Via Flickr:
I met it in the moutains. I can just imagine how many good things it did before getting stuck in a lonesome place

Via Flickr:
Climate in mountains differs from the seaside. It’s mild. And the air is filled with pine smells

Via Flickr:
First part of the temple was built in the 5th century AC (Byzantine period)
Gothic appendix of the 14th century

They are translated to many languages including English and Russian.

It was helpful to read a wikipedia page on this travel account. It also contains a map of Rubrouck’s trip

Guillaume de Rubrouck’s route (1253-55) University of Washington (Feb 2006) http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/maps/rubruck.html

This time I wanted to read some of social studies, but less of economics. And this book perfectly fits my request.

I don’t know if authors are right or wrong. They criticize many theories I become a lively proponent. But without fear of being inconsistent I shall recommend it to my friends.

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty. 

By Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson.

The main idea is simple and well known: society arranges the way it lives. But the way authors get to this conclusion through history of different societies evolution and abrupt changes makes me see things happening in my motherland as well as in the world as a whole in different perspective.

As The Economist puts it:

…some governments get it wrong on purpose. Amid weak and accommodating institutions, there is little to discourage a leader from looting. Such environments channel society’s output towards a parasitic elite, discouraging investment and innovation. Extractive institutions are the historical norm. Inclusive institutions protect individual rights and encourage investment and effort. Where inclusive governments emerge, great wealth follows.

It helps me distinguish well constructed lie which well educated people pour on my via their propaganda in order to prove the extraction regime in this or that country.

I do love the possibility to download the book on my Kindle. It’s quick and convenient. But, come on… Why is the electronic version as 4 dollars as more expensive than a hardcover?

But apart from that, I encourage everyone to read this book.

I was upset when Yahoo bought it cause I understood it wouldn’t do any good with it. So recently I began receiving such messages instead of actual pictures:

I went to see solutions and I couldn’t find any reasonable one, which would fit my sharing routine.

Any ideas?