A Modern Detective by Edgar Allan Poe - Review

A Modern Detective by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 simple stories whereby the main character (Auguste Dupin) due to its outstanding analytical capabilities is able to decipher & solve two unexplainable murders using his deductive capabilities based on the information he is able to see or read from the newspaper.

Good reading, short stories (bog plus) ...but not much more than that. Personally, must confess that learnt new vocabulary (not so often seen and used nowadays) and the only caveat is that most of it probably will forget due to the lack of its usage in my current readings.

A couple of quotes that caught my eye:

1. "... the analyst [...] is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural..."

2."...The faculty of re-solution is possibly much invigorated by mathematical study and especially by the highest branch of it [...]has been called, as if par excellence, analysis. ..."

3. "... the difference in the extent of the information obtained, lies not so much in the validity of the inference as in the quality of the observation..."

4. "... ¡The analytical power should not be confounded with simple ingenuity; for while the analyst is necessarily ingenious, the ingenious man is often remarkably incapable of analysis. ..."

5. "...the ingenious are always fanciful and the truly imaginative never otherwise than analytical..."

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A Noite e a Madrugada by Fernando Namora
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Noite e a Madrugada, livro recomendado pelo meu Pai - um fã incondicional de Namora - descreve de uma forma dura e assertiva a forma como os portugueses viviam no interior do país nos finais dos anos 40.

Sob pretexto de contar a história de um episódio de contrabando entre Portugal e Espanha, descreve e critica a sociedade de então, das difíceis condições de vida, da fome, dos pequenos poderes instituídos e de como tudo se relacionava.

Na minha opinião as personagem em si têm muito mais valor por aquilo que representam dentro da sociedade dos anos 40 do que o seu papel "stricto sensu" na história em concreto.

Um retrato social que nos deve fazer pensar (pois eram as condições de vida de muitos dos nossos avós) e que deve ser conhecido por todos.

Recomendo a sua leitura!


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Homenagem à Catalunha by George Orwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Um retrato pessoal da participação de George Orwell (Arthur Blair) na guerra civil espanhola (finais de 1936 a 1937).

Marcou-me a sua tentativa de descrever os factos de uma forma o mais objectiva possível, a narração do quotidiano nas trincheiras e o sentimento de impotência, o inimigo que numa guerra civil na maioria das vezes é uma questão quase arbitraria de onde se estava quando esta eclodiu, as divergências das forças republicanas socialistas vs. Marxistas vs. Anarquistas, a quantidade de pessoas que na altura estavam dispostas a lutar e morrer numa guerra a milhares de kms de distância para defender ideais políticos e de sociedade em que acreditavam.

No final e no meio de todas as pequenas lutas que existiam no lado republicano, existe como pano de fundo um profundo respeito e admiração da forma de viver e abordar a vida do povo espanhol, que acredito, que ainda com bastantes matizes, ainda perdure nos dias de hoje.

Aconselho a sua leitura pela qualidade da escrita mas também para todos aqueles que querem conhecer mais sobre a guerra civil espanhola e dos espanhóis enquanto Nação.


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Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order by Bruno Maçães
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A good and eye-opening perspective on the Chinese Belt and Road geopolitical strategy.

A geopolitical challenge to the status-quo order we are seeing unfolding in our lifetimes.

Do recommend its reading.



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Politics and the English Language by George Orwell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read this book based on Economist's recommendation on how to become a better writer, it entails 5 small essays on writing, writers and politics. Liked it, but was expecting something different.

A couple of excerpts i really liked with good advice:

"A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? And he will probably ask himself two more: Could I put it more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly? But you are not obliged to go to all this trouble."

Basic Rules one should follow
" (i) Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do. (iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. (iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active. (v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. (vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous."

George Orwell. Politics and the English Language. Distributed Proofreaders Canada. Edición de Kindle.

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Por Quem os Sinos Dobram by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Muito bom. Recomendo a todos a sua leitura.

Abriu-me a porta, de um forma surpreendente, da Guerra Civil Espanhola que espero explorar rapidamente e ao mesmo tempo uma historia tão actual tendo em consideracão a realidade em que vivemos na Europa e no Mundo.

"Nenhum homem é uma ilha, isolado em si mesmo; todos são parte do continente, uma parte de um todo. Se um torrão de terra for levado pelas águas até o mar, a Europa ficará diminuída, como se fosse um promontório, como se fosse o solar de teus amigos ou o teu próprio; a morte de qualquer homem me diminui, porque sou parte do género humano. E por isso não perguntes por quem os sinos dobram; eles dobram por ti". John Donne

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Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great book that shows the importance of data and how you should base your actions based on sound and correct data and how you should avoid the recurring bias/instincts while doing so.

Hans took macro facts and trends to exemplify the most common mistakes, but those could be applied into your daily life (professional and personal).

Common bias to be aware of:
1. Gap Instinct (beware of averages, extremes and perspectives)
2. Negative Instinct (distinguish between level and direction, that good news is not news - specially gradual improvements, more bad news does not mean more suffering or bad trends, beware of rosy pasts)
3. Straight line instinct - the worldly trends are not linear
4. Fear instinct - be afraid of the dangerous events, know how to calculate the risk (danger * exposure), avoid making decision when with a fear mindset
5. Size instinct - get all things in proportion and comparable, define benchmarks
6.Generalization Instinct - beware of using categories/generic groups to explain events/situations, look for differences, similarities within and across, majorities and vivid examples to explain complex realities
7-Destiny Instinct - Changes might be happening slowly, but their are happening, update you knowledge, beware of cultural changes
8- Single perspective Instinct - broaden your perspectives, test your ideas, avoid hammer and nails approach, trust and look at the numbers when they explain the story, beware of simple ideas and solutions
9- Blame instinct - trying to find culprits instead of causes, look for systems that underpin success instead of heroes
10 - Urgency Instinct - beware of the need of urgent and immediate decisions, take your time, require the minimum data, beware of fortune tellers, the future cannot be precisely defined, work in scenarios, be aware of drastic actions.

Strongly advise its reading.

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