Post: #551

About to start Psycho-cybernetics by Maxwell MaltZ. Has anyone in this forum read it yet?

Post: #552

Just finished reading What Out Mothers Didn't Tell Us by Danielle Crittenden

A short review:

This book is incredibly red pill. Written in 1999, this book is the author’s reflections of the results of the second wave feminist movement of the 1960-70s. In short, she is not impressed. In fact, this book is more relevant now than when it has released because the problems she discusses have gotten worse. She rejects the feminist narrative that women are still suffering from oppression or discrimination that is holding them back by debunking common feminist arguments throughout the book. Instead she argues that many of the changes brought about by the feminist movement have made women worse off.

She cites some studies to prove her point but the main strength of the book is relying on her own thoughts and quoting women that are experiencing the problems that she discusses. That makes the book more personable and more likely to resonate with a female audience.

She notes that feminism has become so ingrained in society that, although many women claim that they are not feminists, they are already feminists in action and in their attitudes. And that the women who explicitly say that they are feminists, are the crazies that you see doing slutwalks, proclaiming “fat acceptance” and these other first world complaints:

“It is because women like these call themselves feminists that so many others have decided that feminism has gone ‘too far’. But in their own way, theses extremists also embody feminism’s success. Ideas that once seemed radical – whether it was equal pay for equal work, or rebelling against housework and marriage, or storming boardrooms and military academies – have been so completely absorbed by our society and accepted by its institutions all the way up to the Supreme Court that the only way left to be truly radical is to become a nut.” – p. 19

She spends time noting that the sexual liberation has made it harder for women to get commitment and left women emotionally distraught.

She notes that women now use the law to enforce sexual restraints upon men:

“And since we will no longer tolerate the old informal restraints upon men and women, we have been obliged to substitute the formal constraints of law. In order to give women the illusion of sexual freedom, we’ve had to impose increasingly stiff legal controls and penalties upon the sexual behavior of men.” – p. 46

“At least the radical feminists, in their crazed way, understand that female sexual freedom flourishes only if male sexual freedom is severely curbed.”

And of course she discusses the dreaded “wall” when she quotes a friend saying “We all have the same problem and there’s no solution for it. All these women, widowed, divorced. The men our age are married, if they’re still alive. And if they get widowed or divorced, they go after younger women, who still want them, if they have money, any power at all. No one even looks at us that way anymore. Of course, we have our women friends, the children, grandchildren, if we’re lucky. But it’s not enough. It makes me mad just to think about it,’” – p. 147

She also makes the observation that women without a man will use the government as their surrogate husband.

In sum, these arguments won’t be new for anyone in this part of the web. However, this book is worth reading because the vast majority of the book’s arguments have been echoed by a manosphere writer at one time or another. This book would be good to recommend to a woman who wants to know what the manosphere is about for while the book is critical of the feminism’s results, it is written in a soft gentle tone that won’t be off putting to women.

Post: #553

How to Win Friends and Influence People- Dale Carnegie

Stumbling on Happiness- Daniel Gilbert

Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand

How to Win Friends is pretty common sense stuff that we never think about because we're all pretty selfish that could help us get farther in life and business.

Stumbling on Happiness is pretty interesting and shows how are brains and thoughts are pretty much full of shit most of the time.

Atlas Shrugged is turning out to be one of the best books I've ever read and only a quarter way in.

Post: #554

A History of Money and Banking in the United States-Murray Rothbard

Post: #555

Watch my back by Geoff Thompson. He has an interview on London real, check it out.

Post: #556

I'm currenty reading Capital In The Twenty First Century by Thomas Piketty, in French.

While the general ideas are interesting (and debatable), I feel that the book is too redundant for anyone who has an already good knowledge of economics. Simple facts or formulas are repeated and explained way too many times. That also explains why the book is over 400 pages.

I'm not sure I'll finish it.

Post: #557

On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

Post: #558

Mike Tyson
Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography

Post: #559

Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Post: #560

"The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Investors and Managers"
By Warren Buffet

Post: #561

Re-reading Gorilla Mindset by Mike Cernovich. There is so much good material packed into this book. For anyone who is on the fence about buying it, don't be. Pick it up, even if you are very familiar with the topics of frame control and visualization - Cernovich has a great way of breaking down the topics. Highly recommended.

Post: #562

Storm Of Steel by Ernst Jünger.

Post: #563

With immigration being a hot news item due to Donald Trump, I wanted to read up on it. I have shifted back and forth to favoring more liberal immigration laws to more restrictive immigration laws. To cure my agnosticism, I have decided to read at least one pro-immigration book and one anti-immigration book.

With that said, I just finished reading Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders by Jason Riley.

Despite the subtitle of the book, he really does not offer a case for "open borders", and does not offer much of a pro case. Rather, the book has the tone of "America has been helped by legal and illegal immigration, the immigrants are happy, the anti-immigration arguments are flat out wrong or overblown, so why not let immigrants, legal and illegal, come in?"

So he spends the book refuting anti-immigration arguments arguing that legal and illegal immigration is necessary for the economy, immigrants are here to work hard as evidenced by moving to states with weak public assistance, that tougher enforcement is not going to work, etc.

Overall, it was a good read.

Post: #564

Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.

This is a book about making rational economic choices. In Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman called this book the "bible of behavioral economics."

This will be the last book I read before fall term, and it's very good so far.

Post: #565

I have the Maxwell Maltz book. Good stuff, but it's core message is the same as many other self-help books. Pretty similar to Gorilla Mindset, actually.

I am currently reading through Nicomachean Ethics right now. Some parts are straightforward -- others are dense and convoluted, so I have been referring to spark notes.

Might read thru Gorilla Mindset again soon -- the last time I looked at it, I just skimmed it. It seemed pretty self-helpy to me, and I've already read a LOT of those kinds of texts, but friends of mine keep praising it. Maybe I'm looming at Cernovich's book the wrong way.

also just got done reading a pretty nice piece called "Replaceability and Career Choice" by William MacAskill. it made me completley reconsider the pursuit of money. Check it out if you get a moment

Post: #566

I've been in a fable mood recently and intend to tackle the Great Books For Men (GBFM) list.

       

Post: #567

Trafficked by Sophie Hayes. It is about a girl who essentially gets sexually trafficked.

Post: #568

(08-17-2015 04:58 PM)Harry Morgan Wrote:  Storm Of Steel by Ernst Jünger.

Is this any good? I read the first chapter or so but got distracted by other texts; I like WWI/WWII primary-source materials and this is said to be one of the best.

Post: #569

The mysterious stranger - Mark Twain

Post: #570

Conspiracy Against The Human Race (Thomas Ligotti). First non-fiction book by Ligotti, he goes through every notable pessimistic philosopher and some weird fiction writers (Edgar Allan Poe is mentioned, Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos in widely touched upon here, so is Robert Chambers' book of short stories, titled the King in Yellow.) in order to dissect our need for meaning in this meaningless world.

Ligotti touches on topics of self, christianity, islam, buddhism, the idea of God (In one of the chapters, he explores Philip Mainländer's idea that universe was born out of God's suicide [Which God in turn commited out the lack of meaning in his existence], atheism, man's desire to find meaning, the cop-out of intellect he observes in most notable philosophers who stop short of coming to the same conclusion as him. That life is malignantly useless.

Found this one through reading about True Detective's first season, mainly, of course, about the philosophy of Rust Cohle. For a philosophy junkie and a avid fan of Lovecraft's writing, this was quite an interesting read. Some reviews said that reading this book makes you want to kill yourself but for me it merely had a rather calming effect.

Post: #571

Been going through the Bangkok 8 series lately. The main character is a half American half Thai cop in Bangkok. Fairly interesting, throws out random Thai culture while solving a crime. Author is John Burdett.

I'd recommend it if you've been to Thailand or want a book about it.

Post: #572

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt.

So far a fascinating read on the origins of reason (hint: it's not to seek truth, but to explain ourselves to others and persuade them to agree with us) and why different political parties and cultures value different foundations of morality. Haidt also discusses how studying and researching morality beyond the affluent middle class shifted his political views from very liberal to appreciating conservative morals.

Post: #573

I'm reading

The 48 laws of power by Robert Greene

El evangelio según Jesucristo (The gospel according to Jesus Christ) by José Saramango

Post: #574

A History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, Landmark Edition

Post: #575

Just finished The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie and getting into The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow.