Title: Mop Men: Inside the World of Crime Scene Cleaners.
Author: Alan Emmins.
Genre: Non-fiction, death, true crime.
Country: England, U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2009.
Summary: Neal Smither doesn't hide his work. The side of his van reads: "Crime Scene Cleaners: Homicides, Suicides and Accidental Death." Whenever a hotel guest permanently checks out, the cops finish an investigation, or an accidental death is reported, Smither's crew pick up the pieces after the police cruisers and ambulances have left. The author offers a glimpse at this little-known aspect of America's most gruesome deaths. Filled with details as fascinating as they are gory, the book examines not just the public fascination with murder, but also how a self-made success like Smither can make a fortune just by praying for death. (Only the PART 2 in this post, refer to PART 1 for the rest of the quotes).

My rating: 8/10
My review:

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Title: Mop Men: Inside the World of Crime Scene Cleaners.
Author: Alan Emmins.
Genre: Non-fiction, death, true crime.
Country: England, U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2009.
Summary: Neal Smither doesn't hide his work. The side of his van reads: "Crime Scene Cleaners: Homicides, Suicides and Accidental Death." Whenever a hotel guest permanently checks out, the cops finish an investigation, or an accidental death is reported, Smither's crew pick up the pieces after the police cruisers and ambulances have left. The author offers a glimpse at this little-known aspect of America's most gruesome deaths. Filled with details as fascinating as they are gory, the book examines not just the public fascination with murder, but also how a self-made success like Smither can make a fortune just by praying for death. (Only the PART 1 in this post, refer to PART 2 for the rest of the quotes).

My rating: 8/10
My review:

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Title: Aunt Dan & Lemon.
Author: Wallace Shawn.
Genre: Fiction, play.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1985.
Summary: The play takes the reader into the world of a young recluse named Lemon (alias Leonora) who spends her nights reading chronicles of Nazi atrocities. Lemon tells the audience about the overwhelming influence in her life of her parents' friend "Aunt Dan," an eccentric, passionate professor whose stories and seductive opinions enthrall Lemon from the time she is a young girl. The relationship that develops between Lemon and Aunt Dan and the conversations that went on in a small hour at the bottom of an English garden form the focus of this play about political orientation and the allure of certain ideas—even when they lead to murder. On the Context of the Play is an essay in which the author looks at the way morality functions in the world and individual lives, and both the temptation and the folly of giving up on the concept by accepting the faulty logic that all humans are vile anyway.

My rating: 7.5/10.
My Review:

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Title: Essays.
Author: Wallace Shawn.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, philosophy, ethics, politics, theatre.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2008, and 2010 (this edition 2010).
Summary: A collection of 16 essays divided into two parts. Up to Our Necks With War (2004) are excerpts from a diary in which the author discusses his feelings on the war in Iraq, the irrationality of calling United States a democracy, and the hypocrisy of being entirely against war and killing in context of human history. In Israel Attacks Gaza (2008), the author explains why so many Jews find the extermination of Palestinians historically justifiable, and how irrational it is for other countries to pander to that belief. In Why I Call Myself a Socialist (2010), the author compares the roles actors play to the roles we all play on a daily basis, and the randomness and unfairness in the illusion of class equality, and how the division of labour and how we view it in our society is inherently immoral. PART TWO: DREAM-WORLD: In Myself and How I Got Into the Theater (1996), the author expounds on the influences that made him become a playwright, from his privileged and liberal upbringing, to his father being a book critic and the innate discomfort Shawn felt that any form of art could be criticized as "bad," a critique nonexistent in the world of theater. Reading Plays (1997) is about the unique experience of reading a play, as opposes to seeing it performed. In Aesthetic Preferences (2008), the author wonders about different tastes and preferences, and philosophizes on the importance of dreams. Interview With Mark Strand (1998) is an interview with the American poet about his poetry and his outlook on the medium, as well as the importance of poetry in the world overall and the ultimate meaning of it. In Writing About Sex (2008), the author talks about why writing about sex is most interesting and most taboo. (Only PART 2 in this post, refer to PART 1 for the rest of the quotes).

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Essays.
Author: Wallace Shawn.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, philosophy, ethics, politics, theatre.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1985, 1991, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2008 (this edition 2010).
Summary: A collection of 16 essays divided into two parts. PART ONE: REALITY: In The Quest for Superiority (2008), with remarkable honesty and self-criticism of his own privileged life and upbringing, the author looks at what makes people, particularly in the U.S., feel superior and apathetic to suffering, and how that feeling can be replaced with compassion and love with the help of the arts. After the Destruction of the World Trade Center (2001), written a couple months after the attacks in the form of letters between America and "The Foreign Policy Therapist," the essay empathetically but critically takes a look at what America must honestly come to terms with about its place and reputation in the world. In Morality (1985), the author looks at the way morality functions in the world and individual lives, and both the temptation and the folly of giving up on the concept by accepting the faulty logic that all humans are vile anyway. An "American" Publishes a Magazine (2004), published in a one-issue magazine in response to the Abu Ghraib tortures, discusses Americans' apathy to and in fact dependence on the despicable actions overseas, and the concept of United States in general. Patriotism (1991) discusses what the concept should and should not mean, and how America does not need it. In Interview with Noam Chomsky (2004), the two men discuss a variety of subjects, including political personal responsibility, consumerism, the relationship between people and those who rule them, and the perception of social freedom where there is none. In Bush Proposes Preemptive War (2002), the author discusses how irrational fear of Iraq is, and how both illogical and unethical it would be to go to war with it. The Invasion of Iraq Is Moments Away (2003) are excerpts from a diary that discuss the imminent invasion of Iraq, and the United States' relationship with its leaders, as well as its attachments to its privilege. (Only PART 1 in this post, refer to PART 2 for the rest of the quotes).

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster.
Author: Svetlana Alexievich (translated by Keith Gessen).
Genre: Non-fiction, man-made disasters, politics, social criticism, conspiracy.
Country: Belarus.
Language: Russian.
Publication Date: 1997.
Summary: On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. This book is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. The author interviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown—from innocent citizens to firefighters to those called in to clean up the disaster—and their stories reveal the fear, anger, and uncertainty with which they still live. Comprised on interviews in monologue form, the book is crucially important and unforgettable in its emotional power and honesty. (Only Part 2 in this post, refer to PART 1 for the rest of the quotes.)

My rating: 10/10.
My review:

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Title: Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster.
Author: Svetlana Alexievich (translated by Keith Gessen).
Genre: Non-fiction, man-made disasters, politics, social criticism, conspiracy.
Country: Belarus.
Language: Russian.
Publication Date: 1997.
Summary: On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. This book is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. The author interviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown—from innocent citizens to firefighters to those called in to clean up the disaster—and their stories reveal the fear, anger, and uncertainty with which they still live. Comprised on interviews in monologue form, the book is crucially important and unforgettable in its emotional power and honesty. (Only Part 1 in this post, refer to PART 2 for the rest of the quotes.)

My rating: 10/10.
My review:

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Title: Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders.
Author: Christopher Goffard.
Genre: Non-fiction, articles, journalism, true crime.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2018.
Summary: A collection of 15 articles, by a staff writer of Los Angeles Times. The Accusations sees a woman going through a nasty custody battle with her ex when she accuses him of a brutal and violent attack and rape, but the further the investigation gets, the less the woman's story lines up with the truth. In Healing Sergeant Warren, a man who saves one of his friends in an explosion during a mission in Iraq, faces guilt, shame, and PTSD as he tries to heal with the help of intense VR exposure therapy. Riders looks at the lives of drifters who jump freight trains as a lifestyle, through a sweet but ultimately tragic love affair of a young couple enamored with freedom. The $40 Dollar Lawyer follows a fresh-out-of-law-school young man who is forced to take the Public Defender job, and grows into a confident and capable lawyer and defense attorney over the consequent year as he gains pride and faith in his job. The Choice is a story of a family that flees from Aleppo to Turkey during the Syrian Civil War, but when the mother moves to Sweden in hopes of eventually bringing the family and children, requiring daily blood transfusions, over as well, she faces difficulties with immigration and hope. In The Hidden Man, a gay U.S. soldier struggles with and keeps his identity secret for years, afraid of losing his life and livelihood, but has a chance to stand up for his full identity when "Don't Ask Don't Tell" comes under debate again, during Obama's election campaign. The Prisoner looks at the lives of children of those on death row, through Shawn, a 13-year-old who has only known his father in prison, but wrongly yet vehemently believes he is innocent, and will come home one day. In Framed, a petty and small occurrence leads to an inexplicable vendetta that causes a couple of wealthy lawyers to plant drugs in a car of a local beloved elementary school volunteer and PTA president, which leads to years of tangled litigation. In The Exile, an aged Black Panther in Tanzania exiled in his youth from U.S., dreams of his Kansas upbringing and pledges the last of his life to philanthropy and showing the orphans he has adopted the ocean and the expansity of the world. In The Rookie, discovering his older sister's body when he was just a child and watching the police struggle selflessly to find her killer, inspires Jeremy to become a policeman himself. In Border Warrior, a man vehemently opposed to the Bush administration and a member of Minutemen, a group who patrol the U.S./Mexican border trying to catch refugees, feels more and more disconnected in values from his fellow vigilantes. In Dirty John, a 59-year-old given up on the prospect of finding love again falls deeply for a man that sounds almost too good to be true, but what starts as a whirlwind romance quickly devolves into fear, violence, and lies, when she finds out he is far from who he claims he is, and his social and romantic resumé is as long as it is terrifying. In The Deserter's Son, haunted by and seeking pardon for his father's desertion in WWII, a Vietnam war vet tries to enlist in the navy at 60, obsessed with redeeming his father's shame. In How She Found Him, an elderly dying Vietnamese woman travels across the world to Los Angeles, to find her son, whose letters stopped coming four years ago, against unbelievable and seemingly insurmountable odds. Old Men and the Sea looks at the hobby of building boats, dominated primarily by older single men, who race against time at the end of their lives, hoping to eventually die sailing their own vessels.

My rating: 7.5/10
My review:

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Title: Famine, Affluence, and Morality.
Author: Peter Singer.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, philosophy, ethics.
Country: Australia.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1972, 2006 (this collection and preface 2016).
Summary: A collection of 3 essays. Famine, Influence, and Morality (1972), one of the most famous essay in applied ethics and inspired by the starvation of Bangladesh Liberation War refugees, argues that affluent persons are morally obligated to donate far more resources to humanitarian causes than is considered normal in Western cultures. In The Singer Solution to World Poverty, the author lays out a formula to calculate how much each household and person should be donating to charity every year. In What Should A Billionaire Give—And What Should You? (2006), Singer gives examples of some of the most generous philanthropists, and suggests the wealthy are able to contribute on a much larger scale than they are to elimination of poverty all across the globe.

My rating: 7.5/10.
My review:

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Title: Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital.
Author: Sheri Fink.
Genre: Non-fiction, ethics, medicine, law, journalism.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2013.
Summary: After Katrina struck and power failed, amid rising floodwater and heat, exhausted staff at Memorial Medical Center designated certain patients last for rescue. Months later, a doctor and two nurses were criminally accused of injecting some of those patients with life-ending drugs. The book, developed out of a 2009 news article and the culmination of six years of reporting, unspools the mystery, bringing the reader inside a hospital fighting for life and into the most charged questions in health care: which patients should be prioritized, and can health professionals ever be excused for hastening death? Transforming our understanding of human nature in crisis, the book exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals how ill-prepared we are for large-scale disasters—and how we can do better (Refer to PART 1 for rest of the quotes).

My rating: 7.5/10
My review:

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Title: Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital.
Author: Sheri Fink.
Genre: Non-fiction, ethics, medicine, law, journalism.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2013.
Summary: After Katrina struck and power failed, amid rising floodwater and heat, exhausted staff at Memorial Medical Center designated certain patients last for rescue. Months later, a doctor and two nurses were criminally accused of injecting some of those patients with life-ending drugs. The book, developed out of a 2009 news article and the culmination of six years of reporting, unspools the mystery, bringing the reader inside a hospital fighting for life and into the most charged questions in health care: which patients should be prioritized, and can health professionals ever be excused for hastening death? Transforming our understanding of human nature in crisis, the book exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals how ill-prepared we are for large-scale disasters—and how we can do better. (Refer to PART 2 for rest of the quotes).

My rating: 7.5/10
My review:

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Title: On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.
Author: Timothy Snyder.
Genre: Non-fiction, history, politics, social criticism.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2017.
Summary: The book focuses on the concept of tyranny in the context of the modern United States politics, analyzing what the author calls "America's turn towards authoritarianism". It analyzes recent European history to identify conditions that can enable established democracies to transform into dictatorships. The book is presented as a series of twenty instructions on how to combat the rise of tyranny.

My rating: 8/10
My review:

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Title: The Woman Who Wasn't There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception.
Author: Robin Gaby Fisher and Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr..
Genre: Non-fiction, 9/11.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2012.
Summary: Tania Head's astonishing account of her experience on September 11, 2001, was a tale of loss and recovery, of courage and sorrow, of horror and inspiration. It transformed her into one of the great victims and heroes of that tragic day. But there was something very wrong with Tania's story—a terrible secret that would break the hearts and challenge the faith of all those she claimed to champion. Told with the unique insider perspective of a filmmaker shooting a documentary on the efforts of the Survivors' Network, and previously one of Tania's closest friends, the story is one of the most audacious and bewildering quests for acclaim in recent memory—one that poses fascinating questions about the essence of morality and the human need for connection at any cost.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Russian Black Magic: The Beliefs and Practices of Heretics and Blasphemers.
Author: Natasha Helvin.
Genre: Non-fiction, occult, religion.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2019.
Summary: Born in the USSR and descended from a matrilineal line of witches, the author offer a look into the secret practices of Russian post-Christian black magic. Drawing on personal experiences, she provides insight into the fundamental ideology of black magic practitioners, from the universal laws of magic to the principles of morality. Exploring the history of occult practices in Russia, particularly the profound effects of Christianity and the birth of a specifically anti-Christian but Christian-adjacent and Christian-blended branch of magic, the author explains cemetery magic, sacrifices, the creation of hell icons, places of power, and much more.

My rating: 4/10.
My review:

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Title: The Essential Trudeau.
Author: Pierre Elliot Trudeau (edited by Ron Graham).
Genre: Non-fiction, politics, speeches, interviews.
Country: Canada.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1998 (excerpts from 1960s, 1970, 1974, and 1990).
Summary: Trudeau has always opposed the dominant ideology and what passes for conventional wisdom. This was true when he spoke out against the oppressive rule of Maurice Duplessis in Quebec. It was true in his years in Ottawa, as justice minister and prime minister, when he introduced controversial measures ranging from wage-and-price controls and restrictions on foreign investment, to expanded rights for homosexuals. It has remained true in the years since his retirement, particularly when he has taken issue with the more provocative expressions of Quebec nationalism and with federal initiatives with as Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord. Now neo-conservative ideas have taken over. Virtually every level of government in Canada is competing with the others to reduce the role of the state and eliminate constraints on business. Less government has come to mean a smaller role especially for the federal government. And the increased powers taken on by the provinces are being used, increasingly, to substitute private interests for the public good. The Canada that promoted equality, justice, and opportunity for all is under sustained attack. Never has the need for a clear statement of classic liberal principles been greater. In this book, Ron Graham has brought together a selection of excerpts from Trudeau's writings, speeches, and interviews to make a highly reasonable, lucid, and compelling summary of Trudeau's political beliefs. To each chapter in this selection Trudeau has provided an introduction and to many of the excerpts he has added a new commentary.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue.
Author: Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz.
Genre: Non-fiction, debates, religion, Islam.
Country: U.K./U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2015.
Summary: An honest yet respectful exchange between the Islamist-turned-liberal-Muslim activist Nawaz, and the neuroscientist who advocates mindful atheism Harris. Is Islam a religion of peace or war? Is it amenable to reform? Why do so many Muslims seem to be drawn to extremism? And what do words like jihadism and fundamentalism really mean? In a world riven by misunderstanding and violence, the two demonstrate how two people with very different religious views can find common ground and join in an urgently needed conversation.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Free Will.
Author: Sam Harris.
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, ethics, politics, socialism, psychology.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2012.
Summary: A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion. In this book, the author argues that this truth about the human mind does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of social and political freedom, but it can and should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life.

My rating: 6/10.
My review:

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Title: The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution.
Author: Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett (foreword by Stephen Fry).
Genre: Non-fiction, debate, religion, philosophy.
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: Conversation 2007, transcribed into this volume and essays added in 2019.
Summary: At the dawn of the new atheist movement, the thinkers who became known as “the four horsemen,” the heralds of religion's unraveling, sat down together over cocktails. What followed was a rigorous, path-breaking, and enthralling exchange. This is the transcript of that conversation, augmented by material from the living participants. These 3 essays, followed by the discussion (and introduced by Stephen Fry), mark the evolution of their thinking and highlight particularly resonant aspects of this epic exchange. Each man contends with the most fundamental questions of human existence while challenging the others to articulate their own stance on God and religion, cultural criticism, spirituality, debate with people of faith, and the components of a truly ethical life. The Foreword by Stephen Fry introduces the four main personages and the contribution they have made, together and individually through their books, on the debate of how religion affects our lives - from policy making to personal integrity. In The Hubris of Religion, The Humility of Science, and the Intellectual and Moral Courage of Atheism by Richard Dawkins, the author highlights the amount of made-up inaccuracies in religion as contrasted to science, which loves and strives to answer the mysteries of the world through scientific process and logic, and the moral courage one must possess to be a true atheist. Letting the Neighbours Know by Daniel D. Dennett encourages people to let others in on their beliefs, and while arguing against illuminating churches and houses of worship, proposes to re-purpose and bring them about to a more truthful and logical "dogma". In In Good Company by Sam Harris, Harris talks about the passed-on Christopher Hitchens, as well as the other Horsemen, and their legacy of truth, and underlines the courage and moral fortitude that an atheist possesses when he lives an honourable and honest good life.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Lying.
Author: Sam Harris.
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, psychology, ethics.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2011.
Summary: As it was in Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption—even murder and genocide—generally require an additional moral defect: a willingness to lie. In this long-form essay neuroscientist Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situation where others often lie. Tackling ethically difficult issues like white lies, Santa Claus, lying to the dying, and many others, Harris argues there is always a way to tell the truth, and people's lives, as well as the lives of those around them, are greatly improved by it. The book also includes Harris's conversation with Ronald A. Howard, director of teaching and research in the Decision Analysis Program of the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, and the author's favorite and most influential professor of ethics, social systems, and decision making at university, as well as a conversation with readers, where Harris answers questions submitted after the publishing of the original edition.

My rating: 10/10.
My review:

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Title: History's Worst Decisions, And the People Who Made Them (Illustrated Edition).
Author: Stephen Weir.
Genre: Non-fiction, history, religion, social criticism, sociology, anthropology, war, romance, politics, political dissent, travel and exploration, WWI, WWII, ethics, animals, zoology, ecology, medicine, astronomy, cults, science, business and finance, biography, espionage, national disasters.
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2009.
Summary: History is a catalogue of errors, and this book shines a light on 50 of the biggest. It doesn't just point the finger at individuals; the actions of governments and corporations are also scrutinized. The motivations - often sinister, sometimes naïve - that led those responsible to commit their mistakes are unveiled, as is the lasting impact that their decisions have had on the world that we live in today. The books discusses: Adam and Eve, Menelaus and Helen of Troy, Hannibal and the avalanche, Cleopatra's men, Nero and the burning of Rome, Erik the Red's "Dream Island" (Greenland), Pope Sylvester II and the "end of the world", Pope Alexander III and the search for Prester John, George Podiebrad, Moctezuma and Hernán Cortés, Johan de Witt and Manhattan Island, Lord North and George III's Boston Tea Party, Napoleon's march on Russia, the War Office versus Florence Nightingale and disease during Crimean War, the War Office versus the Indian army and the mutiny over beef fat, Thomas Austin's rabbits, General Custer and Little Bighorn, King Leopold and the scramble for Africa, the Romanovs and Rasputin, lack of sufficient life-boats on the Titanic, assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Winston Churchill and Gallipoli, General Haig and the Battle of the Somme, Maginot's Line, Winston Churchill and the creation of modern Iraq, Stalin and the Great Purge, Shenton Thomas and the fall of Singapore, Suhrawardy and the Bengal rice famine, John Wakefield's peanuts in Africa, Mohammed Mossadegh and Iranian democracy, the British nuclear legacy of Maralinga, Sir Anthony Eded and the Suez Canal, Thalidomide, AIDS and the chimps of the Congo, Mao and da yue jin (Great Leap Forward), Robert McNamara and Agent Orange, Mariner 1 spacecraft disaster, the history of the island of Naru and its phosphate, Jim Jones and the Jonestown suicides, the Bhopal explosion, Robert Maxwell and The Mirror pensioners, Chernobyl, CIA and Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan, Gerald Ratner, the Bangladesh floods and the destruction of the Himalayan Rainforest, Lockheed Martin and the Mars mission, Y2K, Robert Mugabe's great Zimbabwe land grab, Enron, and the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand.

My rating: 8.5/10
My Review: This is a fun surface-history/trivia study of all the atrocious, stupid, and unconscionable things that are most well-known throughout history. Volumes like this are useful, because they can give you the basic knowledge that you can then follow-up on in detail elsewhere. I enjoyed that for a general trivia-like book, it was well written - eloquently, but with humour, clearly separating fact and theory. The only problem I found with this book was that it's hard to take any history book seriously that starts with discussing Adam and Eve, and moves on to Helen of Troy. It would seem that this book is that of general human beliefs, and Genesis is surely a famous story that applies (by choice of their religion) to a lot of people, but I still find it distasteful finding such subject matter in a history book, side-by-side with major history events and personages. Other than that pet-peeve, however, I thought the book compiled a pretty accurate and thorough chronological list, and expanded on each topic just enough to give all the pertinent information, but wet the appetite for further research. (As a side note, this edition, though preferable to me because illustrated with historical photographs and relevant imagery, had more than one grammatical errors and rather bad editing.)

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Title: Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness.
Author: Epictetus (translated and interpreted by Sharon Lebell).
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, ethics, self-development, how-to's.
Country: Ancient Greece.
Language: Ancient Greek.
Publication Date: Sometime between 65 and 135 AD, book published in 2004.
Summary: Epictetus was born into slavery about 55CE in the eastern outreaches of the Roman Empire. Once freed, he established an influential school of Stoic philosophy, stressing that human beings cannot control life, only their responses to it. By putting into practice the 93 witty and wise instructions so readers learn to meet the challenges of everyday life successfully and to face life's inevitable losses and disappointments with grace.

My rating: 8/10.

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