Why is there never time to do everything I have to do? Why can I never get everything done at
work? Why is everyone always demanding I
do more and more? If you feel like this,
you MUST read this book.
Oliver puts it
very bluntly – you only have four thousand weeks on Earth, then you die. This assumes an average life expectancy of 80
– workout what faction of that you have left and multiply by 4000, and that is
how many weeks you have left – not many.
This book helps you stop trying to do everything so that you can
focus on what counts. I love this book
as it is a wake-up call to all of us – do not waste the little time you have
left alive – and instead live it.
"Provocative and appealing . . . well worth your extremely limited time." ―Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street Journal
The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks.
Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of…
Do
you, like me, look around the world and ask the simple question – why is it so
fucked up?
If so, you will love Will
Black’s book – because it explains psychopathy and why it was very useful as
humans evolved but now has infected our culture and is causing major damage.
Psychopaths may appear charming, but this is
superficial and used to manipulate – you know, people just like this. Many are
in a position of great power and can shape society and, as Will suggests, create psychopathic cultures. Will gives examples of pathological cultures in
families, small networks, larger institutions, global corporations, and
governments.
Once a pathological culture has been established, it can expand
and infect healthy cultures. We need to
identify these cultural inflections and fight them with rationality and
empathy.
Estimates of the percentage of psychopaths and sociopaths in society range from 1% to 4%. The proportion of those with psychopathic traits is greater in certain professions, including banking, law and the media. This is not surprising as psychopaths are attracted to environments where they can maximise their influence and rewards. Many people imagine psychopaths to be like serial killers in films. While it is true that some killers are psychopathic, it is also true that many more people in 'respectable' jobs have psychopathic qualities. Indicators include self esteem being derived from personal gain, power and pleasure, lack of concern…
The British Empire covered 20% of the World’s land –
described as the Empire where the sun never set. But what do we really know
about the British Empire and its legacy? British colonialism: its massacres, enslavement, and racism are not taught in schools.
For me, this book examines the British Empire and
how we avoid dealing with its problematic and painful history. One of the best chapters is Chapter 11, “Selective Amnesia,” which discusses how many in the British establishment have
great nostalgia for The Empire and use it to illustrate the greatness of the
British. When polled, a third of the British wished we still had the
Empire.
As Sathnam points out, this
skewed view of history is affecting how we deal with multiculturalism and
interact with other countries, many of which we subjugated.
This book is a must-read to understand the
British and the profound and sometimes toxic global legacy of the British
Empire.
WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH BOOK AWARD FOR NARRATIVE NONFICTION
***THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY 'EMPIRE STATE OF MIND'*** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'The real remedy is education of the kind that Sanghera has embraced - accepting, not ignoring, the past' Gerard deGroot, The Times _____________________________________________________
EMPIRE explains why there are millions of Britons living worldwide. EMPIRE explains Brexit and the feeling that we are exceptional. EMPIRE explains our distrust of cleverness. EMPIRE explains Britain's particular brand of racism.
Strangely hidden from view, the British Empire remains a subject of both shame and glorification. In his bestselling…
A remarkable exploration of
the science, history, and politics of the Anthropocene, one of the most
important scientific ideas of our time. The impacts of humanity have driven Earth into a new geological epoch,
the Anthropocene. For the first time in our home planet's 4.5 billion-year
history, a single species is dictating Earth's future.
To some, the Anthropocene
symbolizes a future of superlative control of our environment. To others, it is
the height of hubris, the illusion of our mastery over nature. The
Anthropocene is a heady mix of science, philosophy, religion, and politics
linked to our deepest fears and utopian visions.
Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin
trace our environmental impact through time to reveal when and why humans began
to dominate Earth.
