Showing results by author "Swift Reads" in All Categories

On Liberty (1859) by John Stuart Mill is an influential philosophical treatise that argues societies can be free only when they celebrate diversity and promote individual freedom. Mill believed that conformity is a blight on human happiness, creativity, and social progress....

In Becoming (2018), Michelle Obama recounts the familial, educational, romantic, and political experiences that culminated in her tenure as first lady of the United States. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

Accessory to War by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang is a meditation on the history of space research and its interdependence on military research and warfare. The narrative contextualizes discoveries such as the compass and adaptive optics in order to evaluate the present global state of space diplomacy. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

Christopher Clark’s The Sleepwalkers is an expansive account of the days, months, and years leading up to World War I. Clark’s central contention is that scholars’ continuous preoccupation with the question of who was responsible for starting the war stems from an erroneous understanding of the events....

Brief Answers to the Big Questions (2018) presents the thoughts of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking on 10 major scientific and philosophical debates, including whether a deity exists, whether intelligent life exists in space, and whether humans should seek out a new home outside of Earth.

The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great (2019) explains how Western nations used philosophical and religious values to create governments that protect individual liberty while encouraging collective action. Author Ben Shapiro argues that countries like the United States became prosperous because they adhered to two primary sources of moral and intellectual thought: Judeo-Christian values and ancient Greek reason...

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford describes the ways automation and rapid advances in technology are shaping the global economy, as well as the profound consequences these technological changes will have for future workers. The role of technology in production has evolved. No longer a mere means of increasing the productivity of human workers, technology has developed methods for replacing workers entirely. Disclaimer: This isn't the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it's available from Amazon and Audible.

This is a summary of Sigmund Freud's Dream Psychology: Psychoanalysis for Beginners (1921), which describes the curious and complex mental processes that unfold in dreams. Each night, the slumbering mind crafts dramatic and elaborate productions, or dreams, that sleepers watch like a movie....

Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs (2018) explores how Apple creates its products through the perspective of a programmer who worked at the corporation for more than a decade. Author and software engineer Ken Kocienda uses stories from his time at Apple to demonstrate how the company pushes its employees to solve seemingly impossible programming problems...(Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Astroball: The New Way to Win it All, by Ben Reiter, tells the dramatic story of how the Houston Astros transformed from being the worst team in professional baseball to the best. Reiter first made the bold prediction that the Astros would win a World Series in a Sports Illustrated cover story in June 2014. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work (2018) teaches companies and entrepreneurs how to increase productivity and improve work performance by setting reasonable boundaries on the hours spent completing tasks. Authors Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson use their web application company, Basecamp, as an example of a tranquil work environment where calm, steady progress is favored over breakneck speed.... Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

This is a summary of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World (2018), which explores how animals developed on earth before the Paleogene period, when mammals emerged as the dominant life form. The narrative begins by describing the dinosaur’s ancestor: a small, unimportant creature struggling for survival in the Permian period, more than 250 million years ago....

In Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level (2019), technology journalist Leander Kahney explains how a mild-mannered man from a small town in Alabama became the CEO of one of America’s most influential and successful companies. Cook, who once served as Apple’s chief operating officer, was considered a strange choice to replace Steve Jobs when he was announced as the company’s new leader in 2011...

In From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America (2019), Howard Schultz examines how his upbringing in a working class New York family influenced his actions when he became chairman and CEO of Starbucks. Schultz uses his eventual professional success to argue that the United States still can be a land of opportunity if those with means are willing to give chances and resources to those without.

Valley of Genius: The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley (As Told By the Hackers, Founders, and Freaks Who Made It Boom) (2018) is an account of how a region of California became the central hub for technological innovation in the latter half of the 20th century. Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.

Fear: Trump in the White House (2018) details the political and personal tribulations that faced an ever-shifting cast of White House staffers during the turbulent first year and a half of Donald Trump’s presidency. Renowned journalist Bob Woodward uses his access to Washington insiders to create a revealing portrait of an administration increasingly crippled by its need to guide, delay, and even hinder Trump’s whims. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)