After reading the book Billion Dollar Whale, it not difficult to understand the depths of human greed.
The amount of money spent for the satisfaction of attention to be lavished on one man is incredibly unbelievable.
For the busy and lazy ones (LOL), you can read our 100 Word Summary here
And for the video fans, the interview is as below:
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World
Originally published: 18 September 18 2018
Original Title: Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World
Author: by
Page count: 400 pages
Publisher: Hachette Books
Genre: Non-fiction
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0316436502
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches | 635 grams
100 Word Book Review:
Descriptively, it traces and dissects the events that transpire from the beginnings to the massive international financial scandal till the present day. From interviews and third-party observations, it documents how Low used tricks and ways to achieve his aims, giving a glimpse into the Low’s mind, and explaining Jho Low’s modus operandi. This book does not simply include and involve Low himself. From Wynton Group to Najib to Otaiba and a myriad of celebrities, it focuses on every individual, every company and governments that have been, unfortunately, implicated in this unbelievable scam. A true-life thriller that reads like Hollywood movie.
Who should read:
People who loves financial thriller and mystery which remains unresolved. At the same time, those with some basic accounting knowledge and corporate structures, in terms of subsidiary and shell companies, will enjoy this book much more.
This is largely because 20% of the book discusses on the framework and layout of Jho Low’s thinkings, as well as execution. With the required knowledge, be it professional or academic background, reading the book feels almost like meeting Jho Low himself.
Who not read it:
Surely those who are seeking fictional or fantasy stories will be disappointed.
As much as the book indicates that any error is on the authors, the book is largely based on witnesses and observations. So it is very easy to believe that the accounts are true and accurate.
Lastly, perhaps those who have a grudge against 1MDB and other related parties. When such unresolved cases are still pending, there will be other sides of the story which are unaccounted for.
Takeaway point:
There is a saying, “Rid the old and welcome the new.”
In the process of doing so, the fundamental elements should not be discarded. It should be retained, evolved and revised with current market conditions.
BooksAvenue started off selling books. Over the years we have been moving away from that model. This is partially due to logistics, management and our targeted audiences.
After 4 years of moving away from that model, there is a chance for us to move back to the initial model again. That is to review and sell books online.
Every chance, every opportunity, every venture is a possible stroke of serendipity. Even if it’s heading back to our initial idea, it is still a beautiful thing.
Like a shape of a circle, moving back to the initial point, completing the shape, creating a harmonious and peaceful symbol : O
American history buffs, this one’s for you: Howard Dorre, who’s reading (and blogging about) a biography of every U.S. president, has published numerous posts on arcane-yet-fascinating aspects of the presidency.
via Plodding Through The Presidents — Discover
Bookmarked for my own future reference!
The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Originally published: 09 Feb 2016
Original Title: The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Author: John Perkins
Page count: 384 pages
Publisher: BERRETT-KOEHLER
Genre: Non-fiction
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1626566743
Product Dimensions:55 x 83 x 10mm | 498.95g
100 Word Book Review:
Personally I think business is just business, where willing parties cut deals together. The author describes his career in Seychelles, Honduras, Ecuador, Libya, Turkey, Western Europe, Vietnam, China, and, in perhaps the most unexpected and sinister development, the United States, where new EHMs (Economic Hit Man such as bankers, lobbyists, corporate executives) to con governments and the public submitting to policies that make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Yet author also provides hope, offering a detailed list of specific actions we can take to transform into a model that provides sustainable abundance for all. So not all is lost.
Who should read:
Readers who love spy stuffs, thriller and corporate covert missions will enjoy this book better.
Probably also suitable for those who are interested in solving corporate mystery, the one of the kind of the greatest and unspoken white collar crime.
Who should not read it:
People who are looking for gore and violence will be solely disappointed.
As much as there are some partial mentions of murder and ‘accidents’, this book does not divulge much on the bloody details.
Surely not for those who are seeking adrenaline pumping actions or fighting scenes.
Takeaway points
This is a good article on why we should read, not just the excerpts. In fact, it applies to all, not just students only.
Reading is a form of pleasure, an exercise for the mind. 🙂
This seems like a list that should be written by Captain Obvious, right? Of course students should read whole books from beginning to end! But does that really happen at your school? Or does the workroom copier groan under the load of stapled packets with “passages” and related multiple-choice questions? Are students unable to find their library books because they haven’t seen them in so long?
Students deserve time during the school day to read books, one page after another, journeying with the author through every scene to the end of the book. Why?
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Time and tide wait for no man.
It’s almost mid August now, and in Singapore there are 2 public holidays. This translates to shorter working month, approximately 18 working days by the assumption of 4 X 5 working days.
Once a while, I will do a review mentally of the things I have achieved, stuffs pending and plans outstanding. I foresee that in coming months, I will be more busier than before.
Achieved
Pending
Outstanding
Kinda glad that I have this little space to pen my thoughts. BooksAvenue started from a small book sales, to ebooks download, to the current book swap and book reviews.
In case you are wondering, our book forum is at BooksAvenue.boards.net
Stay tuned, more to come.
The search for an Android developer for a bookswapping app is not easy. After all, we have bills to pay and time is money.
Now that being said, I also realised I have been paying quite a fair bit to ensure this project continue to survive and exist.
I have some thoughts on the need of a mobile for book swaps.
Certainly, it is not wise to pay for the mobile app. But, I am ready to share the revenue generated from the app itself. It is only fair to share.
Nonetheless, I think it will be good to have the mobile app ready. More is better than less in this case.
The search for a partner continues…
When I was very young, I aspire to run a company. A company founded by me, providing a product or render services to the masses. I dreamt that my company will be important and great. A company whose product is of great excellence, something that everyone needs and cannot live by without.
Fast forward to the present reality, BooksAvenue is very far from it. Very very far indeed. I have great yet simple ideas and concepts. I can run the show and have been doing it for some time already.
Yet, I myself is utterly insufficient. As the saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to be great, go together.”
I need like-minded people to come together, fresh blood means fresh ideas and renewed energy to generate activities. Hence I have been trying to recruit volunteers.
Certainly I am ok if I do not get it through at the first thousand attempts. Even if it will not be successful at all if it’s really beyond my abilities. But there are 2 things I will not stand for or tolerate in life:
Failed attempts are admirable. It shows courage and tenacity. I tried many times and I failed many times. I can successfully say that I can die without regrets.
People who are irresponsible on the other hand, are obstacles and hindrances to other’s attempt at success. Either they are flicker minded, or they just trying their luck. Regardless so, I dare say such candidates will not be successful at all.
Projects are meant to be executed, dreams to be realised. One should always forging ahead, moving forward. Make it happen and do it, but never try to do it.
I welcome all to come forth and join me to create and move this project together. I hope for more sincere candidates who will be more responsive and active to contribute.
Please apply if you are keen and keen only. Thank you for not wanting my time, as I did not waste yours from the start.
Candiate 8
Applied, answered but no reply yet. Perhaps I’m too impatient?
Candiate 3
Applied and I am not able to reply. I have emailed 2 times but to no avail.
Technology has disrupted many sectors, many industries. Even with a small not-for profit company like BooksAvenue, it forces changes to our current settings.
Change is always for the better. And it has to be, if not it makes no sense for it to happen. Can anyone imagine backward progress? How elevators are avoided but staircases are chosen instead? Other than health and fitness reasons, what are logical reasons are there?
On the same note, in some examples of backward progress such as invention of Concorde but there is zero supersonic passenger plans today. And vaccines. Diseases are eradicated but we have managed to bring them back. For research and documentation purposes I think.
In my previous post, I mentioned I’m working with android developer. The intended app is to help readers to swap books at ease. Preferably, some location based estimation for a rank of choices for a more efficient exchange too.
Now that the rudimentary yet paramount function has been addressed, the economic costs have to be addressed as well. Very unlikely to charge users for each book swap. Rather, no one is willing to pay for it.
The best solution to address this is to be handled by mobile advertising. This will monetise the web traffic, and fray some of the costs, hosting expenses and whatnots. Plus the best part is keeping the entire service free of charge to end users.
Development of android app is of no easy task. As much as I am engineer by training, I tried to learn and pick up basic Java coding. Even if I can come up with a basic app, I’m afraid that the user interface may result in a bad user experience, which sort of defeat the main purpose.
Not to mention, the costs are meant to kept to the minimum. Hence there was an ad to look for Android developer volunteers. This will be more efficient and effective, in theory.
So far there are some responses from SG and Malaysia. It’s a good start and I’m still waiting for replies and progress.
It is also of this reason a new Blog section is started to connect to more people to help bring BooksAvenue forward. Will continue to update and document the progress.
