Discovery of elements, realities of the holocaust, the science of neurological issues, and more…
There are 8 billion people on earth.
Each of them is different. One way of acquainting ourselves with the diversity of humans is by reading about their thoughts and experiences.
Today’s list of books will bring you in touch with the human soul, its strengths and vulnerabilities. You’ll definitely experience a roller coaster of emotions as you read them.
Reading these books is an experience that shouldn’t be missed.
Let’s go through their overview so you can pick your next read.
She was raped while she was unconscious.
This book was published in 2019. It is Chanel Miller’s first book.
It discusses Miller’s rape that occurred in 2015 on the Stanford University campus and its aftermath.
Chanel Miller was 22 years old when she was invited by her sister and her friends to a party on campus. She accepted the offer.
“They seemed angry that I’d made myself vulnerable, more than the fact that he’d acted on my vulnerability.”
But the night ended in a literal nightmare when Miller opened her eyes in a hospital surrounded by officials.
As it turns out Miller was unconscious when she was assaulted by a guy named Brock Turner. He was enrolled at Stanford on a swimming scholarship.
“The judge had given Brock something that would never be extended to me: empathy.”
Initially, Miller didn’t tell her loved ones about it. She was horrified by the abuse pelted at her online.
She talks about her mental anguish, the subsequent trial, and her taking back charge of her life.
This story will make your heart cry.
Horrors of the Holocaust.
Elie Wiesel was a Jewish teenager in his hometown of Sighet in Hungarian Transylvania. He survived the Holocaust.
This book is his memoir. It details his experiences of the Holocaust.
It is told from the perspective of the narrator, Eliezer, who is a fictionalized version of the author.
In 1944 Germans arrived in Sighet and Jews were moved to ghettos. Later, the ghettos were disbanded and the Jewish people were taken into concentration camps. Many were killed.
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.”
Eliezer and his father were separated from his mother and sisters. They go through many ‘selections’. Selection means the decision of who is to die and who is able to work.
They are taken to different camps where they are forced to labor. They endure starvation and abuse. They also witness horrible atrocities against men, women, and children.
Eliezer questions God and humanity as he sees the unthinkable.
“For in the end, it is all about memory, its sources and its magnitude, and, of course, its consequences.”
Eliezer is eventually liberated in Buchenwald whereas his father died three months earlier.
This book will make you weep for young Eliezer and many more like him.
A neurologist’s diary.
Oliver Sacks was a British neurologist. This famous book of his was published in 1985.
In this book, he brings us numerous case studies of his patients, each suffering from a neurological condition.
“If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self — himself — he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it.”
Sacks also writes about his experiences philosophically.
He reflects on the power of music. Sacks describes that even those who struggle with simple tasks are able to coordinate when music is played.
He also says that we think we have 5 senses. But there are more.
“…there are other senses — secret senses, sixth senses, if you will — equally vital, but unrecognised, and unlauded. These senses, unconscious, automatic, had to be discovered.”
This book does have some difficult medical terms. But nothing a little googling can’t solve.
You’ll enjoy getting to know Sack’s patients and their backgrounds. You’ll also reflect on the human mind and its complexity. Reading this book will make you grateful for your brain.
Getting to know the people whom most of the world hates.
We have done a deep dive into one of Jon Ronson’s books, ‘Men Who Stare at Goats’.
This is another one of his amazing works.
To explore the world of people who hold radical ideas, Jon spends time with them. He shares his experiences in this book.
“One thing you quickly learn about the extremists is that they really don’t like being called extremists.”
When you read this, it’ll feel like you are accompanying the writer on his quest.
From spending time with the people, he humanizes them, regardless of how absurd their views are.
The people mentioned in his book include Omar Bakri Muhammad (a radical Islamic activist), Thomas Robb (KKK leader), and Alex Jones.
Jon also infiltrates a ceremony of the elites at Bohemian Grove.
The author analyzes the behavior of extremists really well. He says that all of them, regardless of how different their views are, believe that a secret group of people is ruling the world.
This book is informative and thrilling. You have to read it to experience everything yourself.
Life under control.
This book details the lives of 6 North Koreans over 15 years.
Did you know that North Korea doesn’t have access to the internet? The only internet people use is the local intranet made available by the government.
“There was the natural human survival instinct to be optimistic.”
Through this book, we see how people live their day-to-day lives under a totalitarian regime.
We also see the push and pull faced by the North Korean people. On one hand, they are raised to be extremely loyal to the government. On the other hand, they witness the harsh realities.
One of these realities was the sweeping famine that rocked North Korea from 1994 to 1998.
“North Korean defectors often find it hard to settle down.”
We are there as the subjects come to the realization that they have been lied to by their government.
This book will not only paint an intimate portrait of North Korea. It will also make you empathetic towards the struggles of an ordinary citizen.
Discover the mysteries of the human body.
This book is an informative discussion of all that the human body is or isn’t.
From self-healing properties to various microbes that live on us, Bryson writes about all.
His book discusses the brain, hormones, blood, heart, and more.
“… if you formed all the DNA in your body into a single fine strand it would stretch ten billion miles, to beyond Pluto.”
The author tells us that the amount of DNA inside our body is such that if joined end to end, it can leave the solar system.
Whoa!
“If we want to be healthy, we need to eat and move about a little more like our ancient ancestors did.”
We are what we eat.
And we should be eating like our ancestors. The author recommends seriously limiting sugar and processed food.
This book is informative, engaging, and important. Reading it is like understanding yourself on an intimate level.
A chem(istry)-trail…
Science writer Sam Kean brings us all he can about the different elements that make up the world.
He tells us about the scientists who worked long and hard. Their discoveries finally gave birth to the periodic table.
“One popular trick, since gallium molds easily and looks like aluminum, is to fashion gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch as your guests recoil when their Earl Grey “eats” their utensils.”
Not only that, but he also brings us interesting and horrific facts about different elements.
The author explains how human greed and misuse of elements can create havoc. He also discusses the Nobel Prize. Some scientists win it without deserving it. Others die for science.
“Because our lungs regularly deal with carbon dioxide, they see nothing wrong with absorbing its cousin, SiO2, which can be fatal.”
The author thinks that more elements can be created. He predicts that it will change the shape of the periodic table.
Psychopaths, media, and the mental health industry…
With another interesting subject on his hands, Jon Ronson sets out to explore psychopathy.
He meets various psychologists and psychiatrists who have studied and worked with psychopaths. Those include the famous Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare, who created the Hare Psychopathy checklist.
“I wondered if sometimes the difference between a psychopath in Broadmoor and a psychopath on Wall Street was the luck of being born into a stable, rich family.”
Ronson also discusses controversial treatments like nude therapy or childhood medications.
The author talks about the journalistic pursuit of psychopathology. He wonders if the pursuit itself is sociopathic.
“We journalists love writing about eccentrics. We hate writing about impenetrable, boring people.”
The author wants us to be cautious of diagnosing someone without knowing them. He wants us to stay wary of the confirmation bias that exists inside us.
Nothing without shelter.
Through this book, the author shares the struggles of 8 families from poor neighborhoods. Desmond spent time with these families as part of fieldwork.
“…it is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need. Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country.”
These families were struggling to pay rent. Most of their income was focused on paying it anyway.
The writer focuses on the need for a subsidized housing plan for families that earn below a certain threshold.
Without shelter, as the author puts it, everything falls apart.
“Eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.”
The book also explores the relationship between landlords, renters, and judges. It also discusses the financial, legal, and psychological tangents of renting and poverty.
This book is an honest and raw look at the struggles of underprivileged families.
Is the criminal justice system biased against the Blacks?
Jim Crow laws in the Southern United States segregated blacks and whites. They remained in effect till 1965.
The author of this book is a lawyer and a civil rights activist.
She argues that people like to believe that racism ended with civil war. It simply hasn’t.
She focuses on the mass incarceration of African-American people. The author calls it similar to Jim Crow.
“The system of mass incarceration is based on the prison label, not prison time.”
Throughout the book, the author provides statistics to support her argument.
She alleges that through the ‘War on Drugs’, authorities intentionally target low-income Black neighborhoods. According to her, the criminal justice system serves as a tool for social control and racism.
“Studies show that people of all colors use and sell illegal drugs at remarkably similar rates.”
This book will make you reflect on racism that exists subtly or unsubtly, all around you.
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