Abhishek's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 19 Dec 2022 20:51:54 -0800 60 Abhishek's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #2)]]> 23168817 512 Liu Cixin Abhishek 4 4.39 2008 The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #2)
author: Liu Cixin
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/12/19
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Entirely different from the first part . Great premise setup for the last part .
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<![CDATA[The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)]]> 20518872 472 Liu Cixin Abhishek 4 4.07 2006 The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)
author: Liu Cixin
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2022/05/28
date added: 2022/05/28
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Unique take on building science fiction universe . Like the cleverly woven philosophica, political and religious perspectives . One notable point is it moves along the lines of keeping theoritical science , intact . This is the onset of an interesting universe.
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<![CDATA[The Body: A Guide for Occupants]]> 43582376 A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe.

Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up.

A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this book will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again.]]>
450 Bill Bryson 0385539304 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.30 2019 The Body: A Guide for Occupants
author: Bill Bryson
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/05/25
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<![CDATA[The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World]]> 1918305
Apparently, the happiest places on earth include, somewhat unexpectedly, Iceland, Bhutan, and India. Weiner also visits the country deemed most malcontent, Moldova, and finds real merit in the claim.

But the question remains: What makes people happy? Is it the freedom of the West or the myriad restrictions of Singapore? The simple ashrams of India or the glittering shopping malls of Qatar?
From the youthful drunkenness of Iceland to the despond of Slough, a sad but resilient town in Heathrow's flight path, Weiner offers wry yet profound observations about the way people relate to circumstance and fate.

Both revealing and inspirational, perhaps the best thing about this hilarious trip across four continents is that for the reader, the "geography of bliss" is wherever they happen to find themselves while reading it.]]>
335 Eric Weiner 0446580260 Abhishek 4 3.84 2008 The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
author: Eric Weiner
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/05/24
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<![CDATA[21 Lessons for the 21st Century]]> 38820046 In Sapiens, he explored our past. In Homo Deus, he looked to our future. Now, one of the most innovative thinkers on the planet turns to the present to make sense of today's most pressing issues.

How do computers and robots change the meaning of being human? How do we deal with the epidemic of fake news? Are nations and religions still relevant? What should we teach our children?

Yuval Noah Harari's 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today's most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, hacking becomes a tactic of war, and the world feels more polarized than ever, Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive.

In twenty-one accessible chapters that are both provocative and profound, Harari builds on the ideas explored in his previous books, untangling political, technological, social, and existential issues and offering advice on how to prepare for a very different future from the world we now live in: How can we retain freedom of choice when Big Data is watching us? What will the future workforce look like, and how should we ready ourselves for it? How should we deal with the threat of terrorism? Why is liberal democracy in crisis?

Harari's unique ability to make sense of where we have come from and where we are going has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. Here he invites us to consider values, meaning, and personal engagement in a world full of noise and uncertainty. When we are deluged with irrelevant information, clarity is power. Presenting complex contemporary challenges clearly and accessibly, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is essential reading.]]>
372 Yuval Noah Harari 0525512179 Abhishek 0 4.15 2018 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
author: Yuval Noah Harari
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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Open 6480781
Agassi’s incredibly rigorous training begins when he is just a child. By the age of thirteen, he is banished to a Florida tennis camp that feels like a prison camp. Lonely, scared, a ninth-grade dropout, he rebels in ways that will soon make him a 1980s icon. He dyes his hair, pierces his ears, dresses like a punk rocker. By the time he turns pro at sixteen, his new look promises to change tennis forever, as does his lightning-fast return.

And yet, despite his raw talent, he struggles early on. We feel his confusion as he loses to the world’s best, his greater confusion as he starts to win. After stumbling in three Grand Slam finals, Agassi shocks the world, and himself, by capturing the 1992 Wimbledon. Overnight he becomes a fan favorite and a media target.

Agassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match and every relationship. Never before has the inner game of tennis and the outer game of fame been so precisely limned. Alongside vivid portraits of rivals from several generations—Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer—Agassi gives unstinting accounts of his brief time with Barbra Streisand and his doomed marriage to Brooke Shields. He reveals a shattering loss of confidence. And he recounts his spectacular resurrection, a comeback climaxing with his epic run at the 1999 French Open and his march to become the oldest man ever ranked number one.

In clear, taut prose, Agassi evokes his loyal brother, his wise coach, his gentle trainer, all the people who help him regain his balance and find love at last with Stefanie Graf. Inspired by her quiet strength, he fights through crippling pain from a deteriorating spine to remain a dangerous opponent in the twenty-first and final year of his career. Entering his last tournament in 2006, he’s hailed for completing a stunning metamorphosis, from nonconformist to elder statesman, from dropout to education advocate. And still he’s not done. At a U.S. Open for the ages, he makes a courageous last stand, then delivers one of the most stirring farewells ever heard in a sporting arena.

With its breakneck tempo and raw candor, Open will be read and cherished for years. A treat for ardent fans, it will also captivate readers who know nothing about tennis. Like Agassi’s game, it sets a new standard for grace, style, speed, and power.]]>
388 Andre Agassi 0307268195 Abhishek 0 currently-reading 4.29 2009 Open
author: Andre Agassi
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales]]> 63697 243 Oliver Sacks Abhishek 4 4.08 1985 The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
author: Oliver Sacks
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1985
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/05/22
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A Brief History of Time 3869
Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.]]>
226 Stephen Hawking 0553380168 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.22 1988 A Brief History of Time
author: Stephen Hawking
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1988
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/02/10
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<![CDATA[A Short History of Nearly Everything]]> 21 544 Bill Bryson 076790818X Abhishek 0 currently-reading 4.21 2003 A Short History of Nearly Everything
author: Bill Bryson
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/02/10
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<![CDATA[Meet Your Happy Chemicals: Dopamine, Endorphin, Oxytocin, Serotonin]]> 13645377 200 Loretta Graziano Breuning 1463790929 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.91 2015 Meet Your Happy Chemicals: Dopamine, Endorphin, Oxytocin, Serotonin
author: Loretta Graziano Breuning
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/14
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<![CDATA[Outliers: The Story of Success]]> 3228917 Learn what sets high achievers apart — from Bill Gates to the Beatles — in this #1 bestseller from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review).

In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.]]>
309 Malcolm Gladwell 0316017922 Abhishek 0 4.19 2008 Outliers: The Story of Success
author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/08
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<![CDATA[Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions]]> 1713426
Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't possibly be caught?

Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?

Why do we go back for second helpings at the unlimited buffet, even when our stomachs are already full?

And how did we ever start spending $4.15 on a cup of coffee when, just a few years ago, we used to pay less than a dollar?

When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're in control. We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we?

In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.

Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make the same "types" of mistakes, Ariely discovers. We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable--making us "predictably" irrational.

From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, Ariely explains how to break through these systematic patterns of thought to make better decisions. "Predictably Irrational" will change the way we interact with the world--one small decision at a time.]]>
247 Dan Ariely Abhishek 5 2. We always want to think highly of ourselves , looking into the mirror and saying we are in the driving seat of our decisions but minor lacunae are not discernible in daily lives .
3. Humans are pretty predictable in broader sense and this vulnerability can be tracked down to make them behave in a certain way.]]>
4.12 2008 Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
author: Dan Ariely
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/02
date added: 2021/07/02
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1. Corporate and markets are pretty shrewd in designing the advertisement , to demand more engagement . Exploiting human biases and shortcomings are not very much hard.
2. We always want to think highly of ourselves , looking into the mirror and saying we are in the driving seat of our decisions but minor lacunae are not discernible in daily lives .
3. Humans are pretty predictable in broader sense and this vulnerability can be tracked down to make them behave in a certain way.
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<![CDATA[Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness]]> 3450744 From the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics, Richard H. Thaler, and Cass R. Sunstein: a revelatory look at how we make decisions

New York Times bestseller
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist and the Financial Times

Every day we make choices—about what to buy or eat, about financial investments or our children’s health and education, even about the causes we champion or the planet itself. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Nudge is about how we make these choices and how we can make better ones. Using dozens of eye-opening examples and drawing on decades of behavioral science research, Nobel Prize winner Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School professor Cass R. Sunstein show that no choice is ever presented to us in a neutral way, and that we are all susceptible to biases that can lead us to make bad decisions. But by knowing how people think, we can use sensible “choice architecture” to nudge people toward the best decisions for ourselves, our families, and our society, without restricting our freedom of choice.]]>
260 Richard H. Thaler 014311526X Abhishek 0 to-read 3.87 2008 Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
author: Richard H. Thaler
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/05/28
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<![CDATA[The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness]]> 54898389 244 Eric Jorgenson Abhishek 0 to-read 4.40 2020 The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness
author: Eric Jorgenson
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/05/28
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Cosmicomics 59780
During the course of these stories Calvino toys with continuous creation, the transformation of matter, and the expanding and contracting reaches of space and time. He succeeds in relating complex scientific concepts to the ordinary reactions of common humanity.

William Weaver's excellent translation won a National Book Award in 1969

“Naturally, we were all there," old Qfwfq said, "where else could we have been? Nobody knew then that there could be space. Or time either: what use did we have for time, packed in there like sardines?”

The distance of the moon --
At daybreak --
A sign in space --
All at one point --
Without colors --
Games without end --
The aquatic uncle --
How much shall we bet? --
The dinosaurs --
The form of space --
The light-years --
The spiral.]]>
153 Italo Calvino 0156226006 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.23 1965 Cosmicomics
author: Italo Calvino
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1965
rating: 0
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The Psychology of Money 41881472 242 Morgan Housel 0857197681 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.27 2020 The Psychology of Money
author: Morgan Housel
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/05/28
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<![CDATA[Monsters in the Sky (English and Italian Edition)]]> 3125163 351 Paolo Maffei 0262131536 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.33 1980 Monsters in the Sky (English and Italian Edition)
author: Paolo Maffei
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1980
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big]]> 100467
It has long been a business article of faith that great companies, by definition, constantly focus on maximizing their revenues year after year. Yet quietly, under the radar, a growing number of undeniably great compabnies have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on more satisfying business goals. 

Veteran journalist Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside fourteen of these remarkable comapnies that have chosen to march to their own drummer. He shows the leaders of these small giants recognized the full range of choices they had about the type of company they could create and made the choice to pursue greateness by placing other goals ahead of getting as big as possible as fast as possible. And he shows how we can all benefit by questioning the conventional definitions of business success.]]>
224 Bo Burlingham 1591841496 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.83 2005 Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big
author: Bo Burlingham
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space]]> 61663 384 Carl Sagan 0345376595 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.33 1994 Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
author: Carl Sagan
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Of Walking in Ice: Munich-Paris, 11/23 to 12/14, 1974]]> 1307302 Of Walking in Ice is the first in a color-coded series of remarkable yet long-forgotten titles being republished by Free Association.]]> 68 Werner Herzog 0979612101 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.91 1978 Of Walking in Ice: Munich-Paris, 11/23 to 12/14, 1974
author: Werner Herzog
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1978
rating: 0
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Why I Write 9644
Contents:
"Why I Write", first published 1946
"The Lion and the Unicorn", first published 1940
"A Hanging", first published 1931
"Politics and the English Language", first published 1946]]>
120 George Orwell 0143036351 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.04 1946 Why I Write
author: George Orwell
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1946
rating: 0
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The Laws of Human Nature 39330937 From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power comes the definitive new book on decoding the behavior of the people around youRobert Greene is a master guide for millions of readers, distilling ancient wisdom and philosophy into essential texts for seekers of power, understanding and mastery. Now he turns to the most important subject of all - understanding people's drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves.We are social animals. Our very lives depend on our relationships with people. Knowing why people do what they do is the most important tool we can possess, without which our other talents can only take us so far. Drawing from the ideas and examples of Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, Greene teaches us how to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people's masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose. Whether at work, in relationships, or in shaping the world around you, The Laws of Human Nature offers brilliant tactics for success, self-improvement, and self-defense.]]> 624 Robert Greene 0698184548 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.35 2018 The Laws of Human Nature
author: Robert Greene
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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Figuring 40277347 Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries--beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the environmental movement.

Stretching between these figures is a cast of artists, writers, and scientists--mostly women, mostly queer--whose public contribution has risen out of their unclassifiable and often heartbreaking private relationships to change the way we understand, experience, and appreciate the universe. Among them are the astronomer Maria Mitchell, who paved the way for women in science; the sculptor Harriet Hosmer, who did the same in art; the journalist and literary critic Margaret Fuller, who sparked the feminist movement; and the poet Emily Dickinson.

Emanating from these lives are larger questions about the measure of a good life and what it means to leave a lasting mark of betterment on an imperfect world: Are achievement and acclaim enough for happiness? Is genius? Is love? Weaving through the narrative is a set of peripheral figures--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Darwin, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Herman Melville, Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Walt Whitman--and a tapestry of themes spanning music, feminism, the history of science, the rise and decline of religion, and how the intersection of astronomy, poetry, and Transcendentalist philosophy fomented the environmental movement.]]>
578 Maria Popova 1524748137 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.35 2019 Figuring
author: Maria Popova
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos]]> 30257963 What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson's answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research.

Humorous, surprising, and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street.

What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant, and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure, and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 12 Rules for Life shatters the modern commonplaces of science, faith, and human nature while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its listeners.]]>
409 Jordan B. Peterson 0345816021 Abhishek 4 3.90 2018 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
author: Jordan B. Peterson
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2018
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century]]> 15750844
Indian diplomacy, a veteran told Shashi Tharoor many years ago, is like the love-making of an elephant: it is conducted at a very high level, accompanied by much bellowing, and the results are not known for two years. In this lively, informative and insightful work, the award-winning author and parliamentarian brilliantly demonstrates how Indian diplomacy has become sprightlier since then and where it needs to focus in the world of the 21st century. Explaining why foreign policy matters to an India focused on its own domestic transformation, Tharoor surveys Indias major international relationships in detail, evokes the countrys soft power and its global responsibilities, analyses the workings of the Ministry of External Affairs, Parliament and public opinion on the shaping of policy, and offers his thoughts on a contemporary new grand strategy for the nation, arguing that India must move beyond non-alignment to multi-alignment. His book offers a clear-eyed vision of an India now ready to assume new global responsibility in the contemporary world. Pax Indica is another substantial achievement from one of the finest Indian authors of our times.]]>
449 Shashi Tharoor 067008574X Abhishek 3 3.86 2012 Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century
author: Shashi Tharoor
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2012
rating: 3
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Jaya: 9 9864913
The doorkeepers of Vaikuntha are the twins, Jaya and Vijaya, both whose names mean 'victory'. One keeps you in Swarga; the other raises you into Vaikuntha.

In Vaikuntha there is bliss forever, in Swarga there is pleasure for only as long as you deserve. What is the difference between Jaya and Vijaya? Solve this puzzle and you will solve the mystery of the Mahabharata.

In this enthralling retelling of India's greatest epic, the Mahabharata originally known as Jaya, Devdutt Pattanaik seamlessly weaves into a single narrative plots from the Sanskrit classic as well as its many folk and regional variants, including the Pandavani of Chhattisgarh, Gondhal of Maharashtra, Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu and Yakshagana of Karnataka.

Richly illustrated with over 250 line drawings by the author, the 108 chapters abound with little-known details such as the names of the hundred Kauravas, the worship of Draupadi as a goddess in Tamil Nadu, the stories of Astika, Madhavi, Jaimini, Aravan and Barbareek, the Mahabharata version of the Shakuntalam and the Ramayana, and the dating of the war based on astronomical data.

With clarity and simplicity, the tales in this elegant volume reveal the eternal relevance of the Mahabharata, the complex and disturbing meditation on the human condition that has shaped Indian thought for over 3000 years.]]>
349 Devdutt Pattanaik 014310425X Abhishek 4 4.20 2010 Jaya: 9
author: Devdutt Pattanaik
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike]]> 27220736
In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today.

But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At 24, after backpacking around the world, he decided to take the unconventional path, to start his own business—a business that would be dynamic, different.

Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream—along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.]]>
400 Phil Knight 1501135910 Abhishek 5 4.45 2016 Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
author: Phil Knight
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2016
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind]]> 23692271 512 Yuval Noah Harari Abhishek 4 4.33 2011 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
author: Yuval Noah Harari
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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Man’s Search for Meaning 4069 Man's Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.]]> 165 Viktor E. Frankl 080701429X Abhishek 3 4.39 1946 Man’s Search for Meaning
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1946
rating: 3
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The Alchemist 865 197 Paulo Coelho 0061122416 Abhishek 3 3.85 1988 The Alchemist
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1988
rating: 3
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The Metamorphosis 485894 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 0553213695 / 9780553213690

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was laying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes."

With it's startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing—though absurdly comic—meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."]]>
201 Franz Kafka 0553213695 Abhishek 4 3.90 1915 The Metamorphosis
author: Franz Kafka
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1915
rating: 4
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The Complete Maus 15195
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father’s story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in “drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust” (The New York Times).

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek’s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century’s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.]]>
296 Art Spiegelman 0141014083 Abhishek 4 4.57 1980 The Complete Maus
author: Art Spiegelman
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1980
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love]]> 9547888 Is there a science to love?

In this groundbreaking book, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Amir Levine and psychologist Rachel S. F. Heller reveal how an understanding of attachment theory-the most advanced relationship science in existence today-can help us find and sustain love. Attachment theory forms the basis for many bestselling books on the parent/child relationship, but there has yet to be an accessible guide to what this fascinating science has to tell us about adult romantic relationships-until now.

Attachment theory owes its inception to British psychologist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby, who in the 1950s examined the tremendous impact that our early relationships with our parents or caregivers has on the people we become. Also central to attachment theory is the discovery that our need to be in a close relationship with one or more individuals is embedded in our genes.

In Attached, Levine and Heller trace how these evolutionary influences continue to shape who we are in our relationships today. According to attachment theory, every person behaves in relationships in one of three distinct ways:

*ANXIOUS people are often preoccupied with their relationships and tend to worry about their partner's ability to love them back.
*AVOIDANT people equate intimacy with a loss of independence and constantly try to minimize closeness.
*SECURE people feel comfortable with intimacy and are usually warm and loving.

Attached guides readers in determining what attachment style they and their mate (or potential mates) follow. It also offers readers a wealth of advice on how to navigate their relationships more wisely given their attachment style and that of their partner. An insightful look at the science behind love, Attached offers readers a road map for building stronger, more fulfilling connections.]]>
304 Amir Levine 1585428485 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.11 2010 Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love
author: Amir Levine
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2010
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<![CDATA[The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership]]> 6342995 288 Bill Walsh 1591842662 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.18 2009 The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership
author: Bill Walsh
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2009
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<![CDATA[Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions]]> 433567 [sic – ed.], a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women-thin, straight lines-are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status.
Through strange occurrences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms, Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions—a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world. Charmingly illustrated by the author, Flatland is not only fascinating reading, it is still a first-rate fictional introduction to the concept of the multiple dimensions of space. "Instructive, entertaining, and stimulating to the imagination." — Mathematics Teacher.]]>
96 Edwin A. Abbott 048627263X Abhishek 0 to-read 3.82 1884 Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
author: Edwin A. Abbott
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
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<![CDATA[Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less]]> 18077875 Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized?
Are you often busy but not productive?
 Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas?

If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the EssentialistThe Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done.  It is not  a time management strategy, or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter. 

By forcing us to apply a more selective criteria for what is Essential, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices about where to spend our precious time and energy – instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us.

Essentialism is not one more thing – it’s a whole new way of doing everything. A must-read for any leader, manager, or individual who wants to learn how to do less, but better, in every area of their lives, Essentialism  is a movement whose time has come.]]>
260 Greg McKeown 0804137382 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.05 2011 Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
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average rating: 4.05
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<![CDATA[Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work]]> 15798078 〶Ä
Research in psychology has revealed that our decisions are disrupted by an array of biases and irrationalities: We’re overconfident. We seek out information that supports us and downplay information that doesn’t. We get distracted by short-term emotions. When it comes to making choices, it seems, our brains are flawed instruments. Unfortunately, merely being aware of these shortcomings doesn’t fix the problem, any more than knowing that we are nearsighted helps us to see. The real question is: How can we do better?

In Decisive, the Heaths, based on an exhaustive study of the decision-making literature, introduce a four-step process designed to counteract these biases. Written in an engaging and compulsively readable style, Decisive takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from a rock star’s ingenious decision-making trick to a CEO’s disastrous acquisition, to a single question that can often resolve thorny personal decisions.

Along the way, we learn the answers to critical questions like these: How can we stop the cycle of agonizing over our decisions? How can we make group decisions without destructive politics? And how can we ensure that we don’t overlook precious opportunities to change our course?〶Ä

Decisive is the Heath brothers’ most powerful—and important—book yet, offering fresh strategies and practical tools enabling us to make better choices. Because the right decision, at the right moment, can make all the difference.]]>
336 Chip Heath 0307956393 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.94 2013 Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
author: Chip Heath
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<![CDATA[The Tipping Points: What Professionals should recognise as the social Impact of ADHD]]> 24032766
The book highlights the outcomes of poorly managed ADHD including pathways into crime, anti-social behaviour and personal danger, and outlines ways to reduce those risks with easy to follow and pragmatic text and checklists.]]>
95 Phil Anderton Abhishek 0 to-read 4.11 2014 The Tipping Points: What Professionals should recognise as the social Impact of ADHD
author: Phil Anderton
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average rating: 4.11
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Games People Play 49176 We think we’re relating to other people–but actually we’re all playing games.

Forty years ago, Games People Play revolutionized our understanding of what really goes on during our most basic social interactions. More than five million copies later, Dr. Eric Berne’s classic is as astonishing–and revealing–as it was on the day it was first published. This anniversary edition features a new introduction by Dr. James R. Allen, president of the International Transactional Analysis Association, and Kurt Vonnegut’s brilliant Life magazine review from 1965.
We play games all the time–sexual games, marital games, power games with our bosses, and competitive games with our friends. Detailing status contests like “Martini” (I know a better way), to lethal couples combat like “If It Weren’t For You” and “Uproar,” to flirtation favorites like “The Stocking Game” and “Let’s You and Him Fight,” Dr. Berne exposes the secret ploys and unconscious maneuvers that rule our intimate lives.
Explosive when it first appeared, Games People Play is now widely recognized as the most original and influential popular psychology book of our time. It’s as powerful and eye-opening as ever.]]>
192 Eric Berne 0345032799 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.77 1964 Games People Play
author: Eric Berne
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1964
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<![CDATA[The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom]]> 6596 The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. The Four Agreements are: Be Impeccable With Your Word, Don't Take Anything Personally, Don't Make Assumptions, Always Do Your Best.]]> 152 Miguel Ruiz 1878424505 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.20 1997 The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
author: Miguel Ruiz
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1997
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<![CDATA[Have a Little Faith: a True Story]]> 1255781 In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom offers a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight-year journey between two worlds--two men, two faiths, two communities--that will inspire readers everywhere.

Albom's first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have a Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an eighty-two-year-old rabbi from Albom's old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.

Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he'd left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor--a reformed drug dealer and convict--who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.

Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Albom observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.

As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Albom and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers, and histories are different, Albom begins to recognize a striking unity between the two worlds--and indeed, between beliefs everywhere.

In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor's wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the rabbi's last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.

Have a Little Faith is a book about a life's purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man's journey, but it is everyone's story.

Ten percent of the profits from this book will go to charity, including The Hole In The Roof Foundation, which helps refurbish places of worship that aid the homeless.

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249 Mitch Albom 0786868724 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.18 2009 Have a Little Faith: a True Story
author: Mitch Albom
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.18
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The Giving Tree 370493
So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.]]>
64 Shel Silverstein 0060256656 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.38 1964 The Giving Tree
author: Shel Silverstein
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1964
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Round Ireland with a Fridge 23316
An international bestseller, Round Ireland with a Fridge is a classic travel adventure in the tradition of Bill Bryson with a dash of Dave Barry.
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248 Tony Hawks 0312274920 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.81 1997 Round Ireland with a Fridge
author: Tony Hawks
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1997
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<![CDATA[1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List]]> 11525
This hefty volume reminds vacationers that hot tourist spots are small percentage of what's worth seeing out there. A quick sampling: Venice's Cipriani Hotel; California's Monterey Peninsula; the Lewis and Clark Trail in Oregon; the Great Wall of China; Robert Louis Stevenson's home in Western Samoa; and the Alhambra in Andalusia, Spain. Veteran travel guide writer Schultz divides the book geographically, presenting a little less than a page on each location. Each entry lists exactly where to find the spot (e.g. Moorea is located "12 miles/19 km northwest of Tahiti; 10 minutes by air, 1 hour by boat") and when to go (e.g., if you want to check out The Complete Fly Fisher hotel in Montana, "May and Sept.-Oct. offer productive angling in a solitary setting"). This is an excellent resource for the intrepid traveler.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.]]>
992 Patricia Schultz 0761104844 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.87 2003 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List
author: Patricia Schultz
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average rating: 3.87
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Seven Ages of Paris 137981
From the rise of Philippe Auguste through the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XIV (who abandoned Paris for Versailles); Napoleon’s rise and fall; Baron Haussmann’s rebuilding of Paris (at the cost of much of the medieval city); the Belle Epoque and the Great War that brought it to an end; the Nazi Occupation, the Liberation, and the postwar period dominated by de Gaulle--Horne brings the city’s highs and lows, savagery and sophistication, and heroes and villains splendidly to life. With a keen eye for the telling anecdote and pivotal moment, he portrays an array of vivid incidents to show us how Paris endures through each age, is altered but always emerges more brilliant and beautiful than ever. The Seven Ages of Paris is a great historian’s tribute to a city he loves and has spent a lifetime learning to know.]]>
476 Alistair Horne 1400034469 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.91 2002 Seven Ages of Paris
author: Alistair Horne
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2002
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<![CDATA[Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel]]> 100247
Visit the vagabonding community's hub at www dot vagabonding dot net.]]>
205 Rolf Potts 0812992180 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.94 2002 Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
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average rating: 3.94
book published: 2002
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<![CDATA[The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America]]> 45000 polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records–recently declared a national treasure–are now being translated. Drawing on this remarkable archive, Russell Shorto has created a gripping narrative–a story of global sweep centered on a wilderness called Manhattan–that transforms our understanding of early America.

The Dutch colony pre-dated the “original” thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. The Island at the Center of the World uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own.]]>
384 Russell Shorto 1400078679 Abhishek 0 to-read 4.15 2004 The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America
author: Russell Shorto
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average rating: 4.15
book published: 2004
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<![CDATA[A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius]]> 4953 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is an instant classic that will be read for decades to come.]]>
530 Dave Eggers 0375725784 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.70 2000 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
author: Dave Eggers
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average rating: 3.70
book published: 2000
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Catch-22 168668
Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.]]>
453 Joseph Heller 0684833395 Abhishek 0 to-read 3.99 1961 Catch-22
author: Joseph Heller
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1961
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<![CDATA[The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business]]> 12609433 375 Charles Duhigg 1400069289 Abhishek 0 4.13 2012 The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
author: Charles Duhigg
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
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<![CDATA[The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science]]> 570172 427 Norman Doidge 067003830X Abhishek 0 to-read 4.18 2007 The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
author: Norman Doidge
name: Abhishek
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2007
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<![CDATA[The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity]]> 10310 The Argumentative Indian is "a bracing sweep through aspects of Indian history and culture, and a tempered analysis of the highly charged disputes surrounding these subjects--the nature of Hindu traditions, Indian identity, the country's huge social and economic disparities, and its current place in the world" (Sunil Khilnani, Financial Times, U.K.).]]> 409 Amartya Sen 031242602X Abhishek 0 3.82 2005 The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity
author: Amartya Sen
name: Abhishek
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/08/19
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