[This Week's Books] 'Real Estate, Designed Despair' and 5 More Titles

◆Real Estate, Designed Despair = The author, a policy expert, reveals the existence of the "state" hidden behind the illusion of a real estate market that policies cannot tame and the pursuit of individual desires by citizens. The book uncovers the "pretended neutral policies" implemented by the executive branch, judiciary, financial supervisory agencies, and educational institutions, ranging from the selection of development zones and development subsidies to the expansion of roads and public services, as well as mortgage loan guarantees and tax credits. (Written by Richard Rothstein · Galapagos)

◆A Thousand Universes = Introducing myths hidden in various lesser-known regions, this book expands the limits of our imagination. It vividly tells the stories of people who, amid the harsh physiology of nature, fiercely survive, maintain their identity, and create numerous creation myths as a stepping stone to explore the meaning of the world. (Written by Anthony Aveni · Chusubat)

◆The Long Petals of the Sea = The protagonists who experienced the Spanish Civil War flee the fascist storm and exile themselves to Chile, on the other side of the world, embracing it as another homeland and putting down roots in a long journey narrated with the author's uniquely captivating prose. The title is taken from a line in the poem "Someday, Chile" by Chile's national poet Pablo Neruda, referring to their homeland Chile. (Written by Isabel Allende · Minumsa)

◆Complete Interpretation of the Tao Te Ching = The Tao Te Ching is one of China's greatest classics, compressing Taoist philosophy into about 5,000 characters. Its authorship and date of writing are unclear, and it has been passed down in various altered forms, resulting in many versions. This book reconstructs the original text as closely as possible, focusing on the widely read and long-studied "Wang Bi version," while also referencing the most recently discovered bamboo slips, white silk manuscripts, and the Ha Sang Gong version. (Written by Jang Chi-seong · Panmidong)

◆Confessions on the Dining Table = This is poet Lee Hyemi's first essay collection. She says, "Cooking is poetry written on a plate, and poetry is cooking presented on paper." This book, about her hobby and specialty?cooking?condenses writings on ingredients such as avocado, wild chives, carrots, and tomatoes, as well as the processes and broad reflections involved in making dishes like pasta, steak, cheese, soups, stews, and desserts. (Written by Lee Hyemi · Changbi)

◆The Art of Monopoly = The author argues that companies should pursue strategies to secure a monopolistic position rather than just sales. The book explains how to find monopoly opportunities earlier than others, maintain them, and cope with changes, using various real corporate cases. Since its publication in 2005, it has remained an unchanging classic in business strategy and is regarded as a must-read for investors. (Written by Milind M. Lele · Page2Books)

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