Showing results by author "Swift Reads" in All Categories

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.

Yuval Noah Harari's 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018) explores the crucial social problems likely to beset humanity in the coming decades. The text is a protracted reflection on globalization, technology, climate change, and cultural conflict. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)...

No-Drama Discipline by psychotherapists Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson explains how parents can diminish disorder while strengthening their child’s brain. The authors’ approach to discipline, based on the latest in neuroscience at the time of publication, enables parents to turn meltdowns, temper tantrums, and everyday frustrations into teachable moments that strengthen the parent-child relationship. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel set in a version of the US that has been overthrown by religious fundamentalists. In what was once most likely Massachusetts, under the militaristic regime of the Republic of Gilead, women no longer have civil rights or autonomy.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

In God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007), journalist Christopher Hitchens argues that religious faith is not necessary for humanity’s progress. In fact, faith in supernatural beings has slowed scientific advancement, led to human rights violations, and facilitated the creation of totalitarian regime.

This is the audio summary of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing which demonstrates why index funds should make up the majority of the average investment portfolio.

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.

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts (2018) by social researcher and best-selling author Brené Brown explains how to create an organizational culture built upon principles of vulnerability, connection, and meaning. For 20 years, Brown has researched vulnerability, and Dare to Lead incorporates her extensive data around shame and its cure, empathy; in addition, she interweaves the results of a seven-year education project on vulnerability and leadership, which Brown designed and implemented…

In The Big Short (2010), journalist Michael Lewis traces the stories of a handful of misfit investors who predicted the 2008 financial crisis. In the parlance of Wall Street, to “short” something is to bet against an investment or company through the purchase of a complex high-finance product.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (2014) by neuroscientist and atheist Sam Harris explores how to develop a spiritual practice that is not based on outmoded religious beliefs about how the world works. Harris draws upon personal experience, neuroscience, psychology, and Buddhist conceptions of the mind to explore the nature of consciousness and how it is possible to embrace spirituality and remain secular....

This is a summary of The 33 Strategies of War (2006), which teaches different approaches to conflict. Robert Greene examines ways to defeat an enemy in contexts ranging from violent battlefields to the sets of famous Hollywood films....

One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market (1989) guides fledgling investors through the process of how to pick stocks and build a winning investment portfolio. Author and investor Peter Lynch, with the help of author John Rothchild, explains that investors do not have to work at high-profile finance firms to be successful....

This is a summary of Michael E. Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It (2001), which explores the question of why so many small businesses don’t survive. The answer is simple, yet profound: because they don’t understand the work of running a business....

Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence (2018) by psychiatrist Daniel J. Siegel is a comprehensive guide to cultivating attention, awareness, and intention through mindfulness. Siegel developed the Wheel of Awareness, a visual metaphor designed to help anyone cultivate heightened awareness and focused attention.... Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.

In Becoming (2018), Michelle Obama recounts the familial, educational, romantic, and political experiences that culminated in her tenure as first lady of the United States. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford describes the ways automation and rapid advances in technology are shaping the global economy, as well as the profound consequences these technological changes will have for future workers. The role of technology in production has evolved. No longer a mere means of increasing the productivity of human workers, technology has developed methods for replacing workers entirely. Disclaimer: This isn't the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it's available from Amazon and Audible.

This is a summary of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams (1994) by best-selling author and New Age thought leader Deepak Chopra. It outlines essential spiritual wisdom for how to achieve success. Success is not simply about acquiring prestige and wealth....

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...

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (2008) by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein explores how "nudges", or subtle prompts, can help people make better decisions about spending and saving. Applying significant findings from the fields of business, psychology, law, and economics to some of the most controversial issues and problems in the United States, they propose strategies that can help anyone make a good choice, whether it’s on a personal or governmental level....

This is a summary of Business Adventures (1969), a collection of 12 nonfiction stories about American business and high finance by journalist John Brooks. Each story explores a different subject, including eccentric leaders and their successes, failures, and legal quandaries.