Showing results by author "Swift Reads" in All Categories

This is a summary of How to Talk so Your Kids Will Listen & How to Listen so Your Kids Will Talk (1979), which is a guide for parents who want to effectively communicate with their children. The skills contained in the book can be learned and practiced by all parents and, when incorporated consistently, help parents and children build positive relationships with each other....

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time (originally published in 2002, and revised in 2017) is a self-help guide about the importance of frank, empathetic communication. Author Susan Scott believes that, too often, personal and professional conversations are unproductive, or even counter-productive. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1994) by Barack Obama chronicles his quest to understand how the varied threads of his upbringing, including his father’s absence and his multiracial and multinational roots, shaped him and his understanding of his place in the world. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 to Stanley Ann Dunham, a white woman, and Barack Obama Sr., a black economist from Kenya. Obama Sr. and Dunham met while studying at the University of Hawaii....

Women Who Love Too Much (1985) by marriage and family therapist Robin Norwood is a self-help book written for women who make their romantic partners and their partners’ needs central in their lives, at the expense of taking care of their own needs first. Norwood calls women with this propensity women who love too much and notes that they are most comfortable when they are self-sacrificing to help their partners. Get this in-depth summary to learn more.

What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers (1970) guides job-seekers through the process of finding fulfilling careers that utilize their individual talents and skills. First published in 1970, the book has been updated annually since 1985... Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.) 

 The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great (2019) explains how Western nations used philosophical and religious values to create governments that protect individual liberty while encouraging collective action. Author Ben Shapiro argues that countries like the United States became prosperous because they adhered to two primary sources of moral and intellectual thought: Judeo-Christian values and ancient Greek reason... 

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones (2018) by James Clear is a self-help book designed to drive behavior change over the long term. Built on the notion that small changes can spark powerful transformations, this practical volume explains what motivates human behavior with the goal of showing people how to improve their lives.... Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

In Leading Change (2012), long-time Harvard business professor John P. Kotter outlines his influential process to establish and secure permanent changes that will make any organization more efficient, successful, and competitive. Bringing change to an organization often entails high stakes. Success can revitalize a business and unlock new potential, but failure can doom a firm to years of stagnation. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

The Definitive Book of Body Language (2004) by body language experts Allan and Barbara Pease is a comprehensive guide to non-verbal communication. An expanded version of Allen Pease’s Body Language (1981), The Definitive Book of Body Language outlines the basics of body language, including expressions, gestures, and physical movements. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon.)

This is a summary of Michael E. Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It (2001), which explores the question of why so many small businesses don’t survive. The answer is simple, yet profound: because they don’t understand the work of running a business....

This is a summary of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert (1999), which provides married couples with a system for evaluating the health of their marriages, as well as tactics for reinvigorating those unions if they become unfulfilling.

This is a summary of Say Good Night to Insomnia (1998) by sleep doctor Gregg D. Jacobs. It is a primer on sleeplessness and how to correct it. Insomnia is a widespread problem that’s often treated with dangerous prescription drugs, if it’s treated at all....

This is a summary of The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life (2018) by leadership guru Robin Sharma. It is an inspirational work of fiction. Sharma uses the narrative of a fictional artist, entrepreneur, and tycoon to extol the virtues of rising early every morning.

Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men (2002) by domestic violence expert Lundy Bancroft is a nonfiction book for those who have experienced or are experiencing intimate partner violence and abuse. Why Does He Do That? outlines types of abuse, including physical, emotional, financial, verbal, and sexual abuse, and provides insight to shed light on the underlying reasons for abusive behaviors. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.) 

The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles (2005, updated for 10th anniversary in 2015) by cell biologist Bruce Lipton explores the power of the mind to influence health and well being. The Biology of Belief provides scientific proof that debunks the notion of fixed genetic inheritance, or that genes create reality. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

No-Drama Discipline by psychotherapists Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson explains how parents can diminish disorder while strengthening their child’s brain. The authors’ approach to discipline, based on the latest in neuroscience at the time of publication, enables parents to turn meltdowns, temper tantrums, and everyday frustrations into teachable moments that strengthen the parent-child relationship. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more.

Big Debt Crises (2018) by Ray Dalio is an economic primer based on the proprietary decision-making system used at the author’s hugely successful hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Financial crises across history tend to share certain features....Listen to this in-depth summary by Swift Reads to learn more.

The Hidden Brain (2009) by Shankar Vedantam explores the unconscious inclinations and pre-formed judgments that shape human behaviors. In public policy and in other disciplines that attempt to explain and predict how and why people act, the common assumption is that people make decisions consciously, referring to the facts they know and privileging reason over their emotions. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World (2018) examines the exploits of Jho Low, a Malaysian money launderer who organized the theft of at least $5 billion from a government fund meant to create jobs in the Southeast Asian country. Low used some of the money to forge connections with notable politicians in the Middle East, North America, and Asia. Purchase this in-depth summary to learn more. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts (2018) by social researcher and best-selling author Brené Brown explains how to create an organizational culture built upon principles of vulnerability, connection, and meaning. For 20 years, Brown has researched vulnerability, and Dare to Lead incorporates her extensive data around shame and its cure, empathy; in addition, she interweaves the results of a seven-year education project on vulnerability and leadership, which Brown designed and implemented…