I had read it once before, but too fast. This time I read it slowly. Its great gift is to show you multiple perspectives - to get into the minds and hearts of so many people and see how they interact, and the writing is extraordinary, setpiece after setpiece. The great risk for the world right now is peoples' inability to see things from multiple perspectives, to be trapped in their bubbles. Great novels liberate us from the prison of our own minds and views and I really think there is no greater novel than Anna Karenina.
In 1872 the mistress of a neighbouring landowner threw herself under a train at a station near Tolstoy's home. This gave Tolstoy the starting point he needed for composing what many believe to be the greatest novel ever written.
In writing Anna Karenina he moved away from the vast historical sweep of War and Peace to tell, with extraordinary understanding, the story of an aristocratic woman who brings ruin on herself. Anna's tragedy is interwoven with not only the courtship and marriage of Kitty and Levin but also the lives of many other characters. Rich in incident, powerful in characterization,…
This is a book about an extraordinary project to mobilise thousands of birds and animals to track the changing state of the world, tapping into their senses. Its one of many examples of collective intelligence at large scale, and of an emerging planetary consciousness that makes full use of science and technology. It's a hopeful book - a very healthy antidote to pettiness, nationalism and small thinking, and also a good reminder that we share this planet with billions of other creatures.
An illuminating account of animal migration and the stunning new science that reveals their infinite, untapped knowledge.
"A loving ode to science itself, told with wit and wonder."-Thor Hanson, author of Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid
What do animals know that we don't? How do elephants detect tsunamis before they happen? How do birds predict hurricanes? In The Internet of Animals, renowned scientist Martin Wikelski convincingly argues that animals possess a unique "sixth sense" that humans are only beginning to grasp ...
All we need to do is give animals a voice and our perception of the world could change…
This is much the best recent book on business. It shows the changing shapes of companies in the era of platforms, complex supply chains and more. Its greatest value is to remind us that great companies are essentially an expression of collective intelligence, and that their longevity depends on loving what they do. It documents many examples where firms forgot this, pursued short-term profit and ended up destroying their value - not just Enron but also others like Boeing or Deutsche Bank. Its also a healthy alternative to naive views of companies as nothing more than collections of contracts. Anyone with any role in business or finance should read it, and will learn far more than from 99% of airport books on business.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
'Original and thought-provoking... A brilliantly erudite account of the major waves in the theory and practice of management' Financial Times
'Instead of theory it has wisdom... an excellent book' New Statesman
For generations, we have defined a corporation as a business that uses its accumulated wealth to own the means of production and exercise economic power.
That is no longer the reality. Corporations no longer control their own industries, and our most desired goods and services aren't stacked in container ships: they appear on your screen, fit…
A book on why political and social imagination has shrunk; the lessons we can learn from history; and the methods we can use now to amplify imagination and better prepare for the decades ahead. Its ideas are even more vital in a period when much of the world seems to be going backwards!
‘This book is the tonic the world needs, particularly the West. Read it!’ — Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America ‘Important…if we struggle even to imagine a better future, we will be unable to create it.’ Gideon Rachman, Financial Times, Best New Political Books ‘A manifesto for creativity, and for thinking big’ Rachel Cunliffe, New Statesman ‘We desperately need to renew our sense of what is possible and imagine the future in ways that are simultaneously creative, open and practical. This wonderful, eclectic and deeply interesting book is crammed with ideas of just how we might do so.’ Professor Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School. 'An inspiring call for a more imaginative tomorrow.’ — Professor Danny Dorling, University of Oxford ‘Geoff Mulgan reminds us that we can imagine and create change, not just fix what is broken. His book offers hope and the power of possibility.’ — Sonal Shah, former Director of Social Innovation & Civic Participation, Obama Administration, and Executive Director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation, Georgetown University
