Compiling five years of weekly essays, "Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World" (2020) is one of Vaclav Smil's many books. The author is prolific and influential (apparently Bill Gates has read all of his nearly 40 books, and Gates promoted this book in particular). He is also the academic many dream to be - apparently attending only one faculty meeting over decades of being a professor - his "reclusive" approach was tolerated by the University of Manitoba so long as he kept publishing popular books and taught classes. That is more on the author as usual because this book is disappointing, with a wide ranging / sometimes random set of topics handled with OpEd level of detail. The value of this collection, of already published short articles, is unclear (but Vaclav sells far more books than I do...). If you are new to Vaclac Smil, I'd probably start elsewhere.  

From his doctoral work, Yahia Baiza wrote "Education in Afghanistan: Development, Influences and Legacies since 1901" (2013), published by Routledge. The book covers more than a century (1901-2012), structured around the political eras of the period. As much as this book is about education, it is equally about the context of each time period. This partly to help us as readers have context and probably also partly due to the scarcity of available research specific to education during the period of study. In that sense, a parts readers are left wanting more about the actual education systems. This is a niche book of which there are few comparable options, so for anyone interested in this specific area of study this is worth picking up. A few quotes:

"There has often been a misconception about the nature of modern as well as madrasa education in Afghanistan. Since the latter is understood to be an exclusively or predominantly religious-oriented form of education, it has been often described as 'Islamic school' or 'religious school', although madrasas do also teach non-religious subjects. By contrast, as modern education has been adopted from the European model of education and many of its subjects are different from the traditional madrasa education, modern education has too often been mistakenly described as 'secular' education. As shall be discussed in this book, the modern education system not only includes both religious and non-religious subjects, but religious subjects for a very long time occupied an important position. In addition, the so-called 'secular' education had to rely on teachers from the madrasa system, who would teach language, literature, religion, Arabic language and grammar, mathematical sciences, etc. Furthermore, the modern education system has been borrowing terms and concepts from the traditional madrasa system. For instance, terms such as maktab (an elementary level of education), talib (seeker) or talibul Ilm (the seeker of knowledge) for student, mudaris (teacher), talim (education) and tarbiyah (upbringing for education) etc are rooted in the so-called 'Islamic' education system. Equally, the madrasa, maktab, and makatib-e asri for a long time were used interchangeably, and meant 'modern school'." (p. 44-45)

"The curriculum, which was an important characteristic of the 'modernness' of the schools, was a combination of aspects of religious education and aspects of western education. In civil schools, the curriculum for primary level education consisted of religious education (reading and reciting the Quran), Persian, mathematics, geography, and calligraphy. The lower secondary level curriculum included religious education, history, geography, painting, health care, Persian, Afghani or Pashto, and foreign languages, specifically English, Urdu, or Turkish. The curriculum at the upper secondary level consisted of subjects such as religious education (recitation of the Quran, Tradition (hadiths), Arabic language and grammar, Persian, history, geography, algebra, geometry, analytical geometry, natural sciences, alchemy, and English." (p. 51-52)

"Education became a key catalyst as well as victim on both sides of the war. The PDPA, under the Soviet Union's advisers, integrated socialist ideology in school textbooks, and teacher education programmes. Similarly, the resistance parties, under the United States' and other Western educational experts, used schools in refugee camps and in the areas outside the state's control in Afghanistan as recruitment and propaganda centres for the Islamist parties. They developed their textbooks for disseminating anti-Soviet and anti-PDPA messages of violence, aggression, killing, and use of firearms, etc. As a result, this period experienced two key parallel education streams: the state's education system under the control of the PDPA, and the refugees' education, under the control of resistance parties." (p. 131)

"When the University of Nebraska programme staff developed these textbooks, international organizations chose to ignore the images of Islamic militancy in them for the first five years of the programme (Davis 2002: 93). Later on, when the United Nations and various NGOs lobbied against such teaching and learning materials, some images and messages that promoted violence and killing were removed from the text- books, but the religious content remained unchanged (Pourzand 2004: 24–25). However, it is also worth noting that none of the NGOs or the UN agencies criticized these textbooks as long as the Soviet Union's army was present in Afghanistan." (p. 155) 

This book sat on my shelf for some years, and I've since forgotten why or how it landed there. Nonetheless, "Radical Transformational Leadership: Strategic Action for Change Agents" (2017) by Monica Sharma is a blend of self-help and development studies. The book is not published by an academic press (North Atlantic Books) and the author is a practitioner (not an academic). I believe the author seeks to inspire and motivate, with relatively basic "fallacies" and "new learnings" frequently appearing throughout. At many points the book is aspiration without delving into the challenges (although the examples do highlight some of the issues when moving from broad / generic "universals" to specific decisions). If you are seeking a motivational and aspirational book with some tips, this could be for you; if you are looking for an academic or critical engagement with leadership and transformation, potentially not. Some notes:

"It is essential to support the principled risk-takers whose actions move us toward equitable and sustainable change. Principled risk-takers are there in every establishment, every society. They challenge what is not working not because they have a personal agenda or complaint but because they are grounded firmly in the space of oneness, of universal values that apply to everyone, everywhere. They are ethical and cannot close their compassionate hearts to what is unfair or undignified. Unfortunately, others all too often label them as disgruntled, rebellious reactionaries, or simply dismiss them as emotional. Courageous, politically conscious individuals with bold ideas that support the common good are often branded as idealists and are told that the system will stall their ideas. But they continue. And they need support so that they are not rendered ineffective." (p. 128)

"We have choices. We can continue to find "fixes" to our problems, never addressing the factors that give rise to these problems. We can continue to implement partial responses to complex issues - brutal violence, climate change, crisis in the financial system, inequalities, unemployment, unmet basic needs, to name a few - knowing that such responses rarely make significant impact or generate the change we wish to see. Or, we can choose to design and implement conscious full spectrum responses to solve our dire problems while radically transforming systems and cultural norms, sourcing our inner capacities, thereby moving the whole, addressing not just the immediate problems but that which gives rise to them. These are the conditions of sustainable change. As we create opportunities for people to manifest their full potential, at the same time we must respond to basic needs for all." (p. 305-305) 

Mega projects never seem to get done on time, or on budget. Planners often repeat similar errors due to a lack of data on comparable projects. Fortunately someone has spent a career building a database to provide evidence for understanding them projects and allowing for comparative time and cost comparisons. Summarizing findings, sharing experiences and providing a wide range of case studies, Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner's 2023 book "How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between" is an interesting read. At first glance, and particularly for those who are involved in project management, the "findings" and suggestions verge on common sense. However, given the frequency that these "common sense" approaches do not occur, the book certainly has a place. Lessons include: Investing time in planning (think slow, act fast), having a plan / theory of change / many other names from a range of domains that have a similar meaning, working with people who have experience, the importance of teams, the value of modularity and learning, avoiding first times / customs / biggest / tallest / fastest that require doing things newly for the first time, creating costing and timelines based on similar actual projects rather than theoretical scenarios ... I think the value of this book is not the list of tips and tricks, but the in-depth case studies as well as the evidence drawn out from the large database created by the author(s). The authors (first author one assumes) has also a wide range of firsthand experience from around the world and in different sectors (building schools in Nepal to transportation projects) which provide insight into the application of the "common sense" ideas. This is an enjoyable, easy read. The content is accessible for non-academics and is not buried in technical management jargon. If you are interested in project management, this is worth a read (or a listen, there is an audiobook version).  

Written in 1997, following what sounds to be an extensive oral history data collection effort, Charles van Onselen wrote "The Seed is Mine". The book brings to life the experiences of one, and one who might otherwise not have any other record in the written historical documents (exception on legal note). This book is an exemplary of oral history. It is heavy and presents immense detail, which at times can be slightly overwhelming as a reader, but nonetheless an important contribution and a product of exceptional work and detail. What I enjoyed about the book was the detail, where the dominant narratives are made complex, complicated or turned around with the lived experiences of Kas. In so doing, the book provides many new windows into seeing, and vicariously experiencing, South Africa of another time. Some examples from the book:

"The foreman lured Kas within his reach, caught hold of him by the arm and then-while he and the stable hand danced his disciplinary jig-called for his wife to remove the leather strap that he had hidden in his back pocket. Before the lady could oblige Kas, inspired by the need for improvisation in a novel such setting, sank his teeth into a conveniently situated white finger, which promptly spurted enough blood to elect a chorus of shouting and swearing from a clearly impressed Mrs. van der Walt. A half-dozen blacks, suspecting that oaths and cries on such a scale could only be summons for their services, suddenly appeared from nowhere to witness some deeply concerned Maine kinsmen persuading Kas to release the hapless foremans finger." (p. 42)

"Kas had reason to feel proud. At a time when most white farmers-who had enjoyed privileged access to commercial banks and the state's services to organised agriculture-where producing maize harvests of around three hundred bags, his family, with far more limited financial resources at their disposal, has matched their efforts. Nevertheless. The price of maize was disappointing-something that the Triangle's deeply suspicious populists ascribed to the functioning of the state's newly introduced Maize Control Board. At eight shillings and sixpence per bag, nobody was going to get rich, but Kas was grateful to have exceeded his target." (p. 194)

"After a careful inspection and much discussion, Kas agreed to purchase plots thirty-one and thirty-four for seven hundred pounds. he put down two hundred pounds as a deposit and agreed to pay the balance in smaller installments over an unspecified period. Phitise, equally impressed, bought himself a plot on basically the same terms. These two open-ended transactions conducted beneath the summer sun on a stretch of stone-strewn veld outside Ventersdrop were the outcome of thirty years labour on the land and a lifetime's ambition to own property." (p. 344)

"The odyssey which had begun in hope at Kommissierust in 1921 and ended in resignation at Varkenskraal in 1956. It took thirty-five years and fifteen farms for the likes of Hendrik Verwoerd and his supporters to get to the Maines where the Nationalists wanted them. The trekpas did not show how a man who but six years earlier had possessed 8 horses, 12 donkeys, 60 cattle, and 220 sheep had now been reduced to owning less than 40 animals. The Mains, who had entered the Mooi river valley on a ford truck with the chance of acquiring freehold property of their own, were leaving on an ox-wagon for a residential stand on a communal farm in a 'black spot.' Kas was on his knees." (p. 387) 

Part of the Reading Ethiopia series

This book was written by Lovise Aalen in 2011 and it is unfortunate that I had not read this book until now, given the geography and topics covered (apologies Dr Aalen if you are out there). The author says this book explores a unique experiment in institutionalizing the politics of ethnicity: the implementation of ethnic based federalism in Ethiopia from 1991 onward" (p. vii). The data in the book comes from the mid-2000s for a doctoral study (supervised by Tronvoll). Two in-depth case studies cover Wolaita and Sidama, which have become critical cases for the topic of politics and ethnicity (the author correctly identifies the future fracture points of ethnofederalism). Still well worth a read. A few notes:

"There is no doubt that the TPLF as a guerrilla movement was inspired by the Stalinist theory of nationalities. After taking power, the front continued to believe that ethnicity was a natural and efficient principle on which to organize and mobilize the people as long as this mobilisation was led by a strong party. A clear indication that the TPLF continued to be inspired by the Soviet system and that the Soviet understanding of the 'nationality question' is that the Ethiopian Constitution of 1995 gives 'nations, nationalities, and peoples' the right to succession in Article 39. No other current constitution incorporates the right." (p. 35)

"Both the Wolayta and the Sidama initially welcomed the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, which began in 1936. The colonizers abolished the hated landlord system and did not expropriate the land, and they thus appeared as liberators from the Amhara oppressors. In Sidama, people rose up against their lords and collaborated with the Italians when they realised that the Amhara lords could not stand against the foreign invasion. When the colonizers left in 1941, the Sidama tried to organize Military to prevent the return of the Amhara rulers. This led to retaliation from the Amhara: people who had taken the Italian side were imprisoned, their cattle were confiscated, their land was seized. The Sidama today talk about this period as the second terror (hulettegna sherber) and recall that it renewed the suffering of what they call the first terror, which occurred when the Amhara came to Sidama for the first time during the reign of Menelik." (p. 75)

"The constructivist approach to ethnicity, however, underlines that we should not take for granted that ethnic groups are cohesive and that members of subgroups of the ethnic group always act in the same way. Every ethnic group is a collection of different subgroups with different opinions and alliances. Moreover, identities other than ethnic, notably by class or gender, and generation, shape the political mobilisation in a given community." (p. 127)

"I will argue, however, that in the Ethiopian context it is not actors within the ethnic groups alone who have revived the discriminatory practices. Rather, the EPRDF's promotion of ethnicity as the major organizing principle of society has combined with its pragmatic power politics in local communities to reproduce rather than challenge the traditional hierarchies." (p. 144)

"At the end of the 1990's the Sidama Development Programme, with support from Irish Aid, built a road on the Sidama side, along with a bridge, a health center and a school. This was done in order to give the Sidama population in the area, including those of the eight mender, a better supply of the services. The Sidama on the eastern side of the river started sending their children to the newly built school, but this was disrupted when the school was destroyed by parties to the conflict in 2002. These Improvements in Infrastructure on the Sidama Sid have been interpreted in ethnic terms: the Wolayta have argued that the developments were personally initiated by the regional president at that time, Abate Kisho from Sidama, as a part of campaign to disfavour the Wolayta." (p. 167)

"As the current political regime favors ethnic organisation of politics and has drawn administrative boundaries along ethnic lines, political boundaries along ethnic lines, political actors find that it pays to sharpen ethnic divides. Before ethnic-based self-rule can be implemented it has to be made clear which people belong to which group (identity discrimination) and which territories each group should be entitled to govern (territorial demarcation). This process may increase people's awareness of ethnic differences and may also create a potential for territorial disputes between groups. Groups of people that did not previously look upon themselves as ethnic entities may press such claims in order to gain their own administrative units. Thus the launch of ethnic self-administration has led to increased political mobilisation on ethnic grounds." (p. 179-180)

In 1997 Diamond wrote the best-seller, "Guns, Germs and Steel". Nearly three decades later, a similar sounding book (The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen) by Linda Colley shifts the gaze from environmental determinism to political technology (primarily constitutions). The author is a historian and the book is woven around key individuals, which makes the book navigable via personalities. Compared to others of its type, this book is comparatively more in tune with dominant narratives (Haiti features, gendered exclusion explored). If you are interested in a detailed history of constitutions, this is a good resource. If you are looking for more of the "so whats?" of these military and political technological developments, it leaves readers somewhat wanting on this. A few notes:

"... my intention is to track and analyse changing attitudes and strategies over time and geographical space, I look not just at official and successful makers of constitutions, but also at some of the many private actors who attempted documents of this sort, out of anxiety, in the hope of advancing particular political, intellectual and social agendas, or because they were simply addicted to writing and to the written word." (p. 11-12)

"'We sought to make them over to move them into our column', an American academic lawyer would write in 2004, anguishing over the ethics of his country's post-invasion exercise in constitution writing in Iraq, while also recalling its constitution-making for Germany and Japan in the wake of the Second World War. In writing and legislating for others, he went on, the United States had wanted to make these defeated countries: 'take our side in a global war and be useful to us in it.' Making countries over in order to move them firmly into his column and make them useful in the context of global war was very much Napoleon's purpose with the foreign constitutions that he engineered. But his actions in this regard were far more numerous than later American ventures, and there was less agonising along the way." (p. 176-177)

"Naturally, Bentham was in communication with Haiti, the first Black-ruled republic in the Caribbean. 'Whatever may be the difference in [skin] colour', he wrote in 1822 to its president, Jean-Pierre Boyer, a mixed-race veteran of Haiti's wars of independence, it was in the 'true interest of all parties' that these superficial human variations not obstruct the global progress of a common 'identity – in respect of Laws and Institutions'. Bentham enclosed with this message, of course, a scheme for a new Haitian constitution. He also made contact with Islamic north Africa, especially by way of his 'adopted son', Hassuna D'Ghies. Madrasa-educated, multilingual and a devout Muslim, D'Ghies came from a wealthy family in Tripoli. Visiting London in the early 1820s, he quickly made himself known to Bentham, and for over a year the two men worked on plans for an Arabic language constitution for Tripoli and for a wider political revolution that might range across north Africa. One result was Bentham's 1822 essay 'Securities Against Misrule', the first full-length discussion by a Western author of how the new constitutional ideas and apparatus might be adapted to an Islamic polity." (p. 207-208) 

Having recently published an article on conceptualizing "success", when I saw "Redefining Success" in Vietnam (published locally), I picked it up. The book presents brief stories about people who started NGOs, social enterprises and corporations that serve a public good. The book is written by Dinh Duc Hoang, Nguyen Huu Phung Nguyen, Nguyen Ngoc Long, and Nguyen Thi Quynh Giang and published by Women's Publishing House in Ha Noi. A few notes:

"A third dimension shared by these social pioneers is the courage to stand alone and convince a community to accept a new perspective, a new mindset, and encourage them to place their confidence in a person who has not received it before. They encounter difficulties explaining themselves. Given their own "unreasonable" nature, social entrepreneurs face the risk of being misunderstood regarding their motives, being besmirched, doubted, challenged or resisted." (p. 10)

"Nhung kept asking herself how to bring Do paper back to the daily lives of Vietnamese people. That was the only way to help do paper survive time. They decided to develop a social project with a mission of making contemporary products with the focus on paper conservation and development. However, it was never an easy job. According to Nhung, in Vietnam there is now only one family making Do paper on a regular basis…" (p. 64)

"The social entrepreneurs in the book chose social enterprises as their instruments to remedy and settle these social issues. Social enterprise represents a philosophy, a conduct an approach to social issues. Social enterprises operate based on the philosophy that an extremely crucial activity, business (including, in a broader sense, research, innovation, production of and trade in goods and services) creates the major impacts defining society." (p. 253) 

Published by I.B. Tauris, "New Military Strategies in the Gulf: The Mirage of Autonomy in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar" (2023) by Jean-Loup Samaan offers a unique analysis of the changing military directions of the Gulf (focusing on those three nations). There are many books that do a poor job covering the region, this one is a unique contribution and is well researched, supported with insider perspectives (former educator in UAE at military school and NATO advisor). In addition to military history and modern developments, the author critiques common claims and draws less-than-favorable assessments of the aspirations (for example, assessing it as: "a top-down reform process relying on foreign expertise... engendering the de facto Westernization of local armed forces" (p. 37)). Lots of interesting parts, a few:

"This book tells the story of how, in the 2010-20 decade, three Gulf states - Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar - embraced new foreign and defence policy's that no longer relied exclusively on western security patronage. These states increasingly asserted their own agendas at the regional level, first diplomatically and economically, and then militarily. In other words, they launched a quest for their strategic autonomy." (p. 3)

"I posit that the current state of Saudi, Emirati, Qatari armed forces evidences a discrepancy between the aspirations of local rulers and the implementation of their policies. Specifically, my study shows that gulf decision-makers still heavily rely on western assistance in all the major sectors of defence policy, from military education and training to arms procurement." (p. 7)

"… at the strategic level, isomorphism implies the adoption of fundamental beliefs and ideas on how these states envision and define their security. This distortion was also salient in the way Western instructors in Saudi, Emirati or Qatari schools relied on numerous examples drawn from Western military history. For example, Gulf officers were asked to study Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War or the evolution of the US counter-insurgency doctrine but much less so their own experience of war." (p. 50)

"… the Washington Post reported after an investigation relying on US intelligence sources that the hacking of Qatari websites had in fact been ordered by the UAE government. The claim was immediately denied by Emirati officials. In the weeks preceding the crisis, the hacking and the subsequent anti-Qatar campaign on social networks played such a role in building a momentum for the blockade that it shed light on the Gulf use of medias and social networks for strategic purposes." (p. 113)

"… the critical parameter of Gulf military policies remains - and will remain for the near future - their anchoring in the Western orbit. Changing the fundamental relationship between Gulf and Western military partners could lead to uncharted territories, especially if these changes are unilaterally and unevenly decided in each of the Gulf states (for instance, if the UAE dismantles this partnership while Qatar maintains close proximity with US armed forces)." 

Tim Marshall, a political-economy and geography journalist, has penned a number of best selling books related to geography (or using geography as an entry point to discuss nation-states). His 2021 book "The Power of Geography: Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World" is the first I have read of his books. The book has ten chapters, covering 8 countries and 2 areas (the Sahel and space). It was unclear why these ten were selected (which seems a critical point to make clear for readers). The "ten maps" alluded to in the subtitles are basic cartographic regional maps with the country of focus at the center. The other part of the subtitle "the future of our world", was not well delivered on - the vast majority of the content is descriptive of history and current context, not future oriented. I have lived for extended periods in some of the countries covered, and the content is mediocre to disappointing (maybe the book is amazing on countries I do not know well, say Australia or the UK, but it does not give much reader confidence). The book is not academic, quotes and key points are not specifically cited, there are only lists of references at the end (making follow-up and fact checking impossible - readers are unable to know where the ideas are sourced). The reading lists at the end are sparse and of comparatively low quality. The source material places a heavy emphasis on websites and basic government pages, which almost certainly did not provide the material for all the content presented (for example: 1 of 11 sources for Saudi is a peer reviewed academic source, 1 of 7 listed sources for Ethiopia is a peer reviewed academic source, et cetera). I'd pass on this one. Here is an example of a future oriented comment the book has to offer:

[Australia] "This will include talking about coal. Given that all the states have coal mines, and that the AU$69.6 billion industry employs tens of thousands of people, that won't be easy... Australia could close down its industry tomorrow and not significantly reduce global pollution - it is part of a problem that will not be resolved without each country working to reduce its carbon footprint - but it would have a profound effect on the Australian economy. As such coal is likely to remain king for years to come, even as the country looks to alternative sources of energy." (p. 23)