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Old 6th June 2018, 16:20   #61
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

I came across the following two articles / interviews while browsing through the current edition of "Earthfiles.com" and felt that they could be included in this thread as "non-fiction".They are not part of a book, so mods if you feel this is inappropriate, please delete this. I did not know where to put this, but felt it to be sufficiently interesting!

https://www.earthfiles.com/2018/05/3...egion-of-peru/

https://www.earthfiles.com/2018/05/3...-alien-hybrid/


For those readers (like me) who are interested in this whole Alien Hybrid phenomena, I felt that this should prove to be of interest. Since the actual DNA analysis of the three-fingered female body was carried out in Sri Lanka (Genetech), almost next door so to speak, I felt I could take the chance of including it here!


I'm including the following excerpt from the file:-

Genetech was founded with the vision of making the benefits of biotechnology accessible to the people of Sri Lanka. In pursuit of this objective, Genetech has become a pioneer in the field of molecular life sciences in Sri Lanka and has established itself as one of the most progressive and respected private scientific facilities in the country. In 2011, Genetech Molecular Diagnostics, a pioneer institute in DNA based testing in Sri Lanka, received the ISO 15189:2007 accreditation of its laboratory by the Sri Lanka Board of Conformity Assessment.

Last edited by shashanka : 6th June 2018 at 16:38.
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Old 8th June 2018, 16:38   #62
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance - Louis V. Gerstner

Amazing book on how he turned IBM around! Impressive because he didn't have a tech background (like Alan Mulally at Ford). Will give it 4 / 5 stars. Gerstner claims he wrote the book without a ghostwriter and I must say, his way of writing comes across as very straight-forward. Very candid, very entertaining, very informative. Some of the things he practiced in the 90s are solid business principles even today.

If you like business stories, you'll love this book. Some terrific quotes in the book, including one from Ray Kroc "If I saw a competitor drowning, I'd put a live fire hose in his mouth"

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Old 20th June 2018, 15:52   #63
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

This is pure bliss - two amazing books back to back .

Strongly recommend 'Men of Steel' by Vir Sanghvi. Relatively short 8 - 10 page profiles on the most famous businessmen of India. From Ratan Tata to Sunil Mittal and Rajeev Chandrasekhar to Nusli Wadia. Ambanis are conspicuous by their absence though.

He's got a brilliant writing style. Even if you aren't into business, read this book. You'll find it informative & entertaining.

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Old 20th June 2018, 17:19   #64
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My apologies if my query is not apt for this thread, can someone suggest reasonably good audiobook app active in India, Audible is not here yet and is too pricey with US based subscription.
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Old 20th June 2018, 17:30   #65
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

Freedom at Midnight - Collins and Lapierre.

This book gives a detailed account of the last year of the British Raj, the reaction of princely states to independence, the partition and the bloodshed which followed.

Excellent book, I am half way through and I am living this trip like it was happening in front of me.

These guys were the real heroes, the real reason why we are where we are, a must read, this book is ever green, my dad has read it a couple of times before and he still does not miss a chance to re read it again.
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Old 20th June 2018, 18:28   #66
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Indraneel Bhat View Post
While I don't read as much as I would like, some books that have made an impression on me are:

1. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen - By Christopher McDougall
---- Explores the sub-culture of running barefeet and of running ultra marathons (any footrace which is longer than the standard marathon distance of 42.195 kms) through his discovery of and association with a Mexican tribe called the Tarahumara. These guys are able to run for days on end without injury whereas the author has injuries inspite of having the best shoes money can buy. A classic for barefoot running enthusiasts.


4. City of Djinns - by William Dalrymple
A history book shaped like a novel, which documents the journey of Delhi starting from it's earliest known (or believed) avatar as Indraprastha, the capital of the Pandavas down to it being the capital of India through historians, historic records and the people that call it home.
Born to Run is well written, enough to motivate any couch potato to want to run. Eh, well at least till they try to start running...

City of Djinns, a must read for Delhiites.
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Old 21st June 2018, 03:11   #67
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

I'm a very young guy, so the knack for reading self-help books is understandable, I hope.

I came across a very recently launched book, I think I saw it in some YouTube video: The Third Door, by Alex Banayan. I don't own a kindle, so the e-delivery is out of the question and I'm in the process of acquiring a hard copy from Amazon. Let me know if someone has already read it.

Amazon link: Click Here
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Old 21st June 2018, 07:27   #68
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

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Originally Posted by Thilak29 View Post
My apologies if my query is not apt for this thread, can someone suggest reasonably good audiobook app active in India, Audible is not here yet and is too pricey with US based subscription.
I have been using it for near 7 years now! And am listening to it while I type this as well.

Last edited by ampere : 21st June 2018 at 07:30.
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Old 21st June 2018, 08:41   #69
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Quote:
Originally Posted by typlo
I'm a very young guy, so the knack for reading self-help books is understandable, I hope.

I came across a very recently launched book, I think I saw it in some YouTube video: The Third Door, by Alex Banayan. I don't own a kindle, so the e-delivery is out of the question and I'm in the process of acquiring a hard copy from Amazon. Let me know if someone has already read it.

Amazon link: Click Here
I've not read the book,but I understand the phase you're going through. The strong urge to understand the world when you first come in contact with 'real life' as in your first job or position of responsibility.

I'd urge you to study some basic philosophy and some good biographies/autobiographies. This will give you a scaffolding on which to add and assess new knowledge. Will give you some understanding as to what is good knowledge and what is superfluous .

Ryan Holiday' 'the obstacle is the way' is a good modern introduction to stoic philosophy and relates to the modern world.

The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a great place to start. This was written at a time when writing was still a luxury and no marketing or editorial people around to dictate how a book should be written.

Other than that, the are excellent papers/books by top academics in their field available to us via the internet now.

The USA army Field manuals on leadership and self improvement are excellent sources of well researched to the point material without any superfluous material.The physical fitness manual too is very good. Surprisingly they are available online to download for free to the public.

If you're in management, you'll find the manual on Operations and logistics very interesting. And the one on communications.
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Old 21st June 2018, 11:00   #70
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

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Originally Posted by typlo View Post
I don't own a kindle, so the e-delivery is out of the question and I'm in the process of acquiring a hard copy from Amazon.
I think with the kindle app you can read e-books from amazon on any device. You don't necessarily have to have kindle although the charm of e-ink gets lost on other devices but still.
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Old 21st June 2018, 11:53   #71
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

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Originally Posted by drsingh View Post
The USA army Field manuals on leadership and self improvement are excellent sources of well researched to the point material without any superfluous material.The physical fitness manual too is very good. Surprisingly they are available online to download for free to the public.
Thanks for this! Will do.

Quote:
Originally Posted by roamer012 View Post
I think with the kindle app you can read e-books from amazon on any device. You don't necessarily have to have kindle although the charm of e-ink gets lost on other devices but still.
Reading on any device that emits light is a pain and an eyesore for me. I spend enough time already in front of screens.
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Old 21st June 2018, 12:25   #72
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

I just finished reading Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou.

I wanted to know what really happened with Theranos, and now I know. Back in 2014, I came across major features on Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest and the only female self-made billionaire ever. She was just 30, and worth $4.5B at that time. She did that by starting a company called Theranos to revolutionize blood testing. As an entrepreneur myself, I was intrigued and did read quite a bit about her then.

The Books Thread (non-fiction)-eholmes.jpg

Of course, she turned out to be the biggest con artist silicon valley ever produced. She was exposed by WSJ in 2015 and most probably she will end up prison.

She only had 2 semesters of college education before dropping out of Stanford to start this company in 2003. She knew very little about medical science and even engineering, which let her envision a blood testing product which was basically science fiction. But she was able to convince/fool lots of people with advanced medical/engineering expertise because of her incredible sales skills. Just look at the Fortune magazine cover photo, you just want to believe in her.

Of course, the science fiction never became true. However, she received up to $900 million in investment in the next 12 years, before her lies were exposed by WSJ. BTW, the WSJ is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who invested $125 million in Theranos, he was their biggest investor. You have to give him credit for not killing the story by WSJ, although Ms.Holmes petitioned him repeatedly to do so.

This book reads like a crime thriller than a non-fiction. Don't miss it.

Last edited by Samurai : 21st June 2018 at 12:36.
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Old 15th July 2018, 19:17   #73
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

Inviting the attention of fellow TBHPians; Indica—A Deep Natural History Of The Indian Subcontinent: By Pranay Lal, published by Allen Lane, a division of Penguin. I came across rave reviews about this ever since it came out in JAN 2017, but the purchase got postponed by a plethora of non-reason reasons.

I bought this book from Amazon for INR 699 (Hardcover, Kindle edition is Rs. 450, but don't buy it!). Initially I downloaded a free preview to my Kindle paperwhite, but realised that the images of the book are mostly in color. So I bought the hardcover edition and would advise fellow readers too to go for it.

Pranay Lal is a biochemist, but the book that he has written is about geology and its advanced topics like volcanology, geography, paleobiology, anthropology and a plethora of several topics that are all related to pre-historic earth. Pranay Lal has read widely, traveled far, and has had immersive discussions with geologists and paleontologists. Everything is written in a layman's language, with a fabulous writing style that is gripping yet very witty. His excellent narration is amply complimented by numerous sketches and photos, most of them in full color.

Highly recommended!
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Old 22nd July 2018, 09:27   #74
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

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His excellent narration is amply complimented by numerous sketches and photos, most of them in full color.

Highly recommended!
I regret buying the same book in Kindle. This book deserves to read in hardcopy only.
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Old 22nd July 2018, 17:10   #75
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Re: The Books Thread (non-fiction)

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Originally Posted by sandeepmdas View Post
Inviting the attention of fellow TBHPians; Indica—A Deep Natural History Of The Indian Subcontinent: By Pranay Lal, published by Allen Lane, a division of Penguin. I came across rave reviews about this ever since it came out in JAN 2017, but the purchase got postponed by a plethora of non-reason reasons.

I bought this book from Amazon for INR 699 (Hardcover, Kindle edition is Rs. 450, but don't buy it!). Initially I downloaded a free preview to my Kindle paperwhite, but realised that the images of the book are mostly in color. So I bought the hardcover edition and would advise fellow readers too to go for it.

Pranay Lal is a biochemist, but the book that he has written is about geology and its advanced topics like volcanology, geography, paleobiology, anthropology and a plethora of several topics that are all related to pre-historic earth. Pranay Lal has read widely, traveled far, and has had immersive discussions with geologists and paleontologists. Everything is written in a layman's language, with a fabulous writing style that is gripping yet very witty. His excellent narration is amply complimented by numerous sketches and photos, most of them in full color.

Highly recommended!

Thanks sandeepmdas,

This promises to be a real nugget! I had been hoping for a treatment like this and am very glad that Dr. Lal has come out with this. Definitely on my list.
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