Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Why can chasing profits and short-term business strategies be detrimental to a company? 'The Infinite Game' by Simon Sinek is a book about responsible, ethical, long-term business practices but the thinking can be applied to other areas as well. It contains 11 chapters with mini stories at the start but is more of an expansion of Simon's ideas. The core themes of the book argue for the benefits of...

Find within a key insight into why Buddhist's believe in reincarnation. 'An Introduction To Buddhism' by The Dalai Lama is not a specially written book but a polished transcript of a presentation he gave to a western audience. The book is split into 3 parts. The first is his teaching on the 4 Noble Truths, the second his commentary on 'The 8 Verses On Training The Mind' & the third his deconst...

If you are up against a powerful opponent/system, maybe your perceived weakness are actually your strengths? 'David & Goliath' by Malcolm Gladwell is a collection of 9 core stories showing how an underdog beat the odds to win. The book is split into 3 parts: the advantages of disadvantages (& vice versa), the theory of desirable difficulty and the limits of power. The main themes investiga...

Can you actually reason with madness? 'The Madness Of Crowds' by Douglas Murray is an extension of his own fight in the cultural wars as a journalist and political commentator. The book is split into 4 parts each of about 50-60 pages long on Gay/Women/Race/Trans. It highlights the modern absurdities of far left thinking, the historical treatment of minority groups and the implications of getting t...

Want an unhelpful book about how to meditate, then look no further! 'Three Steps To Awakening' by Larry Rosenberg (with Laura Zimmerman) is a collection of his audible teachings condensed into a short book. In it he differentiates 'awareness' into the practicing part (actual meditation practice) and into the everyday living part. The book is split into three main sections on how to meditate: whole...

Why did Seneca consider the learning and pursuit of 'philosophy' as the most important thing that a person could do? 'Letters From A Stoic' by Seneca are a collection of 124 letters (although this version only contains 40) he sent to his friend Lucilius in the last years of his life. He provides guidance on how to think about mental pitfalls, illness, death and vices but also on nobler topics of p...

'Cycles Of The Phoenix' by C.A. Nicholas is his magnum opus symphony and is a collection of stories that he has written over the years. It is quite a thick book and consists of 'Sanity's War', 'Strange' and 'Kaya: Where Have You Gone?'. These stories are mainly fantasy/sci-fi based and follow his characters as they deal with depression in different environments. Juan summarised the book as follows...

Willkommen im Schlachthof fünf! 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut is a thoroughly bizarre book written in his simple, scattered and non-linear style. We follow the life of Billy Pilgrim, an optometrist, alien abductee, prisoner of war and time-traveller. The book is anti-war and is one of the principal works that discussed the fire-bombing of Dresden by the allies towards the end of World War...

Would you go to war if your country demanded it of you? 'Goodbye To All That' by Robert Graves is commonly cited as one of the best books written about The Great War. It is a memoir written at age 33 of his childhood in English boarding schools, the brutality of the conditions in the trenches during WWI and his post-war life amongst fellow poets/writers. The bulk of the book is focused on his dire...

Is it possible for humans to extend their life span, possible even to reverse aging altogether? 'Superhuman' by Dave Asprey is his explanation of how we can increase our life span and stop the aging process. His approach is scientifically driven and he delves deeply into the research to back up his claims. The main themes of the book are on the Seven Pillars of aging that contribute to our decline...

What circumstances would drive someone to voluntary smuggle themselves back into a concentration camp? 'The Happiest Man On Earth' by Eddie Jaku is the memoir of a man who endured tremendous suffering, managing to survive through the holocaust. The book starts with life before WWII, his subsequent experiences in the concentration camps before moving away from Belgium/Germany and emigrating to Aust...

What is the strange attraction and repulsion that we have towards violence? 'In Evil Hour' by Gabriel García Márquez is a fictional story set in the same universe as his most famous work of '100 Years of Solitude' but without the magic realism he is famous for. The story starts and ends with a killing, depicting the start of the oppression and the escalation that is to follow. Violence (both overt...

What are the reasons for the rise of safe spaces, microaggressions and extreme social justice on American college campuses? 'The Coddling Of The American Mind' by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt attempts to explain the psychology and cognitive distortions of iGen (also known as Generation Z). Three Great Untruths have been adopted by these students which has led to the culture of 'safetyism' i...

Looking for a book full of truth that is actually full of shameless lies? 'Cat's Cradle' by Kurt Vonnegut is a satirical novel of black humour that treats of a dangerous situation similar to the Cold War. It follows the writer John as he researches Felix Hoenikker; one of the fathers of the atomic bomb & the inventor of the insanely dangerous Ice-Nine. Along his journey he meets an enigmatic m...

Is it better to generalise or specialise? 'Range' by David Epstein argues that generalists actually manage to do better in a specialised world. He previously wrote a book called 'The Sports Gene' and he himself said he put around 150% more effort into producing this book. Some arguments he makes are that hyper specialisation can be detrimental due to becoming cognitively entrenched in a field and...

Do you believe the global warming debate is full of hyperbole and needs calmer arguments? 'Cool It' by Bjørn Lomborg (a Danish statistician/political scientist) is the sequel to his wildly successful book 'The Skeptical Environmentalist'. In it he argues against dramatic climate change response due to the overhype & poor ROI of the proposed solutions. The book is also largely a rebuttal agains...

Have you got your shit sorted? 'Sort Your Sh!t Out' by Gary Waldon is a guide to confronting your own mind and the self-talk that goes within. The book is a mix of mini-activities, deeply personal stories and an introduction to Bob (the negative persona inside your own head). The book is split into 4 sections: knowing, owning, dealing and maintaining your shit. Gary essentially induces the reader...

Did you know that the world is running out of antibiotics? 'Superbugs' by Matt McCarthy explains how antimicrobial resistance is rising against our current batch of antibiotics, thus creating superbugs. The book is a mix of the author's clinical trial of Dalbavancin, the history of antibiotics (think Alexander Fleming), the relationship he has with his mentor Tom Walsh, the science of antibiotics...

Deep in, deep out. Breathe Mother Fuckers!!!!! 'The Wim Hof Method' is the layman's guide to the daily practice created by Wim Hof. The book teaches you the direct instructions but also contains a biography of the Iceman, testimonials of advocates and ends with his spiritual philosophy. The book explains how he came about his 3 Pillars (Breath/Mind/Cold) and the benefits to your health and perform...

Have you ever tried running barefoot? In Christopher McDougall's best-selling book titled 'Born To Run' we dive into the world of ultramarathon running with a race that combines the modern with the old. The book is a mixture of biography, history, science and adventure; all wrapped up in a story of an ultramarathon held deep in the Mexican Copper Canyon. The principal themes of the book explore th...

"In the face of pain there are no heroes." This is a small quote from the book 1984 (usually fully spelt out but I'm lazy today) by George Orwell. In this bonus episode I philosophise about some of the intriguing concepts raised by the book, which include: the structural and grammatical components of Newspeak and how the language was aimed to diminish consciousness, why living in the present was d...

Will the censorship enabled through technology be our downfall? 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' is an already classic fiction book published in 1949 by the author Eric Blair (under the pseudonym of George Orwell). We are treated to a small snippet from the life of Winston Smith as he battles a futile fight against a totalitarian regime. The core themes of the book revolve around control through censorship...

In this little bonus episode Juan goes over some of his learnings from Joseph Campbell's 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces'. His previous review of the book goes over the general themes of the book so this is more of an exploration into certain ideas and quotes that stood out to him. These include: being conscious of your own emotions while making decisions, getting too stuck in particular details o...

Are you looking for a hard to read book with a vocabulary that will leave you uncertain of your English abilities? 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces' is one of the most famous works by Joseph Campbell, detailing the archetype of the hero and comparing myths/legends from across the world. It is a highly influential work with its impact reaching out from the era of Star Wars up to modern day philosoph...

What are the secular parts of Buddhism that align with evolutionary biology/psychology? In the somewhat provocatively titled 'Why Buddhism Is True', Robert Wright explains the insights that can be gained from mindfulness meditation and juxtaposes these with observations from hard science, natural selection and Darwinian thinking. The central themes revolve around Dukkha, Anatta and Sunyata, all of...