Manpreet Singh
- 8
- reviews
- 2
- helpful votes
- 9
- ratings
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The God Delusion
- Written by: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Winner of the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2007.
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Book of the Year, 2007.
Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, 2007.
Winner of the Audiobook Download of the Year, 2007.
As the author of many classic works on science and philosophy, Richard Dawkins has always asserted the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm it has inflicted on society. He now focuses his fierce intellect exclusively on this subject, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.
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Excellent perspective and explanation of atheism
- By deepmoni hazarika on 01-07-19
- The God Delusion
- Written by: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
Outstanding science wrapped in athiesm
Reviewed: 27-12-20
The structure, content & narration of the book standout in all aspects.
Among the better known books by Dawkins.
If you know Dawkins, you know this book will have deep insights on evolution, but will pack an equal amount of anti-religious sentiments. He will, as always, go on to offend most religious people - but not because he is wrong - just that political correctness takes a back-seat to science.
I have a paperback version of the book, but I keep this in my library because it is going to be one of the highlights of human thought when history is written a couple of centuries from now.
If Darwin was alive, he'd be proud of a mentee like Dawkins.... who's taken the theory of evolution to greater heights... without trying to sabotage the basics.
If this is your cup of tea ... dont miss out on 'The Blind Watchmaker' by Dawkins
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Why Nations Fail
- The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
- Written by: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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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?
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Too long for it's own good
- By Manpreet Singh on 27-12-20
- Why Nations Fail
- The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
- Written by: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
Too long for it's own good
Reviewed: 27-12-20
The discussions in the book are excellent.... but rather repetitive.
It covers issues that are worthy of long considerations... but somehow many of the illustrative examples just repeat the previous process rather than provide a new perspective.
Like: -
I have read books on economics that tackled economics more cohorently than this... but the amount of time spent on discussing all facets and schools of economics in this book is commendable. It lays out the pitch for the game and lets you decide for yourself where you stand with respect to the whole underlying principles.
The role of political structure vis-a-vis the economic path of an economy could not be better put across.
Dislike: -
As stated previously... repetitive
The illustrations seem to be biased towards proving the point... there are numerous occasions where you feel that the exact opposite examples could have been produced... but the contrarian point is not considered.
Not a bad book.
Good premise, lots of history, decent narration - but as a complete package - not the best in its class.
1 person found this helpful
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Good Economics for Hard Times
- Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems
- Written by: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Figuring out how to deal with today's critical economic problems is perhaps the great challenge of our time. Much greater than space travel, what is at stake is the whole idea of the good life as we have known it. Immigration and inequality, globalisation and technological disruption, slowing growth and accelerating climate change - these are sources of great anxiety across the world. The resources to address these challenges are there - what we lack are ideas that will help us jump the wall of disagreement and distrust that divides us.
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Apt Title
- By Manjeet on 26-06-20
- Good Economics for Hard Times
- Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems
- Written by: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo
- Narrated by: James Lurie
Good Economics........ Period.
Reviewed: 27-12-20
I had read a book on economics that I thought was a real eye-opener 'Basic Economics, A Common Sense Guide to the Economy' by Thomas Sowell. However, I was left with an after-idea that 'Free Trade' might be a very good economic pattern, but then why do the governments keep interfering, when interference is so apparently the wrong way of dealing with economics.
.... And now I know.
Like: -
1. Abhijit is an Indian ethnicity economist - though a naturalised American.
2. Abhijit is a Nobel Prize winner in economics - and it takes about 2 pages worth to know why.
3. The Data illustrations cover all forms of economies - democratic/ socialist/ communist & developed/ developing/ under-developed.
4. The book looks at economics from the perspective of inequality - rather than just the average GDP.
5. The narrator is good.... the voice is clear and expressive.
Dislike: -
1. Nothing.... if you wanted to get a well rounded view of economic inequality... you couldn't do better.
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Basic Economics, Fifth Edition
- A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
- Written by: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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In this fifth edition of Basic Economics, Thomas Sowell revises and updates his popular book on commonsense economics, bringing the world into clearer focus through a basic understanding of the fundamental economic principles and how they explain our lives. Drawing on lively examples from around the world and from centuries of history, Sowell explains basic economic principles for the general public in plain English.
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Simple and interesting
- By Sudip on 29-08-19
- Basic Economics, Fifth Edition
- A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
- Written by: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
Economics is the study of 'Trade-Offs'
Reviewed: 26-10-20
I can't praise this book enough. To start with the narration is very good and doesn't get monotonous.
I and economics do not have any relation in real life. I know (or rather 'knew') very little of it and therefore, I picked this book to get some insight into all the (pseudo) economics that the daily news was feeding me.
Previous reviews told me the book was good and not too technical. I was just not ready for the eye-opener this was going to be for me. It is unimaginable that a book on a niche subject could be so universal and approachable in its content.
Liked: -
1. I would've thought repeating the same line over & over is gonna be very irritating after a few pages.... however, the author puts across his point via an anecdote/ fact dive and then re-iterates 'Economics is the efficient allocation of scarce resources, which have alternative uses'. And it just adds to the impact - every time.
2. The flow of the book is good. It doesn't stay focussed on USA, it covers at least half a dozen economies at various points.
3. When you think that the author is selling you 'Free Trade' philosophy - and there's not a peep to the contrary - suddenly you have a part which deals with all the ideologies of economics - and sort of tells you that each of the ideology has a down-side - just that free trade has less of them - and most importantly are self-limiting.
4. The book covers micro to macro economics seamlessly.
5. When is about to conclude and you feel some unconnected topics were conspicuously missing - the last part deals with almost all the 'missing topics' as far I was concerned.
Cons: -
1. Personal finance is not the agenda.
2. You will need to read another book from some alternate school of economics, else you will come out of the read thinking that the only way to practice economics is 'Free Trade'
There's no downside to this book. I just couldn't think of going through a 20 hour audiobook - not knowing the first thing about economics. But I ended up understanding the subject, and also realised that it is quite intuitive, if only we apply thought rather than emotions.
1 person found this helpful
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
- Written by: Yuval Noah Harari
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Sapiens showed us where we came from. Homo Deus looked to the future. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century explores the present. How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war, ecological cataclysms and technological disruptions? What can we do about the epidemic of fake news or the threat of terrorism? What should we teach our children? Yuval Noah Harari takes us on a thrilling journey through today’s most urgent issues.
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great experience
- By Gaurav Sarup on 28-11-18
- 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
- Written by: Yuval Noah Harari
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Rare gem
Reviewed: 15-06-20
One of the rare gems that come along once a decade.
Its more of a collection of essays on unconnected topics.
yet, the author connects successive topics with ease
I know many people who've given up on the book halfway through, but if Harari's previous books were your cup of tea and philosophy interests you - this is the balancing act of these 2 things.
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's fascinating and humorous quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
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Not the 'history' in conventional sense
- By Raunak on 26-01-19
- A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
If you are reading reviews - you're missing out
Reviewed: 15-06-20
This is the one book that you need to read, if thats the last thing you do.
Its a bucket-list item.
How could this much info be condensed into just these many pages
Bill Bryson has a sense of humor that connects you to each participant in the historical fact parade that you'd never expect in a book about facts.
In short - the title says all you need to know about the book
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Viruses, Plagues, and History
- Past, Present, and Future
- Written by: Michael B. A. Oldstone
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of viruses and humanity is a story of fear and ignorance, of grief and heartbreak, and of great bravery and sacrifice. Michael Oldstone tells all these stories as he illuminates the history of the devastating diseases that have tormented humanity, focusing mostly on the most famous viruses. For this revised edition, Oldstone includes discussions of new viruses like SARS, bird flu, virally caused cancers, chronic wasting disease, and West Nile. Viruses, Plagues, and History paints a sweeping portrait of humanity's long-standing conflict with our unseen viral enemies.
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Niche content - but well worth your time.
- By Manpreet Singh on 15-06-20
- Viruses, Plagues, and History
- Past, Present, and Future
- Written by: Michael B. A. Oldstone
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
Niche content - but well worth your time.
Reviewed: 15-06-20
Nothing really wrong with the book, content & narration.
I really enjoyed it and it really added to my knowledge on the subject.
Just that I think the core topic is very niche and would appeal to only a small percentage of readers.
However, the flow of the content and its overall connectivity to real life will keep you riveted, even if this is not the subject that interests you much.
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History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective
- Written by: Gregory S. Aldrete, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 24 hrs and 24 mins
- Original Recording
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The ancient world has cast a long shadow, influencing our customs and religious beliefs, our laws, and the form of our governments. It has taught us when and how we make war or pursue peace. It has shaped the buildings we live and work in and the art we hang on our walls. It has given us the calendar that organizes our year and has left its mark on the games we play.
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Historical world tour
- By Megha on 27-12-20
- History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective
- Written by: Gregory S. Aldrete, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
Feels like a movie that ends at the intermission
Reviewed: 15-06-20
Pros:-
1. well narrated
2. detailed
3. does not restrict to europe - truly global.
Cons: -
1. Though well validated by the author - the ending at 9th century feels like middle of no-where.
2. Repeats the same data multiple times - specially non-european cultures.
3. Wouldnt know how to put it - but doesnt feel 'whole'