Library

An evolving and growing list of the books, podcasts, articles, talks, music, etc., that I often recommend. Filter by medium or topic.

• Book
  Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy (trans. Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky) Fiction
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  Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel García Márquez Fiction
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  Born a Crime Trevor Noah Memoir
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  Moving Mountains Claire Bertschinger Memoir
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  An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the Twenty-first Century James Orbinski Memoir
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  A Passage to Africa George Alagiah Memoir Journalism
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  Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism That Changed the World Edited by John Pilger Journalism
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  The Spymaster of Baghdad: A True Story of Bravery, Family, and Patriotism in the Battle Against ISIS Margaret Coker Journalism History Middle East
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  The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children Alison Gopnik Science Parenting
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  The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life Alison Gopnik Science Parenting Philosophy
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  What We Cannot Know: Explorations at the Edge of Knowledge Marcus du Sautoy Science Mathematics Philosophy
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  The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann Ananyo Bhattacharya Science Mathematics History
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  The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution Walter Isaacson History Science
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  How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease Michael Greger, MD, with Gene Stone Science Health
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  The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company William Dalrymple History British Empire India
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  The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj Anita Anand History British Empire India
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  The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World William Dalrymple History India
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  Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire Caroline Elkins History British Empire
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  Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love David Talbot History
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  India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation's Remaking Anand Giridharadas Journalism History India
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  Comandante: Hugo Chávez's Venezuela Rory Carroll Journalism History Venezuela Latin America
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  Hugo Chávez: The Definitive Biography of Venezuela's Controversial President Cristina Marcano & Alberto Barrera Tyszka (trans. Kristina Cordero) Journalism History Venezuela Latin America
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  The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion Sean Carroll Science Physics Mathematics General Relativity
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  From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time Sean Carroll Science Physics General Relativity
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  Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality Max Tegmark Science Physics Mathematics
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  On Gravity: A Brief Tour of a Weighty Subject Anthony Zee Science Physics General Relativity
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  To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science Steven Weinberg Science Physics History
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  The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff & Patricia K. Kuhl Science Parenting
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  The Art of Strategy Avinash K. Dixit & Barry J. Nalebuff Economics Mathematics
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  The Republic of Beliefs Kaushik Basu Economics
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  The Physics of Finance James Owen Weatherall Economics Physics Science
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  The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What It Means for Business and Society Eric D. Beinhocker Economics Science
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  A More Exciting Life: A Guide to Greater Freedom, Spontaneity and Enjoyment The School of Life Philosophy
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  Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World David Epstein Science Psychology
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  Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Max Tegmark AI
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  The Welch Labs Illustrated Guide to AI Welch Labs AI
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  A Brief History of Intelligence Max Bennett AI Science
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  Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI Anil Ananthaswamy AI Mathematics
• Video
  The transformative power of classical music Benjamin Zander (TED) Music
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  What's Up? Lady Gaga Music
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  Essence of linear algebra 3Blue1Brown Mathematics
• Podcast
  Empire: The Origin of Numerals and Their Spread Through Europe William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  2 episodes

  1. 193. Empire of Numbers: The Indian Origin of Arabic Numerals
  2. 194. Empire of Numbers: Fibonacci and the Birth of Modern Money

  History Mathematics India
• Podcast
  Empire: Liberator of Latin America (Simón Bolívar) William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  4 episodes

  1. Liberator of Latin America: Simón Bolívar vs The Spanish Empire (Part 1)
  2. Liberator of Latin America: Napoleon & The Legions of Hell (Part 2)
  3. Liberator of Latin America: Descent Into Tyranny (Part 3)
  4. Liberator of Latin America: Revolutionary Hero Or Dictator? (Part 4)

  History Venezuela Latin America
• Podcast
  Empire: The Indian Uprising of 1857 William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  8 episodes

  1. 322. Indian Uprising 1857: The Mutiny (Part 1)
  2. 323. Indian Uprising 1857: The Rebels March On Delhi (Part 2)
  3. 324. Indian Uprising 1857: Massacre and Revenge in Kanpur (Part 3)
  4. 325. Indian Uprising 1857: The Siege of Lucknow (Part 4)
  5. 326. Indian Uprising 1857: India's Joan of Arc – Rani of Jhansi (Part 5)
  6. 327. Indian Uprising 1857: The British Strike Back (Part 6)
  7. 328. Indian Uprising 1857: The Reign of Terror (Part 7)
  8. 329. Indian Uprising 1857: The British Raj is Born (Part 8)

  History British Empire India
• Podcast
  Empire: Rudyard Kipling William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  3 episodes

  1. 312. Rudyard Kipling: Son of Empire (Part 1)
  2. 313. Rudyard Kipling: Escaping India & Writing The Jungle Book (Part 2)
  3. 314. Rudyard Kipling: Villain or Visionary? (Part 3)

  History British Empire India
• Podcast
  Empire: George Orwell William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  4 episodes

  1. 302. Orwell: The Anti-Imperialist In India & Burma (Part 1)
  2. 303. Orwell: Fighting Fascism In The Spanish Civil War (Part 2)
  3. 304. Orwell: Animal Farm, 1984 & Totalitarian Dystopia (Part 3)
  4. 305. Orwell: Dark Secrets, The CIA, & His Forgotten Failures (Part 4)

  History
• Podcast
  Empire: The History of Gaza William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  11 episodes

  1. 291. Ancient Gaza: The Philistines (Part 1)
  2. 292. Ancient Gaza: From The Assyrians to The Romans (Part 2)
  3. 293. The Gaza Erotic Literature Festival: Byzantine Gaza (Part 3)
  4. 294. Gaza & The Islamic Conquest (Part 4)
  5. 295. Crusader Gaza: Saladin & Richard The Lionheart (Part 5)
  6. 296. Ottoman Gaza: Gunpowder Conquests & Rising Nationalism (Part 6)
  7. 297. Gaza in WW1: A Rematch For Gallipoli (Part 7)
  8. 298. Gaza: The British Occupation of Palestine (Part 8)
  9. 299. Gaza: The Palestinian Revolt, The Black and Tans, & Bomber Harris (Part 9)
  10. 300. Gaza: The 1948 War (Part 10)
  11. 301. Gaza: The First Arab-Israeli War & The Creation of The Gaza Strip (Part 11)

  History Middle East
• Podcast
  Empire: The Arab-Israeli Wars William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  8 episodes

  1. 346. From Suez To The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (Part 1)
  2. 347. The Six Day War (Part 2)
  3. 348. How 1967 Changed The Middle East Forever (Part 3)
  4. 349. Occupation of The West Bank (Part 4)
  5. 350. 1973: The Yom Kippur War & The First Oil Crisis (Part 5)
  6. 351. Camp David: The Day Israel & Egypt Made Peace (Part 6)
  7. 352. Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon (Part 7)
  8. 353. Hezbollah, Hostages, & Exploding Pagers (Part 8)

  History Middle East
• Podcast
  Empire: The Partition of India William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  6 episodes

  1. 278. Partition: India's Break With Burma (Part 1)
  2. 279. Partition: How Dubai Almost Became Part of India (Part 2)
  3. 280. Partition: The Creation of Pakistan (Part 3)
  4. 281. Partition: Why Was India Split In Two? (Part 4)
  5. 282. Partition: The Birth of The Kashmir Conflict (Part 5)
  6. 283. Partition: East Pakistan Becomes Bangladesh (Ep 6)

  History British Empire India
• Podcast
  Empire: The Mughals William Dalrymple & Anita Anand

  16 episodes

  1. 204. Babur: The First Mughal Emperor (Ep 1)
  2. 205. Babur: The Taking of Delhi (Ep 2)
  3. 206. Babur: Guns, Gardens & Diamonds (Ep 3)
  4. 207. The Stargazing Hippie vs The Lion King (Ep 1)
  5. 208. Humayun Reconquers India (Ep 2)
  6. 209. Akbar the Great (Ep 1)
  7. 210. Akbar the Great: Revolutionising Religious Tolerance (Ep 2)
  8. 211. A Beautiful World: The Art of Akbar (Ep 3)
  9. 215. Jahangir: A World of Light And Darkness (Ep 1)
  10. 216. Seeds of British India: England's First Ambassador to the Mughal Court (Ep 2)
  11. 217. Zebras and Zodiacs: Jahangir's Art Revolution (Ep 3)
  12. 218. Creator of The Taj Mahal: Shah Jahan's Rise to Power (Ep 1)
  13. 219. Building The Taj Mahal: Love, Loss, & Splendour (Ep 2)
  14. 220. Battle of Brothers: The Puritan vs The Mystic (Ep 1)
  15. 221. War of Succession: The Battle That Shook India (Ep 2)
  16. 222. The Downfall of the Mughals (Ep 3)

  History India