Books on Abel G. Vidal

Never Split the difference: Chris Voss

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:02:54 +0100

I finished Chris Voss’s book “Never Split the Difference” where he shares his experience and techniques as an FBI hostage negotiator. It surprised me because I thought it would be much more “hardcore” but it’s actually about well-known communication concepts applied to conflict situations.

It’s the kind of book with ideas that seem simple and obvious but are hard to put into practice. The foundation of everything is: people want to feel understood and in control. These aren’t just preferences, they’re deep psychological needs. When someone feels ignored or cornered, their brain goes into defensive mode. The amygdala takes over and things generally get worse.

Franny and Zooey

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 20:02:54 +0100

Warning: This review contains spoilers

This book is special because it contrasts Zen teachings with 1950s consumer America.

We meet Franny Glass, a young woman who belongs to a family of gifted intellectuals. She feels overwhelmed by life’s superficiality and seeks answers in spirituality. The story is divided into two parts showing important moments in the lives of Franny and her brother Zooey.

A note about the author: Salinger was transformed by his experience in World War II, where he participated in D-Day and witnessed the horrors of concentration camps. Seeking inner peace, he moved to quiet New Hampshire, where he became deeply interested in Eastern philosophies and meditation practices.

Fooled by randomness

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 20:02:54 +0100

Fooled by randomness

These are my notes for the book “Fooled by Randomness” by Nassim Taleb.

The thesis of the book is that when we look at the past we find things that are not there, the past is much more random than our vision. This is called the Hindsight bias. So we have to be aware that when people relate the past usually they tend to create post-hoc rationalizations and retrofitted explanations.