For a good read this summer, try these five books.
這個夏天想要享受閱讀的樂趣,不妨嘗試這五本書。
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. You know, A Gentleman in Moscow is just so clever. There's a lot of allusions to Russian literature and history. It's an amazing story because it manages to be a little bit of everything. It's kind of a fantastical romance. But it's kind of the real world, too.
Amor Towles 的《莫斯科紳士》。你知道,《莫斯科紳士》的構思相當巧妙。充滿俄國文學和歷史的各種指涉及典故。這本小說相當了不起,每個議題都觸碰到一些。有一點奇幻浪漫。但也很真實。
Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss. The public really does not want to go to war. But then, are we willing to defend our honor? It means that having a good president is very important. And you'd better hope that you'd have some good leaders when you get into war.
Michael Beschloss 的《戰爭總統》。人民真的不想打仗。但話說回來,我們願意為了國家榮譽而戰嗎?這意味有位好總統是至關重要的。最好也祈禱國家捲入戰爭時要有一些英明的領導者。
The Future of Capitalism by Paul Collier. There is a crisis for capitalism. Individualism has been taken too far. He introduces this notion of an ethical family, an ethical company and an ethical government. We have to be loyal to something. We have to have a group thing where we're not just out for ourselves.
Paul Collier 的《資本主義的未來》。資本主義陷入危機。個人主義走得太過頭了。Collier 引入家庭倫理、企業倫理、政府倫理的概念。告訴我們必須忠於某些事物。我們必須要有集體意識,而不只是各走各路。
Upheaval by Jared Diamond. He took examples of countries that actually had dealt with a problem and come out of it better off. He uses kind of psychological framework that actually works pretty well. He doesn't force you to have a negative or positive point of view. Will it work for what the U.S. is facing in terms of polarization? And just even by raising the question, he at least admits the possibility that it'll solve these problems.
Jared Diamond 的《動盪》。Diamond 舉了幾個在經歷動盪後,不僅順利走出還變得更好的國家作為例子。他以一種心理框架去分析討論國家面臨的危機,效果其實相當不錯。他不會強迫讀者去抱持負面或正面態度。這能幫助美國克服正面臨的兩極分化嗎?僅透過提出問題,他就至少承認這些問題是有辦法解決的。
Nine Pints by Rose George. She mostly wants to educate you about blood and what an important and interesting history there has been about it—the history of the blood supply, the different ways of gathering blood. Things like leeches where their ability to suck blood out is advantageous. I'm sure people will find that fascinating. Blood is so magical. It's an interesting thing to know about.
Rose George 的《九品脫》。 她主要想教導一些血液的知識,以及血液的一些重要有趣的歷史--像是血液供應的歷史、蒐集血液的不同方法等。而像是水蛭這種生物,牠們的吸血能力對我們是有利的。我相信大家會很感興趣。血液真的很神奇。去了解血液是一件很有趣的事。
So whether you read just one of these, or you read them all, I hope you find something you really enjoy.
不管你們只讀了其中一本,或者全部都讀,我都希望你們能從中獲得一些樂趣。