Post: #276

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Not as good as Brother Karamazov but better than the Idiot...just.

Post: #277

This one I just finished listening to -

Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld. Excellent insight into the world of debt collection and how shady that industry is.

Another one that I finished last week but forgot to include in my last post is War at Wall Street Journal. Book goes into details about Murdoch takeover of WSJ. Quite interesting story but honestly it somehow felt that the company fell into Murdoch's lap because of family politics rather than him having to wage a proper battle for it. Still very interesting and recommended.

Post: #278

Tuesdays With Morrie

One of those short reads that you can learn about a million life lessons from.

Post: #279

I am continuing with my immigration reading list. I wanted to read at least two pro-immigration/open border books and at least two anti-immigration/closed border books in order to hear both sides of the debate and hearing arguments from various experts before coming to a conclusion.

I read Let Them In by Jason Riley, which I reviewed here: /thread-30028-...pid1092982

With the new installment, I read The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal by Mark Krikorian.

I must say, that I was impressed by this book and thought it was much better than the Riley book. Before reading this book, I was sympathetic to the freer immigration, open borders position. But after reading Krikorian's book, he changed my mind.

His central argument is that while immigrants have not changed, we have changed via social policies and technology that will make immigration disastrous for the United States.

He notes due to multiculturalism, post-Americanism of America's elites, and ease of travel and communication and massive immigration for Mexico, the Mexicans have no incentive to assimilate and, in fact, are encouraged not to assimilate.

He mentions the philosophy of reconquista where Mexico and Mexican immigrants will try to increase their sphere of influence through the sheer number of Mexican nationals as well as laws giving immigrants more and more rights.

He mentions that terrorism will be a threat because at this very moment, there is so much immigration that there is a huge backlog and government officials aren't doing proper background checks.

He mentions that immigration has harmed the blacks, Latino, and early immigrants due to the influx of extra workers that drive down wages. He also mentions that due to immigration, there is a surplus of workers and firms have not tried to implement new technology.

He has many other compelling arguments and a practical solution to the immigration problem. But the reason I liked this book is because a) it is well argued, b) it is thorough and filled with facts and statistics, c) it responds to common arguments make by open border people.

After reading this book, it definitely convinced me that open borders would be totally unfeasible due to the huge backlog alone, not to mention the strain on the welfare state and criminals and terrorists being able to enter.

I also read Open Immigration: Yea & Nay by Alex Nowrasteh and Mark Krikorian

If you have read other pro and anti-immigration books I would skip this. Anyway, this book had Alex Nowrasteh arguing for open borders and Mark Krikorian arguing for restricted immigration. Alex Nowrasteh arguments echo that of openborders.info and libertarian economists. Mark Krikorian has a condensed version of his argument in The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal. This book would have been better if it were an actual debate and each side could critique the arguments of the other. This book if ideal if you know nothing about the immigration debate and want to learn the basics within two hours.

I need to find a couple of other immigration books to read. I am thinking about the new Ann Coulter book and Alien Nation by Peter Brimelow since it has gotten good reviews for the anti side. I need to find a couple of other pro-immigration books to balance it out.

Post: #280

Antifragile

Post: #281

(09-03-2015 11:09 PM)Tactician Wrote:  Antifragile

I'm half way through it. It's very good.

Post: #282

The Art of War (Sun Tzu)

Great book, and even greater is that the tactics shown can easily be used in various parts of life (not just military warfare). My personal favorite was how one should consider the different factors for terrain (enviroment/surroundings).

Post: #283

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine
Book by Robert L. Moore

This book was a bit too philosophical and higher level overview for my taste, I prefer more concrete stuff.

----

Money and Power by William D. Cohan

Excellent book about the history of Goldman Sachs. I made lot of notes and learnt some seriously awesome lessons from this one.

Post: #284

Descartes -
Discourse on Method
Meditations

Worth reading for knowledge, but often very dry.

Post: #285

Man Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett.

Set in the early 1900's in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains in India, Corbett recalls his adventures hunting and tracking man eating tigers and leopards, that were terrorizing villages. Corbett's love for the poor people of India and the beautiful flora and fauna of India is evident throughout the book and he is revered in India still, the area in which he lived now bears his name, Corbett National Park.

Highly recommended

Post: #286

Just finished this whopper the other night -- just shy of 800 pages long.

The book attempts -- successfully -- to trace the development of the discipline of psychology from the days of Plato, to Freud, to modern concepts of the mind and how it works.

I'm going to write a review for ROK soon, but I would recommend this book to any who want a concise as possible overview of the discipline -- up from the workings of neurons to higher level processes such as motivation, cognition and perception.

Only one fairly major quibble -- the book didn't mention the concept of "narcissism." Not even a passing reference, not once. Pity.

Post: #287

A Man For All Seasons, by Robert Bolt. A play about (St.) Thomas More's stance on King Henry VIII's divorce and assertion as the head of the Church of England. Very interesting in terms of one's responsibility to their conscience in the different characters.

Post: #288

Has anybody got any decent recommendations on epigenetics/gene expression books?

very interesting field id like to delve into. Something not too difficult to understand if possible.

Also just finished albert ellis's book : A guide to rational living. very good

Post: #289

What I Learnt Losing a Million Dollars. Jim Paul. Epic book if you are into stocks, online advertising, poker or basically any business that involves a bit of risk. Highly recommended.

Post: #290

Cars & People: How to put the two together written by Anthony Ziegler

Quote:Whether you are beginning a new career in automotive sales, have been in the business since birth or are a customer seeking insight into what is behind the smoke and mirrors, Cars and People; How to Put the Two Together, is for you. There is more to sales than basics; journey through the behavioral side of the deal.
Learn how to control your customer.
Understand what a real commitment is.
Be prepared to get dirty.
You'll be digging up old stereotypes, planting seeds and building rapport.
There is no reason for the sale to be so difficult.
It's only cars and people. Congratulations!
Now you are armed with the tools to put the two together.

Excellent book for Game Denialist

Post: #291

Nigel Nicholson – Executive Instinct. Managing the Human Animal in the Information Age (2000).

I'd consider as an introduction to the topic. But it does clearly illustrate how some things will never change and why we shouldn't even bother.

Post: #292

Antifragile by Nassem Taleb. Good book.

Models, how to attractive women through honesty. I read it a year ago but re-read it. Very good.

Post: #293

Confessions of a London Spank Daddy.

Even though it is a memoir, but there is so much stuff related to female psychology and spanking lessons (if you enjoy it, I do so I was taking notes). Just a 4 hour audiobook and it was hard for me to not get an erection a few times listening to it.

Post: #294

No More Nice Guy by Robert Glover. Practical helpful advice about how to not let the world or people trample over you. Realizing it isn't selfish to put your needs first and to establish boundaries.

The Rational Male by Rollo Tomasi. The bible of red-pill knowledge. You have to be strong to deal with the harsh, harsh observations of female nature written in this book. At the end of the book, I felt like I lost my innocence. The book removes your rose-tinted glasses and stamps all over them.

Post: #295

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler circa 1940. People say fiction is for chumps, but it can be a great insight into the culture of the past.

This particular scene sounded very familiar to me:

"Let's understand each other,' she said. ' I'm not this much of a pushover. I don't go for hall bedroom romance. There was a time in my life when I had too much of it. I like things done with an air.'

'Will you have a drink before you go?' I was still leaning against the door, across the room from her.

'Am I going?'

'You gave me the impression you didn't like it here.'

'I wanted to make a point. I have to be a little vulgar to make it. I'm not one of these promiscuous bitches. I can be had--but not just by reaching. Yes I'll take a drink.'"

So she got booty called by the main character and her hamster was spinning to avoid feeling like a slut. The female character in the book was a good reminded that alpha fucks beta bucks was alive back then. The broad was married to a rich chump but had fucked around a lot when she was younger.

"She leaned forward a little and her smiled became just a little glassy. Suddenly, without any real change in her, she ceased to be beautiful. She looked merely like a woman who would have been dangerous a hundred years ago, and twenty years ago daring, but who today was just Grade B Hollywood."

Maybe what he meant to say is that she had the thousand-cock stare or had hit the wall.

I've read two of Chandler's books so far. He wasn't afraid to say how slutty some of the women were back then.

Post: #296

Here are a few books I finished reading over the last month:

1. I hope it's sunny outside by Tony D (It's a good little day game manual B+)
2. Dating Playbook by Andrew Ferebee (Written by the creator for Knowledge for Men A-)
3. Beyond the Game by Aukeyto Mosely B

Post: #297

I've been on quite the literary tear this fall. Here's is a sampling of what I have read:



This wonderful little book by the inimitable Christopher Lasch is considered the prologue to his best-seller "The Culture Of Narcissism." It is considered a sociological treatise, but Lasch spends most of his time criticizing the discipline -- and for good reason.

Lasch, for those who are unaware, was a Marxist intellectual who was a sort-of darling of the Right for his dogged and persistent criticism of liberalism in America -- most especially beloved/misunderstood for his use of psychoanalysis in studying the decline of the American family. His book, here, "Haven In A Heartless World," is a relatively brief summation of his all his sociological research he did while preparing for his book "The Culture Of Narcissism." He spends too much time summarizing the literature and not enough space analyzing, but given his masterful command of the subject matter and his clear, succinct prose, it doesn't detract too much from the book. His main thrust in the book is to show how deep the problems with respects to the American family are (problems didn't suddenly crop up in the 1950's/1960's) and how sociology has been complicit covering up, explaining around and otherwise supporting the forces that have undermined the authority of the family in America.

If you want a serious but accessible read on the reality of the decline of America's superego, please do pick this gem up.



Stephen King's "On Writing" is a must-read for anybody who wants to write. It is brief, to the point and is a treasure trove of pointers to improve your writing.

Want a TL;DR? Read and write every day. More isn't enough -- if you want to become the best writer you can be, turn off your fucking TV, roll up your sleeves and dive in.

Addendum to the paragraph above: if you actually use the term "TL;DR," you will never be any sort of writer and are probably dumber than all those white knights that took on Little Dark. Or not. Rules were made to be broken, right?



I have decided to read every single book I own that I have not yet read. I have noticed, unfortunately, that I own quite a few mind-numbingly dry tomes on politics, history and the like. "Democracy And Its Critics" is one of these formerly unread books and while it was most certainly dry at times, it was a pretty decent read overall. Given how little hope we seem to have for the future of politics in America/the West, it is refreshing to read a hopeful book about the power of democracy. I plan on doing a review for ROK sometime this winter and I hope the review isn't too boring. . .

Post: #298

I read Scott Adam's book "How to Fail at Everything and Still Succeed" and a quote there bugged me, about how persuasion techniques are basically immutable rules of the universe, and ignorance of them means that you're all the more likely to get screwed by them.

So I went and bought a book on persuasion by Cialdini, and have gotten partway through it. The organization for the book could be better but it's been an eye opener to say the least.

Post: #299

The Martian, Andy Weir.

Have you been reading shit science fiction recently, stuff like The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Host, or indeed vomit-inducing SJW skiffy fic like "The Water That Falls On You From Nowhere", the gay Asian short story that won a Hugo?

Well, come on over here, son, because I've got a solid dose of Martian Red Pill for you, and no, I was not just making the Martian reference for the Red joke. The Martian is a brilliant piece of science fiction and refreshingly straight-up adventure and thrills. (Weir apparently tries to keep his politics right out of his books, but he drops one or two indicators that suggest he doesn't give much of a shit for SJW crap generally.)

Basically, the book starts with the premise: what if, on a manned mission to Mars, one poor bastard got left behind accidentally? How could he survive for the hugely long time period that must pass before he's able to be rescued - indeed how does he communicate with Earth to tell anyone he's still alive?

The short answer is roughly 350 pages of sheer MacGyver awesome as Mark Watney, a botanist who also trained in engineering, confronts some seriously fucking impossible odds with nothing but a seriously resourceful intellect and determination that anyone would kill to have. Some people call this Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Bullshit: Robinson Crusoe got himself a slave and didn't have to figure out how the fuck to generate his own air, water, and food supply on a planet where nothing grows in a habitat designed only to last about 60 Martian days. There's a high degree of fidelity to fact in this - it's good hard science stuff, the boys at NASA love this book and gave Andy Weir a lot of his material for it.

There is no moralising character growth, or if there is, it's done subtly. Where a woman would have her protagonist "changed" by the experience of being on Mars, where a shit scifi author like Kim Stanley Robinson alludes to spiritual growth and becoming one with the red planet, there's none of that shit here. Watney does not fucking like Mars and does not fucking fall in love with the joint during the course of his stay, most notably because the planet keeps trying to kill him. There is no simple, sentimental wife and kid waiting back on Earth for him (there is one in the movie version) and there's no huge emotional scenes. When the author passes over Watney stitching his own wounds with 9 stitches over a single line, you know you're dealing with a badass. This book and this character is utterly different from anything I have seen in scifi recently. He's certainly a hell of a lot different from your average male protagonist in fiction. I suspect there's a bit of a secret in the very name of the book: The Martian. It refers to Watney, but it also refers to what he is: utterly fucking alien to most Western men on the planet at the moment. Watney is resourceful as hell, never at a loss, and refuses to give up in the face of serious adversity. Most books on writing warn you to constantly ask your protagonist "Why doesn't this guy just walk out of the story?" In Watney's case, you never even ask because his character is serious never-say-die.

Is the protagonist serious Red Pill in the way of fifties or sixties archetypes? Not exactly - Watney's a bit of a beta when it comes to women, mainly because he's an ultra nerd, but thankfully there is not the hint of a love interest to be seen here for him. There is the odd woman or two, but they don't have terribly crucial roles (and the female command figure is just the sort of tightass, un-feminine type you would expect in that situation.) It's Watney's attitude to life and challenges that is real, gutwrenching stuff, and should have you cheering for him in no time.

This book is a seriously good lesson on never giving up, on an unafraid, playful masculine attitude, on keeping your frame and courage intact in the face of death itself. It's the first book I've read in a while where I was literally on the edge of my seat and groaned in anger as something else went wrong to the protagonist. I don't say it lightly when I say it's about the most important Red Pill science fiction book since Heinlein's best days, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Post: #300

Just finished The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. Got hocked in the history by The Witcher 3 videogame, and wanted to check the books. This is a short histories book, but creates a good background for the saga. A fresh alternative to western-style fantasy.