Short Studies

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.

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.

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 It is a repetition-loving mechanism and will often keep us stuck in old outdated patterns that may not serve us.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.

Marcus Aurelius is most known for his philosophical musings, especially one brand of philosophical thought called stoicism. This philosophy has as much application in today's world as it did in his age. Marcus put his philosophical musings to paper; this work is now famously known as the Meditations. This is an analysis and review of Meditations.

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.

Sonia Shah, in her wonderful book Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond, goes into some depth as to how we need to prepare for a future pandemic. In this review, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the key points in Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond. Enjoy!

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.

In this summary, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the key points in The Myth of the Rational Voter by Bryan Caplan. Most people would agree that democracy is broken yet we all know that it is the best governmental system we have. Despite it being the best system, we are facing an unprecedented crisis.

We may not think of our brain as being a computer, but in many ways it very much is like a computer. It is just far more complex than even the most advanced computer out there that we know of. In light of this fact, it is possible to program our minds to change how we react and behave. One effective program we can use is called neuro-linguistic programming or NLP as we will call it going forward. Millions of people around the world have used NLP to change their lives.

We are simply inundated with diet and nutrition advice. It seems that every book contradicts the other. Each book has a different theory. However, there are some books out there that truly break the mold. Why We Get Fat is one of them. It shatters all the preconceived notions as to why we get fat and what we can do about it. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will discuss, analyze and summarize the main points of Why We Get Fat.

Not many people will tell you that they are motivated by their jobs. In fact, we would wager that most people would say they are not motivated by their jobs at all and that if they didn't need the money, they wouldn't be at their current jobs. In other words, they are not motivated. Dan Ariely, in his book, Payoff, discusses what really motivates people and surprisingly, it is not money. What motivates is an underlying sense of meaning. Here we will summarize and analyze Payoff.

There is no doubt that the economic crisis of 2008 was one of the worst in recorded history. It was scary times. What is even scarier still is the fact that it's only a matter of time before another crisis will occur. In Thomas E. Wood's book Meltdown, he makes the case that the US Government was to blame for the 2008 meltdown and asks how the government can insure it doesn't happen again. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in Meltdown and learn how a future financial crisis can be avoided.

Pope Francis is one of the most interesting popes of modern times. In his book, The Name of God Is Mercy, he makes the point that God is not a God of judgment and punishment but one of love and mercy. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in The Name of God Is Mercy and learn more about this great Pope and his message of love.