The World's Best Book Summaries
Are sales letters still a thing? How can they be used to get customers to buy your product? In The Ultimate Sales Letter, Dan Kennedy (a multimillionaire entrepreneur and direct-response marketing consultant) shares strategies for crafting powerful sales letters. These letters capture customers’ attention and make them want to buy what you’re selling. Continue reading for an overview of this top-selling book.
What is the status of—and the outlook for—the global distribution of wealth? Are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? Steven Pinker wants to set the record straight on wealth and inequality in the world. He presents compelling data regarding inequality, poverty, and social spending that might come as a surprise to many. Continue reading to learn Pinker’s argument and for a brief discussion of the prospect of a Universal Basic Income.
Can happiness be measured? If so, what do the measurements tell us about the state and trajectory of happiness in the world? Steven Pinker believes that the world is getting better, and happiness is part of that. By sharing world happiness data, he shows that happiness levels are up and that the statistics on mental illness and loneliness look better than we might imagine. Read more to learn why Pinker is optimistic when it comes to world happiness.
What’s the most beautiful sentence ever written? What author shows you something new every time you reread his books? What book has one interesting fact after another? Jared could tell you. Based in Atlanta, he’s a book guide writer at Shortform. We interviewed him recently to learn a bit about his relationship with books.
Do you dwell on “what might have been”? Is it possible to undo the past by rewriting painful memories? Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky sought to understand how people deal with the past. At the root of this exploration were Kahneman’s thoughts about how people avoid feelings of regret and the mental permutations they go through in order to cope with regret in the present. Continue reading to learn about Kahneman and Tversky’s simulation heuristic.
Is there progress in the arena of human rights? Are bigoted attitudes on the decline in the world? In Steven Pinker’s argument that humanity is advancing rather than worsening, he includes some hope-inspiring human rights statistics. He specifically considers racism, sexism, and homophobia to be the biggest contributors to human rights abuses. Keep reading to discover why Pinker believes that we should acknowledge the great advances the world has made in these areas.
Who are Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky? What were their interests and career paths that eventually merged into a revolutionary partnership? Over the years, there have been collaborations, such as the Wright Brothers or Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, whose combined influence far exceeded what they would have achieved on their own. In psychology, Michael Lewis suggests that the quintessential duo was Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Continue reading to learn about these two men.
Is the world safe? Is violent crime getting worse? Are disasters more common and more deadly? In Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker presents statistics in several areas to support his argument that the world is getting better for humans everywhere. One of those areas is safety, so he looked at data on injuries and deaths. With one exception, he concludes that the world is safer than in the past. Continue reading to get a good picture of the data, according to Pinker.
Is the world getting better or worse? Why do so many people believe it’s getting worse? Steven Pinker aims to counter the widespread belief that the world is getting worse by showing data that indicates it’s actually improving. But, why do people think things are so bad if they’re not? Pinker explains that this happens for a few intersecting reasons: media slant, cognitive biases, and ingratitude. Keep reading for Pinker’s take on declinism bias.
Who is Daniel Kahneman? What shaped his views and interests that would later lead to breakthroughs in psychology? Daniel Kahneman, in collaboration with Amos Tversky, overturned several prevailing psychological theories. Their insights reached into economics, politics, and other domains of human knowledge. While their partnership is well-known, Kahneman’s pre-Tversky years help us understand what shaped his career. Continue reading to learn about the early life and career of Daniel Kahneman.