Books worth reading
Ralf Haller
June 16th, 2008
Three books I was just reading I’d like to review for you.
Ken Follet, World Without End
I was reading Ken Follet’s first Middle Age book The Pillars of the Earth a few years ago and loved it. Naturally I got his latest second book World Without End as well and can highly recommend it. On 1100 pages Ken Follett brings the Middle Ages to life. He is not only an outstanding story teller but also works hard researching the details to make his stories appear as real as possible. I am personally a big fan of Ken Follett as I think in addition to great story telling skills also hard research work nearly like a scientist is is his recipe for success. You don’t need to have read his first book at all, by the way- you will still be able to understand just about everything. But I recommend you read them both. His new book drew me deeply into the Middle Ages with all its roughness and daily fight for survival. Ken Follet provides insights into daily lives ranging from simple laborers, nuns, priests, builders, noblemen, knights, and all the way up to the kings. One other part of his success is that he brings into his story human beings with all their strengths and weaknesses: intrigue, prejudice, politics, greed, rudeness, ambition, persistence, revenge, warmth, caring to name just a few. 1000 years have passed now but not much has changed at all in this respect, you start thinking, and I am convinced this is actually true. I can highly recommend this book to everybody who loves to be drawn into a different world but also likes interpersonal relationship stories. I was glued to the book and my family was surprised to see how fast I read through these 1100 pages.
In short: great entertainment in a realistic, very well researched Middle Age setting showing lives across the whole population from day labourers to nobility.
Olaf Ihlau, Weltmacht Indien
When it comes to books on India or China the Germans are typically not the experts. For China, American-born Chinese (”ABCs”) or in India the British have better insights and hence are able to write more accurate books. Peter Ihlau’s new book on India seems to be a rare one, though, from a German correspondent who has worked on Indian stories for now 30 years for the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and the magazine Spiegel. As I am not someone who can judge the quality of a book on India I only assume, based on his background, that he writes well. The book not only writes about India’s newest developments in IT outsourcing and the huge number of excellent universities producing half a million engineers every year but also spends a big part on its challenges, and there are many more than one might think of: strong influence on daily life of countless different religions; huge poverty in most rural areas and in the slums of the urban cities; ongoing tensions with nuclear-armed Pakistan about Khasmir; anarchical areas in the northeast of the country that are entirely out of control; a caste system that is officially illegal but practically existent everywhere and determines people’s faith by virtue of birth.
In short: comprehensive insight into the daily challenges of the next superpower India, the book is in German only right now.
Marvin Appel, Investing with Exchange Traded Funds
In case you still have invested money in mutual funds you might not like this and many other books on ETFs as they would tell you that you not only waste lots of money paying high management fees but in addition not even increase but decrease your chances for investment success. This book here on ETFs is written by an American investment consultant and covers the viewpoint for US investors. Still most of what he recommends can be applied by Europeans as well. The book is excellently written and leads you step by step to a flowchart of a decision-making process that allows you to maintain the “ultimate ETF investment strategy portfolio”.
In short: excellent book explaining how to use ETFs and providing a great flowchart on a portfolio selection decision-making process. Also very usable for non-Americans.