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I know little of the side of WW2 that took place in the pacific between Japan und the US. With this book (part one of a three book series) I’m trying to fill the gaps in my knowledge. And it’s a great book (or audio book in my case). I’ve learnt more about Pearl Harbor, the pre-war political situation in both Japan and the US, the first battles over Wake Island, the Doolittle Raid and the Battle of Midway. Notable characters I‘m now aware of: Admirals Nimitz, King, Nagumo and Yamamoto. The crypto analyst Joseph Rochefort and the relation between Churchill and Roosevelt. Written and narrated in a good mixture of story telling and giving context about the historical significance of most events.
As my life with a newborn is becoming more complex by definition, I feel a tug towards simplification. I am rediscovering minimalism, I think. So I went back to some classic minimalism thinkers from the early 2010s. This short ebook is a nice and gentle introduction to the way the bloggers approached minimalism back then.
The core idea: Aim not to accumulate too much money, because that would mean you had worked too much and missed out on experiences in your life that you could have had instead.
I agree with many of Perkin’s points. Sometimes the content seemed targeted at people with way higher networth than I will ever expect to have. And at the core, the idea is as simple as any child would put it: Make the best of your life, don’t focus on money as a goal in itself. Also, it seemed a little shallow occasionally to equate “good life experience” with “more money spent”. But I guess that doesn’t ruin the main idea.
Some nice concepts:
- Calculating your “peak”, i.e. you age where you should stop accumulating and start spending.
- planning out your life in phases of 5-10 years duration. Map out the experiences you still want to have and make sure you do them at an age where you can still enjoy them. Don’t postpone the until you (or your family members) are too old to enjoy them or when your kids have left the house.
- if you’re afraid to run out of money because you get older than you anticipated: get an annuity or long term care insurance. I have always scoffed this off before but now I understand why it could make sense
- the best spending years should be between 20 to 60 years old and not at the traditional retirement age, as most people plan it
- if you really care about giving money to your kids or a charity, do it with intention while you’re still alive. Don’t leave it as an inheritance
PS: The audio book was fine, but not great. I think Bill Perkins read it himself? In any case, there are some reading pauses in the text. I think a professional narrator would have done a slightly better job. But still a good audio book.
Philippa Perry – The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad that You Did)
256 Seiten
What a great book! So many helpful points about human relationships in general and the relation to your child and your parents in particular. I've learned a lot.
A book that tells the story of Otto Wächter, former German governor in Poland, who tries to escape capture after 1945 on the Ratline, the famous escape route that helped many Nazis escape to South America in those days (thanks to the catholic church, of course). Unexpectly, Otto Wächter dies in Rome in 1949.
In fact, the book tells many stories: There is also the story of Horst von Wächter, Otto's son, who helps the author to research his father's life and tries to prove that his father was, in fact, a decent man and not guilty in the context of the Holocaust. There is also a love story between Otto and his wife Charlotte. Then there is the story of secret agents in Italy, both on the sides of the Americans and the soviets. And the story about Otto Wächter's final days and the question: Was this a natural death?
The book doesn't give definitive answers to all of these questions, but it tells the story very well. I expected more about the ratline itself (it is the title of the book after all), but I don't mind the unexpected turns the journey took, rather than re-iterating a generic story that I am already familiar with from other literature.
Would definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in stories about the moral and ethical ambiguities that arise when researching a typical German family history.
Jack Reacher Nummer 5. Von Urlaub zu Urlaub arbeite ich mich so durch die Reihe. Dieses mal dauerte es überraschend lang, bis es wirklich los ging (und der Body Count anstieg). Mal wieder ein bisschen anders geschrieben als die Teile davor. Ist aber egal, für meinen casual Anspruch genügt es.
A book about our relationship with time and our futile attempts to „manage time“.
I’d give 5 stars because he eloquently introduces some great concepts: embracing that we will never be able to do everything, stop wasting each moment by always living in the future, enjoying the mundane and learning that „to settle“ is something to strive for, not to avoid.
I‘d give 3 stars because the book was sometimes exhausting to read. Clearly well written, Oliver Burkeman sometimes lost me because some paragraphs felt as if they were intently „very well written“ even though simpler language might have also worked.
Overall I enjoyed the book and give it 4 stars.
Der nächste Teil meiner Guilty-Pleasure-Urlaubslektüre. In Teil 3 der Jack Reacher Serie treibt er sich in New York herum und spürt einem in Vietnam verschollenen Soldaten nach. Was mich irritierte: In Teil 2 wurde Jack Reacher als Typ mit absurd gut kalibriertem Zeitgefühl beschrieben: Er nimmt sich vor, am nächsten Morgen um 6 aufzuwachen und tut es einfach. In diesem Buch nun wacht er auf, guckt auf die Uhr und ist überrascht, dass es schon 8 Uhr ist. Hä? Egal, mein Anspruch ist kein hoher, ich schmöker das einfach so weg.
Es war mal wieder Zeit, ein Buch über Finanzen zu lesen. Das hier ist (quasi) eine Fortsetzung von JL Collins' vorherigem Buch "The Simple Path to Wealth". Das Format ist aber ein ganz anderes: 100 kleine Geschichten, die ihm von Leser:innen eingeschickt wurden und ganz verschiedene Lebensrealitäten und ganz verschiedene Zeitpunkte im Leben zeigen. Irgendwie war es so viel nahbarer, als wenn eine einzelne Person (Autor und "hat es bereits geschafft") ein paar Tipps aufschreibt. Hat mir gut gefallen und es war sehr flott und kurzweilig zu lesen.
A solid finance book. It basically repeats much of the common wisdom from the passive investment school of thought. However, the author does a great job at showing a lot of real statistics and numbers to undermine the argument, as well as rigorously giving citations in each chapter.