David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell

2/05/14 – David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell

I don’t usually read non-fiction (except some history) but I’ve read several of Malcolm Gladwell’s books (The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers). I guess I should review all these since I really like them all. Anyhow, the reason I like Malcolm Gladwell’s books is that he starts with something you think you know already. Something most of us would dismiss quickly and wonder why anyone would want to spend time delving into it. But therein lies his magic.

He starts the book with the story of David and Goliath. This is one story that almost everyone thinks he or she knows, right? A little shepherd David with a rounded stone and his slingshot against a giant of a man wearing full armor and carrying a javelin, a spear, and a sword. Do we even need to think about who is going to win this match before we bet on the winner? But, Malcolm Gladwell goes on to explain that it was really a one-sided match up, and it was David, not Goliath who had all the advantage. Almost from the beginning, a positive outcome was assured…for David.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

I’m just going to summarize these people’s experiences in a couple of sentences.

The Advantages of Disadvantages (and the Disadvantages of Advantages)

Vivek Ranadive – a man who didn’t know how to play basketball game and ended up taking his daughter’s team to almost win the National Junior Basketball Championship.

Teresa DeBrito – upending the educational holy grail of class sizes…, that smaller isn’t always better and the optimum size is actually larger than you’d think.

Caroline Sacks – sending your children to Ivy League schools might give you bragging rights, but it might be one of the worst things you could do if you want your children to live their dream careers, especially in science and technology.

The Theory of Desirable Difficulty

David Boies – you wouldn’t wish dyslexia on your child. Or would you? Dyslexia might be a contributor to dizzying success.

Emil “Jay” Freireich – how hardship in life makes a person an optimist, how German Blitz on England failed because although people died, many remote misses helped the Londoners feel invincible, and how he revolutionized the treatment of childhood leukemia.

Wyatt Walker – the most famous photograph in the history of the American civil rights movement was taken on 5/3/1963, and it’s not at all what it seems.

It’s May now (I read this book in February, but couldn't finish the review until now), and I can’t easily remember the less memorable parts in the book, and I don't have time to go back and reread parts of it. So, I’ll let you find out for yourselves. 

There are more people and topics Malcolm Gladwell covers in the last third of the book, and as usual, in almost every case, the conventional wisdom of how things should be is upended. We learn that, in many cases, one person or a small group of people could face almost impossible obstacles and triumph.

I love this book because I’ve learned so much from this book. I’ll be sure to go back and refresh every so often to make sure I don’t forget the lessons. I think everyone should read this book. As a parent of two young children, I want to recommend this book to all the parents who covet Ivy League education. That eye-opening section (Caroline Sacks) alone is worth the price of a hardback book.

The Death of Jesseline by Margaret Regan

I am very conflicted about this book. I think that's why I forgot to post the blog when I originally wrote it almost a year ago. 

6/20/13 – The Death of Jesseline by Margaret Regan

This is a book about immigration, and I’d like to start by telling you a little bit of my immigration story. As long as I could remember, we were coming to America. I can’t remember a time when we weren’t planning to come to America. 

My mother had two brothers. The younger brother had the luck to be scouted by an American company in the late 60’s and came to America. The younger brother started the paperwork for the visa for my mother and her older brother. Ten years later, the visa finally came out for us and we immigrated to US in 1978. However, my uncle, my mother’s older brother, died a few months before the visa came out for him and his family. Therefore, because of a matter of months, my cousins and my aunt didn’t receive their entry visa and couldn’t come to US. Our cousins were like our brothers and sisters, and losing them like that when we had planned for ten years to come to US together was a blow and a life-long loss to all of us. 

Even now, I’m not convinced that my parents’ decision to emigrate was the correct one for our family. We had a good life in Korea. A lot of people have nannies in Korea, and we had one, too. We took fun vacations, and we had a comfortable home. My father was on track to become a vice-principal of a girl’s high school, and my mother stayed home. I remember her bringing hot lunches to our elementary school.

My parents, they definite had a better life in Korea. Once in America, my parents both held down several jobs to make ends meet, and I think they usually go 4 – 5 hours of sleep each night. They never took vacations, and we lived from paycheck to paycheck for many years. Just recently, I asked them what induced them to give up all they had to come to America. They said, it’s hard to understand now, but a long time ago, a chance to come to America was like winning the lottery. Only those who had money to be educated abroad could come here and settle down, then invite his family to join him. Or like my uncle’s case, only those with very special skills could come. So, they asked back – if you thought you had won a once-in-a-lifetime lottery, would you turn it down? Of course, not!

I have to say, I think I’m more interested in the matter of the American Immigration policy than most people. Because of my personal history, I expected a lot from this book, and I don’t know what it is that I feel about this book. I know. It’s funny. I can’t say I liked the book because I didn’t. I wouldn’t read it over. However, it doesn’t take away the fact that this is an important book. Everybody who is associated with shaping of the American immigrant policy should read it. 

Every life, both lived and died, described in this book is worthy of notice and remembrance, and every one of the stories is heart rendering. There are no happy stories because even those who make it over the fences, through the scorching desert, and disappear into the vast American landscape must face the harsh realities of living in America – long separation from loved ones, uncertain future, and walking on egg shells every day for detection and deportation. Yet, hundreds and thousands make the arduous journey because there are definite rewards for making it into America – being able to provide for their families better. Is it worth risking their lives? Depends on how desperate their lives were…. 

If these people want to come to America so badly that they’d risk their lives to get here, how many would work toward to weakening that society? This book does talk about the toll the illegal immigrants have on government budgets, but I don’t think this book does a good job of talking about what these immigrants bring to America. 

But when the people complained about how long the visa process takes (10+ years!) for them to come to America legally, I had little sympathy for them. We waited that long or longer. There are thousands of people, all over the world, who wait that long for an official visa to come here. The only difference is that the geography prevents them from coming here illegally. So, why should that be any different for the people mentioned in the book? I guess I’m torn by the human misery and toll versus those thousands who are patiently waiting for their visas. 

I’ve learned some important things from this book. I’ve learned some oxymoronic laws that seem to punish the good and reward the bad, but the more importantly, we need some kind of reform. There must be a way, we must be able to figure out a way, to save lives.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekara

Where do I begin? How do I start to review a book such as this? Is this one of my favorite book? Oh, no. Not even close. But this is a very IMPORTANT book. This might be one of those books that everyone should read.

First of all, after 9/11, if America needed to chase after the perpetrators of that event, we should have gone after Saudi Arabia rather than Iraq. Where there any Iraqis among them? Out of nineteen, fifteen were from Saudi Arabia. Two were from UAE. One was from Egypt. One was from Lebannon. I don’t want to go into why America declared war on a sovereign nation which had nothing to do with 9/11, BUT I’d like to believe that President Bush did what he believed was best for our country at the time.

I think this book should be required reading for the President of United States and his cabinet members as well the various department heads and all those who are going into foreign service. I’m sure America will inadvertently be drawn into another nation building sometime in the near future. There is so much to learn from this book. Unfortunately, it’s mostly what not to do, not the other way around.

I’m also currently reading John Adams (which is a much thicker book), which I’m enjoying immensely. What surprises me about that book is…how in the world did all the stars and planets line up, and all these men, with flaws and all, came together to form this great nation? It’s as if all the men rose to the challenge of the time and pulled together and compensated for one another’s weaknesses. America was indeed lucky to have such men at such desperate times. But supposedly Oprah Winfry famously declared that she didn’t believe in luck. That luck only happened when preparation (however long it took) met opportunity.

Well, America’s efforts to rebuild Iraq were EXACTLY the opposite. How President Bush and his cabinet can pull together a team that failed and disappointed at almost every turn was amazing. How they squandered such an opportunity to rebuild Iraq is stupefying (I know. I’m repeating myself). I don’t think they could have put together a worse team if they’d tried. I guess that’s the sad part – they pulled the team together based on loyalty and party allegiance rather than experience and capabilities. A couple of people have succeeded, against overwhelming odds and by breaking the rules, but most have failed because they were driven by American ignorance and arrogance.

SPOILER ALERT.

“As the [American] viceroy, [Paul] Bremer need only put down his signature to impose a new law, or to abolish an old one. He wasn’t required to consult with Iraqis or even seek their consent.” How does this work? An American, who is not an expert in Arabic anything, gets this kind of power? If in the far future, America’s power wanes and some other country occupies it for whatever reason, would we want someone to impose or abolish our laws with a stroke of his/her pen?

I’ve been reading some books on Korean history in the time of Japanese occupation. In these books, celebrated Korean patriots (and yes, some were suicide bombers) who fought against the occupation were called terrorists, rebels, commies, etc. by the Japanese occupiers. The books go on to explain that any man, in any country, would most likely to resist and fight against an occupying power, no matter what. There is no benevolent occupying force.  There are no greater incentives to bear arms and fight than for your family, for your home, for your culture, and for your country. This should not be a new concept to the American diplomatic corp, should it?

Whether it is McPherson’s clean-slate approach to forgiving debt and nullifying assets to Foley’s utter disregard for the international law which prohibits the sale of assets by an occupation government when he talked about privatization, these people didn’t consider what the lasting consequences of their actions would be. Considering that Alexander Hamilton, America’s first treasury secretary, insisted on the American government making good on its foreign and domestic debts, McPherson’s approach was flawed but worse still, he refused to listen to any other input.

One after another, the list of ineptitude, misdirections, lost opportunities, not taking input from native Iraqis or regional experts, unscrupulous contractors, and ignorant arrogance is appalling and eye-opening. But worst of all (in my point of view), is that Americans forced the Iraqis to identify themselves in sectarian terms. In their blind, formulaic efforts to create a more “democratic government,” the Americans forced each Iraqi to declare himself as a Shiite, a Kurd, a Sunni, a Christian, a Turkmen, etc. The Iraqi governing council had strict quotas – 13 Shiite Arabs, 5 Sunni Arabs, 5 Sunni Kurds, 1 Christian, and 1 Turkmen. Before this, most Iraqis “…never saw each other as Sunnis or Shiites first. We were Iraqis first.” This forced identification led to dramatic rise in sectarian violence which continues to this day.

I, who hate to dog-ear any book, have dog-eared many pages in this book, because I wanted to write about those issues. But I’m getting tired and depressed (because there are so many…), so I’ll let you find out for yourself.

The last bit…in an interview before his departure from Iraq, Paul Bremer, the American viceroy, touted “lowering of Iraq’s tax rate, the liberalization of foreign-investment laws, and the reduction of import duties” as among his biggest accomplishments in Iraq. To that, I just want to say – what the…?

I usually read fiction because partly, I want to live in denial and think that these horrible things (not just talking about this book) don’t happen in real life. But this is one book that everyone should read because it’s so incredible and stunning.

This is an eloquent and a riveting book that is surprisingly balanced in its writing.  It’s a chronicle of what took place. A set of data put into words. But I can’t deny that the data, how little was accomplished for so much money, is damning. But most importantly, although these CPA staffers thought they were doing good, how much misery was heaped on the Iraqi people by the sum of CPA’s good intentions based on their sheer ignorance and arrogance is almost unforgivable.

Having said this, why don't you read it for yourself, and you be the judge?

On Wings of Eagles by Ken Follett

There are less than a handful of people I want to meet and talk to, just for an hour or so, because I am intrigued them, their work, or their writing – Michio Kaku, Jodi Piccoult, and Elon Musk. Now, I have another on this list, Ross Perot. I’d place him even before Michio Kaku, and that’s saying a lot.

This book is not fiction. It’s non-fiction. That fact blew me away.

This book chronicles the events of Iran hostage crisis as EDS employees, Ross Perot’s company, experience them in Iran. There are so many astounding FACTS associated with this event, but one that I find so inspiring and admirable is about Ross Perot himself. I was astounded by his dedication to his employees. His willingness to take gargantuan risks – to his reputation, to his fortune, and to his person, was jaw-dropping. He attacked his mounting problems with persistence, and his attitude of not taking no for an answer and continuing to search for a solution was remarkable. His moral fortitude was amazing, and I deeply regret not having considered him seriously when he ran for presidency.

These EDS employees and the rescuers who went into Iran did get lucky, but Oprah famously declared that she didn’t believe in luck. Luck only happens when one is ready, with all pistons firing, as the opportunities come along. Time and time again, this group of courageous and crafty men was ready to take an advantage of any and every opportunity that came along.

This book reads like a fiction. The only books of Ken Follett I have read are The Pillars of the Earth and World without End, so I can’t really compare On Wings of Eagles to any of his thrillers, but I bet it’ll rank high up there with the best of his thrillers.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history and a good read. It’s just startling that this is non-fiction (I know. I’ve said it before).

I’m a wavering democrat, but if I ever saw another Perot on ballot anywhere, I’d take a closer look. I don’t care if he or she is republican, independent, or some other party. To be raised by a father or grandfather like Ross and his moral fortitude, he or she definitely warrants a closer look.

Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

I love this book because it helps me believe in one of my biggest passions – space travel. After I had taken a class in Astronomy in junior high school, I wanted to be an astronaut. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be because I suffer from motion sickness.

In the previous book review (On the Wings of Eagles), I’ve mentioned that Michio Kaku is one of those people I want to meet and talk to, just for a while, because I find them fascinating. Well, the reason I want to meet him is because he has the uncanny ability to transform incredibly esoteric and hard to understand information to something quite accessible and easy to digest. Such is the case with this book.

I am curious by nature. I want to know about everything, albeit salt or germs or black holes or dark matter. And this book answers my questions in spades. Whether it’s about force fields or invisibility or perpetual-motion machine or precognition, this book answers all. The best thing about it is that the answers are anchored in science, and he gives his best guess time frame for them to become a reality.

As for accessibility and easy to digest part, my ten-year-old son, who is an advanced, precocious reader, and has been very interested in science, read this book. Yes. He did have trouble understanding parts of it, and I tried to explain things to him more in detail (most of it, I had failed). However, the important point is that he did finish the book, and said he thought it was interesting. This is a feat for any writer, let alone a science book writer.

This book helps me believe the possibility in things that are deemed impossible. He does frame some of them in very, very long time (might as well be impossible), but he gives us a realistic time frame. That’s the point I appreciate.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a long list of topics that seem to skirt the science fiction side of science (phasers and death stars, teleportation, telepathy, psychokinesis, robots, ETs and UFOs, starships, anti-matter and anti-universe, faster than light, time travel, and parallel universe, etc.). I’m not sure I’d recommend it to another ten-year-old, but you’d know if that child is ready for this or not, so I’ll leave that to you.

Enjoy and may the force be with you!

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Wow! What a book!

I like books that teach me something – history, human psyche, etc. Anything that’s a little out of ordinary. From this book, I learned about the siege of Leningrad during WWII, and it’s an amazingly horrifying tale. The resilience of human spirit is astounding, but the toll, what it takes to survive a historical event where somewhere between 700,000 and 1,000,000 people died of starvation while fighting off the German invasion of Russia, is also devastating.

I really didn’t think I would like this book so much. I read it with little expectation. I am embarrassed to say I’ve never heard of Kristin Hannah. I’m sure I passed by her books in the book stores, but it never drew me in (at least the covers). My sister-in-law was passing the books she’s already read around, and I decided to take a few (you can’t beat free books). I came home and read another book by her first. Although it was enjoyable, it didn’t move me as much as this book.

In the same vein as The Road, this book forced to me think about the unimaginable choices parents/mothers must make in face of abject devastation of their world. How do you choose who to save and who to let die among your beloved family members? Or your two children? Would you do anything to save them? What if you try your best to save both and end up losing them all? Would you be able to forgive yourself ?

Interwoven in the stories of three women (a mother and two daughters) who are all broken, some more broken than the others, is a beautiful fairytale based on the most horrific miseries their mother experienced during the siege of Leningrad. As the fairytale unfolds, the women find the unfettered truth that liberates them and helps them live their lives to the fullest.

Some reviews called this book a tearjerker, and it’s definitely that. But it’s so much more. It’s about a profound journey of the human spirit, and how it can claw its way out of hell through confronting the unrelenting memories of the most unforgivable choices (from the character’s perspective).

Born Free and Equal by Ansel Adams

I am not Japanese, but as I opened this book, my eyes kept tearing up. This is not an emotional book, but the question that I’ve asked since high school has made me tear up, once again. The question is – how, how could these men volunteer to fight of a country that, in all actuality stripped them of their citizenship and found them of guilty of things they haven’t even thought of doing? The American government had taken their homes, their livelihood, and their place in the society. Their families were forced to live behind barbed wire fences when these men willingly and bravely fought for the country which had put them there. How? How could they have done that? I wish I could say I’d do the same, but even now, my answer, when it comes down to it is I don’t know…. I’m afraid my heart is not big enough to forgive them. So, I read this book in matter of hours (yes, it’s a short book full of gorgeous pictures). In the earlier pages, next to forward, there’s a picture of a beautiful girl. The caption says – An American school girl and I’m crying. I thank Ansel Adams for his humanity.

I’ve known the story about 442nd combat team since high school. My high school was very good about bringing survivors (Holocaust week) or participants (Japanese internment) for special talks. And fortunately for me, one of my best friends from high school was Japanese and her father generously shared his own stories. I’ll get back to what I remember most of his stories, but for now, I’ll be getting back to 442nd.

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army was a regimental size fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese descent who volunteered to fight in World War II even though their families were subject to internment. The 442nd, beginning in 1944, fought primarily in Europe during World War II. The 442nd was a self-sufficient force, and fought with uncommon distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany. The 442nd is considered to be the most decorated infantry regiment in the history of the United States Army. The 442nd was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations and twenty-one of its members were awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team motto was, "Go for Broke". (From Wikipedia)

This is one of those books I’d list as a “must read” for everyone. Not because of its plot, writing, character development, dialogue, etc., but for its content. This book contains beautiful Ansel Adams photos, but that’s not the reason. This is a story that every American should try to remember, just as the Germans try not to bury holocaust in the annals of their history.

After having read the book, I think I understand the reason, at least a little bit. The simple answer is the dignity of the Japanese Americans interned in Mazanar. They, as a group, took the high road when everything around them imploded and turned ugly. How they were treated by their government didn’t warrant them losing sight of their own dignity and respect. No matter what happened, they’d be true to the values they were born to and raised with. When I read about a mother whose five sons were in the American Armed services fighting in the European theater, I prayed for her sons (of course, the absurdity is that they might have survived the war and all died of old age). I don’t know why this book affected me this way, but it did.

A couple of years ago, yet another movie about Nazi atrocities came out in theaters, and I asked a friend of mine who had come to America to study then married. I asked her what she thought of yet another movie. Didn’t she get tired of this German bashing? I’d get tired of it if I had to see a movie about Nazi atrocities every couple of years. And she said, she didn’t mind at all. In fact, she felt that it’s every German’s responsibility to remember the holocaust so that it could never happen again, not only in Germany, but anywhere else in the world because there will be a German voice protesting it. I found this very inspirational.

As Americans, we need to follow suit. We need to look squarely into the past and see what we’ve done, what we still fail to do today, and what concrete steps we must take to make sure nothing like this will ever happen again here.

Additional note: The people who were at the Manzanar internment camp were those who chose to sign the loyalty oath. Those who refused to sign the loyalty oath were sent elsewhere. Most of those who didn’t sign the oath believed that the government had broken the sacred contract with them first (which I whole heartedly agree), and not because they were Japanese agents waiting for opportunities to sabotage the west coast. Later, after the war, it was revealed that most of the intel on America that the Japanese had were in fact from the Germans, rather than anyone from America.

This book wasn't received well when it first came out almost right after the war (there could be a possiblity of our government pulling from shelves right after the war). I think Ansel Adams must have recieved his share of hate mails for this book, especially from mothers and wives of men who has lost their lives in the Pacific theater of war. I admire his courage.

A digression and a funny note about my friend's father from high school - he share several stories with me, but one that stuck with me all these years was the story about how he suddenly had all his friends with him right next door, and the kids thought it was great! Because they got to play long past their regular time outside the fence. These kids didn't see the barbed wire fences or the soldiers standing guard in the towers. This innocence makes me profoundly hopeful because it speaks to the resilience of the human spirit.

Is this one of my favorite books? Does it rank with Les Miserables and such? No, but I love this book for it's humanity. I think it is one of the most important books for people (especially Americans) to read, and that’s why I’m putting it in my blog.