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Guns, Germs, And Steel Full Book Introduction

Guns, Germs, And Steel
Guns, Germs, And Steel Full Book Introduction
 
Why did the inhabitants of the Eurasian continent conquer the American natives, instead of the other way around? Why are wheat, maize, and livestock like pigs and cows found in certain regions of the world and not in others? This book reveals the facts behind the broader environmental elements that have helped shaped the world’s history, thereby effectively refuting anthropological theories based on racism. It also records the underlying causes of the current situation and the many injustices visible in our modern world. This book can be considered as a true history of all the races and ethnicities of the world.
 
Author : Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond is a polymath spanning a wide range of fields including anthropology, ecology, physiology, and evolutionary biology. He is a current professor of geography and former professor of physiology at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as an editorial board member of Skeptic magazine. Dr. Diamond has received a MacArthur Foundation Genius Award, in addition to research prizes and grants from the National Geographic Society. He is well-known for his popular science books such as The Third Chimpanzee; Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse; and Why Is Sex Fun?
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today we will unlock the book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.
 
In 1972, the author, Jared Diamond, was walking along the beach in New Guinea when a local friend Yali asked him, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?”
 
To his surprise, Dr. Diamond found it difficult to answer this seemingly simple question. Why is that so?
 
Yali’s question may seem like a simple question about the difference in the production of goods, but his question actually contains many hidden caveats. Why, for example, did the people of New Guinea still seem to be “living in the Stone Age” two centuries ago, while the Europeans already had a wide variety of inventions such as steel axes, gunpowder, garments, soft drinks, and umbrellas? Taking a closer look at the difference in lifestyles of these two groups of people, we may connect it to the broader spectrum of disparities in the modern world and ask: why is it that people of Eurasian origin (including those who have settled in North America) control most of the world’s wealth and power today? Moreover, some ethnic groups, like the indigenous peoples of Australia, the Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa, no longer hold their homeland but have been subjugated or even wiped out.
 
Around the start of the 16th century, European countries began to occupy territories all over the world. Why was it the Eurasians who conquered and subjugated native peoples, rather than the native Americans, Africans, and Australian aborigines, conquering or subjugating the Eurasians?  
 
Some people claim that around that time, Eurasia already had many advanced empires with all kinds of technological and weapons advantages that people in other parts of the world did not. It was these technological and political differences that led to the inequalities that we see in the world today. While this is an obvious answer, the deeper question remains as to what caused these differences in the first place.  
 
Historically, certain groups have claimed that Europeans are naturally more intelligent and genetically superior to other races. Of course, today we know that such an explanation is not only racist and offensive, but also factually incorrect.
 
So, what is the true cause of these differences? In the years since his conversation with his friend, Dr. Diamond has conducted significant research into human evolution, history, and language, and he published Guns, Germs, and Steel twenty-five years later as an attempt to answer Yali’s question.
 
Like The Third Chimpanzee, which we unlocked in a previous bookey, Guns, Germs, and Steel has also won the Royal Society’s Science Book Prize for Dr. Diamond. In addition, it was a New York Times bestseller and has won the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. The book reveals some broad environmental factors that have benefitted the historical development of certain regions of the world, thereby debunking anthropological theories based on race and racial superiority. At the same time, it offers possible causes for many of the inequalities that we see in the world today. It can be regarded as a true history of the peoples of the world.
 
In this bookey, we will introduce the book in three parts:
 
Part 1: Guns, germs, and steel;
 
Part 2: Time, flora and fauna, and geographical barriers;
 
Part 3: China, Oceania, and Africa.
 

Getting Things Done Full Book Introduction

Getting Things Done
Getting Things Done Full Book Introduction
 
Do you often complain about not having enough time or having a lot of work to do? Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity will help you solve all your problems. This book introduces a method called GTD time management. It is an efficient workflow practice proven to help you "Win at the Game of Work and Business of Life." This book is based on the author’s over 30 years of consulting experience and personal exploration. It has been published in 33 countries, helping millions of readers around the world to get their work done easily and efficiently.
 
Author : David Allen
David Allen, an American author, is the founder of David Allen Company, a management consulting enterprise. He is one of the most influential thinkers in improving work efficiency and a leading authority in the field of time management. He created the GTD time management method and was recognized by Forbes as one of the foremost executive coaches in the U.S.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today we will unlock the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity.
 
Are you confused when you are busy as a bee every day at work but can’t get the promotion or income you expect? Do you still have a lot of work to do when it is time to go home? Most of us are annoyed by tight schedules, a heavy workload and too much stress.
 
It seems that the reason these things happen is because we have too much work to do – but in fact, we have poor time management skills. No matter if you want to lose 40 pounds, take control of your financial destiny, disentangle your family relationships or pursue your dreams, you will need to manage your time to improve productivity. The method introduced in this book is GTD time management. It is a set of proven and highly efficient workflow practices which can free you from excessive work and enable you regain control of your life.
 
GTD is short for "Getting Things Done" and it simply means to get things done. This method has been popular worldwide for more than a decade. Many people even greet others by saying, "Are you GTD today?" You can see how great the impact is.
 
The book is written by David Allen, an American training expert with more than 30 years of experience in management and pioneering research on improving productivity. He has spent thousands of hours helping people in "work trouble" to manage their work. This book is a collection of the author's practical experiences over the years, and it will guide you to produce maximum output with minimum effort.
 
The nature of time management is to manage our minds and actions. GTD time management holds that the most important point is to move all distracting work arrangements out of your brain through some external tools and techniques. In this way your brain remains relaxed and happy. GTD time management methods can make you more successful, and more importantly, help you live a happy life.
 
In this Bookey, we will talk in detail about the four parts of the GTD time management method.
 
Part one: how to prepare for GTD time management?
 
Part two: the five stages of lateral mastering work flow.
 
Part three: the five phases of longitudinal project planning.
 
Part four: the three keys to yielding twice the result with half the effort.
 
These four parts will help you to set up your time management system. Now let's begin to talk about them, one by one.

21 Lessons For The 21st Century Full Book Introduction

21 Lessons For The 21st Century
21 Lessons For The 21st Century Full Book Introduction
 
Artificial intelligence has already entered our lives. While we enjoy the convenience it brings us, we are also worried that it might take our jobs, access our data, and make decisions for us. Given the numerous challenges we will be facing in the future, how do we make sure we can stay at the forefront of time and survive? Following Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, as the finale of the trilogy, the book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century will bring you to a significant discussion about human destiny in the twenty-first century.
 
Author : Yuval Noah Harari
The author of this book is Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli writer, also known as “the young geek“. Not only does the book take a historical perspective, but also covers a wide range of knowledge areas, such as biology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and religion, fully demonstrating the author’s extensive knowledge. Unlike traditional historians, Harari, being creative, makes videos based on the content of his book and uploads them on YouTube, gaining a large number of young fans.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today we will unlock the book: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
 
According to statistics from the Internet Data Center (IDC), the amount of data generated globally in the year 2008 was zero point four nine zettabytes (ZB). If we assume that a book has 200,000 words, that amounts to an equivalent of fourteen hundred trillion books, which can fill two hundred and eighty thousand libraries. By 2011, the amount of data had increased by two point seven times, which equals to an average increase of 250,000 libraries per year.
 
Fortunately, artificial intelligence (AI) can process a great amount of data, and allows us to enjoy the technological advancement it brings to our lives. However, when we benefit from technology, have we ever thought about the possibility of AI taking our jobs, accessing our data, and even making decisions for us? When it comes to this point, how will we survive?
 
The book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Harari discusses this exact question. Not only does it take a historical perspective, but it also covers a wide range of knowledge areas: biology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and religion. The author believes that individuals can have a direct influence on the world.
 
Known as the young geek, Yuval Noah Harari is a historian who obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Oxford. Besides this book, he has published another two global bestsellers, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, completing his trilogy.
 
Unlike the other two books, the one we are going to discuss today is more instructive. It focuses more on the challenges people are facing at the present moment. It gained enormous popularity and wide attention around the world since it was published, and has so far been authorized for publication in over twenty countries.
 
This book has selected twenty-one significant topics on the solutions relevant to the future of humans. This Bookey will divide them into three main parts.
 
Part One talks about the challenges the information explosion era poses to human beings;
 
Part Two is about how individuals can find the truth;
 
Part Three looks at how individuals can prepare for the future.

Thinking, Fast And Slow Full Book Introduction

Thinking, Fast And Slow
Thinking, Fast And Slow Full Book Introduction
 
The human brain is equipped with two thinking systems, System 1 that is good at thinking fast, and System 2 that is good at thinking slow. System 1, the fast thinker, relies on intuition when it makes a judgment. While it is fast and efficient, it is inept at statistical reasoning and is susceptible to many systematic biases. On the other hand, System 2, the slow thinker that oversees rational thinking, is lazy and often takes System 1’s intuition for granted. More often than not, we are irrational when we make judgments and decisions, and we are definitely not what the author calls “Econs.”
 
Author : Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman is a psychologist and a pioneer in behavioral economics. He was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for bringing psychology and economics together to better understand how humans make decisions under uncertainty. His research has covered social psychology, cognitive science, and behavioral economics. Documenting his pioneering findings in these fields, the 2011 book Thinking, Fast and Slow is an ensemble of Kahneman’s finest works.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today we will unlock the book Thinking, Fast and Slow, a milestone in the field of behavioral economics.
 
Daniel Kahneman, the renowned psychologist and author of the book, has combined psychology and economics to examine how humans make judgments and decisions under uncertainty. His trailblazing work won him the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. By collaborating with his colleague Amos Tversky, Kahneman paved the way for a new field of study, Behavioral Economics. Their research broke down the barriers between social psychology, cognitive science, and economics, providing us with a better understanding of the mechanisms of the human brain in judgment and decision making.
 
Psychologists Keith Stanovich and Richard West were the first to propose that the human brain runs two cognitive processes, fast thinking and slow thinking, which they named System 1 and System 2. These terms were adopted by Kahneman in this book.
 
System 1 and System 2 are not two physical parts in the human brain but a virtual concept that showcases how thinking works. System 1 is a subconscious, fast-thinking system that relies on intuition, whereas System 2 is a conscious, slow-thinking system that takes voluntary effort to control. System 1 is in charge of the day-to-day tasks that we are familiar with, such as braking or turning according to signals when we drive. On the other hand, System 2 takes over the tasks or problems that System 1 finds alien or fails to solve, such as doing the mental arithmetic of 17 times 38.
 
Although the human brain has two thinking systems at its disposal, System 2 is, in fact, very lazy. It would not set to work unless the situation compels it to, such as when faced with a problem that System 1 cannot solve. As a result, most of the judgments and decisions that we make for our lives and career are predominantly System 1’s works. System 2 is at best its assistant. In most circumstances, the work distribution between System 1 and System 2 is highly efficient. However, System 1 has many flaws and is prone to systematic errors, which is what  Kahneman chose to focus on in this book. He mainly discusses the cognitive attributes and weaknesses of System 1. By understanding System 1’s flaws, we can consciously avoid many cognitive fallacies and become better decision-makers.
 
Next, we will summarize the book in three parts by focusing on the traits and flaws of System 1 when it makes decisions; and why we are not rational Econs.
 
Part One: System 1 makes judgments based on intuition
 
Part Two: System 1 is inept at making statistical judgments
 
Part Three: We are not rational Econs

The Stranger Full Book Introduction

The Stranger
The Stranger Full Book Introduction
 
In The Stranger, events happen by chance. Unwittingly, the protagonist, Meursault, becomes involved in his friend’s conflict, shoots and kills his friend’s rival. During the trial, the public decides to focus on Meursault’s character rather than attending to the specific details of the case. Because Meursault didn’t weep at his mother’s funeral, they conclude that his personality is cold and callous. As a result, he is sentenced to death. Throughout these events, Meursault assumes the role of an outsider. The French title of the book is also sometimes translated as “The Outsider.” He watches events unfold with cold indifference. In his last moments, he calmly accepts his fate and transcends life and death.
 
Author : Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a renowned French-Algerian philosopher, author, and journalist. Camus was a leading figure in the philosophical school of thought known as Absurdism, and was associated with existentialism. He is often compared to his existentialist compatriot, philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Though, throughout his lifetime, he firmly denied his philosophical identity. Although Camus’ works vividly portray the absurd nature of life, they do not descend into despair and express dejection. Against the contradictory absurdities of modern experience, Camus’ works promote resistance, upholding truth and justice instead of hopelessness. The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus, and the play Caligula are among his most celebrated works, collectively known as the Absurdist Trilogy.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today we will unlock the book The Stranger. This novel describes an accidental occurrence. How a nobody, living a mundane and monotonous life, becomes involved in a murder leading eventually to his execution.
 
The existentialist philosopher Albert Camus wrote The Stranger when he was twenty-six years old. When it was published, the novel was soon a huge success. It laid the foundation for Camus’ renowned writing career.
 
Within a few years of its publication, The Stranger had received widespread acclaim in the literary world. Reviewing the novel, critic Marcel Arland concludes, “We recognize… in The Stranger: a genuine writer.” Another critic, Henri Hell, wrote, “With The Stranger, Camus ranks at the apex of the contemporary novel.” In his  book Writing Degree Zero, Roland Barthes credits The Stranger as creating a revolutionary “transparent form of speech” that would change our understanding of literature and even of reality.”
 
The story describes Meursault’s wrongful conviction. However, unlike in a typical miscarriage of justice, this protagonist is not completely innocent, nor has he been framed. In fact, he expresses his guilt and openly admits to the murder. Nonetheless, others at the scene of the crime are well aware of the fact that he committed this offence in a state of confusion. As this case unfolds, the judicial process becomes increasingly complex, and the trial lasts almost a year. Ultimately, in Meursault’s case, the verdict passed is that there is nothing human about him and his crime was premeditated.
 
If you find this outcome absurd, or perhaps consider it strange that such a ridiculous verdict could be reached under the supposedly advanced legal systems of modern times, this would be just what Camus intended. Why didn’t Meursault actively fight against it? Let us take a closer look at this story.
 
In this bookey, we will introduce Camus’ book in three parts:
 
Part One makes a simple summary of the story and explains how Meursault becomes embroiled in a court case;
 
In Part Two, we will analyze the character of Meursault, and explain why he is a stranger and what leads to his final execution.
 
Lastly, Part Three examines the novel’s message from a creative standpoint and examines Camus’ protagonist from his personal perspective.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray Full Book Introduction

The Picture Of Dorian Gray
The Picture Of Dorian Gray Full Book Introduction
 
This novel recounts the story of a handsome, aristocratic youth by the name of Dorian Gray. He wished a spell on his portrait that he would retain eternal youth – a wish that ultimately came true. Thereafter, he indulged without restraint in his sensual desires. Time passed, and Dorian’s beautiful looks were unchanged by time. Meanwhile, his portrait grew more hideous day by day. Finally, aiming to destroy the traces of his life of sin contained in the portrait, Dorian stabs the canvas with a knife, resulting in his own mysterious death. In death, Dorian’s corpse transforms, becoming hideous and old. His painted portrait has its beauty restored.
 
Author : Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was an Irish born writer, dramatist and poet. He was one of the greatest talents to emerge on the British literary scene since Shakespeare. He was a spokesperson for Aestheticism. From an illustrious background, Wilde was extraordinarily gifted. His works ranged from plays to novels to poetry to fairytales. He moved effortlessly between literary genres. His works for children and adults have been celebrated through generations. Fairytales, such as The Happy Prince and A House of Pomegranates, have been included in the annals of British Children’s Literature, while his plays, such as Lady Windermere’s Fan and An Ideal Husband, are masterpieces, remaining without parallel to this day.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today for you, we will unlock the book The Picture of Dorian Gray. The book was the only full-length novel written by Oscar Wilde, the Irish dramatist and writer who settled in Britain.
 
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, into a prestigious family. His father was a surgeon, and his mother a poet and writer. Wilde was renowned for his flamboyant dressing style and his words of wit. He lived by his own rules and adopted a fearless lifestyle, restlessly moving between scandalous homosexual lovers and his respected family. Finally, due to his refusal to disavow his homosexuality, he ended up in jail. A pioneering voice in the field of Aestheticism, at the close of the 19th century ,Wilde was England’s most maverick genius.
 
Oscar Wilde flourished in a British society that was governed by strict proprieties, moral and ethical codes. Everything that anyone said and did was subject to harsh restrictions. Art and literature were subject to even greater scrutiny. Slight deviations from the norms were deemed perverse, unorthodox and unacceptable. At the time, society’s prevailing view was that the value of literature and the arts lay entirely in their ability to affect people’s values through their thoughts and emotions. Consequently, art would influence people’s behavior. Fundamentally, literature and the arts were a tool for moral instruction. As such, the arts were deemed to command great educational utility.
 
Wilde felt deep resentment towards this artistic ethos. He felt that this type of artwork crushed the artist’s imagination and destroyed the pure beauty of art; it violated art’s essence. The Picture of Dorian Gray is precisely a retaliation against such a utilitarian view of art. The novel tells the story of an aristocratic youth Dorian Gray, who is handsome in his appearance and pure at heart. But, under the seduction of a hedonist, Lord Henry Wotton, he makes a pact, trading his portrait image for his soul in exchange for eternal youth. Blessed with youth without consequence, Dorian Gray descends into an abyss of sin and evil.
 
On account of its evocation of moral issues, the novel’s publication stirred much controversy in Britain. Wilde himself was ambivalent. He never explicitly stated his own position. However, the British literary establishment dubbed the novel “a tale spawned from the leprous literature of the French decadents—a poisonous book, the atmosphere of which is heavy with the mephitic odors of moral and spiritual putrefaction—a gloating study of the mental and physical corruption of a fresh, fair and golden youth”. Thereafter, Wilde’s novel was forever regarded as proof of his desire to attack and damage social mores.
 
In the novel’s preface, Wilde offered a retort to public censure. He wrote: “There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well-written, or badly written. That is all.”
 
So, what sort of story lies within the pages of this book? Why did it provoke such fiery debate? We will now interpret this book for you in the following three parts:
 
In Part One, we will summarize the novel’s plot;
 
In Part Two, we will provide an in-depth analysis of the novel’s key characters;
 
In Part Three, we will interpret Wilde’s perspectives on art as it is embodied in the novel.

The Five Love Languages Full Book Introduction

The Five Love Languages
The Five Love Languages Full Book Introduction
 
Many people think that marriage is the grave of love, and a lot of couples fight with each other or have marriage crises because of trivial things. But they are always close to each other when they are in love. So what turns these intimate relationships into ones ripe with conflict? This book will tell us why as well as discuss the primary reason why communication is so important, and how we can express love in proper ways. It also provides effective ways that will point us in the direction of how to resolve marriage crises.
 
Author : Gary Chapman
Gary Chapman is a prominent relationship coach and a popular lecturer. He has met tons of couples who were faced with marriage crises, but through deep communication he found out that the reason for the marriage crisis was that both the wife and husband used the wrong love languages to get along with each other. After this revelation, he decided to write this book as a way to help people discover their true love languages to enjoy a better marriage.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today, we will unlock the book by Gary Chapman called “The Five Love Languages.”
 
It is common that relationships change after marriage, even though many couples were happy when they were in love before that. They may fight with each other more frequently after marriage. More seriously, these conflicts can lead to emotional crises or even divorce. What’s going on? The problem is that we all have different love languages, which means we all have different ways of expressing love.
 
When getting along with our partner, we express our love based on our own ideas. These different ideas mean people will eventually end up with different love languages. This is the point: Does your partner understand your way of expressing love? Will he or she feel that you love him? This happens because we ignore the fact that everyone has different love languages. Your partner might not feel your love when you express love in your own ways.
 
Why are love languages important? In the book, the author says that giving and receiving love is at the center of every single adult’s sense of wellbeing. Marriage is designed to satisfy our needs for an intimate relationship and love. Feeling loved is the most important emotional need for us. In his book, the author uses a good metaphor: in every child’s heart, there is an “emotional love tank” waiting to be filled with love. It’s only when a child feels truly loved that he can grow up healthy and happy. However, when the love tank is empty, the child will exhibit problematic behaviors. Adults are the same. If our love tank is empty and we cannot feel loved, our marriage will have problems. So how can we fill our love tank and reap good results in a marriage? The love language teaches us how to fill our love tank in the proper ways, and this book will tell us how to do it in detail.  
 
Gary Chapman is a prominent relationship coach who has met lots of couples who were faced with marriage issues. Through deep communication, he found that the reason for the marriage crisis was that both partners used the wrong love languages to get along with each other. Therefore, he wrote this book to help people discover their love languages and have a better marriage. His other book, “Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married” discusses common traps that can be found in a marriage. If you are interested in it, please listen to our bookey of that book.
 
Next, we will cover the essence of “The Five Love Languages” in six parts. We will learn how to discover our partner’s love language as well as our own to have a happy and healthy marriage.
 
Part One: Love Language #1: Words of Affirmation;
 
Part Two: Love Language #2: Quality Time;
 
Part Three: Love Language #3: Gifts;
 
Part Four: Love Language #4: Acts of Service;
 
Part Five: Love Language #5: Physical Touch;
 
Part Six: Discover Your Primary Love Language.
 

The Big Short Full Book Introduction

The Big Short
The Big Short Full Book Introduction
 
This book mainly tells the story of how several ordinary Wall Street workers found out the secret of the bond market, realized the crisis hidden under the "subprime" bubble, and got rich by shorting the market. The book also reveals the dark side of American financial institutions and financial rating agencies. It analyzes the various causes of the financial crisis.
 
Author : Michael Lewis
The author of this book is Michael Lewis. He graduated from Princeton University and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He served as a bond trader at Salomon Brothers, and was also a writer for The New York Times and an editor of The Observer. His famous book, Liar's Poker, is widely regarded as a classic depiction of Wall Street culture in the 1980s. He is also the author of Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today, we will unlock for you the book, The Big Short.
 
Speaking of the U.S. subprime crisis, we believe you are already familiar with it. The crisis began in the spring of 2006. At the time, many Americans that borrowed money to buy homes couldn't afford their bank loans. They sold their homes, and housing prices plunged, which triggered an economic crisis that engulfed the housing and financial markets. By August 2007, the crisis had influenced the financial markets of the U.S., the European Union, and Japan. It also brought unimaginable damage to the famed Wall Street. However, some saw the crisis well before the bubble burst. While everyone else was dreaming of making money, they shorted the market and made handsome profits and became one of the few people to make a fortune during a financial disaster. They performed what the book calls the "big short." So, who are they? How did they manage to see the situation clearly? That is the story of The Big Short.
 
The book was written by American best-selling author, Michael Lewis. His bestselling books include Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, and The Big Short. Forbes chose both Liar's Poker and The New New Thing as "the 20 most influential business books of the 20th century." He is currently a contributing editor of Vanity Fair.
 
In The Big Short, Michael Lewis' ability to capture the ins and outs of financial trading and the way people think and behave has a lot to do with his own experience. In his early years at Wall Street’s top investment bank, Salomon Brothers, he gained deep insight into the financial industry. As soon as it was published, The Big Short became the go-to-book for people who wanted to study the financial crisis of 2008. In 2015, the book was adapted into a film that won the Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay. While the film focuses more on Wall Street’s greed, what we're going to unlock focuses more on what caused the financial crisis and how people responded to it.
 
Next, we will explain the core content of the book from three aspects.
 
Part I: What caused the U.S. subprime crisis?
 
Part II: The truth behind the bubble and why were people were so optimistic?
 
Part III: Who benefited from the financial disaster after the bubble burst?

Sapiens Full Book Introduction

Sapiens
Sapiens Full Book Introduction
 
Homo sapiens were once an inconspicuous group in the corner of Africa. How did they eventually make it to the top of the biological chain and take over the planet? Where did money and religions originate from? Why did the empires created by humankind rise and fall one after another? How did science and capitalism become the most crucial tenets of modern society? This book will help you sort out the journey of humankind from ancient times. By uncovering the origins of cultures, religions, laws, nations, and credit, humankind can reexamine itself.
 
Author : Yuval Harari
Born in Israel, Yuval Harari is a history professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a world-renowned historian and a rising star in the field of history. His focus areas incorporate history, anthropology, ecology, genetics, and other academic disciplines. From a macroscopic point of view in his research, he frequently yields perspectives that are innovative and can afford much food for thought. Hence, his works are highly sought after by readers from all walks of life. Once published, his Sapiens became an international hit and gained popularity in dozens of countries.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today we will unlock the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.
 
East Africa, 2 million BC. It was a stretch of lush grassland, covered by a sea of bright greenness after the rainy season. Above the distant horizon were a few pale cumulus clouds scattered across the azure sky. A gutted giraffe lied underneath a tall Acacia tree, while a pride of lions gnawed on it. In a secluded spot in the grass next to the tree, hounds and jackals waited quietly. By the time the lions had left the area, hounds and jackals swarmed and feasted on the giraffe until all that's left was a skeleton, then they departed contentedly. At this moment, another group of creatures, very humanlike and somewhat chimpanzee-like, walked out of the bushes a little further. The group of creatures had arms and legs but walked upright. After carefully gathering around the giraffe skeleton and vigilantly surveying their surroundings, the creatures chiseled the giraffe's bones with several sharp stones. They dug out the only edible tissue that remained: marrow.
 
The surface of the moon, 1969. The plains and plateaus composed of Plagioclase and basalt were dotted with meteor craters of breccia. Since the atmosphere was thin and almost nonexistent, the sunlight shining onto the grayish-white pitted ground was directly reflected into space. It not only resulted in considerable land surface temperature difference but also turned the sky pitch black. For billions of years since its birth, this place had been dead and quiet. Until this day, there had been no sign of life except for occasional visits by meteorites. A strange metallic device appeared in the distant sky and landed after quickly approaching. Two creatures in white but outlandish attire descended from the machine above. They bounced clumsily on the ground, inserted flags, and erected a metal tablet on this patch of land. Then one of them made a footprint in the ground and said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
 
At this point, it should be clear to everyone that both stories are about ourselves as humans. Not so long ago, we were just weaklings on the prairie. We lived a life of fear and anxiety, feeding on raw, bloody meats. But in a short amount of time, we created a colossal global civilization.
 
By what force did we as a species rise to power? Where did humankind originate? And how was civilizations born? How did we stick out from many other species and jump to the top of this planet's food chain? How many more mysteries are there in the history of humankind? In today's review of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, we will clear these doubts and explore the essential questions of history and modern society.
 
The author of this book is Yuval Harari. Born in Israel, Harari is a history professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a world-renowned historian and a rising star in the field of history. His focus areas incorporate history, anthropology, ecology, genetics, and other academic disciplines. From a macroscopic point of view in his research, he frequently yields perspectives that are not only innovative but also afford much food for thought. Hence, his works are highly sought after by readers from all walks of life. We've already covered his bestselling books 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. The book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind that we're going to discuss today became an international hit once published. It is a phenomenal and unique work that has become popular worldwide.
 
Next, we will uncover the book through four parts:
 
Part one: The Cognitive Revolution;
 
Part two: The Agricultural Revolution;
 
Part three, The Unification of Humankind;
 
Part four, The Scientific Revolution.

Outliers Full Book Introduction

Outliers
Outliers Full Book Introduction
 
In every time period, there exist some "outliers" who possess exceptional abilities and achieve extraordinary feats. It is commonly believed that their success is attributed to personal factors, that they are either gifted or simply work much harder than the average person. However, this book uncovers the real secret to their success. They do not rely purely on their talent or hard work to achieve success; rather, their success is influenced by innate strengths, acquired opportunities, and cultural backgrounds.
 
Author : Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian author of Jamaican and English descent. In 2005, he was included in the TIME 100 Most Influential People list. In addition to this, Gladwell has been hailed as “a 21st-century Peter Drucker” by Fast Company. The New York Times described his influence on social thought as “the Gladwell Effect.” He is known for his books The Tipping Point, Blink, Talking To Strangers, and David and Goliath. Each of these books made a splash in the world of non-fiction literature. You can use our APP to find the bookeys for each of these titles.
 
Overview | Chapter 1
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today, we will unlock the book Outliers: The Story of Success.
 
In every era, we can find "outliers" who possess exceptional skills and achieve extraordinary feats. They become a symbol of that era, and their extraordinary performances are recorded in history books. It is commonly believed that their success is attributable to personal factors, that they are either gifted or work significantly harder than the average person. For example, we believe that due to Albert Einstein's superior IQ, he was able to become one of the world's greatest physicists. Similarly, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart practiced for 10,000 hours to compose the classic work Piano Concerto No. 9.
 
On the surface, it seems that having a high IQ and undertaking strenuous efforts will lead to success, but this book tells us that they did not rely purely on their talent or hard work to achieve success; their success was influenced by innate strengths, acquired opportunities, and cultural backgrounds. In other words, social and cultural factors gave them an edge over ordinary people. Furthermore, these strengths may be amplified under the effect of a virtuous circle, thus allowing them to outrank ordinary people in competition. So, in addition to their internal factors—superb talent and hard work—we also need to focus on the external factors that contributed to their success: hidden advantages, opportunities, and cultural influences. The author tells us that without these external factors, even someone who has a higher IQ than Einstein is still likely to fall into mediocrity.
 
By thinking out of the box, this book leads us towards more profound opportunities for success. Also, it gives us another way to interpret factors for success.
 
In this bookey, we'll discuss the book in three parts:
 
Part One: Innate strengths
 
Part Two: Acquired opportunities
 
Part Three: Cultural legacies