Lights Out: A Review

When one thinks of terrorism, one probably thinks of angry Muslim men bombing or shooting up crowded areas and high-profile targets in an effort to inflict as many infidel casualties as possible. However, while that threat is certainly very real and extremely effective, there is a much more sinister, but equally plausible menace: our nations's electrical grid and computer system. True, an attack on our nation's power infrastructure may not bring a large body count the way that "traditional" terrorism does with bombs and guns, but the true goal of any terror act is to bring panic and fear. In his book, Lights Out, investigative journalist Ted Koppel brings to us a doomsday scenario, the one in which both non-state actors such as ISIS or Al-Qaeda as well as hostile state actors such as China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia armed with advanced knowledge of cybersystems launch highly skilled hacking attacks on America's power grid. If successful, it would bring a black out that would last months or even years. Food supplies would run out, and as a result, there would be mass looting and unrest with innocent people being injured or killed. There are several ways to do this, with the most menacing being an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) attack in which a brief but extremely powerful burst from a satellite would render anything with a circuit board permanently useless. In his book, Ted Koppel describes how unprepared America is from such an attack, and how heavy government regulation of the power grid gets in the way of preventive solutions from being implemented.

Lights Out is a very informative book. The author writes in an accessible and engaging manner. Koppel hopes that his book will spur government leaders into taking the threat seriously and ultimately securing our power grid from hackers as well as putting preventive measures in place against EMP attacks.

Disclaimer; I received a free copy of the book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Performing Under Pressure

We all face pressure in our daily lives. Whether we're at a job or at home, pressure gets in the way of working efficiently and thinking rationally. Thankfully, a new book by a world-renowned psychologist and a business coach entitled Performing Under Pressure deals with this problem. In their book, the authors go into detail on what pressure is and ways to deal with it. They provide case studies that illustrate their examples to better reinforce the concepts. They write in a simple layperson-friendly language which is another plus of this book.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anybody from high school students to experienced employees and managers of multinational corporations. 

Disclaimer: I received this book through Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Near Enemy

Near Enemy is the second installment in the Spademan series written by Adam Sternbergh. In Sternbergh latest book, the main character Spademan, a contract killer is sent to kill a virtual reality avatar. While on his quest, Spademan gets into all sorts of trouble and mishaps.

Although the plot was rather interesting and suspenseful, and characters had quite good development, Sternbergh's writing style of short sentence fragments and dialogue without quotations is a definite turn-off. While some people may find this style acceptable, I don't think this novel will resonate with the wider public. Therefore, I don't recommend this book to the general reader.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Tsar of Love and Techno

The Tsar of Love and Techno is a wonderful collection of short stories by Anthony Marra about daily life in the Soviet Union and Russia. The book begins in Leningrad in 1937, an extremely dark and violent time in modern Russian history, when Joseph Stalin brutally executed or exiled most of the government elite and Soviet citizens. The first short story sets the stage for later stories in Marra's book, as the characters are interconnected in their own peculiar ways. 

I felt a deep connection to the book, because I was born in Russia, and know its rich history. I felt that Marra researched the topic well before writing The Tsar of Love and Techno. Marra has an uncanny ability to engage the reader and make him/her think. In addition, the author's use of literary devices is phenomenal, which makes this book really shine. I really recommend Marra's book for anybody who's interested in Russia's history and wants a glimpse at an ordinary Russian's daily life. 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Arab and Jew

Arab and Jew by David Shipler is an account of a long and violent Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his book, Shipler says that he's neither Arab nor Jewish which means he offers an objective view. He goes into great detail describing the prejudices on both sides: how the Arabs view Jews and how Jews view Arabs. Each page is filled with personal anecdotes that details his experiences of listening to both sides.
Arab and Jew was first published in 1987, but this edition has been revised to bring the reader up to speed with the developments that happened since the publication of the first edition. Now, Shipler's book is more relevant than ever before.

Disclaimer: I received this book through Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Amen Does It Again!

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life was first published in 1998 and has remained among the top bestsellers. Fast forward 17 years, later, and Daniel G. Amen, MD thoroughly revised his book taking into account new research on the topics of neuroscience and psychology. In addition, unlike in the first edition, Amen shies away from psychiatric medications, which can have a number of bad side effects, choosing instead to "first do no harm and use the least toxic, most effective treatments." Indeed, as the current research shows, people "choose more natural ways to heal and support the brain, such as supplements and lifestyle interventions." The mere fact that the book focuses on natural ways to change your brain is a big step forward from the first edition.

The author does a great job explaining difficult to grasp neuroscience and psychology concepts in plain language easy enough for a layperson to understand. In addition to his explanation, Amen provides countless anecdotes from his practice as a physician to further connect with the reader and make the book fun and interesting to read. Finally, he provides the reader with an action plan to change their brain and their life.

Overall, I found this book to be an extremely interesting read. It's an invaluable resource to anybody looking to improve themselves and those around them.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Without You There Is No Us

Without You There Is No Us is a memoir by South Korean author Suki Kim that details her job as a Christian missionary teaching English to the sons of North Korean government bigwigs. The account she gives is worthy of praise. Her writing is explosive yet concise.

Suki Kim's memoir definitely connects with the reader. At around 300 pages, the book makes for easy reading, and there's even a reader's guide in the end with questions for discussion in a class or a book club.