This book’s full title is Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis. This a rather depressing book. I have a more positive view of the future. There is a lot of problems and conflicts. See what is going on with Russian/Ukrainian war, I think that Taiwan, even if China attacks can survive. I think as a Canadian, even with Tramp currently in charge, we are lucky to be next to the US than Russia or China. However, no one knows the future and Robert Kaplan is always interesting to listen to.
Colin Robertson writes an interesting and positive review of Waste Land at Canadian politics and Public Policy . The Good Reads site has lots of reviews of this book with various opinions. Frank Diana on Inside the Next Transition writes an interesting review of this book. Matthew Rapaport review on Rumination Blog is interesting, but he has his own agenda that shows clearly.
Robert Kaplan speaks at London School of Economics (LSE) about this book. It starts with the moderator asking questions and then round 42.16, the moderator opens up for question. Robert Kaplan speaks at a university in Madrid Spain. He starts to talk around 17:51 mark. Great speech and well worth listening too. Robert Kaplan on Intelligence Squared is interviewed.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
Friday, August 21, 2026
Thursday, July 30, 2026
The Golden Road by William Dalrymple
This book’s full title is The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the world. I knew the basic outline of the history he talks about already, but this is such a wonderful book. The book is clear and a delight to read.
I was attracted to this book because I knew little of Indian history. I did know that what we called Arabic numerals actually came from India. I knew India had developed all sort of things in math. I also knew a bit about the British East Indian company and their time in India. So, I knew very little about Indian history.
Ken Powell writes a review on his Blog called Write Out Loud Blog. The review of this book on Medium is quite long but interesting. The review is sort of negative, but it includes a reply from William Dalrymple and a response from Kiran Kumbhar who wrote the initial review. There is also an interesting and very readable review in the Guardian.
Will Dalrymple talks at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. His speech starts around the 3.22 minute mark. It is a very interesting lecture. William Dalrymple speaks at the British Library about his book. William Dalrymple speaks at Commonwealth Club of World Affairs of California about an Empire of Ideas: How Ancient India Transformed the World. Great interview.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
I was attracted to this book because I knew little of Indian history. I did know that what we called Arabic numerals actually came from India. I knew India had developed all sort of things in math. I also knew a bit about the British East Indian company and their time in India. So, I knew very little about Indian history.
Ken Powell writes a review on his Blog called Write Out Loud Blog. The review of this book on Medium is quite long but interesting. The review is sort of negative, but it includes a reply from William Dalrymple and a response from Kiran Kumbhar who wrote the initial review. There is also an interesting and very readable review in the Guardian.
Will Dalrymple talks at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. His speech starts around the 3.22 minute mark. It is a very interesting lecture. William Dalrymple speaks at the British Library about his book. William Dalrymple speaks at Commonwealth Club of World Affairs of California about an Empire of Ideas: How Ancient India Transformed the World. Great interview.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Earning the Rockies by Robert Kaplan
This book’s full title is Earning the Rockies: Howe Geography Shapes America’s Role in the World. Robert Kaplan is certainly worth reading because of his views on geography and how geography shapes our world and how it works. I have also bought, but no yet read his latest book of Waste Land.
Nick Hough on Plateroom 28 writes a great review of this book. Tyrell Mayfield on a site called The Strategy Bridge Org does another great review.
On this YouTube from PBS News Hour we have people asking questions of Robert Kaplan. This is a short but interesting video. David Ignatius interviews Robert Kaplan. There is also an interesting talk by Robert Kaplan calledMaps Make US at the Brain Bar.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
Nick Hough on Plateroom 28 writes a great review of this book. Tyrell Mayfield on a site called The Strategy Bridge Org does another great review.
On this YouTube from PBS News Hour we have people asking questions of Robert Kaplan. This is a short but interesting video. David Ignatius interviews Robert Kaplan. There is also an interesting talk by Robert Kaplan calledMaps Make US at the Brain Bar.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Recession by Tyler Goodspeed
This book’s full title is Recession: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What to do About it. I quite enjoyed this book. So many people today believe in cycles. Tyler Goodspeed does not. He thinks that recessions are the results of shocks to the economy. He looks at both the US economy and the UK economy over time. Tyler Goodspeed shows a lot of data in this book. I really enjoyed reading this book.
There is a really good review of this book at Works in Progress by Mark Koyama. There is another interesting review by Joel Kotkin on Quillette.
Tyler Goodspeed discusses his book in an interview at Cato Institute. There is a discussion and presentation by Tyler Goodspeed at the Hoover Institution. This is a long but very interesting discussion.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
There is a really good review of this book at Works in Progress by Mark Koyama. There is another interesting review by Joel Kotkin on Quillette.
Tyler Goodspeed discusses his book in an interview at Cato Institute. There is a discussion and presentation by Tyler Goodspeed at the Hoover Institution. This is a long but very interesting discussion.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Land Between the Rivers by Bartle Bull
This book’s full title is Land Between the Rivers; A 5,000 Year History of Iraq. This is a long book and not only covers the area of what is now Iraq, but covers the whole middle east as the Iraq area is invaded or highly influence by the areas surrounding it. For example, he talks a great deal about the beginnings of Islam and the Arabs, as they invaded the area between the two rivers.
This a large read, but it is quite readable and I think that it is worth it for the wealth of information about Iraq and the surrounding area. This is the area of the first civilizations and Bartle Bull covers a lot of ground. Bartle Bull seems to be a good writer, but his interviews are hard to listen to and follow what he is trying to say.
There are some interesting reviews at Good Reads about this book. Peter Gordon on Asian Review of Books has an interest review of this book. He ends the review by saying “Mesopotamia has a good claim on being both incomprehensibly ancient and central to world history to an extent now often under-appreciated, an oversight that Land Between the Rivers should go a long (enjoyable) way to correcting”. The review from Inquiry from an Anti-Library on YouTube covers the story told about in this book, but the reviewer talks in a monotone. The last review I want to point out is one by Douglas Ollivant at Rappahannock Musings. This is a long review, but worth reading.
Leslie Heaney interviews Bartle Bull . They talk about his book and Iraq. Susan Appe moderates a conversation between Robert Kaplan and Bartle Bull about their most recent books on YouTube. Robert Kaplan wrote Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis and Bartle wrote Land Between Two Rivers. There is a comment on Bartle Bull and speaking and he is not a good speaker.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
This a large read, but it is quite readable and I think that it is worth it for the wealth of information about Iraq and the surrounding area. This is the area of the first civilizations and Bartle Bull covers a lot of ground. Bartle Bull seems to be a good writer, but his interviews are hard to listen to and follow what he is trying to say.
There are some interesting reviews at Good Reads about this book. Peter Gordon on Asian Review of Books has an interest review of this book. He ends the review by saying “Mesopotamia has a good claim on being both incomprehensibly ancient and central to world history to an extent now often under-appreciated, an oversight that Land Between the Rivers should go a long (enjoyable) way to correcting”. The review from Inquiry from an Anti-Library on YouTube covers the story told about in this book, but the reviewer talks in a monotone. The last review I want to point out is one by Douglas Ollivant at Rappahannock Musings. This is a long review, but worth reading.
Leslie Heaney interviews Bartle Bull . They talk about his book and Iraq. Susan Appe moderates a conversation between Robert Kaplan and Bartle Bull about their most recent books on YouTube. Robert Kaplan wrote Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis and Bartle wrote Land Between Two Rivers. There is a comment on Bartle Bull and speaking and he is not a good speaker.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
Friday, June 5, 2026
The Ancient Near East by Amanda Podany
This book’s full title is The Ancient Near East, a Very Short Introduction. This book gives a very good introduction to the first civilizations. It covers the near east from around 3600 BCE to 539 BCE. I think this is a neat little book on the first civilizations.
There is a very good review of this book by Joshua Markon World History Encyclopedia site. On the site of Academia Education, there is a review and access to different papers on this subject for downloading .
Spencer Reads everything on YouTube goes over what this book covers. He basically goes chapter by chapter in the end. It is interesting as it covers what the book is all about. There is an interview by Kelly on World History Encyclopedia of Amanda Podany of her new book of Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
There is a very good review of this book by Joshua Markon World History Encyclopedia site. On the site of Academia Education, there is a review and access to different papers on this subject for downloading .
Spencer Reads everything on YouTube goes over what this book covers. He basically goes chapter by chapter in the end. It is interesting as it covers what the book is all about. There is an interview by Kelly on World History Encyclopedia of Amanda Podany of her new book of Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
Thursday, June 4, 2026
India, A History by John Keay
This book’s full title is above, but on the cover, it says, Keay’s panoramic vision and multidisciplinary approach serves the function of all great historical writing. It illuminates the present. This is by Thrity Umrigar, the Boston Globe. This is a history of India from around 3000 BCE to around 2000 AD. It took me a very long time to read this book and it was worth it. I read the second edition, but apparently this has recently been republished.
What stood out for me was the massacres of Indians by the Muslims and the Muslims by the Indians. There has been a surprising number of these massacres since British rule ended in 1948. I knew little of Indian history before reading this book. That is why I was attracted to it.
The reviews at Goodreads seem to be the best place for reviews of this book. There are quite a number. Some positive and others negative. One reviewer lists a number of books on India he thinks are better. There are a lot of long and thoughtful reviews on this site. Bryan Caswell on Concerning History does an interesting review of this book. The site of Kirkus has a book review on this book. The reviewer ends with saying about the book “Without peer among general studies, a history that is intelligent, incisive, and eminently readable”.
Short comment by John Keay on YouTube. John Keay is interviewed on Harper Broadcast. This is a short video of less than 10 minutes. Rida’s Reels on Instagram offers 6 books on India and Partition.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
What stood out for me was the massacres of Indians by the Muslims and the Muslims by the Indians. There has been a surprising number of these massacres since British rule ended in 1948. I knew little of Indian history before reading this book. That is why I was attracted to it.
The reviews at Goodreads seem to be the best place for reviews of this book. There are quite a number. Some positive and others negative. One reviewer lists a number of books on India he thinks are better. There are a lot of long and thoughtful reviews on this site. Bryan Caswell on Concerning History does an interesting review of this book. The site of Kirkus has a book review on this book. The reviewer ends with saying about the book “Without peer among general studies, a history that is intelligent, incisive, and eminently readable”.
Short comment by John Keay on YouTube. John Keay is interviewed on Harper Broadcast. This is a short video of less than 10 minutes. Rida’s Reels on Instagram offers 6 books on India and Partition.
An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.
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