Weitere Bücher, die Sie mögen werden

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  The Invention of Amsterdam - a...

  Ben Coates

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  An essential guide to one of the world's most remarkable, and often misunderstood, cities by the author of Why the Dutch Are Different. 
   
   
   
  When Ben Coates injures his leg and needs to rebuild his strength by walking, he finds himself presented with an exciting opportunity: to rediscover the city he has been working in for over a decade, at a slower pace. He devises ten walks, each demonstrating a different chapter of Amsterdam's history, from its humble beginnings in the early 1200s as a small fishing community through two Golden Ages, fueled by the growth of the Dutch colonial empire, two world wars, and countless reinventions. 
   
   
   
  Join Coates as he meanders past beautiful townhouses and glittering canals, dances at Pride celebrations, witnesses the King's apology at Keti Koti, attends a WW2 memorial, gets high at a coffee shop, walks through the red-light district, and gazes in awe at Rembrandt paintings, all the while illuminating modern Amsterdam by explaining its past. 
   
   
   
  Blending travelogue and quirky history, The Invention of Amsterdam is an entertaining and sharply observed portrait of a fascinating and complicated city.

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  Dark Psychology - Influencing...

  Wesley Felt

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  Deception, as defined by the dictionary, involves intentionally leading someone to believe something that is untrue. This act is deeply ingrained in human nature, allowing anyone to practice it. Deception can engage either the mind or emotions, leveraging our desire for knowledge or information to manipulate us. When deception targets the mind, it often comes in the form of false or distorted information presented as "knowledge." 
    
  When aimed at the body, deception involves persuading someone to undertake actions that have concealed negative consequences. However, the gravest form of deception affects the human spirit. This form is particularly serious because it can influence one’s ultimate fate, even though many people trivialize spiritual matters due to deceptive beliefs. 
  Self-deception occurs when we deceive ourselves into accepting false claims about ourselves as true. This process involves convincing ourselves of a truth that is not actually true, effectively hiding our self-awareness of the deception. Self-deception is a strategic way of maintaining belief in the stories we tell ourselves. If successful, it reduces the likelihood of revealing our true nature, much like overconfidence and optimism. Though similar to these biases, self-deception has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. 
    
  An inflated sense of self-belief can enhance our overall well-being by helping us cope with stress, increasing our persistence in challenging tasks, and encouraging us to seek new experiences. However, when deceit pervades our lives and the lives of those around us, it undermines trust and complicates our existence. While optimism about a bright future is appealing, self-deception can lead to significant disappointments when reality confronts us.

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  A Brilliant Commodity - Diamonds...

  Saskia Coenen Snyder

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  During the late nineteenth century, tens of thousands of diggers, prospectors, merchants, and dealers extracted and shipped over 50 million carats of diamonds from South Africa to London. The primary supplier to the world, South Africa's diamond fields became one of the formative sites of modern capitalist production. At each stage of the diamond's route through the British empire and beyond—from Cape Town to London, from Amsterdam to New York City—carbon gems were primarily mined, processed, appraised, and sold by Jews. 
   
   
   
  In A Brilliant Commodity, historian Saskia Coenen Snyder traces how once-peripheral Jewish populations became the central architects of a new, global exchange of diamonds. Centuries of restrictions had limited Jews to trade and finance, businesses that often heavily relied on internal networks. Jews were well-positioned to become key players in the earliest stage of the diamond trade and its growth into a global industry. Relying on mercantile and familial ties across continents, Jews created a highly successful commodity chain that included buyers, brokers, cutters, factory owners, financiers, and retailers. 
   
   
   
  Working within a diasporic ethnic community that bridged city and countryside, metropole and colony, Jews helped build a flourishing diamond industry and a place for themselves in the modern world.

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  The Pillow Book

  Sei Shōnagon

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  The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon is a fascinating, detailed account of Japanese court life in the closing years of the 10th century. Written by a lady of the court at the height of Heian culture, this book enthrals with its lively gossip, witty observations and subtle impressions.  
   
  Lady Shonagon was an erstwhile rival of Lady Murasaki, whose novel, The Tale of Genji, fictionalized the elite world Lady Shonagon so eloquently relates. Featuring reflections on royal and religious ceremonies, nature, conversation, poetry and many other subjects, The Pillow Book is an intimate look at the experiences and outlook of the Heian upper class.  
   
  Sei Shonagon, born around 965, was lady-in-waiting to Empress Sadako and between the early 990s and 1002, she kept these ‘personal notes’, recording what she saw and encountered with wit, accuracy and intelligence. There is immense variety here. There are more than 320 entries, each with its own heading: ‘Birds’, Trees’, ‘When His Excellency The Chancellor Had Departed’, ‘Unreliable Things’.... Some entries are very brief, no more than ‘asides’, and there are even concise lists. Some reflect the sensitive Japanese response to nature or patterned silk, and there are longer narratives of incidents involving prominent political figures. Her singular humour is often to the fore: ‘Masahiro really is a laughing stock. I wonder what it is like for his parents and friends.’   
   
  But there are also entries which reflect a considerate nature as shown in ‘One of Her Majesty’s Wet-Nurses’. 
   
  While Arthur Waley’s classic translation remains well-known it was abridged, and this Ukemi recording presents the translation by Ivan Morris, the first unabridged English version. It is fluent and lively, and reflects the sparkling character of Sei Shonagon’s writing which, in the 21st century, belies its ancient origins and its academic standing as one of the great works of Japanese literature. This is perfectly captured by in Georgina Sutton’s reading.

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  Lost Inheritance

  Obert Holl

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  “Lost Inheritance” is a compelling narrative that begins in the mid-18th century with the establishment of the Khumalo kingdom and follows the colonization of Rhodesia. 
  It provides a detailed account of the Holl family, prominent engravers in England during Queen Victoria’s reign, and the life of Harry Patrick Holl, who became a successful wheat farmer in Bulawayo. 
  The story unfolds to reveal the challenges faced by Harry’s biracial children and the author, Obert Holl, born in the mid-1940s in Rhodesia. The book portrays the family’s enduring struggles under colonialism and the loss of inheritance due to societal pressures and racial injustices. 
  Obert Holl shares his journey of overcoming adversity, rising to significant positions in both colonial and post-independence governments, and becoming a pioneer in the accounting field in Harare. “Lost Inheritance” is a testament to resilience and triumph over formidable odds. 
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  Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org 
  African Ethnic Cinematic Music by Infraction 
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2zQefSvCUk&list=RDy2zQefSvCUk&start_radio=1

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  Frontal Fatigue - The Impact of...

  MD Mark D. Rego

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  If technology is making modern life easier, why are we suffering from more stress and mental illness? 
   
   
   
  In this trailblazing book, Dr. Mark Rego, who has practiced psychiatry in the community and taught at Yale for thirty years, explores why mental illness and stress are skyrocketing alongside technology that was ostensibly created to improve our world. Using decades of experience and pioneering scientific research, Dr. Rego presents his innovative hypothesis of Frontal Fatigue, the background condition from which many of us now suffer. Frontal Fatigue exists when the unique pressures of modern life overwhelm the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brains that can make us susceptible to mental illness. 
   
   
   
  Frontal Fatigue examines: why mental illness is increasing in modern times; how the demands of our technology-centric lives place countless people at risk for mental illness and lacking in basic psychological well-being; and solutions for finding stability and peace within the noise of modern life. This astute perspective in the battle for our collective and individual peace of mind illustrates why mental illness is on the rise in these technologically advanced times and how we can act to adjust our lives in response.

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