Showing results by author "Os Swift" in All Categories

The Law of Success (1928) by Napoleon Hill outlines the principles and values that informed his best-known work, Think and Grow Rich! (1937), which was published almost a decade later. By embracing the boundless power of the human mind, anyone can accomplish their wildest dreams....

Written in 1729 as a satirical piece, selling the babies of the poor to the rich to be braised, baked, broiled, or boiled to rid Ireland of a perceived problem was probably less repulsive than it is today, but are the children of the poor still viewed as a throwaway segment of our population? Interestingly, the practice is also viewed as a solution to the "abortion" problem.

Educated (2018) by Tara Westover is a memoir about how an uneducated young woman raised in the remote mountains of Idaho came to earn a doctorate from Cambridge University. Raised outside of society, in a violent household run by Mormon fundamentalists, Tara never saw herself as a person with choices or prospects...

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1994) by Barack Obama chronicles his quest to understand how the varied threads of his upbringing, including his father’s absence and his multiracial and multinational roots, shaped him and his understanding of his place in the world. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 to Stanley Ann Dunham, a white woman, and Barack Obama Sr., a black economist from Kenya. Obama Sr. and Dunham met while studying at the University of Hawaii....

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals (2019) by entrepreneur, influencer, and bestselling author Rachel Hollis is a self-help guide for women who want to pursue their dreams. Hollis’s advice comes from her own firsthand experiences as an enterprising woman, building her own business from scratch....

Undo It! How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases (2019), outlines a wellness system that can help listeners prevent, manage, or even recover from common chronic health conditions. Preventative medicine specialist Dean Ornish and his wife, Anne, a yoga and meditation expert, have used the Ornish program to treat thousands of patients suffering from diseases that usually require lifelong medication or surgery.

Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time (1997) details how a small coffee roastery in Seattle became a monolithic corporation with a worldwide reputation for providing affordable luxury beverages. Author Howard Schultz, now retired CEO and chairman of Starbucks, recounts how he grew the company into an internationally recognized chain after joining Starbucks in the early 1980s and buying it later that same decade...

The Good Gut: The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-Term Health (2015) by Justin Sonnenburg and Erica Sonnenburg explores the fascinating machinations of the human gut. Also known as the microbiome, the gut is teeming with live bacteria that help make or break one’s physical and mental health.

In From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America (2019), Howard Schultz examines how his upbringing in a working class New York family influenced his actions when he became chairman and CEO of Starbucks. Schultz uses his eventual professional success to argue that the United States still can be a land of opportunity if those with means are willing to give chances and resources to those without.

First Things First (originally published in 1994, updated in 2015) by Stephen Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill is a time-management book that asks readers to examine their most deeply held values. When people center the things in life that are most important, whatever those may be, triaging a busy schedule becomes an easy exercise instead of an ongoing nightmare....

It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work (2018) teaches companies and entrepreneurs how to increase productivity and improve work performance by setting reasonable boundaries on the hours spent completing tasks. Authors Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson use their web application company, Basecamp, as an example of a tranquil work environment where calm, steady progress is favored over breakneck speed.... Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future (2018) introduces a simple, effective organizational method that uses only a pen and notebook to improve productivity and enhance introspection. Author and Bullet Journal creator Ryder Carroll explains how readers can lead a more meaningful life, vanquish challenging tasks, and streamline their workflow by creating a custom planner using the book’s journaling system. Listen to this in-depth summary by Swift Reads to learn more.

Almost Everything: Notes on Hope (2018) by best-selling author Anne Lamott is a collection of essays on finding glimmers of optimism even amid great turbulence. Just before her sixty-first birthday, Lamott wrote these essays to share the wisdom she has gleaned from her many decades of living with her grandson and niece. Listen to this in-depth summary by Swift Reads to learn more.

Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy (2009) traces the lives of six North Korean defectors from Chongjin, a city in northeastern North Korea in North Hamgyong Province. The narrative examines their daily lives and occupations. Listen to this in-depth summary by Swift Reads to learn more.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions (2018) presents the thoughts of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking on 10 major scientific and philosophical debates, including whether a deity exists, whether intelligent life exists in space, and whether humans should seek out a new home outside of Earth.

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds (2009) by professional communications expert Carmine Gallo offers essential guidance for delivering an effective, original, and moving presentation. Gallo’s book incorporates discussions of the psychology behind compelling keynote speeches, interviews with TED presenters, and insights gleaned from analyzing more than 150 hours of TED talks, representing approximately 500 speakers.... Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

Christopher Clark’s The Sleepwalkers is an expansive account of the days, months, and years leading up to World War I. Clark’s central contention is that scholars’ continuous preoccupation with the question of who was responsible for starting the war stems from an erroneous understanding of the events....

Full Disclosure (2018) by Stormy Daniels is the adult film star’s tell-all memoir, with special emphasis on her relationship with Donald Trump. While her association with Trump was brief, its aftermath has been long and painful, with no end in sight.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005), author and entrepreneur T. Harv Eker argues that readers can substantially increase their net worth by studying the financial habits and attitudes that rich people commonly have. Although their personalities and temperaments vary greatly, the wealthy generally have similar fiscal ideas and practices.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Work Rules! Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead (2015) by Laszlo Bock describes the unorthodox methods Google uses to hire and retain the most talented employees. Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, knew they wanted to create the world’s best search engine.... Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.