can do to stop them. With its entertaining tone and enlightening explanation of unfathomable concepts, Death from the Skies! will appeal to science buffs and beginners alike.

[Federate]

Re: Rate The Last Book You Read!

^ This is how a review should be done.

[MrHyeSev]

You might want to give the author since there can be multiple books with the same titles sometimes. I assume you meant Lutz's Night Kills?
I'm glad you're reading, but may I suggest something like 1984 for your next read if you're ready to graduate to something more substantive?

Yes, Siggie it was by John Lutz

^ This is how a review should be done.

Ok Fed for the next book that I complete I will give more of a review on it.

[Siggie]

Re: Rate The Last Book You Read!

Ok Fed for the next book that I complete I will give more of a review on it.

Edit your review and add the author and a link or something. You don't need to wait for the next one.

[KarotheGreat]

Re: Rate The Last Book You Read!

Last book I read was ' Why Nations Fail' by Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson
Daron is also an Armenian!

Here is a summary of the book:

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?

Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?

Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories.

Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including:

- China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West?
- Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority?
- What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More
philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions?

Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.

I give this book a 8.5 out of 10. Really great book, amazing theory, but some economical parts were too simplified in my opinion. It was an easy read and the examples that were given were amazing. Because of this book I want to go and see Botswana as soon as possible.