[Books of the Week] Everything Is Determined and More

Who does international law and sovereignty truly serve? Using the shocking international situation of 2026 as a starting point, this book confronts the uncomfortable reality that the world is moving more according to the logic of power than rules. It analyzes the workings of the international order by not just interpreting U.S. foreign intervention through the language of 'human rights' and 'justice,' but by also tracing the resource, energy, and geopolitical calculations underlying these actions. The conflicts surrounding Venezuela and Central and South America are also reframed-not as local issues, but as part of the larger currents of U.S.-China rivalry and hegemonic restructuring.

The book's strength lies in its ability to expand beyond individual incidents as isolated news stories, instead explaining them through their underlying strategies and structures. It presents international politics not as a moral dichotomy of good versus evil, but as a field where power, legitimacy, law, and interests intersect, demanding a clear-eyed perspective from the reader. However, the book’s true value is not in providing definitive answers, but in persistently questioning how today’s world order is justified and who is rewriting it. For readers who want to grasp the realities of hegemony, multipolarity, and international law all at once, this book offers compelling questions to consider. (Written by Lim Seungsoo | Jaum & Moum)

Starting a business is no longer just about having a good idea. This book realistically examines the entire startup process-from discovering an item to team building, business plan writing, and fundraising-based on the premise that while the rise of generative AI has lowered entry barriers, the environment for attracting investment and surviving has become more challenging. Rather than highlighting stories of success, it focuses on the causes of failure and the conditions necessary for survival. Candid expressions such as "It could be a dead sea, not a blue ocean," or "Outsourcing technology is like entrusting your heart to someone else," clearly illustrate the book's character.

Above all, this book does not romanticize startups. It objectively explains why the ability to solve small problems with certainty, the sense to distinguish between traffic and revenue, the capacity to manage risks, and the basic competencies required of a founder are all essential. It is closer to a practical guide for reducing the probability of failure than a vague encouragement to start a business. (Written by Lim Sungjun | Youno Books)

The belief that more data makes decision-making easier is often disproven in reality. The authors point out that more analysis does not guarantee better decisions; in fact, it can slow down execution and amplify the illusion of certainty. Thus, they do not pit data against intuition, but present a thinking method of quantitative intuition: defining the problem through questions, interpreting numbers in context, and making decisions that lead to action. The key is not to endlessly pursue the exact answer, but to make the best possible decision now, even with incomplete information.

The book's strength is that it goes beyond messaging to organize the entire decision-making process-questioning, analysis, synthesis, decision, and execution-into a single framework. It specifically addresses issues that leaders face in real situations, such as identifying invisible data, turning analysis into action, and setting criteria for judgment in times of crisis. Ultimately, this book is not just about reading data better; it also addresses how organizations can move away from endlessly postponing decisions due to data, and transform into organizations that act more quickly and with greater balance. (Written by Oded Netzer, Christopher Frank, Paul Magnone | Translated by Alex Jung | Secret House)

Humans believe they make their own choices, but the author directly challenges this belief. Sapolsky argues that our actions and judgments are formed by a continuous chain of uncontrollable factors-genes, prenatal environment, childhood experiences, hormones, and cultural conditions-concluding that free will is, in fact, close to a 'biological illusion.' As a result, the first half of the book is not a simple philosophical debate, but a relentless demonstration, using neuroscience, biology, and physics, that there is no room for free will to intervene.

The next part is even more intriguing. The book does not push the conclusion of no free will into personal nihilism; instead, it prompts readers to reconsider blame and retribution toward others. If neither success nor failure can be wholly attributed to an individual’s merit or fault, then society should focus more on protection and rehabilitation rather than punishment, and on the inequalities of circumstance rather than the celebration of meritocracy. While the book starts with provocative claims, its greatest strength is that, in the end, it enables us to understand humans more objectively and less cruelly. (Written by Robert M. Sapolsky | Translated by Yang Byungchan | Munhakdongne)

This novel follows the life of a woman who has long been overwhelmed by depression, anxiety, and self-loathing, depicting in detail how pain gradually erodes a person's relationships and self-esteem. The protagonist Martha sees herself as a flawed person and abandons her own life, but Meg Mason does not simply press forward with the heaviness of these emotions. Through sentences blending cynicism, humor, and self-deprecation, the author captures the interior struggles of a character enduring despair, making this work as much a record of survival as it is a chronicle of depression.

The virtue of this novel lies in not overly romanticizing recovery. It shows how people break down and barely manage to endure amid tangled relationships of family, love, marriage, jealousy, wounds, and compassion. Martha's transformation is less about dramatic healing and more about the slow, imperfect process of coming to understand herself and gradually leaning back toward life. Thus, although the novel does not offer easy hope, it convincingly demonstrates how the desire to live again can ultimately arise. (Written by Meg Mason | Translated by Lee Eunsun | Munhakdongne)

This book does not view power merely as the result of moral corruption, but dissects it as a psychological experience that changes cognition, emotion, and the way people relate to each other. It argues that those who hold power are more likely to become impulsive and insensitive, to stereotype others, and to overestimate their own control. Therefore, the book’s core is not the question, "Does power reveal true nature or corrupt?" but rather a scientific explanation of how power transforms human beings.

The author does not stop at simply criticizing power. While power can be a dangerous force that destroys individuals and organizations, when used responsibly, it can also be a constructive force that brings out others’ abilities and autonomy. Ultimately, this book is less about the techniques for gaining power and more about recognizing and managing its side effects, and about redesigning power toward empowerment rather than domination-a realistic psychology of power. (Written by Gakarsten Schermuly | Translated by Kwak Jiwon | Miraeui Chang)

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