the research project

The date was 11th of May 2013. I was in Nanjing, China, joining networking event organized by EU Chamber of Commerce there. At that event it happened to meet people, exchange business cards and hold small talk. Nothing special, just networking event as usual. At that networking event happened to meet Pierra, a man in his 40-ies or early 50-ies, who was doing project for French oil company Total. While discussion what caused us to come to China I mentioned that would like to understand the world as it is. For example, why and how did it happened that Europeans conquer America, but not vice versa? Why not China? Why Asian societies tends to be more family focused, not individual-focused as it in in the USA? Why one countries are able to make a breakthrough and go through economic miracles, while others can not? How Chinese people think like? What is important to them?

On my surprise Pierre gave very profound and detailed answer - a reading list suggestion. Although that was handwritten in my notebook, I saved his suggestions and put it here.

Jared Diamond

• The Third Chimpanzee

• Guns, Germs, and Steel

• Collapse

Frans de Waal

• The Age of Empathy

• The Bonobo and the Atheist

• The Ape and the Sushi Master, Cultural reflections by a primatologist

Richard Dawkins

• The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

Ernst Mayr

• What Evolution Is

Edward O. Wilson

• On Human Nature

Stephen Jay Gould

• The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould

Steven Pinker

• The Language Instinct

• The Better Angels of our Nature

Karl Popper

• best from conferences

On pages of my blog I am going to post short review-eflection of what I have learned from these books. Hope you will be with me on this exciting jorney of exploring the world!