Review: Give and Take

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam M. Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Different people act in different situations as either givers, takers or matchers. Givers are generous with their energy, time, knowledge, skills, ideas and connections. Takers are cautious and self-protective. Matchers operate on the principle of fairness: when they help others, they protect themselves by seeking reciprocity (the most common way of behaviour).

Selfless givers (those that treat interests of others greater than their own) are often the least successful in life. However, givers can also be the most successful, since they are ultimately best at networking, they inspire others (so can be good leaders), they are more fun to work with, they are enablers for groups and teams.

From organisational / society point of view it is important that the value of giving (or, opposite, taking) can become a norm, can be a cornerstone of the culture - in case it is shown and is treated as a norm. A close-kit community where everyone is valued on how much they give to a community is a good analogy.

The book propositions are interesting and are supported by a lot of relevant and insightful psychological studies. However, it often felt that the author found just about any study that could neatly fit into his theory (which in itself is quite a simplification of human relations).

In the end, one could say that any psychology study supported the theory that (as author somewhat clumsily calls them "otherish") givers succeeded more in life. And similar points were repeated again and again throughout the book. It could have well been shorter and included fewer points to make a point :)

Review: A Brief History of Italy

A Brief History of Italy by Jeremy Black
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's not an easy task to pack the rich and multi-sided history of Italy into one relatively short book. So, the credit should be given to the author. From Etruscan civilization, through Ancient Roman times and Medieval age to Spanish / Austrian / French period until unification, Mussolini and modern times - it is rather well done.

The scrupulous details of various wars, battles, kings and regents was at times too much for such a concise book. More interesting was description of ordinary people's life in the Medieval Italy (which mostly was quite miserable apart from nobles and priests) as well as discussion about the roots of and the signs of regional inequality (between the North and the South). The author's relaxed, personal attitude to Italy (especially to what has happened in the past 30-50 years) is beneficial for the book.

Historical books could always benefit from some maps or illustrations. There was none here.

All in all, a good quick overview of the history of the country. Being a "Brief History", it is inevitably full of compromises as of what is covered there and to what extent.