The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Rachel Verinder, a young English woman, inherits a large Indian diamond on her eighteenth birthday. It is a legacy from her uncle, a corrupt British army officer who served in India. The diamond is of great religious significance as well as being extremely valuable, and three Hindu priests have dedicated their lives to recovering it. The story incorporates elements of the legendary origins of the Hope Diamond (or perhaps the Orloff Diamond). Rachel’s eighteenth birthday is celebrated with a large party, at which the guests include her cousin Franklin Blake. She wears the Moonstone on her dress that evening for all to see, including some Indian jugglers who have called at the house. Later that night, the diamond is stolen from Rachel’s bedroom, and a period of turmoil, unhappiness, misunderstandings and ill-luck ensues. Told by a series of narratives from some of the main characters, the complex plot traces the subsequent efforts to explain the theft, identify the thief, trace the stone and recover it.

The book is available here

Five auto books to read for this month of August

From a tiny Swedish carmaker, Saab grew into one of the most recognized brands in the auto industry building truly inspired and captivating cars. Under GM umbrella, it entered into a slow but steady decline before going bankrupt in 2011. This book is about the carmaker and its evolution, its people and their ingenuity, its cars and their quirkiness, and its fans and their loyalty. It is about what had made this carmaker so special. The book can be found here

In less than a century, Jaguar grew from a tiny motorcycle sidecars manufacturer into one of of the leading luxury carmakers, surviving one World War, one oil crisis, and the Japanese invasion of the luxury segment. But that impressive growth and resiliency came at a price. Marketing replaced good engineering, branding won over product design, mass production and economies of scale took over craftmanship. Is the roaring Jaguar still alive? Will it be able to bounce again despite successive changes of owners? This book is a short account of the carmaker’s story, and the men behind it. The book can be found here.

For many years, Land Rover was synonymous with capable, good-value, and easy-to-maintain vehicles that served farmers and adventurers so well all over the world. But starting from the nineties, successive new owners stole the soul of the brand and made it into another luxury brand making opulent vehicles for "lifestyle" customers with a focus on marketing instead of products. Consequently the new models have lost their simplicity, good value, and reliability. They are now completely out of touch with their owners needs. Will Land Rover be able to recover what made it so original and thrive or will it join Rover, MG, and TVR in the list of extinct British automakers? The book can be found here

The Truth about Toyota and TPS explains how Toyota works and focuses on three areas: the production system and how it is built, the marketing of Toyota cars as being superior in quality and its ability to capitalize on this perception, and lastly the management of its workforce. However, behind the cast-iron reputation of the carmaker lays an obsolete organization struggling for survival in one of the auto industry most serious slumps. Will Toyota, the company that survived and succeeded through sixty years of competitive markets, be able to transform itself and prosper? Will it be able to reinvent the car of the 21st century and recover its supremacy? The book can be found here

In this book, Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, details how he got into business, the strategies that he used to become a wealthy and successful businessman, and what others can do by learning from the examples he has outlined. This book should be read by small business owners, business students and those interested in the history of the automobile. Henry Ford will take you through a journey of history, business and lessons to be learned from which he used to develop his financial empire. The book can be found here

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La civilisation des Arabes de Gustave Le Bon

"Au point de vue de la civilisation, bien peu de peuples ont dépassé les Arabes et l’on n’en citerait pas qui ait réalisé des progrès si grands dans un temps si court. Au point de vue religieux, ils ont fondé une des plus puissantes religions qui aient régné sur le monde, une de celles dont l’influence est la plus vivante encore. Au point de vue politique, ils ont créé un des plus gigantesques empires qu’ait connus l’histoire. Au point de vue intellectuel et moral ils ont civilisé l’Europe. Peu de races se sont élevées plus haut, mais peu de races sont descendues plus bas. Aucune ne présente d’exemple plus frappant de l’influence des facteurs qui président à la naissance des empires, à leur grandeur et à leur décadence."

Le livre est disponible ici 

Paradoxe sur le comédien de Denis Diderot

Paradoxe sur le comédien est un essai sur le théâtre rédigé sous forme de dialogue par Denis Diderot entre 1773 et 1777 et publié à titre posthume en 1830. Selon Diderot, qui s’oppose en cela à l’opinion générale de ses contemporains, l’acteur convaincant est celui qui est capable d’exprimer une émotion qu’il ne ressent pas. C’est le paradoxe : moins on sent, plus on fait sentir. Diderot expose deux sortes de jeux d’acteurs : (1) Jouer d’âme qui consiste à ressentir les émotions que l’on joue (2) Jouer d’intelligence qui repose sur le paraître et consiste à jouer sans ressentir. Ce paradoxe est le contraste entre l’expression du corps et l’absence d’émotion ressentie de la part de l’acteur, il joue sans éprouver. Il rit sans être gai, pleure sans être triste. L’acteur se sert de son corps comme d’un instrument. Le paradoxe du comédien met donc en évidence l’écart qui peut exister entre le corps et le psychisme (ce qui n’est pas somatique et relève de l’esprit et de l’intelligence).

Le livre est disponible ici

Biographie de l'auteur

Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784) est un écrivain, philosophe et encyclopédiste français des Lumières, à la fois romancier, dramaturge, conteur, essayiste, dialoguiste, critique d’art, critique littéraire, et traducteur.