Shortform Books

What Are the Main Causes of Malnutrition?

What are the main causes of malnutrition? Why are the poor malnourished in spite of the efforts of policymakers? In Poor Economics, MIT professors Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee discuss a well-known problem among the poor: malnutrition. They argue that this problem doesn’t stem from lack of food per se, but from lack of nutrition. In other words, the poor are not starving for calories, they are starving for nutrients. Here’s what MIT professors Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee have to say about the causes of malnutrition amongst the poor.

Carl von Clausewitz on the Nature of War

What is the relationship between war and politics? If war is supposed to achieve a political outcome, why do military interests sometimes contradict political aims? According to Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, war should be subservient to political policy. He argues that letting military interests shape political policy or giving the military latitude to take action outside of political policy is ridiculous because war is a tool of politics, not the other way around. Keep reading for Carl von Clausewitz’s take on the nature of war.

3 Types of Group Dynamics (The Great Mental Models)

What makes social networking apps and job search websites valuable? What’s needed for societal change? How does churn affect a group? In the third volume in The Great Mental Models series, Rhiannon Beaubien and Rosie Leizrowice borrow models from systems science and mathematics to build a framework for understanding human behavior and viewing the world more objectively. They discuss three types of group dynamics—network effects, critical mass, and churn—that help us understand how groups create value based on their size, how social change works, and how turnover can both help and hurt a system. Keep reading to learn how certain

Creating an Alter Ego to Boost Your Self-Confidence

How do you go about creating an alter ego? What traits should your alter ego have? In The Alter Ego Effect, Todd Herman says you should construct an alter ego that will rise to the challenge in high-stakes moments. There are four steps to doing this, including giving your alter ego an origin story and a powerful name. Find out how to create an alter ego so you can live out a better version of yourself.

How to Promote Art Online: 4 Tips for Creators

Do you want to turn your hobby of creating art into a career? How can you promote your art online? Making art is fun and exciting, but it can be a little difficult to get your work recognized. Artist Austin Kleon has a few tricks that will help get your work out there for the world to see. Here’s how to promote art online from Kleon’s book Show Your Work!.

Embrace Your Emotions—Don’t Let Society Numb You

Does society suppress your true self? How can you learn to embrace your emotions fully? Does embracing your emotions really improve your life? Author Glennon Doyle realized that she could use painful emotions to grow and evolve—to become truly alive. Doyle defines being “alive” as constantly evolving into a more authentic and fully-formed version of yourself. Read on to find out how to embrace your emotions and why Doyle believes you must embrace your feelings fully to live a truly satisfying life.

How Abraham Lincoln Freed the Slaves

What is Abraham Lincoln known for? What dilemma did Lincoln face upon being inaugurated? Abraham Lincoln, who was president from 1861 to 1865, inherited a nation in crisis. By the time of his inauguration, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union, and his own party was divided. Lincoln had to decide whether they should try to keep the slave states in the Union, or if the time for compromise had ended. Here’s how Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in spite of the backlash.

Shortform Reads: Using Books to Stay Healthy

What series does Darya return to every couple of years? What genre does she prefer to read? Darya is part of Shortform’s marketing team and works as an SEO writer, creating and editing material for the Shortform blog. As a reader, Darya prefers educational books that offer practical, actionable advice she can implement right away.

Cultural Leadership Lessons From Toussaint Louverture

Are you trying to change the culture of your organization? What can you learn from Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture about this kind of leadership? Toussaint Louverture led the military and diplomatic campaign that liberated enslaved people in Haiti and set the stage for its independence from France. In What You Do Is Who You Are, Ben Horowitz draws cultural leadership insights from Louverture. Read on to learn more about Louverture and his leadership.

The Great Mental Models Volume 3: Book Overview

Would you like to sharpen your thinking and decision-making? What practical lessons can you learn from models such as critical mass, algorithms, and randomness? The Great Mental Models Volume 3: Systems and Mathematics is the third in a series of books designed to improve your thinking by giving you a set of models that you can use to better understand the world. The premise of the series is that the world operates according to specific rules and patterns (“models”) that occur again and again in many different contexts. Volume 3 draws its models from systems science and mathematics—fields rich in