BookMarks #63: Guns, Germs, and Steel

Title: Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years

Author: Jared Diamond 

Genre: Anthropology, History, Geography

Published: 1997

Setting: Entire human history across the world

Summary

Guns, Germs, and Steel attempts to understand how the human society across the world, reached into its current form and how different regions developed differently leading to the dominance of Eurasian societies.

BookMarks

“Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own” This was the question asked by a New Guinean politician Yali to the author Jared Diamond. Cargo here being a generic term for all technology & goods brought by the western civilization. Through this book, Diamond tries to answer this question.

The book attempts to trace the evolution of the modern human societies in different parts of the world and the factors which influenced their growth. As per Diamond, humans started as hunter-gatherers, then moved on to building agriculture based societies. Stable food production led to increased population and development of a bureaucratic societal structure. More people had more ideas and more innovations leading to technological advancements. Technology diffused and spread from one society to its neighbours. However, the rate of such advancement was different in various regions. Diamond attributes this to geography, climate factors, availability of suitable crops as well as potential large animals which could be domesticated. Geographical barriers play a major role in preventing/aiding the diffusion. 

Exposure to different animals lead to animal borne diseases being spread into human society. The exposed societies later developed immunity to these. Advanced military technology as well as new germs helped decide which group won the battle of that region. And how one group was able to displace the other.

The book is an interesting exercise in attempting to summarize more than 10,000 years of human history. The readers may or may not agree to Diamond’s interpretation. And there are enough evidences being unearthed regularly which present new facts to the contrary. However, the book certainly makes you think about human evolution. Is it only geography or climate which is the contributing factor or are there other factors at play too. And how does it impact the modern society which is getting increasingly inter-connected and even a bit more homogeneous. With changing climate across the globe (another hotly debated subject) how does it impact the future development. As we have seen, different regions have been the leaders in technology at various points in time. How does this equation change in the future? With increased digitization, who becomes the new leader? That’s an interesting point to ponder upon.

Previously on BookMarks: Anne Frank’s Diary 

BookMarks #62: Anne Frank’s Diary

Title: The Diary of a Young Girl

Author: Anne Frank

Genre: Diary, Autobiography

Published: 1947 (Dutch), 1952 (English)

Setting: 2nd World War

Summary

The accounts of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl in hiding in Amsterdam, during the 2nd World War.

BookMarks

The nicest part is being able to write down all my thoughts and feelings; otherwise, I'd absolutely suffocate. (Anne Frank, 16 March 1944.)

This is the line on the diaries which sums it all up. Why young Anne Frank wrote. It was the one outlet for her feelings as her world drastically changed due to overwhelming political circumstances. Her frustrations at being virtually a prisoner in the Secret Annex, changing emotions while growing up, changing feelings towards her co-hiders, her feelings of being alone and no one understanding her!

The book provides a glimpse of the impact of the War and especially the Jewish population who had to leave everything and go into hiding to escape the Nazis. One fine day, the people are free, and then they become effectively prisoners on their own account! To avoid being imprisoned by the Nazis, they go into hiding and hope to wait it out till better days come.

The diary entries are spread over two years and then they abruptly stop one day. And that is after the Allies have come close to winning the war. There is no happy ending here. Anne herself could not survive the war after being taken as prisoner. 

Previously on BookMarks: The Alchemist 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 8

Since Episode 7, a month back, we have had some significant progress in the qualifications for Tokyo 2020 with Quota places earned in Shooting, Wrestling and Athletics. This Episode got delayed by a week to incorporate results from the 2019 World Athletics Championships. 

Quotas Earned 

Shooting – 2 more Quotas arrived through the Shooting World Cup taking the count to 9. 

Sanjeev Rajput earned India’s first Quota in the Men’s 50m Air Rifle 3 Positions. This is the 4th Olympics in a row in which he has earned a Quota place, although for Rio 2016, his Quota place was reallocated. Hope this is not the case this time around. 

Yashashwini Deswal earned India’s 2nd Quota in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol event. 

Given the current Quota configuration India should have representation in the Mixed Pairs Rifle & Pistol events. However, there is some confusion over the number of teams a NOC can field in the Mixed events. Would be a tragedy if only a single team from each NOC is allowed! Currently India can send 2 pairs in both rifle and pistol events and in the last World Cup, all 4 pairs won medals! 

The Asian Shooting Championships in November provides more opportunities for booking Olympics Quotas, especially for the Shotgun events, where India is yet to open its account. 

Wrestling – 4 Quotas 

Vinesh Phogat (Womens 53 KG Freestyle), Ravi Kumar (Mens 57 KG Freestyle), Bajrang Punia (Mens 65 KG Freestyle) and Deepak Punia (Mens 86 KG Freestyle) have earned quotas through the World Wrestling Championships. 

Deepak got a Silver while the other 3 earned a Bronze each. Overall, it was a creditable show for India with Rahul Aware also winning a Bronze in 61 KG Freestyle (which is not included in the Olympics). 

For the wrestlers, the Asian Qualification Tournament in March, 2020 provides the next opportunity to book Olympic berths in the remaining 15 categories. 

Athletics – 2 Quotas (Total 3 Now) 

The 4x400 Mixed Relay team reached the Finals in the World Athletics Championships in Doha thus qualifying for the Olympics. 

Avinash Sable broke the National Record in 3000m Steeplechase twice in 3 days to beat the Olympics timing cut-off after reaching the Final. 

Special mention - Annu Rani became the first Indian women to qualify for the Javelin Throw finals with a National Record throw. However, it was still short of the Olympics cut-off. 

Other Sports 

Boxing 

In the Men’s Boxing World Championships, Amit Panghal became the first Indian male boxer to reach the finals where he got a Silver medal, while Manish Kaushik earned a Bronze. Given the shenanigans of AIBA, unfortunately no Quotas could be earned through the World Championships. The Olympics qualification tournaments begin early next year. 

The women’s tournament is currently underway. However, like their male counterparts, they will not be able to qualify for Olympic spots. 

Weightlifting World Championships 

Mirabai Chanu finished 4th with her personal best. And given that there two Chinese ahead of her (and an NOC can have only participant in an event), the medal prospects seems good. 

Volleyball – Indian men have qualified for the Asian Volleyball Qualifiers after finishing 8th in the 2019 Asian Volleyball Championships. 

Hockey – The men’s team have been drawn to face Russia while the Women will face United States in a 2-match series to determine the Qualifiers for Tokyo. 

Swimming – Virdhawal Khade has achieved the B qualifying mark but has yet to achieve the A Qualifying mark and hence not included in the Qualifiers count yet. 

Total Count – Sports - 4, Events – 17, Entries -23, Participants – 22. 

Links:  Road To Tokyo: Episode 7

MovieNotes: Make Us Dream

Another football documentary from my niche Amazon Prime Video watching series. 

Make Us Dream narrates the journey of Steven Gerrard from a young boy to becoming an all-time Liverpool great. It is a biography of Gerrard but more dedicated to his life with the Liverpool Football Club from his joining their Academy to moving on to USA to play in Major League Soccer. 

The documentary also covers some of the key events which helped shape English football to its current form. The Hillsborough tragedy which left 96 Liverpool fans crushed to death, the arrival of the Premier League and Manchester United’s rise, the arrival of big money in the form of Roman Abramovich buying Chelsea, players becoming the brand rather than the clubs and money increasingly becoming a deciding factor in player loyalties.

Liverpool is deprived of Premier League success although they won nearly everything else in the interim including becoming Champions of Europe. The documentary features the incredible 2005 Champions League Finals against AC Milan, where Liverpool come from 3 goals down at half-time and go on to win the shoot-out. [Incidentally, this game also featured in the documentary series “This Is Football” with Liverpool’s Rwandan fans]. 

We get to see Steven Gerrard’s partnership with Michael Owen at the start of his career and with Luis Suarez towards the end, the team-mates exits from the club, the multiple attempts from Jose Mourinho to get him over to Chelsea, the red cards, the headed own goal against Chelsea, contract disputes with Liverpool, injuries, and disillusionment with football, the desire to bring big trophies and the frustration of not being able to win the premier league title despite coming agonizingly close to it multiple times. There is the infamous slip against Chelsea after himself exhorting his team-mates not to slip up which proved critical in handing the title to Manchester City. 

The documentary is bookended with Gerrard’s move to USA. He is called a genius, one of the very best but he just sounds exhausted by the end of it. And yes that truly is the highlight of the documentary, showing the man behind the player. 

One grouse against the documentary. Gerrard’s long and highly successful England career is not mentioned at all! At least here, we have a clear winner in the club vs country debate! 

Overall, a good watch. 

Previously on MovieNotes – Take Us Home: Leeds United 

MovieNotes: Take Us Home: Leeds United

Preface - I believe Amazon Prime Video and me have found our viewing niche – football! 

Leeds United, once giants of English Football have been struggling in the lower divisions of English football since the turn of the millennium. With demotion, comes financial struggles leading to fire sale of top players, in turn leading to poorer performances – quite a vicious cycle. Then enters Andrea Radrizanni, the new owner who plots their return to the English Premier League. 

Narrated by Russel Crowe, the 6-part documentary covers the topsy-turvy 2018-19 season with Leeds United playing in the Championship (second division of English football) and bidding for a return to the Premier League, which is worth nearly 170 million pounds. They finish 3rd in the Table and fail to secure an automatic promotion and then miss out in the play-offs. 

The owners' first major action is the appointment of Argentine Marcelo Bielsa as the team manager, who then focuses on strengthening the team and bridging the gaps. The team’s good start wins back its fans after having finished a dismal 13th the previous season. Over the course of the season they fight through injuries to key players and register many come from behind draws and wins but also keep dropping points at crucial junctures. The season is also rocked by a spying scandal. Bielsa admits to spying on other teams training sessions, which while not against any rules offend the League for which Leeds are heavily fined. 

Another side of Bielsa comes to fore in the last game of the season when he orders his players to let their opponents score a goal, because of the controversial nature of the previous goal scored by Leeds. 

There is a beautiful sequence in the second episode where Leeds are playing a crucial game against Aston Villa while at the same time local boy Josh Warrington defends his IBF world championship title! 

There are scenes which remind the viewers that the payers while being elite athletes are also human. They do get affected by the amount of social media chatter, the defeats hurt them as do injuries, there is the occasional drama of new contracts and transfers. 

The documentary focuses on the special relation city of Leeds has with the club. There are interviews of the die-hard fans who have supported the club through ups and downs over the years. There are those who remember the glory days and those who have just heard of them. How difficult it is for a club to boost its support base if it hasn’t won anything major in the past many years? And yet, these clubs like Leeds United keep finding new fans around the globe, although may not be at the same pace as the Premier League toppers. 

The series ends with the management talking about continuing the bid for Premiership while trying to retain its best players whose performances had caught the attention of various top-flight clubs. Bielsa agrees to be at the helm of affairs for another season. 

There is life beyond the top. And, now I am keenly following the 2019-20 Championship season and, of course, the fortunes of Leeds United. 

Bonus – The refrain from “Marching on Together” – the Leeds United song. 

Marching On Together!

We're gonna see you win

We are so proud,

We shout it out loud 

We love you Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! 

We've been through it all together,

And we've had our ups and downs 

We're gonna stay with you forever,

at least until the world stops going round 

Everyday, we're all gonna say we love you Leeds!Leeds!Leeds!

Everywhere, we're gonna be there,We, love you Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! 

Previously on MovieNotes – This Is Football 

BookMarks #61: The Alchemist

Title: The Alchemist 

Author: Paulo Coelho 

Genre: Fiction, Fable, Adventure

Published: 1988 (Portuguese), 1993 (English) 

Setting: Medieval Spain and North Africa 

Summary 

Santiago, a young shepherd, has recurrent dreams about finding a treasure. This is the story of his journey of fulfilling his dream! 

BookMarks 

If you really want something, the whole universe will conspire to have your wish come true. That is the key theme of the book. Not giving up on your original dream while understanding all the signs on the way is the prescribed path for fulfilling one’s dreams! 

The book is short. Story moves along at a good pace. Only one character is constant throughout the story as he journeys towards fulfilling his dream and meets a variety of inspirational sources. The book feels like a mix of teachings from the Bible and the Quran combined with stories from Alif Laila. 

Also this was my first brush with Mr. Paulo Coelho’s works! The Alchemist is a pretty hyped up book. Probably would have liked it more if I had been younger and not by default cynical about things (benefit of having completed a few more revolutions around the Sun!). 

And the ending about finding the treasure in the place where you had the dream after having jorneyed back and forth to the other side of the continent. Just reminds me of the Hindi saying – बच्चा बगल में और ढिंडोरा नगर में। 

Previously on BookMarks – The McKinsey Way

MovieNotes: This Is Football

Technically not a movie but a collection of six hour-long documentaries covering different footballing stories. Each narrating how the “beautiful game” has captured the world’s imagination, keeps enthralling the fans, and at times goes its impact beyond the playing field into real lives.

The first episode talks of Redemption. How football helped heal the wounds of a war ravaged country. After the genocide of 1994, Rwanda used football as a healing mechanism. Their qualification for the 2003 African Cup of Nations with a victory over Ghana acted like a balm in the divide between the Hutu and Tutsi communities. Liverpool’s “You Never Walk Alone” song was an allegory to the Rwandan communities. Liverpool’s remarkable come from behind 2005 Champions League victory has a prominent role in the episode. And how it inspired their Rwandan fans who finally get a chance to see their favorite team at the Anfield.

The second episode talks of Belief. It talks about the Women’s game and focuses on the two teams at the forefront, USA and Japan. There is the story of USA’s 1999 victory at home culminating in Brandi Chastain’s iconic celebration also captured. Then there is the story of Japan’s unexpected 2011 victory with the backdrop of the Fukushima disaster. The Japanese players talk about how their footballing careers had been inspired by the Americans reign over the many years. 

The third episode has the theme of Chance. Some mathematicians have done a probability model. It says in an average football game there are three goals scored, one by the better team on the day and the other two are distributed randomly between the teams! We hear from Oliver Kahn, who won the Golden Ball in the 2002 World Cup and had a near-perfect tournament except for one mistake in the Final which Ronaldo pounced upon and put Brazil in the lead. And Germany had to wait a few more years for their next success. There is the story of Bayern Munich’s run in the UEFA Champions Leagues where they lost to Manchester United after dominating almost the entire game in 1999 but redeemed themselves in 2002 by winning against Valencia. There is Roberto di Matteo whose playing career was cut short after a freak tackle but came back as Chelsea’s interim manager to lead them to Champions League triumph! Pierluigi Collina talks about how impactful a referee’s error can be in a football game vis-a-vis any other sports. An then there is the story of Eintracht Frankfurt, who should have won the German League in 1992 but for some bad luck in the last game and then remained trophy less for nearly 30 years, when finally fortune favored them!

The fourth episode in the theme Pride. It focuses on Iceland’s remarkable run over the last few years in Euro 2016 and the World Cup 2018. How the tiny nation of Iceland took on football’s superpowers like Argentina, England, Croatia, et al and gave a good account of themselves. And how football helped rebuild the national pride after the recession of 2008. And there is also the awesome Viking thunderclap!

The fifth episode titled Love deals with people from different walks of life talking about their love for football. Whether it’s the English Blind Football team participating in their World Cup, a young boy from Soweto in South Africa who overcomes cancer to become the youngest professional football referee, school-girls from a village near Nagpur in India who feel empowered because they play football, or a Chinese man who builds a football pitch in his town. And Football is the thread which binds them.

The last episode titled Wonder deals with the phenomenon of Lionel Messi. How he went on to become the world’s best footballer, how his fans transcend borders. Even the mathematics of his movements is analyzed while exasperated defenders wonder how to deal with him. His feet movement are compared to the tango. It also attempts (a futile one) to understand the important question. Why Messi’s performance for Argentina pales in comparison to his performance for Barcelona!

Overall, a nice documentary for the fans of the beautiful game. I especially liked the episode on how luck plays such an important part in the result. 

Rating: 9/10

Previously on MovieNotes: Gully Boy

Road To Tokyo: Episode 7

August 29

Major Dhyanchand’s 114th birthday also celebrated as India’s National Sports Day. And almost two years to the day since this blog series started.

Since Episode 6, there hasn’t been any change in the qualification count for India. There were Quota places up for grabs in Shooting, Canoeing, Equestrian and Rowing but unfortunately our athletes couldn’t grab any during the last month. But we have had some progress across sports.

Badminton

PV Sindhu becomes India’s first ever Badminton World Champion. This in now the sixth year in a row in which she has got a major medal (World Championships/Olympics) and she is still only 24! Badminton quotas will be confirmed via rankings in end-April next year. On current form, we should have multiple Indian representation in all events.

Volleyball

Indian women have qualified for the Asian Olympic qualifiers to be held in January.

Shooting

No quotas in the shotgun events so far. However, there is an intense battle going on for places in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle, where India has booked the maximum 2 quotas but have 3 shooters, Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil & Elavenil Valarivan winning World Cup medals consistently.

Hockey

Indian Men & Women Teams won the Olympic test events at Tokyo. Although much should not be read into this!

Baseball – India are out of contention.

Total Qualifier Count – Sports - 3, Events – 8, Entries -12, Participants – 11.

Coming Up Next – World Championships in Wrestling, Weightlifting and Athletics. And more qualification events across the board.

P.S. Episode 7 was on time. Hopefully Episode 8 will continue the momentum!

Links: 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 6 

BookMarks #60: The McKinsey Way

Title: The McKinsey Way 

Author: Ethan Rasiel 

Genre: Non-fiction, Management 

Published: 1999 

BookMarks 

The title seemed promising - providing a glimpse of the way McKinsey or “The Firm” (as it is referred to) operates and maybe even its history. But all we get is a glimpse and no real insights. Also reading the book about 20 years after its original publication makes it really outdated. The book would certainly need a major overhaul to stay relevant in today’s times. 

The good things about the book - 

(a) It is a short volume. And at times feels like a presentation version of a book rather than the real thing. 

(b) Talks about the importance of having/collecting facts and data over gut feelings and using the data to validate hypothesis. 

(c) The use of MECE structure – Mutually Exclusive Collective Exhaustive. 

(d) The importance of having a life beyond work. 

The not so good things about the book – 

(a) Sounds too pompous and full of itself at times. Especially in the light of the fact that the author was in the “Firm” only for a relatively short tenure! 

(b) Nothing about McKinsey’s history – how it became a global consulting giant so that business would come knocking to them rather than the company having to ever seek work. 

(c) The Waterfall Chart – It is a good representation for analyzing changes (plan vs actual or periodic), but it certainly is not a McKinsey exclusive as the author tries to make it up. 

(d) Working late nights and taking pride in it – Why do we glorify this culture? An emergency is only when someone's health is at stake, but we have glorified a working culture where even making organization charts becomes a matter of grave urgency! 

(e) And the numerous references to Mr. Hamish McDermott and his work at McKinsey. It almost felt like a pseudonym of the author himself. 

Overall, a decent read but dated and full of hyperbole. Can be easily skipped. 

Previously on BookMarks: The Perfect Murder

BookMarks #59: The Perfect Murder

Title: The Perfect Murder 

Author: Various, Compiled by Ruskin Bond 

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Compendium, Short Stories 

Published: 2017 

BookMarks 

This is a compilation of eight whodunits from various authors around the world. An intriguing collection of mysteries – some are good, some are disappointing. Some have the buildup but no real conclusion! 

#1 The Perfect Murder – by Stacy Aumonier 

Two brothers plan a murder to get an inheritance. One is the executor, the other is racked by guilt and then there is a surprising turn of events! 

#2 The Red headed League – by Arthur Conan Doyle 

Featuring Sherlock Holmes, as he attempts to resolve a mystery of a man who wants to understand why the job he had got for his red head has suddenly disappeared. In the process unveiling something far more sinister! 

#3: He Said It With Arsenic – by Ruskin Bond 

The author, after his first major success, gets a visit from his long-lost uncle who had spent time in jail for a double murder via arsenic poisoning. And then has a decision to make! 

#4: The Interruption – by W. W. Jacobs 

A man gets his inheritance through a well-disguised murder. Then becomes a target of blackmail, till he attempts to turn the tables on the blackmailer. 

#5 When Al Capone was Ambushed – Jack Bilbo 

Jack Bilbo is hired as a bodyguard by Al Capone. The story is an extract of his action-packed first day at the job. 

#6 The Lodger – Marie Belloc Lowndes 

An old couple get a mysterious lodger on rent at their place. Meanwhile there is a series of murders happening in the city. 

#7 The Duel – Wilkie Collins 

A trip across the channel to France brings with it, its own adventures including a duel with pistols! 

#8 The Cask of Amontillado – Edgar Allan Poe 

A wine tasting expedition leads to a chilling end. 

Previously on BookMarks – Rich Dad, Poor Dad