This week I read The Prince, written by Niccolò Machiavelli, translated by Ninian Hill Thomson. In a technical discussion centered on deep learning aided computer architecture design space exploration, a colleague brought up the word “machiavelli”. From there, it is trivial for me to trace a path to this book The Prince that in turn … Continue reading The Prince
Category: History
Bring Up the Bodies
Per recommendation of a friend working in a Waterstones bookshop in England, I acquired this book about six years ago. That did not turn out well at all, as I absolutely disliked this book after reading the first bit of it only. I was in a different frame of mind, I heard myself yelling inwardly: … Continue reading Bring Up the Bodies
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari’s brief history of humankind is brief enough that I could read it and listen to its audiobook in one weekend. It is long enough that my reading chair could do with shaking my weight off it. Leaving its accuracy aside, since I am not a historian myself (not yet, neither you nor … Continue reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Churchill – Walking with Destiny
Churchill - Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts is for people who have an exceeding amount of enthusiasm about Winston Churchill. Its 982 pages (excluding extra notes) are certainly not for the faint hearted. Some time during last winter, this book was gifted to me by a very generous soul who truly understands and tolerates … Continue reading Churchill – Walking with Destiny
Planck – Driven by Vision, Broken by War
J. C. ignited my (very healthy) obsession in quantum computing about half a year ago. In the past few months, I have read some technical materials, but have been craving for more and more about the origin and the development of quantum physics, and the giants behind it. Sadly Richard Feynman’s books are … Continue reading Planck – Driven by Vision, Broken by War
Julius Caesar
I saw the new production of Shakespeare’s tragedy: Julius Caesar by the Bridge Theatre London. This new show is not for the faint-hearted, involving a significant amount of on-stage shooting, fighting and battlefield effects. My favorite characters are Gaius Cassius Longinus played by Michelle Fairley and Marcus Brutus by Ben Whishaw. Michelle Fairley performed marvellously. … Continue reading Julius Caesar
Women & Power: A Manifesto
I gifted myself Mary Beard’s Women & Power: A Manifesto for my birthday. This book was very visually prominent when I was walking around in Copperfield’s Books in Calistoga. The cover itself powerfully attracted my attention. Mary Beard! That name is enough for me to grab the book off the shelf and run to … Continue reading Women & Power: A Manifesto
The English and Their History
As I have kept up with my 2017 resolution of reading and writing about one book a week, choosing a book for the last week of the year has been painfully challenging. There are a large number of books about many fascinating topics that I would love to read and so few I possibly … Continue reading The English and Their History
The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius
I first read George Orwell’s “The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius” many years ago when I was in the process of learning English which turns out to be an everlasting endeavor. Some time last year, I picked this book up again, after listening to some BBC radio program that quoted … Continue reading The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius
Night
My book of this week is Night, written by Elie Wiesel and translated by his wife Marion Wiesel. Elie wrote about his experience of being deported from his home town Sighet in northern Transylvania to concentration camps towards the end of the WWII in 1944, at age fifteen. Elie’s mother and sisters were separated from … Continue reading Night