Sanjoy's blog

" Etai Science (এটাই সায়েন্স) " is a Bengali popular science book written by Hassan uz-Zaman Shamol. The book tells the stories of some of the brilliant achievements of Bangladeshi scientists in the public health sector. Cover of Etai Science (এটাই সায়েন্স) The book is mainly about the efforts of Bangladeshi scientists to solve some serious problems of our lives. Public health, as it is said, is the science and arts of preventing disease. The book is the outcome of the writer’s two and a half years stint as a researcher in ICDDR, B ( International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh ). While working in ICDDR, B , he came to know about some of the works of Bangladeshi scientists to solve the problems related to sanitation. Although the scientists do some really cool stuff to solve these problems, they don't get the exposer they deserve on Bangladeshi media. This book contains some stories of some of their successes.  The book begins with the discussion of w...

Mindf*ck: Inside Cambridge Analytica’s Plot to Break the World  is a memoir written by Christopher Wylie, a Canadian whistleblower who formerly worked as a data consultant at Cambridge Analytica(CA) and its parent company Strategic Communication Laboratories(SCL). The book is pretty much about Cambridge Analytica's efforts to create psychological weapons and their effect on Brexit and Donald Trump's presidential campaign . Cover of Mindf*ck The book starts with Wylie's hearing at Capitol Hill, Washington DC about potential Russian involvement and data breach to influence the American voters. After this part, Wylie tells about his childhood in Canada, how his fondness for computers grew, how he joined the Liberal Party in Canada. Then he describes his career in England. Prior to joining SCL, he worked for the Liberal Democrats in London. After that starts the most interesting part, his involvement in SCL. SCL mainly worked for military and intelligence contracts. Wylie worke...

The Emperor's Handbook is a translation of the works of Marcus Aurelius, the famous Roman emperor. The contents of this book are the personal writings of Marcus Aurelius on how to lead his life according to stoic philosophy.  Written from 161 to 180 AD, The Emperor's Handbook (also named as Mediations in other translations) is a compilation of Aurelius's personal notes to himself and his views on stoic philosophy. These writings were like a manual to lead a good life and guideline for self-improvement to himself. There are 12 books in this set of writings. The books do not follow any chronological sequence. In fact, the contents of this book were never meant for publication. They were written by the emperor to remind himself about how to lead his life.  Cover of The Emperor's Handbook The original text was written in Greek. This translation of Marcus Aurelius's writings is easy to read. I tried to read a few other translations but failed to grasp the inner meanin...

"Mustaine: A heavy metal memoir" is the autobiographical account of Dave Mustaine. Mustaine is the co-founder, lead and rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter of American heavy metal band Megadeth. Before the formation of Megadeth, he was the lead guitarist of Metallica, one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time. Cover of " Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir " It seemed to me that the contents of the book can be categorised into three parts: the childhood of Dave Mustaine, his stint in Metallica during its formation period, and his life with Megadeth. At the very beginning of the book, Dave Mustaine tells how he accidentally injured the nerve of his left arm which threatened his career as a musician. I must say the beginning felt quite interesting to me. Then Mustaine recalls his childhood, how he grew up from moving one place to another, how being a Jehovah's Witness traumatised his childhood. He talks about his brief practice of witchcraft, how he started do...

Finally, 2020 is over. Last year, I read a lot of books (compared to the previous ones). It had been long since I last posted any book review. At the beginning of December, the idea of listing seven best books which influenced my thinking greatly last year popped up in my mind. This post is the outcome of that very idea. 7. A Plannet of Viruses We often do not realise how we are surrounded by viruses until a freaking pandemic starts. Carl Zimmer's A Planet of Viruses is a popular science book which tells the stories of some viruses among us. A Planet of Viruses is an easy to read book. It tells some amazing stories about viruses. After reading this book I found the chapter about microorganisms in my Botany textbook interesting.          6. Post Office Post Office by Charles Bukowski is an autobiographical account of his working for the United States Postal Service. The novel introduces Bukowski's autobiographical anti-hero, Henry Chinask...