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your life: people are fucking idiots. But nobody is born an idiot—we unknowingly choose to be idiots because we are not taught the methodologies of how to think. When devoid of this knowledge, people unconsciously view what they have
...more
“Afghanistan was not an end in itself; the jewel was India which had to be protected from the lusting Russian eyes. As J.R. Seeley noted, …we have the possession of India, and a leading interest in the affairs of all those countries which lie upon the route to India. This and this only involves us in that permanent rivalry with Russia. Two of the world’s greatest powers then, Victorian Britain and Czarist Russia, were engaged in this tournament of shadows; the so-called permanent rivalry which profited neither country. When they started in the beginning of nineteenth century they were 2,000 miles apart. Within a hundred years they were within sniffing distance of each other; some Russian positions were just about 20 miles away from India.”
― Durand's Curse: A Line Across the Pathan Heart
― Durand's Curse: A Line Across the Pathan Heart
“According to Colin Gray, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Reading in the UK, ‘Making strategy is by far the most difficult and risky than making policy and war plans. By its very nature strategy is more demanding of the intellect and perhaps the imagination. Excellence in strategy requires the strategist to transcend simple categories of thought. Success”
― Dragon on Our Doorstep: Managing China Through Military Power
― Dragon on Our Doorstep: Managing China Through Military Power
“Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker’s game because they almost always turn out to be—or to be indistinguishable from—self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time.”
― Cryptonomicon
― Cryptonomicon
“In an ancient language from India called Pali, there’s a term, “mudita,” which seems like the opposite of envy, because it means “to delight in the good fortunes or the accomplishments of others.”
― Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business
― Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business
“biggest mistake that the West has made in addressing the issue of radicalization is to dismiss the cause. It is almost impossible for a person, with the promise of a fulfilling life ahead, to choose death without a cause. Since we usually emulate the West, we are making the same mistake in Kashmir—dismissing insurgents as either misguided youth or denouncing them as terrorists, as if they are operating completely without a context.”
― Dragon on Our Doorstep: Managing China Through Military Power
― Dragon on Our Doorstep: Managing China Through Military Power
Around the World in 80 Books
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Reading takes you places. Where in the world will your next book take you? If you love world literature, translated works, travel writing, or explorin ...more
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"Interested in history - then you have found the right group". The History Book Club is the largest history and nonfiction group on Goodread ...more
Ask Adam Smith about his new book, "The Bravest You". http://bravestyou.com
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Rajiv’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Rajiv’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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