Books

How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically Peter Singer’s books and ideas have been disturbing our complacency ever since the appearance of Animal Liberation. Now he directs our attention to a new movement in which his own ideas have played a crucial role: effective altruism. Effective altruism is built upon the simple but profound idea that living a fully ethical life involves doing the “most good you can do.” Such a life requires an unsentimental view of charitable giving: to be a worthy recipient of our support, an organisation must be able to demonstrate that it will do more good with our money or our time than other options open to us. Singer introduces us to an array of remarkable people who are restructuring their lives in accordance with these ideas, and shows how living altruistically often leads to greater personal fulfillment than living for oneself. The Most Good You Can Do develops the challenges Singer has made, in the New York Times and Washington Post, to those who donate to the arts, and to charities focused on helping our fellow citizens, rather than those for whom we can do the most good. Effective altruists are extending our knowledge of the possibilities of living less selfishly, and of allowing reason, rather than emotion, to determine how we live. The Most Good You Can Do offers new hope for our ability to tackle the world’s most pressing problems. *Peter Singer is Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University, and Laureate Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne. The most prominent ethicist of our time, he is the author of more than twenty books including Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, and The Life You Can Save. He divides his time between New York City and Melbourne, Australia.

Despite the introduction by Lynn Davis one of the UK’s greatest athletes I was sure it was all a joke, No way could all those incredible adventures of Reg Spiers be true. Boy, was I wrong. This is an exceptional book, brilliantly written, wonderfully entertaining and one that will live in the memory for a long, long time. Julie and Marcus McSorley have managed to capture and distill the essence of the Aussie spirit that flows through the veins of Reg Spiers. Here we meet a man with a heart as big as the Australian outback with a rebellious streak that the outlaw Ned Kelly would admire. In fact, I would go as far to say that at some point in the afterlife would they share several tinnies of Castlemaine XXXX with arms around each other’s shoulders – and catch up on old times. At 22 years of age, he had himself shipped back to Perth, Australia from London in a box for his daughter’s birthday. A journey that cost him nothing and took 63 hours Do yourself a mighty favour and lose yourself in this tale. Cheer for the villain, support the underdog and imagine you are walking side by side with Reg Spiers as part of his inner circle. It will do your spirit good. Out of the Box follows the misadventures of Reg Spiers, an unforgettable character who never gives up, and never learns either. The craziest part is, Reg isn’t a character. He’s a real live person! Reg doesn’t always make the right decisions. He often puts his friends and loved ones in danger; but his charisma, charm, and indomitable spirit make it impossible not to root for him. This book spans decades of the man’s life, taking place in Australia, England, India, Sri Lanka, and […]

“Babbage’s book is aimed at teachers and educators, but any parent or student would benefit from reading it. . . . The spend-for-today mentality has to stop. Schools and society have to address the problem, and Dr. Babbage has concrete ideas, exercises and plans that will help. “—Don McNay, founder of the McNay Settlement Group, October 20, 2009, Times-Tribune. What Financial future awaits the current generation of children and teenagers in the United States? Our children and teenagers did not cause the financial problems that confront the nation and impacts their families, but they will pay part of the price for these financial problems. What should children and teenagers know about personal finance? How can sound financial principles and money management be taught to these students? Extreme Economics identifies, through current research, what children and teenagers need to know about managing funds. It shows educators how to design instructional activities that enable students to learn about money management in fascinating and meaningful ways. Extreme Economics is not filled with complicated or confusing charts, graphs, and terminology. It is readable and immediately applicable. As education continues to advance, the school curriculum might consist of reading, writing, math, and economics and finance. This book is an important step to ensuring a solid base in this emerging area. About the Author Keen J. Babbage has twenty-five years of experience as a teacher and administrator in middle school, high school, college, and graduate school. He is the author of author of numerous books including 911: The School Administrator’s Guide to Crisis Management (1996), Extreme Teaching (2002), Results-Driven Teaching: Teach So Well That Every Student Learns(2006) and What Only Teachers Know About Education (2008).

Holly Green July 8 2014 …so I read the book slowly, Knowing as I turn pages Things are left in the past. Knowing when I reach a new chapter That the subject and content may change. I try to read between the lines, I try to re-write certain parts, But what has been is evident. What is ahead is a mystery. Skimming over the unthinkable, I proof read my life. Progressing day by day, Knowing what I had, Knowing what I have And awaiting what is yet to come..

–Graeme Simsion – $A29.99 – $NZ 37 – Text Publishing Don Tillman, a professor of genetics, has a difficult time interacting with people generally and women specifically. He hasn’t even made it to a second date. Early on he explains it is because some women are late, which he hates, or that they don’t really understand the pragmatic and obvious things in life. For instance, at the end of one date, the woman suggests she’d like apricot ice cream.  Don insists that because all ice cream tastes essentially the same, owing to the chilling of the tastes buds, particularly fruit flavoured ones. He suggests a taste test to prove his point. “But by the time the serving person had prepared them, and I turned to ask Elizabeth to close her eyes for the experiment, she had gone.” Don decides that he wants to get married, though, and the best way to do this is to create a questionnaire and The Wife Project becomes his main focus. The reader knows that Don is autistic, on some level. He has a difficult time understanding and connecting to other individuals and recognising the importance of social rituals. He wants a woman who is punctual, doesn’t smoke, is logical. Like him. Enter Rosie Jarman who is a barmaid, late, drinks, smokes, and is on a quest to find out who her father is. Don becomes intrigued by The Father Project, as he dubs it, and then by Rosie herself. The hardest part of the book was understanding how Don connects with Rosie. We’re told that he does and I found Rosie fun as a reader, but it was difficult to find consistency with Don “all ice creams are the same why are you leaving upset?” with Don “I don’t care that you violate every principle that I […]

By Paul McMahon Profile Books  Agriculture seldom makes headlines and when it does, it struggles to sustain its high profile. It is easy to forget that all development is founded on agriculture and the success of nations depends on food security: as Paul McMahon writes in Feeding frenzy, there would have been no pyramids without full granaries. Yet despite clear signs that global food production and distribution is teetering on the edge of crisis, attention is directed to other priorities.  McMahon sets the scene with a review of the history of the global food system and the underlying causes of the recent turmoil in food markets. Much of this will be familiar ground for New Agriculturist readers but worth reading for the lively if astringent analysis. He concludes that the world could feed 8 billion or more without awaiting silver bullets from genetic modification and miracle seeds. It’s just that: “So far we have spectacularly failed to construct a just global food system – this is why one in eight people go hungry while one in five is overweight.” McMahon has travelled widely and authored major reports on sustainable food systems for the FAO. He is also an advisor to The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit. He believes that sub-Saharan Africa is Ground Zero for many of the food production challenges discussed in this book but goes on to write, “Sub-Saharan Africa has enormous potential to increase production with more than 750 million hectares of suitable land that could be brought into production and the potential to triple yields.” The author is convinced that the answer lies in two major themes: “The first is the need to help small farmers in poor countries produce more food. The second theme is the importance of switching to agro-ecological farming systems that […]