Category: non-fiction
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford gives us a pretty thorough account of how a single Mongolian in the 12th century, seemingly with his back cornered against the wall, made a decision to strike back against a different tribe and from there on, actually made the modern world to…
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Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing retells a truly remarkable and unforgettable story about a shipwreck and their miraculous survival in the mid-1910s. I’m no stranger to shipwrecked stories and the crew’s relentless battle with nature. Having read The Wager, In the Heart of the Sea and Madhouse At the End of the Earth,…
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The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind digs into one of the most infamous and largest corporate business scandals in America’s history. This was such a wild ride. Everything from corporate greed, mismanagement, cowardice, rivalry, a toxic work culture, and a need to constantly prove profitability to the public led…
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China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower by Frank Dikotter gives us a step-by-step account of what happened to China after the death of Mao Zedong and, more crucially, how it is becoming the world’s leading superpower despite its never-ending clutches to communism rather than yielding to capitalism. I’m no stranger to the author,…
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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins goes over, well, the confessions of a hit man. However, not the hit man that most are likely to envision first when they hear of that term. Yes, a hit man has a goal of taking out a selected target, usually via stealth with James Bond…
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The Hot Zone by Richard Preston goes into an account of how the Ebola virus was first discovered around the late 1960s as well as how it infiltrated the United States. While many may be too young to remember the Ebola scare at that time, the resurfacing of the Ebola Zaire strain in 2014–2016 in…
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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe chronicles Ireland’s brutal campaign for unification that lasted three decades and is likely still felt by its people today. The conflict, dubbed The Troubles, pitted Southern Ireland, which was predominantly Protestant and aligned itself with Britain, against Northern Ireland,…
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Hannibal: Rome’s Greatest Enemy by Philip Freeman is a quick and informative read on how ancient Rome was almost toppled by an African general against all odds. If you’ve read ancient civilization, especially on the Romans, you’ve likely heard the phrase “Carthage must be destroyed!”. The man who started it all was none other than…
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The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch goes over an elaborate plot that if succeeded, likely would have changed the entire outcome and future of World War II. This is a great read, however, fair warning must be given. For many readers whom are…
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Last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia focuses on four personal stories whose lives were affected by the liberation of Mao Zedong’s Red Army in Shanghai and other regions of China from around the 1930s to 1960s. The four stories selected gives us a broad range of perspective in that each story and life…
The Mindless Catalog 