Interview with Matt Cooper, author of Who Really Owns Ireland: How we became tenants in our own land - and what we can do about it
Matt Cooper, author of Who Really Owns Ireland: How we became tenants in our own land - and what we can do about it recommends a rake of daycent books! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Matt's book:
Description from Bookshop.org: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Who Really Owns Ireland: How we became tenants in our own land - and what we can do about it
JLeading journalist Matt Cooper examines the key players behind the scenes of Irish property ownership – who really controls the valuable land where we live, work and play and how did they acquire it? Who are the new foreign investors and why are they buying property and land in Ireland? What does it mean for ordinary citizens when the ownership of shopping centres, wind farms, forestry and data centres comes from outside?
Comprehensively researched and filled with riveting detail, this compelling account of the Irish property landscape is about our offices, hotels and pubs and the power of those wealthy enough to accumulate these properties. This eye-opening book is a must-read for anyone interested in Ireland and who really owns it.
Buy On:
Easons €15.99
Bookshop.org UK £18.04
Bookshop.org US $25.99
Blackwells £15.99
Waterstones £18.99
Wordery $23.34
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
Information Anxiety 2 by Richard Saul Wurman. Description from Waterstones: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
The concept of a 'smart thinking' book was not one I had thought of previously. But it made me think and there is one that I swear by: Information Anxiety 2 by Richard Saul Wurman. A very good friend of mine gave it to me nearly two decades ago and I return to it every now and again when I need to refocus as to doing my job correctly. It has a very unusual layout but it challenges the reader as to think about how he or she approaches each task in their job and I find it brilliant.
Information Anxiety 2
A follow up to the first edition, Information Anxiety 2 teaches critical lessons for functioning in today's Information Age. In this new book, Wurman examines how the Internet, desktop computing, and advances in digital technology have not simply enhanced access to information, but in fact have changed the way we live and work.
In examining the sources of information anxiety, Wurman takes an in-depth look at how technological advances can hinder understanding and influence how business is conducted.
Buy On:
Waterstones £21.99
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson. Description from Bookshop.org: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Other Information Anxiety 2 there wouldn’t be as such. However, I’d argue that nearly all good books assist in 'smart thinking'. So for a recent nomination I’d go for Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk. It got me thinking a lot about what is required in innovation and business practice but also in the treatment of other people, which is where Musk falls down very badly.
Elon Musk
From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of Elon Musk, the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era – a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter.
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue and charismatic fantasist.
His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive.
At the beginning of 2022 – after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth – Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. ‘I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,’ he said.
It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground.
For two years, Walter Isaacson had unprecedented access. He shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the question: are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?
Buy On:
Easons €25.99
Bookshop.org UK £26.60
Bookshop.org US $32.55
Blackwells £14.99
Waterstones £21.99
Wordery $27.46
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
Goalkeepers are different by Briann Glanville. Description from Abe Books: (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Now you got my thinking and this brings back a very good memory. I was obsessed by football (and most sports) as a child but also read a lot, borrowing every week from Cork City Library on Grand Parade. There was one book I checked in and out religiously and must have read dozens of times: Goalkeepers are Different by Brian Glanville. It was the story of a young goalkeeper on a fictional English league side, playing against the real teams of the era (1960s and 70s), written by one of the great football journalists (who I later had the opportunity to interview on radio about modern day, real, football).
Goalkeepers are different
Rising quickly to stardom, a young soccer player is hit hard by the realization that the life of a professional athlete is not always glamorous.
Buy On:
Abe Books $20.52
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
I prefer paper and only sometimes use my i-Pad, which is satisfactory to a point. I’m tempted to invest in a good Kindle, if only because I’ve run out of room at home for books. They’re on bookshelves in four different rooms but I’m out of space.
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
Hodges Figgis
I do like the enormous range of Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street in Dublin but also try to support my local bookstores in Rathmines, Dubray and Hanna’s.
Many thanks to Matt for recommending a rake of daycent books! Please don't forget to check out Who Really Owns Ireland: How we became tenants in our own land - and what we can do about it.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Gill (Who Really Owns Ireland: How we became tenants in our own land - and what we can do about it), Pearson Education (US) (Information Anxiety 2), Simon & Schuster Ltd (Elon Musk), Penguin Books (Goalkeepers are different).
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