Review: Italy Reborn: From Fascism to Democracy

Italy Reborn: From Fascism to Democracy by Mark Gilbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A tour de force covering the founding of the Republic of Italy, picking up from the ashes after the war (also obviously covering prior to and during the war).

This was incredibly well-researched and does a great job explaining the inner workings of Italy, including how, despite being derided for having had some many governments over the years, this is actually one of its strengths; in setting up a system wherein the strength is not the government, but the system itself, so anytime the government falls, it is not “an earthquake”, but just “a tremor”.

Also fascinating details about how Italians reacted to events during the war, including realizing Mussolini was a puppet, and the partisan’s role in denouncing fascism during and after the war. Also fascinating to see how the communist party became strong after the war, and it was thanks to the various coalitions (and the church) that it did not actually take power.


I now want to read a biography on Alcide de Gasperi.





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Review: Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories

Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent collection of interesting stories, almost all of them with a unique and/or whimsical twist or angle.

My favorites were "Rashomon", "The Story of a Head that Fell off" and "Green Onions". But this was purely personal taste.

The last one was haunting, although I'm not sure I understood it entirely.

He is now one of my favorite authors.

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Review: The Christmas Box

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very cute and touching short story. Good for the Christmas season.


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Review: From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000

From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000 by Lee Kuan Yew
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a thick tome, but every page was fascinating and a revealing insight into the founding of a new country from scratch, and a uniquely successful country at that.

I went into this taking it with a grain of salt, since memoirs, especially by public figures like Lee Kuan Yew, tend to be self-serving.

However, even given this, it was extremely interesting and enlightening. This book will be eye-opening to pretty much anyone, whether you are familiar with Singapore's history or not (I wasn't really).


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Review: Thinking In Systems: A Primer

Thinking In Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An eye-opening book, in the sense that, chances are, you've already been using these methods for thinking about certain things in life, but hadn't even thought about applying them to others. At least this was the case for me. 

Some of the concepts were fascinating, like Romania's attempt to increase population by banning abortion, and how it failed miserably. 

I think I would've preferred either a more comprehensive list of use cases or else a more narrow scope (i.e. how this applies to businesses, etc.). Regardless, some great concepts and an excellent primer. 

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Review: The Passengers on the Hankyu Line

The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fun book with a very interesting premise: the comings and goings of people on a certain train line and their lives and interactions. I probably enjoyed this even more than the Traveling Cat Chronicles. 

There are many books of this genre these days (usually with bookstores or coffee shops). Especially out of Japan it seems. But Arikawa definitely is one of the better authors at carrying it out. 

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Review: Wild Animal

Wild Animal by Joël Dicker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fast-paced, intricate, and always good to read thrillers taking place in Switzerland.


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Review: The Underground Village

The Underground Village by Kang Kyeong-ae
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Depressing but poignant, by someone who lived it.


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