Phil L.

Seminal work that will mark history

Revisado: 07-17-22

Desmet touches upon some of the most important aspects of existence, and opens key insights on how to better think of them.
The delivery is impressive, both enjoyable and easy to understand and follow along, which was no given on such difficult topics.

One of my best reads ever, possibly because I had come to the same conclusions myself and it feels comforting intellectually and humanly to know we’re many out there.

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Classic!

Revisado: 05-22-21

This is one of the best points of entry into evolutionary thinking for layman people, and a great insight into biology. Highly recommended, but don't stop there because much has happened since in the field. I'd read this followed by a most recent account of where genomics (and beyond) now stand.

If you only wish to understand how modern evolutionary biologists should think, and possibly integrate such thinking to your own, then this book is probably all you need.

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Just read it. Please.

Revisado: 12-09-18

We all need to know and understand this as citizens of any country in this century.

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A masterpiece

Revisado: 02-26-18

This is the essence of the warrior's mindset. I think everyone should read it, especially in our day and age.

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A Great Perspective

Revisado: 02-10-18

One of the truly novel thinking perspectives on the fundamental nature of things and what it means for our immediate and distant future. Impressively good food for thought.

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Simply beautiful.

Revisado: 12-14-17

I have immensely enjoyed this program. I just wish everyone would, too. Get it now if you can. Better yet, gift it to someone. They'll know how much you love them.

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The story of Bitcoin and blockchain

Revisado: 11-30-17

It's interesting to know how things happened. Who, what, how, why, where and when. This is the book to answer all these questions about Bitcoin and, to a much lesser extent, blockchain (the technology).

Narration is exemplary. Went through it at 2x without problem (could have gone faster even but I wanted to have time to think).

It's all mostly factual so there's little interpretation or discussion, which is a strength of this book if you look at it this way: you are left with your own opinion about things. You'll be told how various actors responded to various events, but the author himself is silent.

A very good history doc. If you want to a deeper understanding of how Bitcoin works and its implications, then there are probably more in-depth publications to look at first.

My personal opinion is that if you're going to be involved with Bitcoin or cryptocurrency (and we'll probably all be at some point in a near future), then you should read this.

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A great and insightful account of Bitcoin

Revisado: 11-26-17

There's a pun in my title but you'll have to read the book to get it. ;-)

This was a short bit very compelling read. It explains in very simple terms the implications of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency at large (the word itself is never used, nor blockchain, to explain concepts).

There's some very good food for thought as to how this technology is disrupting on a very fundamental level the very notion of currency, of contract, actually of exchanging value.

Highly recommended for everyone if only to open your mind to the possibilities, and the very real evolutions that are almost sure to happen within the next few years. A decade from now, old government-issued currencies may become obsolete for a number of transaction kinds.

It's mind-blowing, even for those who are at the heart of this revolution in the making.

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Timeless Principles for Self Growth

Revisado: 11-21-17

The only negative point in this book is that old tapes from Earl Nightingale are not well restored and might prove unenjoyable to listen to, although his narration is among the best in recorded history. That's only ~10% of the book so it shouldn't deter you from purchasing it, but you should plan a relatively quiet environment and be prepared to lower the speed sometimes (if you're used to 2x speeds as I am). I averaged between 1.3 and 1.8x.

Everything else about this program is world-class advice for a great life. I've rarely seen a better collection of sound suggestions, on pretty much every topic. There are many quotes of famous (and unknown) authors throughout the book, which serve the many points quite well, and are very fruitful to ponder alone.

It's already long but covers a wide variety of things, so obviously you'll find useful using it as a starting point for self growth, read more specific books on each topic. But as far as general life advice goes, this is pure gold.

If you're already familiar with several works in this field, you'll probably recognize many a principle explained by Earl Nightingale, for he's probably the leader of them all; but repetition is always good to really integrate concepts, and besides few managed to word these so well as he did.

If you don't know these things, chances are you're missing out big time on your potential in this life.

For all these reasons, and because I've tremendously enjoyed this audiobook, I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. Everyone.

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A formidable masterpiece

Revisado: 09-22-17

This book is a phenomenal, life-changing, culture-defining piece of work. When I say culture-defining, it's with the deepest hope that our society will evolve towards integrating and cultivating the idea unearthed by Brene Brown and contained in this book, the culmination of 12 years of research.

It was so powerful that I read (well, listened) to it entirely today.

It is now famous enough that you will find other, probably better reviews than mine so I'll let other do the critics job.

I just want to testify on a personal level that, despite being somewhat intelligent emotionally (in the sense of Daniel Coleman), more empathic than average, and throughout my life deeply concerned and willing to "do the right thing" in all I do and especially in regards to relationships and human interactions in general, I realized with this book how flawed some of my actions have been, how counterproductively I have behaved at times with some of the dearest people around me (some of whom are now out of my life, because either they or I or both of us left, and now I feel like I understand why much better than ever; it's a book that heals in that tough but awesome way). Sometimes it's been obvious to me that I made mistakes, but this book sheds a new, more subtle light on key moments that I thought I handled well. It is a fascinating, deeply humbling, and prodigiously empowering read for one who wishes to grow and become an ever better person, for themselves and their loved ones.

I wholeheartedly recommend it, and would love for it to be a somewhat mandatory read in highschool philosophy classes —if we were ever to reconsider philosophy as mere recipes for a good life (which it is, at its core), away from the intellectual/scholar approach (kind of like we all need to learn to speak and write, whereas making literature studies is almost another topic entirely).

Two remarks to wrap this up.

1. I listen at a relatively fast pace (usually 1.5× to 2.5×) and contrary to many reviews here and on Amazon, I did not find the narrator bad at all. In fact it was very intelligible and, although sped up making it hard to evaluate the tone, I found it quite 'compatible' with Brene's Brown own speech (afaik, from TED, YouTube interviews, etc.) Obviously not perfect, but well enough that I could "see" her talking to me in my mind throughout the book.

2. Besides the TED talk that I had watched last year (and had moved me to tears, perhaps because it came at a particular time of my life when it resonated so deeply with my own struggles; and that I had subsequently shared quite insistingly with everyone I loved), I came to reading the book itself because it was recommended by Tom Bilyeu on his "Impact Theory" reading list (Google these words and you'll find the page, 25 outstanding books). It's one of the most impressive read in the list so far IMHO, but there are many other gems in there, that I think most people should read as well.

Daring Greatly was a rare, great moment. I'll read it again, perhaps every year, to never stray too far off this important knowledge. And I am forever grateful to Brene Brown for having done this work, and for writing and sharing it with the world. If history went my way, this would be the beginning of a much, much better age for human civilizations, kinda like Ancient Greeks founded an enlightened era that lasts to our days. Will people still be reading Daring Greatly as a classic by the year 4,000? Hopefully, yes!

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