60-second Book Reviews

In the past couple of months, I have been able to do some more reading.

Prophets and Kings (576 pages, available at Amazon.com) is the second in a series of five books that pulls back the curtain on the spiritual history of the world and reveals God's hand in historical events. This book covers the period from around 1,000 BC at the beginning of king Solomon's reign until about 30 BC as the the Roman Empire's prophesied dominion spreads over the then-known world, which is waiting for a divine sign of deliverance. The author shows how events of the past have become relevant again for the 21st century and have a timeless significance. This series is appealing for any reader who wants to make sense of our earth's history and to see how the puzzle pieces of our past fit together to reveal the future.


Can I say the 'A' word on this website?

Okay, lets dispense with the niceties and quote from the book. The No Asshole Rule (224 pages) is a book that stemmed from an article a couple years ago in the Harvard Business Review about the negative effect of jerks, creeps, and assholes in the work environment. The book is full of examples of the negative behavior of colleagues and supervisors in the office, and its chilling effect on morale, productivity, health, and the list goes on. The author encourages companies to have a "No Asshole" rule, and then be sure to enforce it. For me, the most interesting part of the book was the last few chapters, which explains how to deal with them, and even how to survive and thrive in an environment that is suffering from "asshole poisoning". I'm fortunate that I have had good colleagues to work with, but the book has provided good tools for my management tool-kit for the future.


Happiness Digest (134 pages) is a light and easy read that shows how to experience more happiness in life. It covers topics such as managing stress, health, family, and the importance of getting out in nature. In a way, it's like a lifestyle book. The book has a spiritual focus, and explains how to have better communication with our Creator through effective prayer. One chapter that I found especially interesting was about stewardship, which includes our time, health, finances, and the environment. As responsible citizens of the world, it highlighted the importance of managing our health, wealth, and the environment thoughtfully, as they ultimately belong to God.

Three Cups of Tea (349 pages, available from ThreeCupsofTea.com) is probably the best book I have read in several years. A kind friend at work loaned it to me after a conversation about Pakistan. The book traces Greg Mortenson's journey from being a member of a climbing expedition to K2/Anapurna in Pakistan, to discovering an impoverished village in northern Pakistan, and his quest to help build schools for the boys and girls, especially the girls, of this region. We read how he tenaciously raises funds from donors around the world, and focuses on helping the locals of the often-forgotten villages of the Karakoram region build schools for their children, to improve their quality of life. I learned something that should have been obvious before. The return on investment of all the diplomats in costly embassies doing outreach with contacts in the cities and towns and the congressional delegations taking expensive tax-payer funded 'fact-finding' trips each year is dwarfed by the good that one American can accomplish who's willing to get his hands dirty in a remote locality, with a little funding and a lot of passion. Though not a thriller, it was very difficult to put this book down, and I found myself choked up reading about the pride of the children who had learned to read and were carrying the hopes and dreams of their villages on their shoulders. I think this book should be required reading for all Foreign Service Officers. If I had to recommend one book this year, it would be: Three Cups of Tea.