Showing results by author "Swift Reads" in All Categories

To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), by Harper Lee, is a coming-of-age novel that traces young Scout Finch’s growing awareness of racism in her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama. Watching her father, a lawyer, represent a Black man who has been falsely accused of rape, Scout comes to understand some difficult truths about her neighbors and, by extension, about the world. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life (1999) by clinical psychologist Marshall B. Rosenberg offers a life-affirming, empathy-based approach to conflict resolution. The goal of practicing nonviolent communication, or NVC, is not to win an argument.... Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market (1989) guides fledgling investors through the process of how to pick stocks and build a winning investment portfolio. Author and investor Peter Lynch, with the help of author John Rothchild, explains that investors do not have to work at high-profile finance firms to be successful....

Lost Connections explores the physical, psychological, and cultural factors that lead to depression, as well as the tactics communities can employ to overcome it. British journalist Johann Hari argues that while depression can have a biological cause, it’s largely an involuntary reaction to the social ills that plague modern society. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

In The Laws of Human Nature (2018), best-selling author Robert Greene dissects the elaborate lies that people tell themselves. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

This is a summary of How to Talk so Your Kids Will Listen & How to Listen so Your Kids Will Talk (1979), which is a guide for parents who want to effectively communicate with their children. The skills contained in the book can be learned and practiced by all parents and, when incorporated consistently, help parents and children build positive relationships with each other....

In Leading Change (2012), long-time Harvard business professor John P. Kotter outlines his influential process to establish and secure permanent changes that will make any organization more efficient, successful, and competitive. Bringing change to an organization often entails high stakes. Success can revitalize a business and unlock new potential, but failure can doom a firm to years of stagnation. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

This is a summary of The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (2005), in which Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Thomas L. Friedman explains how globalization and improvements in technology have facilitated an economic environment where anyone, no matter where they are from, can excel. The title refers to the idea that the world has been “flattened” now that companies, entrepreneurs, and workers can collaborate and compete with one another on a global scale....

The Definitive Book of Body Language (2004) by body language experts Allan and Barbara Pease is a comprehensive guide to non-verbal communication. An expanded version of Allen Pease’s Body Language (1981), The Definitive Book of Body Language outlines the basics of body language, including expressions, gestures, and physical movements. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon.)

In God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007), journalist Christopher Hitchens argues that religious faith is not necessary for humanity’s progress. In fact, faith in supernatural beings has slowed scientific advancement, led to human rights violations, and facilitated the creation of totalitarian regime.

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.

Five Days at Memorial (2013) is a two-part investigation of the controversial events and decisions that took place at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans in the chaotic days following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts (2018) by social researcher and best-selling author Brené Brown explains how to create an organizational culture built upon principles of vulnerability, connection, and meaning. For 20 years, Brown has researched vulnerability, and Dare to Lead incorporates her extensive data around shame and its cure, empathy; in addition, she interweaves the results of a seven-year education project on vulnerability and leadership, which Brown designed and implemented…

Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success (2011), by Napoleon Hill, describes the circumstances surrounding the self-help author’s rise to fame and fortune. After overcoming many personal and professional trials, including financial ruin, Hill had the opportunity to question the Devil about the ways in which he ensnares humanity.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (2017) explains the numerous biological, cultural, and evolutionary factors that shape human behavior. Neurobiologist Robert M. Sapolsky uses studies from various scientific disciplines, including neurology, psychology, sociology, and anthropology, to explore why humans exhibit variable responses to both provocative and mundane situations.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (2001) explains how humans routinely underestimate the role luck plays in determining outcomes. This failure to account for uncertainty can lead someone to attribute meaning to a result where none exists, or to overlook the probability of a rare but cataclysmic event....

The Good Gut: The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-Term Health (2015) by Justin Sonnenburg and Erica Sonnenburg explores the fascinating machinations of the human gut. Also known as the microbiome, the gut is teeming with live bacteria that help make or break one’s physical and mental health.

The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection by best-selling author Michael A. Singer, is a spiritual memoir that chronicles Singer’s quest to embrace whatever the universe presented to him at any given moment. Singer’s experiment with surrender began in 1970, when he was enrolled in a graduate-level economics program at the University of Florida and realized there was a voice inside his head, often critical and judgmental.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World (2018) examines the exploits of Jho Low, a Malaysian money launderer who organized the theft of at least $5 billion from a government fund meant to create jobs in the Southeast Asian country. Low used some of the money to forge connections with notable politicians in the Middle East, North America, and Asia. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

In The Big Short (2010), journalist Michael Lewis traces the stories of a handful of misfit investors who predicted the 2008 financial crisis. In the parlance of Wall Street, to “short” something is to bet against an investment or company through the purchase of a complex high-finance product.... (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)