In January 1990, William Blacker drove from England through Eastern Europe to see what life was like in new post-Communist era. He wanted to see the painted monasteries of Moldavia, Romania. When he got there he was astonished to find “wooden peasant cottages on the edge of forests inhabited by [Read more…]
Seth Godin wants you to use the Internet to communicate your passion to others. As the pace of change increases, the “rush from stability” combines with new technology to present everybody with opportunities for leadership, but the fear of failure inhibits people from acting differently. The book is a loose [Read more…]
Robert Greene has written a book in the tradition of Machiavelli. He illustrates his “laws” with historical examples of what happens when they are followed or transgressed. Each chapter concludes with a section discussing the reversal of the law. The book is charmingly laid out with the main narrative flanked by fables, anecdotes and maxims. But a question arises: Is Greene’s rhetorical display of [Read more…]
Is there a secret cypher buried in the First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays, or hidden on his epitaph? If such a cypher exist, does it show that Bacon wrote the plays? The rules governing cyphers must be unambiguous, the solution grammatically and semantically coherent. Two cryptanalysts working independently should [Read more…]
Romeo is lovesick for Rosaline until Mercutio persuades him to gatecrash their enemy, Capulet’s, party. Romeo promptly falls for Capulet’s daughter, Juliet, scales a wall, approaches Juliet’s balcony and is well met by moonlight. A conniving Friar secretly marries them the morning after. Romeo intervenes in a sword fight, inadvertently [Read more…]
Bunyan wrote his vivid Protestant allegory while imprisoned for unlicenced preaching. Christian, encumbered by sin, flees the City of Destruction for the straight and narrow road to the Celestial City. Passing through much tribulation, Christian encounters sloughs, valleys, hills and meadows. His sins fall from his back at Calvary, his [Read more…]
Stephen Covey’s bestseller discusses how to integrate seven basic principles of effective living into your basic character to improve your performance from the inside out. The principles are: Be proactive; begin with the end in Mind; put first things first; think win-win; seek first to understand; synergize; sharpen the saw. [Read more…]
Hermann Knell was nineteen when his city was destroyed in an air-raid in March 1945. Knell wonders why Würzburg was destroyed beyond any military necessity. Why was strategic bombing pursued beyond all humane considerations? German Zeppelins bombed London and Paris in World War One. The British found aerial bombing a [Read more…]
As a culture, we often root for the underdog. We love to see teachers motivate students whose every word and gesture reek of defiance. After the initial, yet brief, breaking-in period, movie star teachers cleverly inspire every student to overcome years of poverty and intellectual neglect and to out-achieve their [Read more…]
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