Book review: Deng Xiaoping: The Man Who Made Modern China, by Michael Dillon
Posted: November 3, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post Leave a commentRead at the South China Morning Post
Book review: World Order, by Henry Kissinger
Posted: September 28, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: biography, Henry Kissinger, memoir Leave a commentLove or loathe him, Henry Kissinger has amassed enormous experience. In his latest meditation, World Order, the 91-year-old American statesman argues that the United States must address mounting global tensions. Read at the South China Morning Post.
Lose Your Inches Without Losing Your Mind
Posted: September 22, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: diet, fitness, health, nutrition Leave a commentAmerican nutritionist Justine SanFilippo knows how badly a fad diet can harm your health; she has tried too many to count.”I had no energy, my brain was foggy and I had this weird, metallic taste in my mouth,” she writes of one low-carb diet’s effect. “To this day, we still think all carbs are bad. But we need them for energy. Read at the South China Morning Post.
Book review: The Inner Enemies of Democracy, by Tzvetan Todorov
Posted: September 22, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: Afghanistan War, democracy, Iraq War Leave a commentDuring the early 20th century, French essayist Charles Péguy wrote: “There is in the Declaration of Human Rights enough to make war on everybody for as long as the world lasts!”
Péguy was right, according to Bulgarian-born historian Tzvetan Todorov.
Read at the South China Morning Post.
Book review: The 13th Labour of Hercules, by Yannis Palaiologos
Posted: September 7, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: austerity, depression, Eurozone, Germany, Greece, recession, trade Leave a commentDespite narrowly avoiding eurozone expulsion, Greece remains in dire straits. In The 13th Labour of HerculesAthenian reporter Yannis Palaiologos explains how the once-flush, outwardly advanced economy collapsed so fast and stayed down. Read at the South China Morning Post
Ten tips to avoid winter colds
Posted: September 5, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: colds, flu, prevent, prevention Leave a commentAdults average about two to four colds a year, according to the British health information site NHS Choices. Catching a cold is a dismal feeling; all that snot makes you feel gross. If you let the infection get out of hand, leper-like, you may stay at home, unable to do much except sniffle and sneeze. Read at the South China Morning Post.
Review: Sacred Mountains: How the Revival of Daoism is Turning China’s Ecological Recovery Around
Posted: August 31, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: Daoism, ecology, environment, Taoism Leave a commentCities are draped in smog for ever-longer periods and rivers are turning black, red and yellow as waste is dumped in. Meanwhile, algae merrily sprout, writes green business guru Allerd Stikker in his spiritually slanted assessment of China’s pollution crisis. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: The Slaughter, by Ethan Gutmann
Posted: August 17, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: china, human rights, imprisonment, torture Leave a commentPity anyone who enters China’s penal system for any reason. Even “prisoners of conscience” – Uygurs, Tibetans, Christians and Falun Gong members – are systematically slaughtered inside, according to investigator Ethan Gutmann.. Read at the South China Morning Post
Book review: Saving the Market from Capitalism, by Massimo Amato and Luca Fantacci
Posted: August 17, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: alternatives, capitalism, finance, the market Leave a commentDespite its liquid nature the fiscal system is set in its ways – and it needs to change, say Italian economists Massimo Amato and Luca Fantacci, who address some problems buoyed by liquidity. Read at the South China Morning Post.
Book review: The Power of Noticing, by Max Bazerman
Posted: July 28, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: attention, detail, notice, noticing, observation Leave a commentIn 2001, four years before Hurricane Katrina hit North America’s Gulf Coast, science writer Eric Berger foretold the disaster with chilling accuracy.
“New Orleans is sinking. And its main buffer from a hurricane, the protective Mississippi River delta, is quickly eroding away, leaving the historic city perilously close to disaster..
Read at the South China Morning Post
Ten tips to lower your blood pressure
Posted: July 14, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: blood pressure, health, stress, tension Leave a commentYou know the routine: you walk into the examining room, perch on the table, and roll up your sleeve. Your healthcare practitioner inflates the cuff until it feels oppressively snug.
Read at the South China Morning Post.
Book review: The Collapse of Western Civilisation
Posted: July 7, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: china, civilisation, future, west Leave a commentCast your mind forward to the year 2393. From that vantag, a fictional scholar representing an imagined future China – the Second People’s Republic – laments how the Enlightenment’s children ditched reason during the early 21st century.
Read at the South China Morning Post
Book review: Own Your Future
Posted: June 29, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: future, planning, post-employment Leave a commentChinese sage Lao Zi once said: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That borderline cliché has assumed new relevance, it seems. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Carnival China: China in the Era of Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping
Posted: June 15, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: china, Hu Jintao, Kerry Brown, politics, Wen Jiabao Leave a commentA 2009 public survey by the state-owned magazine Xiaokang revealed that local government officials were less trusted than prostitutes, writes China wonk Kerry Brown.
Read at the South China Morning Post..
Should you drink only when thirsty, or before thirst strikes?
Posted: May 28, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: drink-to-thirst movement, hydration, thirst Leave a commentExperts are divided on whether you should you drink water only when thirsty or before it happens. David Wilson sifts through the evidence Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Capital: The Eruption of Delhi, by Rana Dasgupta
Posted: May 25, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: capital, Delhi, finance, money, Rana Dasgupta Leave a commentWelcome to Delhi, the Indian capital with a population of 16 million. In his third book, Commonwealth prize-winning observer Rana Dasgupta uses the mega-city as a vehicle for examining a key trend: the growth of the global elite.
Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa
Posted: May 19, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: Africa, china, colonization, Howard French, imperialism Leave a commentAfrica has entered a new age of Chinese imperialism, it is said. Prompted by that perception, foreign correspondent Howard French embarks on an epic trek across Africa. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: The Army and Democracy, by Aqil Shah
Posted: May 4, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: army, India, Pakistan Leave a commentPakistan is on shaky terms with democracy. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Innovation the Nasa Way, by Rod Pyle
Posted: April 27, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: NASA, space travel, Viking, Voyager Leave a commentUS space agency Nasa has been dubbed “an engine of innovation and inspiration”. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: A Sense of the Enemy, by Zachary Shore
Posted: April 20, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: Art of War, Sun Tzu Leave a commentMore than 2,000 years ago, Chinese martial philosopher Sun Tzu – generally recognised as author of military treatise The Art of War – advised generals to “know thy enemy”. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
Posted: April 6, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: criticism, feedback, negotiation Leave a commentDouglas Stone and Sheila Heen have taught negotiation at Harvard Law School for two decades. Their line is that other consultants over-stress the art of giving feedback, neglecting how to receive it.
Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: The Locust Effect, by Gary Haugen, Victor Boutros
Posted: March 16, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: developing world, emerging world, exploitation, police brutality, third world, violence 2 CommentsIn 1885, a racist Seattle mayor appointed himself police chief and tasked 100 men to stage an attack on the Chinese community: cue an orgy of murder, looting, forced expulsion and arson.
Today, officially sanctioned civic violence of that intensity is hard to imagine, but it still happens. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: the truth about trust
Posted: February 11, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: honesty, trust, truth Leave a commentIf you claim to be totally trustworthy you are probably bending the truth. Just ask American psychologist David DeSteno.
Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: The Tommy Koh Reader, by Tommy Koh
Posted: January 27, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: diplomacy, diplomat, politics, Singapore, Tommy Koh Leave a commentProfessor Tommy Koh Thong-bee’s reputation is enough to make almost anyone feel comparatively inadequate. Described in the foreword of his new self-anthology as “an engaged citizen, and a man of goodwill, modesty and warm generosity”, Koh studied at two top universities: Harvard and Cambridge. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Perfecting Your Pitch, by Ronald Shapiro with Jeff Barker
Posted: January 27, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: diplomacy, negotiation, pitch, pitches, pitching Leave a commentJust browsing the everyday anguish addressed by this guide is unsettling. The sticky predicaments it thrusts in the spotlight range from family inheritance spats to sexual harassment and bereavement.. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Statins: the great risk debate
Posted: January 21, 2014 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: cholesterol, statins Leave a commentFeed the word “statins” to Google and the three suggestions that roll up are “statins side effects”, “statins and diabetes” and “statins and memory loss”. The search engine’s negative take on the drug designed to tame your cholesterol levels is mirrored by controversy about statins in the medical community. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Smarter by Dan Hurley
Posted: December 23, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: Dan Hurley, intelligence, intelligence training, n-back Leave a commentEveryone has foggy “senior moments”: you sometimes mislay your mobile phone; you can’t remember a password. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Clearer Skies Over China
Posted: December 23, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: china, pollution Leave a commentThe mainland’s dire air quality has become a relentlessly disturbing news story. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Rewind: album – The Gift by The Jam
Posted: December 23, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: mods, music, The Gift, The Jam Leave a commentThis swansong from one of Britain’s most-loved bands was unleashed under peculiar circumstances.
Read at the South China Morning Post..
Rewind film: Cape Fear, directed by J. Lee Thompson
Posted: December 1, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: Cape Fear, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum Leave a commentCape Fear surfaced two years after Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of the macabre, Psycho, but the suspense drama was even edgier: it broke new boundaries by addressing then-taboo subjects. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book review: Eternal Harvest, by Karen Coates and Jerry Redfern
Posted: December 1, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: Laos, mines, ordnance, UXO Leave a comment“Laos is a land steeped in cliché: of gilt temples and golden Buddhas, shimmering rivers and dazzling sunsets,” journalist Karen Coates writes in her guide to the real Laos, grounded in a seven-year-plus investigation. Read at the South China Morning Post..
The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase by Mark Forsyth
Posted: November 24, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: creative writing, rhetoric, Shakespeare, writing 12 CommentsHow well do you write? Anyone can learn to breathe life into their writing through studying rhetoric, linguist Mark Forsyth says in his new guide. Read at the South China Morning Post.
Book review: Does Capitalism Have a Future?
Posted: November 17, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: capitalism Leave a commentFirst, HSBC chief global economist Stephen King predicted the end of Western affluence in When the Money Runs Out. Now, channelling Great Recession anxiety, five social scientists address whether capitalism is over altogether.
Read at the South China Morning Post..
Book: ‘Would You Kill the Fat Man?’ by David Edmonds
Posted: November 10, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: David Edmonds, fatman, philosophy, trolley, trolleyology Leave a commentThis provocatively titled tract opens with a burst of drama that proves philosophy can be exciting. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Making capitalism fit for society
Posted: November 4, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: capitalism, money Leave a commentPolitical scientist Colin Crouch opens his broadside against neo-liberalism and its apologists in ominous style.
“Income inequality in the United States of America has reached such an extreme point that there are fears that it may damage the economy. These views are not just expressed by the ‘progressives’ who might be expected to have such opinions, but by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),” he writes. Read at the South China Morning Post..
How zealous psychiatrists are diagnosing quirks as mental illness
Posted: October 28, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: diagnostic inflation, mental health, mental illness 2 CommentsToday it seems that almost everyone is certifiably mad. According to critics, amateur and professional psychiatrists are routinely guilty of “diagnostic inflation”: turning normal people into mental patients with alphabet soup diagnoses. In a new book, America’s Obsessives, author Joshua Kendall argues that many great people have been shaped by obsessive compulsive personality disorder. Read at the South China Morning Post.
Book review: American Alligator
Posted: October 7, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: alligator, crocodilian, nature Leave a commentGiven that its brain weighs about 14 grams, the American alligator has done well. Starting out as “shieldcroc” – the last common ancestor of the modern alligator, caiman, crocodile and gharial – it has evolved into the keystone of the southern swamps, according to naturalist Kelby Ouchley. Read at the South China Morning Post..
Hip hop with a smiling face
Posted: October 7, 2013 Filed under: South China Morning Post | Tags: hip hop, rap, Suboi, Vietnam Leave a commentRap in Vietnam takes a gentler, more poetic approach than the American model. Read at the South China Morning Post..
David Wilson journalism 