Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
BOOK OF THE WEEK with Robert Jennings. All Behind You, Winston: Churchill’s Great Coalition 1940-45, Roger Hermiston, ISBN 9781781316641 (Aurum Press) BD4.900 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
Did you know that England and France almost became one country in an attempt to repel Hitler’s forces (rejected by the French at the last minute)? Or that Churchill was fond of afternoon naps?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Churchill was a great wartime British Prime Minister, but he was not alone. In Hermiston’s book, All Behind You, Winston - Churchill’s Great Coalition 1940-45, he tells the compelling story of the men and two women in Churchill’s government who helped win the war, primarily on the Home Front.
Many of those characters have been forgotten - eclipsed by the great man’s giant shadow - and the book seeks to recover the memory of the likes of Lord Woolton, Sir John Anderson, Lord Beaverbrook and Ellen Wilkinson. A fantastic read for those interested in Churchill and the people who helped him succeed.
READ IT NOW IN PAPERBACK
Caesar, Adrian Goldsworthy, ISBN 9780753821589 (W&N) BD7.400 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
In my opinion, Hollywood films still do not come close to the excitement and drama of that of Ancient Rome. From the very beginning, Caesar’s story makes dazzling reading.
In his late teens, he narrowly avoided execution for opposing the military dictator Sulla. He was decorated for valour in battle, captured and held to ransom by pirates, and almost bankrupted himself by staging games for the masses.
As a politician, he quickly gained a reputation as a dangerously ambitious maverick. By his early 30s he had risen to the position of Consul, and was already beginning to dominate the Senate. His affairs with noblewomen were both frequent and scandalous. Not to mention Cleopatra.
My favourite
read of the week
The Art of Thinking Clearly: Better Thinking, Better Decisions, Rolf Debelli, ISBN 9781444759563 (Sceptre) BD4.900 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
An interesting social science book, which is broken into multiple small chapters, perfect for reading on the go. I certainly have fallen for some of these human errors, for example, have you ever invested time in something that, with hindsight, just wasn’t worth it? Overpaid in an Ebay auction? Continued doing something you knew was bad for you? Sold stocks too late, or too early? Taken credit for success, but blamed failure on external circumstances?
These are examples of cognitive biases, simple errors we all make in our day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better choices - whether dealing with a personal problem or a business negotiation, trying to save money or make money, working out what we do or don’t want in life and how best to get it.
