The pandemic outbreak in Hong Kong and Ukraine/Russia war are sources of anxiety. It is a luxury to share a few books. Until things look better, these books are hopefully sources of relief allowing you to experience different eras and perspectives. Some have plots that help us to reflect the current happenings, while a few others are sources of inspirations. Enjoy!
- China in the 20th century (Swan)
- French Revolution (Black Count)
- The love and terror alongside the rise of Hitler (In the garden of beasts)
- The life of an existential philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (Philosopher of the heart)
- The foreign exploitation of an African village (How beautiful we were)
- The inspirations from two women with drastically different origin and life journey (My life in full and 鏡前鏡後).
Swan
by Jung Chang
Through three generations of women, the author told the story of their lives through the turbulent times in China. The 20th century has been a hundred years of dramatic changes where China has gone from Qing dynasty to the Republic of China, endured many humiliations from foreign countries, survived a world war, fought a civil war, and struggled in the many movements of the Communist party. It was an engaging read with a rich plot, tragic at times and humbling to see how China has prospered after the hard times.
Black Count
By Tom Reiss
Based on the memoir of the famous author Alexandre Dumas and the archives of the French revolution era, Tom Reiss weaved an attention-grabbing biography of Alex Dumas. Alex Dumas, the father of the famous author Alexandre Dumas, has been an important influence to the author who has incorporated his father’s prison experiences into the world-renowned classic “Count of Monte Cristo” and “The three musketeers”.
Alex Dumas, born as a mulatto, rose to be the most feared generals and became the commander-in-chief in Napoleon’s unsuccessful ambition in Egypt, only to be fallen as Napoleon rose to full power in France.
More than a biography, the author gave a new perspective of the years before and after the French revolution, the racial equity progress and regress, the pursuit of ideals and the failing, the terror and the personal ambitions of Napoleon. The French revolution could be summed up as the era of ideals, terrors, and wars.
This is a great book for readers to see the bright and dark sides of the French revolution (or any revolution); and the evolution of racial equity in that era.
The author has impressive storytelling power making such a complex topic an engaging read.
In the Garden of Beasts – Love, Terror and an American family in Hitler’s Berlin
By Erik Larson
A portray of the love and terror in Hitler’s Berlin in the lens of an American Diplomat. A professor was appointed to be the American Diplomat to Berlin, a few years before Hitler rose to full power in Germany. Through the experiences of the diplomat and his flamboyant daughter, the author brought to life the unique and intriguing landscape on how Berlin and Germany, in the wink of 2 years, had fallen to Hitler.
There is so much to discover through the questionable love stories, the parties, the political power play in the United States as well as in Germany.
If you are interested in seeing another angle of what life was like in Berlin in the late 1930s, you would enjoy this book.
How beautiful we were
By Imbolo Mbue
This is a vivid and sad story of an African village being exploited by an American oil company and a corrupt government, written from the perspective of the children, the elder, the mother, the grandmother, the protestors, the fighters. The villagers are powerless and are left with environmental degradation, livelihood degradation, death sentence of leaders, premature death of children and a massacre. The remaining are forced to accept the changes and often have to leave behind many things they have valued for generations: their homes, their heritage, their culture.
Philosopher of the heart : the restless life of Søren Kierkegaard
By Clare Carlisle
Soren Kierkegarrd was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who has been widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. This is a biography of his restless life.
Rather than living a comfortable worldly life, he picked the less traveled journey to find meaning, to search deep in his heart, to answer what it is to be a human being and what it is to be a Christian.
He struggled in his ethical sphere in his relationship with Regine whom he disengaged with as he found the calling. He challenged the Christendom and the Church how much the believers have deviated from the living of Abraham, Mary, Jesus and their followers. He constantly lived with irony and ambivalence and suffered as he lived out a non traditional life as a pastor, an author.
If you are looking for deep and deeper thinking, this is the book.
My life in full
By Indra Nooyi
Indra gave a genuine account of how she, born and raised in a traditional Indian family in Madras, rose to become the CEO of the PepsiCo.
Through education, unconditional family support, powerful mentors, unbelievable energy and unparalleled hard work, she was able to make an amazing career journey while raising her children.
In her role as PepsiCo CEO, she has transformed the company to performance and purposes. She has the front seat view of the challenges and has committed to make the world better for those after her.
Her vision of how to make the world better is an inspiration.
鏡前鏡後
林青霞 (作者)
The famous actress of Taiwan wrote about her acquaintances, her friends, her thoughts and the characters that she admired over the years. It was unbelievably reflective of how she discovered the passion in reading and writing, made new friends and learned new perspectives.
oliviatamccue 