Perception vs Truth

Perception vs Truth: Spirituality in Simple Words, Eyal Cohen, Amazon.com Services, 2020

Believe it or not, it is possible to change your life for the better. It involves opening your mind, and changing your perception of reality. That is what this book is all about.

This book consists of short sections, one or two pages each, with titles like: Point of Reference, Victor or Victim, The Principle of Simplicity, Religion, Polluted Minds, Become What You Are and Wisdom of Life.

In order for our hope to connect to reality, we have to act in a way that facilitates the thing we hope for. The seed of change exists solely inside of us. We can decide for ourselves -- either we are a victim or a victor of life. Instead of agonizing over the past, we can learn from it. Why is life so difficult? Because we have lost our Simplicity of Being. A sense of wisdom comes when we are being mindful. Religion is the underlying principle of all that is good, noble, honorable and beautiful.

Our perceptions of reality are shaped by many forces, including society, parents, culture and the internet. Maybe it is time for a change, and this book will help. It is very short, and is the sort of book that can be picked up and read starting on any page. It is well worth reading.

Changing World: The Fast Flow

Changing World: The Fast Flow, Sergei Katz, Amazon.com Services, 2019

Part 2 of a series, this continues the story of Alder, who is testing the ultimate in virtual reality role-playing games. There are those, inside the game, who do not want him there. The slightest error on Alder's part, and he will lose everything he has accomplished until then. Also, his new found friends will lose everything, permanently.

As with the first book, there is lots of good writing. Fantasy fans, and especially gamers, will love this story, with plenty of action. Non-gamers might have a hard time with the constant listing of abilities like Intuition and Herbalist and You Have Completed This Quest. It is still very much worth reading.

The Big Deal

The Big Deal: A 6-Step Formula to Kill Your Low Sales Stress and Help You Close the Biggest Deals Ever, Hisham Al Gurg, Amazon.com Services, 2019

This book shows a way to greatly increase the chances of a favorable outcome for any business salesperson.

As an example, let's assume your product is HR software. The first thing you should do is make that product as perfect as possible. Why should anyone even consider buying your software if it is full of bugs? Among the objects of selling is to fulfill a need that the customer foes not know that they have. If your software fulfills only a small need, again, why should the customer buy it? Make sure it fulfills a big need of the customer.

After you have chosen your target company, stay away from the CEO (for now). Going right to the CEO, with a PowerPoint presentation that basically says "Buy My Software," will guarantee an answer of No. Meet with senior people at the target company, and learn everything you can about it. What is their fiscal year? Are more approvals than the CEO's needed for purchasing decisions? What sort of person is the CEO? Does he have to see it, hear it or touch it before he understands it? Know the company, inside and out. Also, know your competition. When the CEO asks, "We have dealt with your competitor for many years. They charge less than you, and we are very satisfied with their customer service. Why should we switch to you?", make sure that you have an answer handy. Now, you talk to the CEO.

Don't ask the CEO to buy the software (yet). Instead, ask for authorization to set up a Proof of Concept (or POC). It's a chance for the target company to test-drive the software. How long will the POC last? What features of the software will not be available? In the target company, who will have access to it? In the selling company, who will be on-site for questions or problems? If the target company wants changes to the software, how far is the selling company willing to go? Assuming the POC was a success, and HR loves the software, go back to the CEO, with plenty of built-in fans of the software.

If the answer is Yes, the job is not done. How will the software get onto the target company's mainframe? Will everyone in HR have access to it, or just certain people? How much customer service will be available, days or months?

This is a very thorough, and very easy to understand, book. It is good for businesses of any size. It is very much worth reading.

Babel: A Guide to the East-West Encounter

Babel: A Guide to the East-West Encounter, Ofer Grosbard, Amazon.com Services, 2020

What the heck is a "vector of the mind" and why should a person care about it? This book attempts to answer that question.

Those with an outward oriented vector of the mind have an eastern paradigm of mind, and emphasize the group, or consensus. Perhaps the best known example is the Japanese concept of "saving face." On the other hand, those with a western paradigm of mind have an inward oriented vector of the mind. The best example of this is the American emphasis on the individual. Dealing with someone whose paradigm of mind is opposite to ours creates a cross-cultural problem. Both of you might speak the same language, but you will have a hard time understanding each other.

It is normal to think that a person from another culture thinks the same way that we do. That is because we only know one way of thinking. Is it possible to "translate" from one to the other?

This book contains many examples of negotiations between America and Israel and its Arab neighbors. It also includes a questionnaire so that a person can assess their own vector of the mind. Is it possible to get away from being Politically Correct and acknowledge our differences?

Here is a very interesting book. The many examples of Arab-Israeli contacts also make it pretty easy to understand. This will get the reader thinking.

Nature, Spirituality and Illegal Gold Mining

Nature, Spirituality and Illegal Gold Mining: Welcome to the Amazon, Chad Vegas, Amazon.com Services LLC, 2019

Part of a series, the narrator is living in the Amazon jungle in present-day Peru. He is occupying a piece of land, on which marijuana is grown, for Max, the owner of the whole operation.

Along with a couple of local men assisting in holding the land, the narrator faces many battles. On one hand, he has to watch for illegal, scorched earth, gold miners, who have no problem with killing anyone who gets in their way. Along with the always-encroaching jungle, there are also squatters on the land, who will not go quietly.

Max, who is arriving soon, wants Chad, the narrator, to go through the police, and legally remove the squatters. Chad learns, through experience, that Peruvian police don't just have a laid-back attitude, they actively don't want to work without appropriate bribes. They treat squatter removal day as a joke. Several of the police spent the previous night drinking, then show up very hung over.

As a young man with a very active libido, Chad travels to Cusco, the nearest big city, every month or so, to satisfy his sexual needs. He has a couple of women that he calls whenever he is in town. As long as their boyfriend/sugar daddy is away, they are more than happy to have sex with Chad. He already has a bad ulcer, from excessive drinking, and he is very familiar with cocaine. This leads to a practically non-stop alcohol and drug-fueled sex binge, from the time he arrives in town until he has to return to the jungle.

This is certainly not a boring book; it will keep the reader interested. The author has, justifiably, been compared to Hunter S Thompson. There is lots of really good writing, along with lots of drugs, alcohol and sex, so it is not for the faint of heart. Other than that, it is very much worth reading.

Spin Off: CEO's Version

Spin Off: CEO's Version, Yehuda Holtzman, Simple Story, 2019

This is a chronicle of one person's time as CEO of a company that was spun off from another company. It is a software company dealing with smartphones, and had fallen on hard times.

The first thing a new CEO has to do is to find out how bad things are. In this case, it was not good. Any technological superiority the company had was gone. Software updates took a long time to download, and they were filled with bugs. The Customer Service department needed a lot of help.

Next, a CEO has to do a lot of listening to the employees. If the company is small enough, give every employee a chance to speak their mind. Travel to all (or as many as possible) sales offices in other states, asking for the unvarnished truth from employees. If there are offices in other countries, get out your passport, and hop on a plane.

Now the CEO must put together a new management team to turn the company around. It must include departments like Operations, Manufacturing, Marketing and Quality Assistance. The group must go to an off-site location, without distractions, and ask a lot of hard questions. Is this company more interested in growth or profit? If the company has applied for few, or no, patents over the last several years, why? Can any sales offices be combined, or eliminated? Can any products be combined, or eliminated? If a certain country, or region, accounts for only a small portion of sales, is an office there really necessary? After those questions are answered, then comes the hard part of actually turning the company around.

This is a very interesting book that is very easy to understand. It works for all kinds of companies (not just high-tech companies), and for companies of any size. This is a really good inside look at being a CEO. It's really worth reading.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts: A Guide to Good Health, Sudhir Ahluwalia, Amazon.com Services LLC, 2020

This book does not promote the latest diet or weight-loss plan. It does attempt to provide some facts so that the reader can make an informed decision about the best way to proceed.

It talks a lot about organic food; how many hectares are under cultivation worldwide; what countries are the biggest importers and exporters, etc. Fruits and vegetables with thin skins, like strawberries and blueberries, probably have pesticides in them. If at all possible, look for their organic equivalent. Thicker-skinned items, like bananas, are much less likely to be carrying pesticides.

The book also looks, specifically, at foods like broccoli, tomatoes and citrus fruits. Where did they start? When did they start? What country is the biggest importer, and exporter? What chemical do they contain that is healthy? What will it do for the human body? Also included is a nutrition label for each item. This so the reader can see, for instance, just how much fiber or vitamin C or saturated fat is in each item.

This book does not reveal the latest Guaranteed Weight Loss system. However, it does a very good job at showing how healthy fruits and vegetables and grains really are. This will help the reader come up with their own healthy eating plan. Yes, it's worth reading.

The Parable of the Spirit That Whispers

The Parable of the Spirit That Whispers, Melvin Douglas Wilson, Yorkshire Publishing, 2019

This is a young adult fable about a far land run by a king called Americus. He built great worship centers so that the people could praise the Good Spirit. Americus also learned about the Spirit That Whispers, by reading the Books of Old, and trained his people to resist the bad spirit. Life was good.

On the death of Americus, Europa, his son, became king. He kept the worship centers open, and embraced the Good Spirit. But, he stayed away from the Books of Old, and told the people that the Spirit That Whispers was just a myth; don't worry about it. The young people of the kingdom started to turn away from the Good Spirit.

When Europa died, Asiaia, his son, assumed the throne. He kept open the worship centers, but he didn't believe in the Good Spirit. Bad people started spreading discontent and turmoil throughout the kingdom. No one could explain the cause. Things got so bad that the king barricaded himself in his castle. To pass the time, he started reading the Books of Old, and he learned the truth about the Spirit That Whispers. As he is pulled from the castle by the bad people of the kingdom (all of the good people are gone), he tries to warn them about the Spirit That Whispers. Does it have any effect? Is he too late?

This is a very interesting story for middle grade students. It will give them (and their parents) something to think about. Yes, it's very much worth reading.

No One Left But All of Us

No One Left But All of Us, Stacey Roberts, Sons of Joy LLC, 2019

Here is one person's view of the troubles that currently afflict America, and what to do about it.

"Elect me, and I will fix (insert issue here) once and for all!" Every four years, Americans are told that this is the most important election of their lives. Politicians also say that this election is all about abortion, or trade or illegal immigration. Perhaps the American people should get together, and tell politicians that this election is about, for instance, the national debt, or getting all corporate money out of politics. Any politician who refuses to talk about such issues will quickly become an ex-politician.

The author advocates term limits for members of Congress. Before that happens, the term for members of the House of Representatives should be increased from two to four years. The increase is so that members of the House can spend more time legislating, and less time raising money raising money to stay elected.

In the past, there have been times when Americans came together for a common purpose, when country, and helping your neighbor, came first. A recent example of such civic-minded behavior was during World War II. Those days have certainly disappeared (forever?). Now, party comes first. All that matters is damaging the Other Party. Depending on whether a person considers themselves an R or a D, they are automatically a good person or an implacable enemy.

Agree or disagree with this book's point of view, but it is still a first-rate piece of writing. It is easy to understand, and written with a lot of passion. If this book can get even one person to start moving in the direction of Country First, instead of Party First, it will be a success. It is very much worth reading.

Flying High Through the Course of Life

Flying High Through the Course of Life - The Challenge: Thinking Your Way to Self-Realization, Dr. Orna Markus Ben-Zvi, Niv Books, 2020

Many books have been written about how to live a happier and more emotionally fulfilling life. This book is different.

How is this book different? It is short (less than 100 pages), and it consists of 200 affirmations, or things to remember, or ways to get more out of life. Here are a few examples: From this day on, we will live our lives in gratitude. Adopt a more optimistic approach to life. We are not perfect because perfect people do not exist. In many ways, man creates his own life, full of suffering or full of joy. Never agree to be taken for granted. A man is alive as long as he has dreams. The teacher's role is to plant the seeds of morality, humanity and love of man in his/her students.

This is a gem of a book. It can be picked up and read starting anywhere, and it is recommended for people from all walks of life. Everyone will find some sort of help in this book. It is very much worth reading.

College Level Evolution

College Level Evolution, AudioLearn Team, Amazon.com Services LLC, 2020

Developed by experienced professors, this book attempts to present college-level evolution in easy-to-digest chapters. It is also professionally narrated, for those who learn better by hearing it than by reading it.

The material is up-to-date and accurate. It covers topics like early evolutionary theories (people were talking about evolution long before Charles Darwin), extinction (perhaps a species has reached the end of its "life span," or it can't adapt to new conditions), genetics and genetic variation, the origin of life and evolution and disease. There are key takeaways at the end of each chapter, along with a quiz. At the end of the book is a 200-question test.

This is an excellent book that works for everyone. It works for life-long learners, and students who are home schooled. It especially works for college students, as a supplement to, and, perhaps, a substitute for, a heavy and expensive, textbook. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Paths in the Storm

Paths in the Storm, Ilana Maor, 2018, Alonim

Based on a true story, this is the tale of 20th century Europe as seen through the eyes of two Jewish families.

Marek comes from a family of medical doctors. He just wants to complete his studies, despite the increasingly harsh conditions for Jews. He is forced to keep moving from school to school, country to country. Max is obsessed with the new technology of moving pictures; he just wants to make films. This leads to several "relationships" with his female co-stars.

Living in Soviet-occupied Warsaw, as a well-to-do family, one of the families is rounded up, and forcibly deported (in a cattle car) to Soviet Central Asia. They are expected to become farmers. This is despite the fact that the soil is very bad for farming, and, as city dwellers, they know nothing about farming. After several years of bare survival, things improve slightly when they are reunited with an uncle who was similarly deported. They are able to get decent, non-farming jobs in a big mining town.

The level of storytelling in this book is excellent, from start to finish. For anyone who wants to know what WWII era Europe was like, at the individual, or family, level (not at the history textbook level), this is the place to start. It is a first-rate piece of writing.