Books 7.0
***** Rainwater Harvesting by Adrian Cullis and Arnold Pacey. This book is a very rich analysis of rainwater harvesting techniques for domestic and agricultural uses. Also the book draws on experiences in Kenya, which made it especially relevant. I think my school will be putting on gutters shortly to collect water. That is a pretty gratifying turn of events. The writing is a bit dry, but since the information is so useful, I was able to get over that. The book is a bit dated (not that 1986 is so old :) ) because it appears that plastic water tanks which are now abundant and a decent price option were not really available when the book was written.
**** Creating a World without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus. In spite of the title, this book is not simply some utopian manifesto written by someone who is rather out of touch (though towards the end, it wanders a bit in that direction). Rather, Yunus has plenty of field experience and looks at many things through a realist lens. He certainly makes a compelling case for the social benefits of micro-credit and social business and is able to highlight many successful examples. He also talks of some failures and the lessons to take there. He is foremost an economist and is using economic and business arguments to sell his product. Still, it was especially interesting to read in The Economist about a study that seems to refute several of Yunus's claims about the benefits of micro-credit. It seems that since people who seek out micro-credit are usually entrepreneurs and often pull themselves up whether or not they have access to micro-credit (that's not the best summary, but you'll have to cope). Most interestingly, this study was conducted by MIT's Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which is run by a good friend of Yunus. Now, that is not to say that the work of Grameen has not been extraordinarily beneficial and produced some remarkable programs. It is simply suggesting that micro-credit does not work in a vacuum, but Grameen is much more than a micro-credit organization.
??? The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. I let this one marinate for a while, but I still can't decide how I feel about the book. It was a very easy read (only a couple hours) and I certainly enjoyed reading it, though I'm not sure how I felt about the underlying messages. Still, it is a good narrative and I certainly like the message at the end about fate having a sense of humor. I guess I would recommend this book. I think.
Very sorry for how long it took me to get this post up here. It's been busy, and I need to write these in a cyber. Books 8.0 shouldn't be nearly this much trouble
1 comment:
Of course I would comment on the post re: books. That is *so* like me. You've also been really prolific of late thanks to your phone, and I've had less time to read, so I haven't read all of your posts for August. This is one of the ones I've read...
My first gut reaction to The Alchemist was that I liked it. I'm also ambivalent about some of the themes, but I really enjoyed the story and the message of resilience and determination and ultimately hope.
I read a blog post recently about the ten most dubious Nobel Peace prizes, and Yunus was on the list. The blog's author cited another article that contested the extent of micro-credit's influence. I guess it had to do with the JPAL study. I haven't read my Economist at all this past week! Sigh. Also wanted to let you know that I'm working my way through "Bottom Billion." On that note, I might have mentioned it in my letter...
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