The World's Best Book Summaries
What was Jimmy Carter’s campaign strategy when he ran for president? Why was it effective? In His Very Best, biographer Jonathan Alter presents a fresh perspective on Jimmy Carter’s life and career. One major chapter in Carter’s story is his successful run for president in 1976. Keep reading to learn about Jimmy Carter’s campaign strategy and how it succeeded.
Where does the history of psychedelics begin? What did the Greeks do with psychedelics in the ancient world? Psychedelics have been around for centuries, and have cultural and healing significance in indigenous cultures. It wasn’t until the 1950s that certain psychedelics spread to American and European cultures where they were criminalized and banned. Let’s explore the rich history of psychedelics, as written in How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan.
Did Charles Darwin coin the term “survival of the fittest”? What did Darwin say would bring down his entire theory? On the Origin of Species revolutionized the way people look at life on Earth. This scientific classic was originally published in 1859 by the naturalist Charles Darwin and went through six editions in Darwin’s lifetime as he continually revised and clarified his ideas. Read on for several Charles Darwin quotes from On the Origin of Species.
Why did Iran take American hostages in 1979? Why did it take so long to free them? What should President Carter have done differently? Biographer Jonathan Alter can’t ignore the crisis that defined much of the presidency of Jimmy Carter—the Iran hostage crisis. Alter details the road to the crisis, Carter’s resistance to using military force, and the final push to free the hostages just as Carter’s presidency came to its end. Read on to learn about this dark chapter in American history.
What’s the relationship between psychedelics and religion? How were psychedelics used in the ancient world? In ancient times, psychedelics used to play a big role in religion. But as How to Change Your Mind says, the Christian church has a tense relationship with psychedelics that offer transcendental experiences to its users. Keep reading to learn more about the Church’s reaction to psychedelics.
What were some of the first social justice movements? How did they differ from later movements? Authors, academics, and cultural critics Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay discuss the history of social justice in politics and scholarship. They say that the social justice we have today is far removed from the earlier movements. Continue reading to learn about the origin of social justice movements.
What is Darwinian evolution? What does the process entail? How does evolution shapes organisms? On the Origin of Species explains and argues for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Essentially, the theory states that organisms weren’t created separately in their current forms. Rather, each species evolved gradually from other species over the course of millions of years. Keep reading for an overview of Darwinian evolution according to On the Origin of Species.
What were Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy successes? What personal principles undergirded his global approach? On the global stage, Jimmy Carter distinguished himself as a president who would eschew the use of military strength except as a last resort. Instead, he prioritized maintaining and promoting peace at any cost, including political damage to himself. Read more to learn about the key successes and failures of Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy.
What is cognitive psychology? When did psychologists begin to focus on emotion and memory? After World War II, psychologists began to focus less on behavior, and more on emotion and memory due to scientific advances. They started to perceive the brain as an information hub that people knew barely anything about. Continue reading for an introduction to cognitive psychology from The Psychology Book.
What does the history of LSD look like? What role does LSD play in modern Western culture? In How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan looks at the complicated role of psychedelics—most importantly LSD and psilocybin—in modern Western culture. As we’ll see, this is a history fraught with tension between experimenters and authority figures, a conflict between freedom and control. Find out more about the history of LSD, dating back to 1938.