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  Have We All Gone Mad? Why...

  Jerome Booth

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  "With refreshingly clear-sighted analysis, Jerome Booth spells out how political, financial and social groupthink has damaged Britain – and, crucially, how we can tackle it. Highly recommended." – Liam Halligan, Daily Telegraph
  "Most of the worst political decisions of recent years were made when all the mainstream politicians thought the same thing and no one challenged them. Jerome Booth wisely analyses why this situation happens so often and what can be done about it. Every politician and every decision-maker should read this book." – Lord Frost, former Cabinet Office minister
  "It is a long time since I read a book with which I agreed so comprehensively." – Lord Lilley, former Secretary of State
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  We like to think of ourselves as rational, but human beings are fundamentally irrational creatures – and nowhere is that more apparent than in the fug of groupthink we see around us, from the boardroom to social media.
  Of the various forms of collective irrationality, groupthink is particularly dangerous. It involves adherence to a faulty consensus, often has a binary moral dimension (one is seen as either virtuous or evil) and is sustained through fear to challenge. Counter-intuitively, the most intelligent and erudite amongst us are particularly susceptible, and when groupthink takes hold, vigorous efforts are made to shut down debate and to bully and punish transgressors.
  As a result, toleration, liberalism, history, reason and science are under threat. Mass groupthink amongst both the elite and the masses affects millions of people. It has led to financial mismanagement leading up to the 2008 crisis and beyond; poor decision-making at the onset of Covid-19; exaggerated, unchallenged claims which have motivated nonsensical policies; and distortions in academia and journalism.
  In this remarkable and prescient book, Dr Jerome Booth investigates why some of us have abandoned reason in favour of trite memes, intolerance and hatred. Have we all gone mad? Or can we identify the patterns and causes of what is happening and try to stop it?

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  Inside the Gas Chambers - Eight...

  Shlomo Venezia

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  Slomo Venezia was born into a poor Jewish-Italian community living in Thessaloniki, Greece. At first, the occupying Italians protected his family; but when the Germans invaded, the Venezias were deported to Auschwitz. His mother and sisters disappeared on arrival, and he learned, at first with disbelief, that they had almost certainly been gassed. Given the chance to earn a little extra bread, he agreed to become a 'Sonderkommando', without realizing what this entailed. He soon found himself a member of the 'special unit' responsible for removing the corpses from the gas chambers and burning their bodies. 
   
   
   
  Dispassionately, he details the grim round of daily tasks, evokes the terror inspired by the man in charge of the crematoria, 'Angel of Death' Otto Moll, and recounts the attempts made by some of the prisoners to escape, including the revolt of October 1944. 
   
   
   
  It is usual to imagine that none of those who went into the gas chambers at Auschwitz ever emerged to tell their tale—but, as a member of a 'Sonderkommando', Shlomo Venezia was given this horrific privilege. He knew that, having witnessed the unspeakable, he in turn would probably be eliminated by the SS in case he ever told his tale. He survived: this is his story.

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  The Unlikely Village of Eden

  Emma Nadler

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  A hopeful memoir about adapting when life doesn't go to plan, redefining family, and creating your own path. 
   
   
   
  One afternoon, Emma Nadler gets a call from her daughter's doctor that changes her life forever. Faced with the realities of raising a child with a rare genetic condition, Nadler must confront her preconceptions of motherhood and her perfectionistic beliefs. 
   
   
   
  Nadler—who also happens to be a psychotherapist—offers a rare window into the unconventional ways she and her family adapt to their improbable path. Every relationship in her life—with herself, her husband, children, friends, and even clients—is reimagined as she navigates the heartbreak and hilarity of her daily life. 
   
   
   
  As she and her husband join the 53 million caregivers in the US, Nadler wrestles to belong in a society that devalues both caregivers and people with disabilities. She challenges the scripts that mothers should be martyrs, or that self-sacrifice is a necessary component of love. Nadler illustrates the complexity, grief, and joy of living an unexpected life, all with the wisdom of a therapist, the heart of a loving parent, and the ingenuity of a queer woman who refuses to be shackled by cultural expectations.

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  We Agnostics: How William James...

  Paul Schulte

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  Bill Wilson was a washed up Wall Street analyst after the Great Crash of 1929 who was dying of alcoholism and decided to clean up. He read “Varieties off Religious Experience” by eminent Harvard Professor William James (whose own brother had died of alcoholism). The rest, as they say, is history and the result was what Aldous Huxley called the most Important social movement of the 20th century. This book weaves together brief excerpts from James’ book (which had radical ideas about spirituality being an end to itself and mostly separate from religion) with the writings of Bill Wilson to show how the two men’s thinking interacted to create the 12 Step movement. It sheds light on the profound influence James had on early 20th Century Agnosticism. It is solid analysis of James’ important contribution to American Spiritualism. Most of all, though, it is a reflection on the 12 Steps of AA & a meditation on what ‘Higher Power’ means. It is a soothing hot soak in the great writing of two men who developed a way out of the soul sickness that is addiction. They both saw spirituality as separate from religion which arises from the basic human need for some private higher power during moments of self-despair. The relief that comes makes life larger, allows us (finally) to belong and offers dignity — for alcoholics or those who live with alcoholics. It works. It really does. Read a sentence or a page per day. This book is a journey of reflection and meditation.

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  Reform or Revolution

  Rosa Luxemburg

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  "Reform or Revolution" by Rosa Luxemburg is a seminal work in political theory that explores the fundamental question of whether social change is best achieved through gradual reforms or revolutionary upheavals. Luxemburg critically examines the limitations of reformist approaches within the capitalist system, arguing that true liberation requires a radical transformation of the existing socio-economic order. Through a nuanced analysis of class struggle, imperialism, and the dynamics of capitalism, Luxemburg presents a compelling argument that challenges prevailing notions of incremental change. This work remains a key text for those interested in understanding the complex interplay between reformist and revolutionary strategies in the pursuit of social justice.

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  The Wagner Group - Yevgeny...

  Owen Wilson

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  Few military organisations have had a greater importance than the Wagner Group: at a cursory glance no more than a disreputable private mercenary group dedicated to committing war crimes yet also, astonishingly, the challengers of the Kremlin on 23-24 June, 2023-unheard of in over two decades of Vladimir Putin's rule. From its inception in 2014 this nebulous organisation operating from Russia was intentionally cloaked in questions. How was it able to operate alongside Russia's top government officials? How could it deploy the logistical systems of the Russian army up to and including ordering air attacks with fighter planes of the Russian Federation, despite the deep antipathy of Russia's powerful defence minister Sergei Shoigu? Why did the Kremlin provide such an ample helping hand to its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, for over a decade? In this compelling book, former Financial Times journalist Owen Wilson investigates the Wagner Group and their ties to Vladimir Putin. It skilfully sets out its history and the dramatic death of Yevgeny Prigozhin to cast a searching light on the person who ultimately stands behind the group.

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