The World's Best Book Summaries
What was the Salad Oil Scandal? How did it—and the JFK assassination—lead to a Wall Street bailout? It was November 1963. Ira Haupt & Co. was in trouble. The firm had borrowed millions to invest in a company that turned out to be a fraud. Ira Haupt & Co. was about to go bankrupt, and its shareholders’ money was at risk. Keep reading to learn about this historic scandal and subsequent bailout.
What are trade secrets? What are the laws associated with them? How can you protect them? Though laws and regulations can shift based on the whims and follies of Wall Street’s big players, John Brooks writes that even one individual can change the legal landscape. In Business Adventures, he discusses a landmark trade secret case involving a man named Donald W. Wohlgemuth, whose employer tried to prevent him from accepting another job offer because he had knowledge of trade secrets. Read more to learn about trade secrets through the example of this historic case.
What’s insider trading? Is it wrong? What can you learn from the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company case? John Brooks writes about a landmark insider trading case against Texas Gulf Sulphur Company, in which the law’s ambiguous definitions of “material evidence” and “a reasonable amount of time” were put to the test. The SEC took the company to court for illegally using insider information and misleading the public. Read more to learn about this historic case of insider trading.
What’s the history of the federal income tax? Is income tax a “rich man’s tax”? In a survey of U.S. income tax history, John Brooks traces the roots of the federal income tax and discusses how the wealthiest people can get away with paying hardly anything at all. Much of this is due to the increasing complexity of tax laws over the years. Keep reading to understand Brooks’s perspective on the federal income tax.
Why did the Ford Edsel fail? What can we learn from this adventure in business? In the 1950s, Ford Motor Company wasted millions of dollars on the Edsel, a car that is considered one of the biggest product launch failures of all time. In Business Adventures, John Brooks shares his analysis, offering three reasons for the failure. Continue reading to learn why the Edsel was a flop.
What is John Berger’s Ways of Seeing about? What is the key message to take away from the book? In his book Ways of Seeing, John Berger argues that, throughout history, the way we see art has been manipulated by a privileged minority to preserve their social and economic dominance. Berger’s premise is that the dominant class has always used art and art criticism to “mystify” the working class. Here’s a brief overview of Ways of Seeing by John Berger.
What is mythological art? Why did mythology use to be accessible only to the rich? Access to mythology used to be a prerogative of the wealthy elites. According to art critic John Berger, works of art that depicted elements of mythology were the elites’ way of affirming their high status because they were educated enough to know the stories being told. Keep reading to learn Berger’s view of mythology paintings in the European tradition.
What was Elon Musk’s early life like? Where was Elon Musk born and raised? Elon Musk’s early life was difficult in that he felt like an outsider growing up in South Africa. He also was bullied and struggled with the divorce of his parents. On the bright side, he grew up with the freedom and resources to explore his interests and was eventually able to move to Canada to attend college. Keep reading to learn more about Elon Musk’s early life.
What is genre painting? How does it depict the social classes? According to art critic John Berger, genre painting in the European oil painting tradition served a purpose beyond simple aestheticism. He believes that it sent certain messages about socio-economic status—messages that elevated one class and belittled another. Read more to learn about genre painting.
What is the male gaze? How are women objectified in art? The male gaze is the practice of portraying women in the visual arts from a perspective of a male viewer. According to art critic John Berger, through the assumed male gaze, the depicted women are perceived as objects of sexual desire owned by the spectator. Continue reading to better understand the male gaze in art.