Short Studies

Michael Carrithers guides us through the complex and sometimes conflicting information that Buddhist texts give about the life and teaching of the Buddha. He discusses the social and political background of India in the Buddha's time, and traces the development of his thought. He also assesses the rapid and widespread assimilation of Buddhism and its contemporary relevance. Well-paced and informative, this introduction will enlighten not only those who study Buddhism and comparative religion but anyone intrigued by the remarkable philosophy of one of the greatest religious thinkers.

So, what truly motivates us? Daniel Pink, in his remarkable book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us takes us on a journey to discover just that. In this review, we will discuss and analyze some of key concepts of the book. We will discover three main types of motivation, Motivation one-point-zero and Motivation two-point-zero, the latter of which still motivates us today. He later goes on to say that there is a better way, a Motivation three-point-zero. A motivation based upon the inner sense of fulfillment. Let us explore Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and learn what exactly these three types of Motivation are and how they stack up next to one another.

This Very Short Introduction audiobook looks at the phenomenon of international human migration - both legal and illegal - and offers an objective stance on the topic, and its benefits and challenges. Khalid Koser reveals the opportunities migration presents that must be taken advantage of in the current economic climate, and debunks common myths to demonstrate that society, as we now know it, cannot function without migrants.

The mythologies of the world are collective cultural dreams, and as such should be analyzed first from cultural perspectives. How do myths of the ancient Egyptians or Greeks, for instance, reflect the realities of the Egyptian and Greek cultures? When compared, however, mythologies reveal certain universal themes or motifs that point to larger trans-cultural issues such as the place of the human species in creation or the nature of deity as a concept. World Mythology: A Very Short Introduction is organized around the universal motifs.

In Polygamy: A Very Short Introduction, Sarah M.S. Pearsall explores what plural marriages reveal about the inner workings of marriage and describes the controversies surrounding it. The book emphasizes the diversity of historical polygamist societies, from the Shi'ite Muslims and Wendat men who practiced short-term marriages to the Mixteca, Maori, Inca, Algonquin, and Marta indigenous people of North America and the Pacific Islands. Pearsall also explains the divides within Christianity that led to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This short audiobook is an article taken from a newspaper called The Jewish South, from Richmond, Virginia, March 12, 1897. This is a 19th-century view of how the number seven has been used in cultures and religion.

In a world where not everyone believes in God, "blasphemy" is surely a concept that has passed its use-by-date. And yet blasphemy (like God and religion) seems to be on the rise. In this Very Short Introduction Yvonne Sherwood asks why this should be the case, looking at factors such as the increased visibility of religious and racial minorities, new media, and engines of surveillance (which are far more omniscient than the old gods could ever be), and the legacies of colonial blasphemy laws.

The Fulani herdsmen’s invasion into peaceful communities of Nigeria has created a disturbing pattern of death and desecration; to this day none of the culprits have been brought to justice. Under the guise of an ancient livestock herding tradition, this group of people wage a war against the Christian population of the entire country. To protect their livestock, cattle farmers have graduated from using sticks, daggers, and clubs to using sophisticated, brutal weapons like double-barrel shotguns and AK-47s.

Unique among books that examine the bible as literature, this brilliantly compact introduction offers an intriguing double-edged look at this universal text - a religiously informed literary analysis. The book first explores the major sections of the New Testament - the gospels, Paul's letters, and Revelation - as individual literary documents. Keefer shows how, in such familiar stories as the parable of the Good Samaritan, a literary analysis can uncover an unexpected complexity to what seems a simple, straightforward tale.

Durch dieses Buch werden sich deine Sprachkenntnisse ohne stundenlanges Büffeln schnell und einfach verbessern. Es gibt viele Möglichkeiten, ins Englische einzutauchen: Englisch-Unterricht, Filme oder Fernsehserien mit Englischen Untertiteln ansehen, Online-Kurse belegen, einem Englisch-Club beitreten, in ein Land reisen, in dem Englisch gesprochen wird oder Bücher lesen....

Despite Brazil being part of the BRIC nations, those with the most potential for growth in the global economy, Brazil is considered economically backwards in many ways. You get an idea of this when you look deeper into its politics and economic policies. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in Brazillionaires, a book that truly exposes the dark side of Brazil's rise and arguably its inexorable fall.

For the most part, most of us are of average health and fitness. We may not run marathons that often, but we are pretty healthy and that might be just fine. But what if you could make your body into a super-fit machine? In Ben Greenfield's book 30 Ways to Reboot Your Body, he goes into some detail as to how to get you from just average to super fit, super strong, and having staggeringly great health. In this summary, we will discuss the core concepts in his book. You will learn what needs to be done to be super healthy and fit.

We all know that the mind is an incredible place. Despite this, the mind itself is not programmed to maximize our happiness. It is a repetition-loving mechanism and will often keep us stuck in old outdated patterns that may not serve us. These patterns often pass on from generation to generation. In the Code of the Extraordinary Mind, Vishen Lakhiani teaches us how to break through this outdated and generationally acquired programming to achieve the life we have always wanted. We will review and analyze Lakhiani's book.

There is no doubt about it, 9/11/2001 changed the world. What is really fueling this hate for Americans and the West is radical Islam and certain Islamic principles in general. The only way we can address these issues is by helping Islam evolve some of its core principles to fit into the modern world. In Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Heretic, she addresses the problems within Islam that inspire terror and how to remedy them. This review and analysis sums up the main points of her book.

When one thinks about Berkshire Hathaway, the business giant, we often tend to think of Warren Buffet. We know that Buffet is known to be a legendary investor, of that we cannot deny. Little do people know that the vice-president of Berkshire Hathaway is also a legendary investor in his own right. In this book we will summarize and discuss Tren Griffin's book Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor and learn more about Charlie himself. We will also discuss the concepts of value investing and other investment ideas from this icon of investing.

In today's diet-crazed society, we are on a seemingly endless search for the perfect diet. In Dave Asprey's The Bulletproof Diet he explains what the perfect diet should look like: one that can help achieve peak health. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the principles in The Bulletproof Diet and see how we can apply them into our daily diet and overall nutrition regimen. Enjoy!

When we think about viruses, we think about diseases such as the flu. For the most part, the flu comes and goes—the body is able to fight it. For some, it can be deadly. There are of course more dangerous viruses out there such as Ebola that in some cases kills 90 percent of those infected. In today's world, viruses can spread very quickly and it's for this reason we must be vigilant. Carl Zimmer in his book A Planet of Viruses discusses what viruses are and why they are so hard to eradicate. He also explains how not all viruses are bad and are, in fact, vital to our survival. Enjoy!

Desires are the fuel that runs our life, for good and for ill. In fact, if desire ceased, so would the human race. In Danielle Laporte's book The Desire Map, she uncovers ways to tap into our desires so we can live a more fulfilling and authentic life. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the principles in her book and see how we can apply them into our daily lives so we can live more authentically.

Robert Greene, in his book Mastery, lays out exactly what we all need to do to gain mastery in any given field. In this book, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize Robert Greene's Mastery and see if we too can become masters in whatever endeavor we want to embark upon.

The Internet changed everything. Alec Ross, in his book The Industries of the Future, discusses how technology has completely changed several industries both for the better and for the worse. In this volume of Summary Shorts, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the core concepts of The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross.