[Books of the Week] "Truly Good Words" and More

Truly Good Words

This book weaves together the insights the author, a documentary writer, gained over 18 years on the road through encounters with people. It introduces words of comfort, insight, and wisdom from people of all walks of life, including a grandmother with Hansen's disease, a woman from an alleyway, an old man running a small island grocery store, a doctor in a neonatal intensive care unit, and a monk at an Islamic mosque in New York. What they all share is that they do not blame others or fall into pessimism. They even refrain from criticizing themselves. While facing a world full of pain and injustice, they discover 'the meaning of life' in daily moments and present 57 'languages of hope' drawn from those experiences. (Written by Park Jihyun | Maven)

World History Read Through Love

This book is written by a bestselling British author known for exploring unique topics, and this time, the focus is on 'love stories in artifacts.' It presents 50 strange love stories tied to relics throughout human history. The stories range from tales of gods of love around the world to love stories of historical figures. Fascinating examples include the origin of the heart symbol, the history of kissing, dueling customs to resolve marital disputes, and the erotic artifacts of Pompeii. Nearly 300 rare relic and artwork photographs bring these stories to life. (Written by Edward Brooke-Hitching | Hyundae Jiseong)

The Decline of the Human Empire

As shown by the precedent of the Roman Empire, the book unfolds from the premise that humanity's dazzling success also sows the seeds of its own destruction. The author provides a macro analysis of the rise and fall of Homo sapiens, from their emergence to the brink of extinction, and offers a perspective on the future. The author diagnoses that while humanity has risen to the status of a dominant species monopolizing Earth's resources, it now faces fatal crises such as climate change, resource depletion, and pandemics. The book boldly argues that humanity must look to space and seek new possibilities to ensure its survival. (Written by Henry Gee | Kachi Publishing)

How to Speak to Win Hearts

This book is based on a popular Harvard Business School lecture. The author emphasizes that even in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), where technology replaces humans, 'conversation' remains at the core of all business and human relationships. The book introduces 'topic, questions, lightness, and kindness' as methods for meaningful communication. The author asserts that only by adhering to these four core principles can one lead persuasive conversations that elicit cooperation from others. It presents ways to use 'conversation' as a powerful tool, grounded in psychology, behavioral science, and management theory. (Written by Alison Wood Brooks | Woongjin Knowledge House)

Musk Risk

This book on Elon Musk is written by a Washington Post technology journalist who has covered Tesla extensively and takes a notably critical perspective. Although Musk has risen to become one of the world's richest people as CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and the social networking service X (formerly Twitter), the author claims that Musk's unpredictable nature has caused significant harm to society. The book reconstructs fatal accidents involving Tesla's Autopilot self-driving system and provides a detailed analysis of the context surrounding Tesla's attempt to go private, the acquisition of Twitter, and more. (Written by Faiz Siddiqui | Saenggakui Him)

The Second Art History

Did Van Gogh really not sell a single painting in his lifetime? Did Da Vinci die in the arms of the King of France? The author brings a fresh perspective to stories that many may have heard at least once. The book breaks away from narratives centered on 'masters,' 'geniuses,' 'firsts,' 'originals,' 'men,' and 'the powerful,' and instead presents diverse stories based on the premise that art always 'goes beyond individual creation.' One notable example is the masterpiece 'The Birth of Venus,' which remained out of the spotlight for 400 years simply because it was considered 'amateurish.' (Written by Park Jaeyeon | Hankyoreh Publishing)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.