Kyle Russell
Always learning | asset generation for game studios @PlaybyteInc | Previously: drones @SkydioHQ VC @a16z writer @TechCrunch
170+ Book Recommendations by Kyle Russell
The Money Illusion
Scott Sumner
@gbrl_dick This is probably newer than what you’re thinking of https://t.co/U7mokd41tf
The Cabinet
Un-su Kim
Book 24 Lesson: We’d be astounded to know all the boobytraps of misfortune lain near our paths in life. https://t.co/WwVxS9wTqx
Rubicon
Tom Holland
Book 23 Lesson: Taboos around the use of power eventually become lines for the ambitious to cross to achieve glory https://t.co/GdRHgBkmsy
The Machiavellians
James Burnham
James Burnham describes in details the history of Machiavelli and the modern Machiavellians who have been using his ideas to influence modern political liberty.Book 18 Lesson: The masses never rule — a social revolution is really a rapid shift in the composition and structure of the ruling class in society, and the mechanism by which it draws from the ranks of the masses. https://t.co/ToJNX2XDAt
American Prometheus
Kai Bird
A portrait of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, discusses his role in the twentieth-century scientific world, as well as his roles as family man and head of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies.Highly recommend this Oppenheimer bio https://t.co/kR3RnHwwDM
The Long Ships (New York Review Books Classics)
Frans G. Bengtsson
A beloved Viking saga and masterpiece of historical fiction, The Long Ships is a high spirited adventure that stretches from Scandinavia to Spain, England, Ireland, and beyond. Frans Gunnar Bengtsson’s The Long Ships resurrects the fantastic world of the tenth century AD when the Vikings roamed and rampaged from the northern fastnesses of Scandinavia down to the Mediterranean. Bengtsson’s hero, Red Orm—canny, courageous, and above all lucky—is only a boy when he is abducted from his Danish home by the Vikings and made to take his place at the oars of their dragon-prowed ships. Orm is then captured by the Moors in Spain, where he is initiated into the pleasures of the senses and fights for the Caliph of Cordova. Escaping from captivity, Orm washes up in Ireland, where he marvels at those epicene creatures, the Christian monks, and from which he then moves on to play an ever more important part in the intrigues of the various Scandinavian kings and clans and dependencies. Eventually, Orm contributes to the Viking defeat of the army of the king of England and returns home an off-the-cuff Christian and a very rich man, though back on his native turf new trials and tribulations will test his cunning and determination. Packed with pitched battles and blood feuds and told throughout with wit and high spirits, Bengtsson’s book is a splendid adventure that features one of the most unexpectedly winning heroes in modern fiction.Book 16 Lesson: A man needs silver before he can go in search of gold. https://t.co/gHHGZDCiNy
Permutation City
Greg Egan
What happens when your digital self overpowers your physical self? A life in Permutation City is unlike any life to which you’re accustomed. You have Eternal Life, the power to live forever. Immortality is a real thing, just not the thing you’d expect. Life is just electronic code. You have been digitized, scanned, and downloaded into a virtual reality program. A Copy of a Copy. For Paul Durham, he keeps making Copies of himself, but the issue is that his Copies keep changing their minds and shutting themselves down. You also have Maria Deluca, who is nothing but an Autoverse addict. She spends every waking minute with the cellular automaton known as the Autoverse, a world that lives by the mathematical “laws of physics.” Paul makes Maria an offer to design and drop a seed into the Autoverse that will allow her to indulge in her obsession. There is, however, one catch: you can no longer terminate, bail out, and remove yourself. You will never be your normal flesh-and-blood life again. The question then becomes: Is this what she really wants? Is this what we really want? From the brilliant mind of Greg Egan, Permutation City, first published in 1994, comes a world of wonder that makes you ask if you are you, or is the Copy of you the real you? Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.Book 15 Lesson: Our explanations for how the world works affect us as much as or more than the actual forces of reality. https://t.co/sEDSR3ri1n
Diaspora
Greg Egan
Book 13 Lesson: We’re nowhere near the limits of problem solving power to be gained from new explanatory knowledge. https://t.co/XXs8fR2jp3
The Fabric of Reality
David Deutsch
Presents a synthesis of four areas of modern scientific theory--parallel universes, epistemology, evolution, and universal computation--showing how they are linked by the idea of multiple universesBook 12 Lesson: The whole game is life/consciousness vs heat death/Big Crunch. https://t.co/31PFqleway
Peak
Anders Ericsson
A survey of the psychology of expertise, providing techniques for developing mastery of any skill, drawn from the authors' extensive, pathfinding researchBook 11 Across nearly all measures of human performance, very few innate limits have been found on the upper bound that cannot be overcome with improvements to training practices https://t.co/6X2ROn6IzK
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
The sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission to save both humanity and the earth, Ryland Grace is hurtled into the depths of space when he must conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.@ntkeep I could go for a book a year where they have to science the shit out of things and show their napkin math
Made in Japan
Akio Morita
The chairman of the Sony Corporation discusses the rise of Sony, his extraordinary career as a businessman, and his views on the United States, Japan, and the world economy.Book 10 The strongest companies emerge from fierce competition that demands the ability to continuously identify technical breakthroughs and package them into products that deliver real value to people https://t.co/wkfRAgS8gF
The Scout Mindset
Julia Galef
"When it comes to what we believe, humans see what they want to see. In other words, we have what Julia Galef calls a "soldier" mindset. From tribalism and wishful thinking, to rationalizing in our personal lives and everything in between, we are driven to defend the ideas we most want to believe--and shoot down those we don't. But if we want to get things right more often, argues Galef, we should train ourselves to have a "scout" mindset. Unlike the soldier, a scout's goal isn't to defend one side over the other. It's to go out, survey the territory, and come back with as accurate a map as possible. Regardless of what they hope to be the case, above all, the scout wants to know what's actually true. In The Scout Mindset, Galef shows that what makes scouts better at getting things right isn't that they're smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else. It's a handful of emotional skills, habits, and ways of looking at the world--which anyone can learn. With fascinating examples ranging from how to survive being stranded in the middle of the ocean, to how Jeff Bezos avoids overconfidence, to how superforecasters outperform CIA operatives, to Reddit threads and modern partisan politics, Galef explores why our brains deceive us and what we can do to change the way we think"Book 9 We're naturally inclined to violently identify with and defend our beliefs, though we can become more effective by learning to hold them loosely and becoming comfortable with incrementally updating how we see the world over time https://t.co/6gBqNaav0p
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami
A clerk in a Tokyo of the near future works in an organization that controls the flow of information to society--employing electronic brainwashing and other insidious techniques--a job that contributes to his increasing sense of dehumanizationNew pickup https://t.co/vJZ4Uhurio
Print the Legend
Scott Eyman
Follows the legendary John Ford through a career that spanned more than five decades, drawing on dozens of personal interviews, material from Ford's estate, and film criticism.New pickup https://t.co/vJZ4Uhurio
Bird by Bird
Anne Lamott
A step-by-step guide to writing and managing the writer's life covers each portion of a written project, addresses such concerns as writer's block and getting published, and offers awareness and survival tips. Reprint. Tour.Book 8 Your great work waits for you on the other side of a shitty first draft. https://t.co/Smx0LYsF5n
Religion and the Rise of Capitalism
Benjamin M. Friedman
The author demonstrates that the foundational transition in thinking about what is now called economics, beginning in the 18th century, was decisively shaped by the hotly contended lines of religious thought within the English-speaking Protestant world.Book 7 The rational thinking that shapes our models emerges from the pre-rational thinking that shapes our worldviews https://t.co/TKdWWDoahf
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings
Philip A. Fisher
Widely respected and admired, Philip Fisher is among the most influential investors of all time. His investment philosophies, introduced almost forty years ago, are not only studied and applied by today's financiers and investors, but are also regarded by many as gospel. This book is invaluable reading and has been since it was first published in 1958. The updated paperback retains the investment wisdom of the original edition and includes the perspectives of the author's son Ken Fisher, an investment guru in his own right in an expanded preface and introduction "I sought out Phil Fisher after reading his Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits...A thorough understanding of the business, obtained by using Phil's techniques...enables one to make intelligent investment commitments." —Warren BuffetBook 6 No stock is due a period of high performance. Double down on companies that make a habit of creating new value by bringing existing strengths to bare on relevant adjacent opportunities https://t.co/H25YjDZPte
A Piece of the Action
Joe Nocera
@pm Relevant reading: https://t.co/S1IDQDviAu
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings
Philip A. Fisher
Widely respected and admired, Philip Fisher is among the most influential investors of all time. His investment philosophies, introduced almost forty years ago, are not only studied and applied by today's financiers and investors, but are also regarded by many as gospel. This book is invaluable reading and has been since it was first published in 1958. The updated paperback retains the investment wisdom of the original edition and includes the perspectives of the author's son Ken Fisher, an investment guru in his own right in an expanded preface and introduction "I sought out Phil Fisher after reading his Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits...A thorough understanding of the business, obtained by using Phil's techniques...enables one to make intelligent investment commitments." —Warren Buffet@varma_ashwin97 https://t.co/NBEqsOOY2X
Deficit Myth
Stephanie Kelton
A New York Times Bestseller The leading thinker and most visible public advocate of modern monetary theory -- the freshest and most important idea about economics in decades -- delivers a radically different, bold, new understanding for how to build a just and prosperous society. Stephanie Kelton's brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country. Kelton busts through the myths that prevent us from taking action: that the federal government should budget like a household, that deficits will harm the next generation, crowd out private investment, and undermine long-term growth, and that entitlements are propelling us toward a grave fiscal crisis. MMT, as Kelton shows, shifts the terrain from narrow budgetary questions to one of broader economic and social benefits. With its important new ways of understanding money, taxes, and the critical role of deficit spending, MMT redefines how to responsibly use our resources so that we can maximize our potential as a society. MMT gives us the power to imagine a new politics and a new economy and move from a narrative of scarcity to one of opportunity.Book 5 There’s a compelling line of argument that the only spending limit for a currency issuer like the US is inflation as you run up against actual resource constraints — but the last year makes me question the author’s assumed slack in the economy https://t.co/0M1bDAamFb
More Money Than God
Sebastian Mallaby
Chronicles the evolution of hedge funds from their origins in the 1960s to their status in the recent economic crisis, discussing the contributions of key figures while offering insight into how they have weathered recent financial setbacks and are defining future trends. By the author of The World's Banker. Reprint. A best-selling book.Also highly recommend his earlier book More Money Than God, which is about hedge funds https://t.co/xJJOnahra4
Deficit Myth
Stephanie Kelton
A New York Times Bestseller The leading thinker and most visible public advocate of modern monetary theory -- the freshest and most important idea about economics in decades -- delivers a radically different, bold, new understanding for how to build a just and prosperous society. Stephanie Kelton's brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country. Kelton busts through the myths that prevent us from taking action: that the federal government should budget like a household, that deficits will harm the next generation, crowd out private investment, and undermine long-term growth, and that entitlements are propelling us toward a grave fiscal crisis. MMT, as Kelton shows, shifts the terrain from narrow budgetary questions to one of broader economic and social benefits. With its important new ways of understanding money, taxes, and the critical role of deficit spending, MMT redefines how to responsibly use our resources so that we can maximize our potential as a society. MMT gives us the power to imagine a new politics and a new economy and move from a narrative of scarcity to one of opportunity.Paired reading for the next few weeks https://t.co/uCheE9ltMw
The Score Takes Care of Itself
Bill Walsh
Offers insights and best leadership principles from the successful coach of the San Francisco 49ers, explaining how he motivated people, crafted winning teams, and his words of wisdom such as “Believe in people,” and “Keep a short enemies list.”Book 3 for the year. The standards you hold yourself to today will drive the results you deliver tomorrow. https://t.co/CHcOvjI8m1
Made in Japan
Akio Morita
The chairman of the Sony Corporation discusses the rise of Sony, his extraordinary career as a businessman, and his views on the United States, Japan, and the world economy.This rules so far https://t.co/eHJJYPy99L
- A Dozen Lessons for Entrepreneurs shows how the insights of leading venture capitalists can teach readers to create a unique approach to building a successful business. By better understanding the views and experiences of a wide range of entrepreneurs, readers can discern which of many possible paths will lead to success.
Book 30 Lesson: The ideal flywheel a founder wants to create is a phenomenon where courage becomes self-reinforcing. https://t.co/INUm3zuCcD
Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother
Barry Sonnenfeld
Film and television director Barry Sonnenfeld's outrageous and hilarious memoir traces his idiosyncratic upbringing in New York City, his breaking into film as a cinematographer with the Coen brothers, and his unexpected career as the director behind such huge film franchises as The Addams Family and Men in Black, and beloved work like Get Shorty, Pushing Daises,and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Barry Sonnenfeld's philosophy is, "Regret the Past. Fear the Present. Dread the Future." Told in his unmistakable voice, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother is a laugh-out-loud memoir about coming of age. Constantly threatened with suicide by his over-protective mother, disillusioned by the father he worshiped, and abused by a demonic relative, Sonnenfeld somehow went on to become one of Hollywood's most successful producers and directors. Written with poignant insight and real-life irony, the book follows Sonnenfeld from childhood as a French horn player through graduate film school at NYU, where he developed his talent for cinematography. His first job after graduating was shooting nine feature length pornos in nine days. From that humble entrée, he went on to form a friendship with the Coen Brothers, launching his career shooting their first three films. Though Sonnenfeld had no ambition to direct, Scott Rudin convinced him to be the director of The Addams Family. It was a successful career move. He went on to direct many more films and television shows. Will Smith once joked that he wanted to take Sonnenfeld to Philadelphia public schools and say, "If this guy could end up as a successful film director on big budget films, anyone can." This book is a fascinating and hilarious roadmap for anyone who thinks they can't succeed in life because of a rough beginning.Book 29 Lesson: Be what you want to be — don’t blame your parents or anyone else for the steps you won’t take. https://t.co/EuaQYCmt8P
Children of Dune
Frank Herbert
Book Three in the Magnificent Dune Chronicles--the Bestselling Science Fiction Adventure of All Time The Children of Dune are twin siblings Leto and Ghanima Atreides, whose father, the Emperor Paul Muad'Dib, disappeared in the desert wastelands of Arrakis nine years ago. Like their father, the twins possess supernormal abilities--making them valuable to their manipulative aunt Alia, who rules the Empire in the name of House Atreides. Facing treason and rebellion on two fronts, Alia's rule is not absolute. The displaced House Corrino is plotting to regain the throne while the fanatical Fremen are being provoked into open revolt by the enigmatic figure known only as The Preacher. Alia believes that by obtaining the secrets of the twins' prophetic visions, she can maintain control over her dynasty. But Leto and Ghanima have their own plans for their visions--and their destinies....Book 28 Lesson: It is only in times of great change that we see that the living can escape the tracks their ancestors created for them, that all is permitted, all is possible. https://t.co/Nbun09YbPZ
The Wealth of Networks
Yochai Benkler
Describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing. The author shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people create and express themselves. He describes the range of legal and policy choices that confront.Book 27 Lesson: There are two primitive rewards for human beings in a social structure: economic standing and social standing, both measures of one's capacity to mobilize resources in said social context. https://t.co/NhLj9XNV79
The Geometry of Wealth
Brian Portnoy
How does money figure into a happy life? In The Geometry of Wealth, behavioral finance expert Brian Portnoy delivers an inspired answer, building on the critical distinction between being rich and being wealthy. While one is an unsatisfying treadmill, the other is the ability to underwrite a meaningful life, however one chooses to define that. Truly viewed, wealth is funded contentment. At the heart of this groundbreaking perspective, Portnoy takes readers on a journey toward wealth, informed by disciplines ranging from ancient history to modern neuroscience. He contends that tackling the big questions about a joyful life and tending to financial decisions are complementary, not separate, tasks. These big questions include: • How is the human brain wired for two distinct experiences of happiness? And why can money “buy” one but not the other? • What are the touchstones of a meaningful life, and are they affordable? • Why is market savvy among the least important sources of wealth but self-awareness is among the most? • How does one strike a balance between striving for more while being content with enough? This journey memorably contours along three basic shapes: A circle, triangle and square help us to visualize how we adapt to evolving circumstances, set clear priorities, and find empowerment in simplicity. In this accessible and entertaining book, Portnoy reveals that true wealth is achievable for many - including those who despair it is out of reach - but only in the context of a life in which purpose and practice are thoughtfully calibrated.Book 26 Lesson: A healthier relationship with money can be reached by orienting priorities and expectations toward specific sources of contentment you could fund with wealth. https://t.co/4MIlSVhi8d
The Sovereign Individual
James Dale Davidson
The authors identify both the likely disasters and the potential for prosperity inherent in the advent of the information age.Book 25 Lesson: Social outcomes are shaped by technological and economic progress. Familiarity with the mechanics of a new technology doesn’t improve our ability to predict its ultimate implications. https://t.co/gB0xX99jID
Blood of Elves (The Witcher, 1)
Andrzej Sapkowski
Soon to be a major Netflix original series! The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, becomes the guardian of Ciri, surviving heiress of a bloody revolution and prophesied savior of the world, in the first novel of the New York Times bestselling series that inspired the Netflix series and the blockbuster video games. For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf. Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as the Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world -- for good, or for evil. As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all. And the Witcher never accepts defeat. Witcher novelsBlood of ElvesThe Time of ContemptBaptism of FireThe Tower of SwallowsLady of the LakeSeason of Storms Witcher collectionsThe Last WishSword of Destiny The Malady and Other Stories: An Andrzej Sapkowski Sampler (e-only) Translated from original Polish by Danusia Stok.Book 24 Lesson: Those whose goal is war have never been held back by experience or analogy https://t.co/EoxNITy9vd
@generativist https://t.co/v3wwUq9JyE
About halfway through “Human as Media: The Emancipation of Authorship” https://t.co/QqTcCQadgb
Dune Messiah
Frank Herbert
Book Two in the Magnificent Dune Chronicles--the Bestselling Science Fiction Adventure of All Time Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known--and feared--as the man christened Muad'Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne--and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family's dynasty...Book 21 Lesson: “Power deludes those who use it. One tends to believe power can overcome any barrier, including one’s own ignorance.” https://t.co/nDjFCQ2x6D
The Molecule of More
Daniel Z. Lieberman
Why are we obsessed with the things we want only to be bored when we get them? Why is addiction perfectly logical to an addict? Why does love change so quickly from passion to indifference? Why are some people die-hard liberals and others hardcore conservatives? Why are we always hopeful for solutions even in the darkest times--and so good at figuring them out? The answer is found in a single chemical in your brain: dopamine. Dopamine ensured the survival of early man. Thousands of years later, it is the source of our most basic behaviors and cultural ideas--and progress itself. Dopamine is the chemical of desire that always asks for more--more stuff, more stimulation, and more surprises. In pursuit of these things, it is undeterred by emotion, fear, or morality. Dopamine is the source of our every urge, that little bit of biology that makes an ambitious business professional sacrifice everything in pursuit of success, or that drives a satisfied spouse to risk it all for the thrill of someone new. Simply put, it is why we seek and succeed; it is why we discover and prosper. Yet, at the same time, it's why we gamble and squander. From dopamine's point of view, it's not the having that matters. It's getting something--anything--that's new. From this understanding--the difference between possessing something versus anticipating it--we can understand in a revolutionary new way why we behave as we do in love, business, addiction, politics, religion--and we can even predict those behaviors in ourselves and others. In The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity--and will Determine the Fate of the Human Race, George Washington University professor and psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Georgetown University lecturer Michael E. Long present a potentially life-changing proposal: Much of human life has an unconsidered component that explains an array of behaviors previously thought to be unrelated, including why winners cheat, why geniuses often suffer with mental illness, why nearly all diets fail, and why the brains of liberals and conservatives really are different.Book 20 Lesson: Endless motivation tends to come with endless dissatisfaction https://t.co/LVqqp3lmB7
The Third Revolution
Elizabeth C. Economy
"A Council on Foreign Relations Book"--Title page.Book 19 Lesson: It’s not about ideology, it’s about constructing a narrative that keeps the Party in power. https://t.co/k8DrvL5wZG
Steering the Craft
Ursula K. Le Guin
A revised and updated guide to the essentials of a writer's craft, presented by a brilliant practitioner of the art Completely revised and rewritten to address the challenges and opportunities of the modern era, this handbook is a short, deceptively simple guide to the craft of writing. Le Guin lays out ten chapters that address the most fundamental components of narrative, from the sound of language to sentence construction to point of view. Each chapter combines illustrative examples from the global canon with Le Guin's own witty commentary and an exercise that the writer can do solo or in a group. She also offers a comprehensive guide to working in writing groups, both actual and online. Masterly and concise, Steering the Craft deserves a place on every writer's shelf.Book 18 Lesson: The story is not in the plot but in the telling. Every detail must tell. It is the telling that moves. https://t.co/RxcPJIFot1
The Conservative Sensibility
George F. Will
New York Times' Notable Book of 2019 Selection NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, an "astonishing" and "enthralling" (Booklist) new examination of how the Founders' belief in natural rights created a great American political tradition--"easily one of the best books on American Conservatism ever written" (Jonah Goldberg). For more than four decades, George F. Will has attempted to discern the principles of the Western political tradition and apply them to America's civic life. Today, the stakes could hardly be higher. Vital questions about the nature of man, of rights, of equality, of majority rule are bubbling just beneath the surface of daily events in America. The Founders' vision, articulated first in the Declaration of Independence and carried out in the Constitution, gave the new republic a framework for government unique in world history. Their beliefs in natural rights, limited government, religious freedom, and in human virtue and dignity ushered in two centuries of American prosperity. Now, as Will shows, conservatism is under threat--both from progressives and elements inside the Republican Party. America has become an administrative state, while destructive trends have overtaken family life and higher education. Semi-autonomous executive agencies wield essentially unaccountable power. Congress has failed in its duty to exercise its legislative powers. And the executive branch has slipped the Constitution's leash. In the intellectual battle between the vision of Founding Fathers like James Madison, who advanced the notion of natural rights that pre-exist government, and the progressivism advanced by Woodrow Wilson, the Founders have been losing. It's time to reverse America's political fortunes. Expansive, intellectually thrilling, and written with the erudite wit that has made Will beloved by millions of readers, The Conservative Sensibility is an extraordinary new book from one of America's most celebrated political writers.Book 17 Lesson: It is the mark of an educated mind to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits. https://t.co/KL0MU7tq5Z
Catching the Big Fish
David Lynch
A three-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker offers insight into his methods as an artist, discussing his long-time commitment to the practice of Transcendental Meditaion, his metaphorical creative process, and the ways in which he interacts with his surround world.@quantumVerd This is David Lynch's whole thing https://t.co/oD6VyL1sX9
The Age of Gold
H. W. Brands
A history of the people and commercial imperatives that contributed to the California gold rush discusses the massive influx of hundreds of thousands of people to the area, which became a state in record time, in a volume set against the political climate and national issues of the period. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.@generativist How about this from the same author? https://t.co/ffxGpgmE0V
American Colossus
H. W. Brands
From bestselling historian H. W. Brands, a sweeping chronicle of how a few wealthy businessmen reshaped America from a land of small farmers and small businessmen into an industrial giant.@generativist https://t.co/Nmp9MFJITY
The Great CEO Within
Matt Mochary
@brettberson https://t.co/jNjRgMvHdW
Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis
A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis's books. Uncovers common ground upon which all Christians can stand together.Book 16 Lesson: People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed. https://t.co/elHKncbT9A
The World of Yesterday
Stefan Zweig
"Austrian writer Stefan Zweig's final work, posted to his publisher the day before his tragic death, brings the destruction of a war-torn Europe vividly to life. Written as both a recollection of the past, and as a warning for future generations, The World of Yesterday recalls the golden age of literary Vienna; its seeming permanence, its promise, and its devastating fall. A truthful and passionate account of the horror that tore apart European culture, The World of Yesterday gives us insight into the history of a world brutally destroyed, written by a master at the height of his literary talent." -- Publisher's description.Book 15 Lesson: The young always seek a new form of expression that’s entirely their own. https://t.co/dSQ02R2ZYr
The Ministry for the Future
Kim Stanley Robinson
"From legendary science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined. Kim Stanley Robinson is one of contemporary science fiction's most acclaimed writers, and with this new novel, he once again turns his eye to themes of climate change, technology, politics, and the human behaviors that drive these forces. But his setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world--rather, he imagines a more hopeful future, one where humanity has managed to overcome our challenges and thrive. It is a novel both immediate and impactful, perfect for his many fans and for readers who crave powerful and thought-provoking sci-fi stories"--Book 14 Lesson: Revolution comes; not the expected one, but another, always another. https://t.co/qgiIdxs9vE
Why We're Polarized
Ezra Klein
America’s political system isn’t broken. The truth is scarier: it’s working exactly as designed. In this book, journalist Ezra Klein reveals how that system is polarizing us—and how we are polarizing it—with disastrous results. “The American political system—which includes everyone from voters to journalists to the president—is full of rational actors making rational decisions given the incentives they face,” writes political analyst Ezra Klein. “We are a collection of functional parts whose efforts combine into a dysfunctional whole.” In Why We’re Polarized, Klein reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity. Everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics. Over the past fifty years in America, our partisan identities have merged with our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities. These merged identities have attained a weight that is breaking much in our politics and tearing at the bonds that hold this country together. Klein shows how and why American politics polarized around identity in the twentieth century, and what that polarization did to the way we see the world and one another. And he traces the feedback loops between polarized political identities and polarized political institutions that are driving our system toward crisis. This is a revelatory book that will change how you look at politics, and perhaps at yourself.Shifting political identities and media distribution have shaped incentives such that it is irrational to pursue effective governance. https://t.co/flCaKMSPon
Ask Iwata
Hobonichi
"On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer." --Satoru Iwata Satoru Iwata was the former Global President and CEO of Nintendo and a gifted programmer who played a key role in the creation of many of the world's best-known games. He led the production of innovative platforms such as the Nintendo DS and the Wii, and laid the groundwork for the development of the wildly successful Pokémon Go game and the Nintendo Switch. Known for his analytical and imaginative mind, but even more for his humility and people-first approach to leadership, Satoru Iwata was beloved by game fans and developers worldwide. In this motivational collection, Satoru Iwata addresses diverse subjects such as locating bottlenecks, how success breeds resistance to change, and why programmers should never say no. Drawn from the "Iwata Asks" series of interviews with key contributors to Nintendo games and hardware, and featuring conversations with renowned Mario franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto and creator of EarthBound Shigesato Itoi, Ask Iwata offers game fans and business leaders an insight into the leadership, development and design philosophies of one of the most beloved figures in gaming history.Book 12 Lesson: Creativity is an expression of the ego. https://t.co/uFsQJDOAuZ
The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
Doing well with money isn’t necessarily about what you know. It’s about how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people. Money—investing, personal finance, and business decisions—is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don’t make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life’s most important topics.Book 11 Lesson: The most difficult financial skill to acquire is the ability to stop moving the goalpost for “enough” https://t.co/tpOkWJpGZi
Pictures at a Revolution
Mark Harris
Documents the cultural revolution behind 1967's five Best Picture-nominated films--"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The Graduate," "Doctor Doolittle," "In the Heat of the Night," and "Bonnie and Clyde"--and how they reflected beliefs about race, violence, and identity.You see this combination of outsiders + veterans at major inflection points in basically every industry. For instance, the birth of New Hollywood in the late 60s: https://t.co/5MZBg6voP7
Leisure
Josef Pieper
One of the most important philosophy titles published in the twentieth century, Joseph Pieper's Leisure, the Basis of Culture is more significant, even more crucial than it was when it first appeared fifty years ago. Pieper shows that Greeks understood and valued leisure, as did the medieval Europeans. He points out that religion can be born only in leisure. Leisure that allows time for the contemplation of the nature of God. Leisure has been, and always will be, the first foundation of any culture. He maintains that our bourgeois world of total labor has vanquished leisure, and issues a startling warning: Unless we regain the art of silence and insight, the ability for nonactivity, unless we substitute true leisure for our hectic amusements, we will destroy our cultureCand ourselves. These astonishing essays contradict all our pragmatic and puritanical conceptions about labor and leisure; Joseph Pieper demolishes the twentieth-century cult of Awork as he predicts its destructive consequences.Book 10 Lesson: Without something greater than ourselves to indulge in and celebrate, our time away from work becomes an anxiety-inducing pause in productivity. https://t.co/WylCVcqO1R
Annihilation
Jeff VanderMeer
Describes the 12th expedition to “Area X,” a region cut off from the continent for decades, by a group of intrepid women scientists who try to ignore the high mortality rates of those on the previous 11 missions. Original. 75,000 first printing.Book 9 Lesson: Pretending often leads to becoming a reasonable facsimile of what you mimic, ever if only from a distance. https://t.co/a8Sf4BNRFd
Super Pumped
Mike Isaac
Isaac delivers a gripping account of Uber's rapid rise, its pitched battles with taxi unions and drivers, the company's toxic internal culture, and the bare-knuckle tactics it devised to overcome obstacles in its quest for dominance.Book 8 Lesson: For better or for worse, companies embody the neuroses of their founders https://t.co/w4Mc4YeHkJ
No Filter
Sarah Frier
Award-winning reporter Sarah Frier reveals an inside, never-before-told, behind-the-scenes look at how Instagram defied the odds to become one of the most culturally defining apps of the decade. Since its creation in 2010, Instagram’s fun and simple interface has captured our collective imagination, swiftly becoming a way of life. In No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, technology reporter Sarah Frier explains how Instagram’s founders married art and technology to overcome skeptics and to hook the public on visual storytelling. At first, Instagram initially attracted artisans, but then the platform exploded in popularity among the masses, creating an entire industry of digital influencers that’s now worth tens of billions of dollars. Eighteen months after Instagram’s launch and explosive growth, the founders—Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger—made the gut-wrenching decision to sell the company to Facebook. For most companies, that would be the end of the story; but for Instagram, it was only the beginning. Instagram borrowed some lessons from Facebook and rejected others, until eventually its success stirred tension with Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, just as Facebook became embroiled in a string of public crises. Frier unearths the details that led to the cofounders’ departure, bringing to light dramatic moments unknown to the public until now. At its heart, No Filter draws on unprecedented exclusive access—from the founders of Instagram, as well as employees, executives, and competitors; hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio; Anna Wintour of Vogue; Kris Jenner of the Kardashian-Jenner empire; and a plethora of influencers, from fashionistas with millions of followers to owners of famous dogs worldwide—to show how Instagram has fundamentally changed the way we communicate, shop, eat, and travel. The book brings readers inside users’ strategies to craft their personal image and fame, explaining how the company’s product decisions have affected the structure of our society. From teenagers to the pope, No Filter tells the captivating story of how Instagram not only created a new industry but also changed our lives.Book 7 Lesson: Don't sell to Facebook if you want to stay in control of your company. https://t.co/sJh9RB8m9e
Physical Control of the Mind
Jose M. R. Delgado M.D.
@schlaf @patrick_oshag @zoink Highly recommend this book from the late 60s, which basically lays out all the interesting possibilities for using BCIs to program ourselves by, for instance, manipulating our sense of motivation to pick up new skills https://t.co/dOM3DCc1Wg
Two Cheers for Anarchism
James C. Scott
James Scott taught us what's wrong with seeing like a state. Now, in his most accessible and personal book to date, the acclaimed social scientist makes the case for seeing like an anarchist. Inspired by the core anarchist faith in the possibilities of voluntary cooperation without hierarchy, Two Cheers for Anarchism is an engaging, high-spirited, and often very funny defense of an anarchist way of seeing--one that provides a unique and powerful perspective on everything from everyday social and political interactions to mass protests and revolutions. Through a wide-ranging series of memorable anecdotes and examples, the book describes an anarchist sensibility that celebrates the local knowledge, common sense, and creativity of ordinary people. The result is a kind of handbook on constructive anarchism that challenges us to radically reconsider the value of hierarchy in public and private life, from schools and workplaces to retirement homes and government itself. Beginning with what Scott calls "the law of anarchist calisthenics," an argument for law-breaking inspired by an East German pedestrian crossing, each chapter opens with a story that captures an essential anarchist truth. In the course of telling these stories, Scott touches on a wide variety of subjects: public disorder and riots, desertion, poaching, vernacular knowledge, assembly-line production, globalization, the petty bourgeoisie, school testing, playgrounds, and the practice of historical explanation. Far from a dogmatic manifesto, Two Cheers for Anarchism celebrates the anarchist confidence in the inventiveness and judgment of people who are free to exercise their creative and moral capacities.Book 6 Lesson: Most revolutions don’t result from the success of revolutionary parties but from the accumulation of disorderly and undermining action from the bottom up https://t.co/I3my3AXIKt
Working Backwards
Colin Bryar
Working Backwards is an insider's breakdown of Amazon's approach to culture, leadership, and best practices from Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, two long-time, top-level Amazon executives...Book 4 Lesson: Remove impediments to building and morale will take care of itself. https://t.co/gniJzRo9kU
Troublemakers
Leslie Berlin
A narrative history of the Silicon Valley generation that launched five major high-tech industries in seven years details the specific contributions of seven technical pioneers and how they established the foundation for today's tech-driven world.Book 3 Lesson: Set the goal, hire the right technical people, and then step in only when necessary. https://t.co/ueyr8Zhb6D
Dieter Rams. Less But Better
Dieter Rams
The new edition of the benchmark work originally published by the Dieter and Ingeborg Rams Foundation and Jo Klatt. Less but Better does not set out to be a complete documentation of Dieter Rams's body of work, nor does it claim to tell the full story of the company Braun. Rather, the book explores the ideas, criteria, and methods behind Rams's creations and reveals how a shifting culture of product manufacturing gave rise to universal design benchmarks.Less, but better: https://t.co/vZgYoG09H3 https://t.co/TeDpeMOB6I
Leadership and Self-Deception
The Arbinger Institute
"Since its original publication in 2000, Leadership and Self-Deception has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Its sales continue to increase year after year, and the book's popularity has gone global, with editions now available in over twenty languages. Leadership and Self-Deception shows how the problems that typically prevent superior performance in organizations and cause conflicts in our personal lives are the result of a little-known problem called self-deception. People who are in self-deception live and work as if trapped in a box. They can't see the reality around them--they're blind to the self-serving motivations that are sabotaging them on the job and at home. But there is a way out. Through an entertaining and engaging story, Leadership and Self-Deception shows what self-deception is, how it operates, the damage it does, and, most importantly, what can be done about it.This third edition includes new research about the self-deception gap in organizations and the keys to closing this gap so that people take responsibility for their own problems and for organizational problems. It also includes the first chapter from Arbinger's latest bestseller, The Outward Mindset"--First book finished in 2021 is a @justinkan rec Lesson: When we fail to do things for others despite knowing we should, we warp our view of reality to make ourselves feel justified https://t.co/7bcfp6IMpI
A Promised Land
Barack Obama
In this anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency--a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.It’s good! https://t.co/5tm7udIobe
The Invaders
Pat Shipman
A Times Higher Education Book of the Week Approximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe-descendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals suddenly vanished. Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were identified in 1856, scientists have been vexed by the question, why did modern humans survive while their closest known relatives went extinct? "Shipman admits that scientists have yet to find genetic evidence that would prove her theory. Time will tell if she's right. For now, read this book for an engagingly comprehensive overview of the rapidly evolving understanding of our own origins." -Toby Lester, Wall Street Journal "Are humans the ultimate invasive species? So contends anthropologist Pat Shipman-and Neanderthals, she opines, were among our first victims. The relationship between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis is laid out cleanly, along with genetic and other evidence. Shipman posits provocatively that the deciding factor in the triumph of our ancestors was the domestication of wolves." -Daniel Cressey, NatureRecommend reading: https://t.co/I0MTDZ1blX
American Colossus
H. W. Brands
From bestselling historian H. W. Brands, a sweeping chronicle of how a few wealthy businessmen reshaped America from a land of small farmers and small businessmen into an industrial giant.Book 39 Lesson: Distributing ownership tends to evaporate the labor-capital distinction https://t.co/IuF9ToGh2L
Remix
Lawrence Lessig
Finished book 38 for the year Lesson: Network effect flywheels spin up fastest when users benefit others indirectly by directly getting something they want. https://t.co/I50Tuvg7aK
The Remix
Lindsey Pollak
The essential guide for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and employees looking to navigate today’s multigenerational workplace, which spans more generations than ever before. Millennials have only just begun their reign as the largest generation in the workplace. But they are not alone. For the next decade at least, these young professionals will be working side by side with more established generations, including the Baby Boomers who are working longer than ever, and an entirely new group coming up, Generation Z. This means within any organization, any team, any meeting, any marketing opportunity, you may find any combination of generations. Each of these age groups has their own attitude, expectations, and professional style. To lead and succeed in any organization today, you must adapt to how Millennials work, while continuing to accommodate their older colleagues and paying attention to the next generations coming up. The Remix shows you how to adapt and win through proven strategies that serve all generations’ needs. As the leading expert on generations in the workplace, Lindsey Pollak combines the most recent data from a variety of authoritative sources with her own original research, as well as detailed case studies from her Fortune 500 clients. Pollak outlines the ways businesses, executives, mid-level managers, employees, and entrepreneurs can handle situations that may arise when diverse styles clash and provides clear strategies to turn generational diversity into business opportunity. Generational change is impacting all industries, all types of organizations, and all leaders. The Remix is an essential read for anyone who wants to survive and thrive today and into the future.Have read very few 10 year predictions as spot on as this from @lessig in his 2008 book Remix https://t.co/OYVlASgz4S
A Consumers' Republic
Lizabeth Cohen
An illuminating social and political history describes how mass consumption and the pursuit of prosperity transformed American life during the second half of the twentieth century, detailing the rise of political activism through the civil rights and consumer movements, the suburbanization of metropolitan areas, the changing relationship of Americans with government, and more. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.@RebeccaSpang @NelsonMRosario A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America https://t.co/ztRqUAspsG
No Rules Rules
Reed Hastings
Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings reveals for the first time the unorthodox culture behind one of the world's most innovative, imaginative, and successful companies There's never before been a company like Netflix. Not only because it has led a revolution in the entertainment industries; or because it generates billions of dollars in annual revenue; or even because it is watched by hundreds of millions of people in nearly 200 countries. When Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix, he developed a set of counterintuitive and radical management principles, defying all tradition and expectation, which would allow the company to reinvent itself over and over on the way to becoming one of the most loved brands in the world. Rejecting the conventional wisdom under which other companies operate, Reed set new standards, valuing people over process, emphasizing innovation over efficiency, and giving employees context, not controls. At Netflix, adequate performance gets a generous severance and hard work is irrelevant. At Netflix, you don't try to please your boss, you give candid feedback instead. At Netflix, employees never need approval, and the company always pays top of market. When Hastings and his team first devised these principles, the implications were unknown and untested, but over just a short period of time they have led to unprecedented flexibility, speed, and boldness. The culture of freedom and responsibility has allowed the company to constantly grow and change as the world, and its members' needs, have also transformed. Here for the first time, Hastings and Erin Meyer, bestselling author of The Culture Map and one of the world's most influential business thinkers, dive deep into the controversial philosophies at the heart of the Netflix psyche, which have generated results that are the envy of the business world. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with current and past Netflix employees from around the globe and never-before-told stories of trial and error from his own career, No Rules Rules is the full, fascinating, and untold story of a unique company making its mark on the world.Book 36 Lesson: Increase the density of talent on your team and lead with context rather than top-down controls. A roster of high performers will figure out how to be most effective. https://t.co/FSv4nZyTjT
The Ride of a Lifetime
Robert Iger
Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it, and think bigger—think global—and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets. Twelve years later, Disney is the largest, most respected media company in the world, counting Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox among its properties. Its value is nearly five times what it was when Iger took over, and he is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful CEOs of our era. In "The ride of a lifetime," Robert Iger shares the lessons he’s learned while running Disney and leading its 200,000 employees, and he explores the principles that are necessary for true leadership.Book 35 Lesson: Longshots usually aren’t as long as they seem. With enough thoughtfulness and commitment, the boldest ideas can be executed. https://t.co/dpjOtJGheC
Managing Humans
Michael Lopp
Book 34 Lesson: Until you ship the Real 1.0, your Pitch, Process, and Product should rapidly evolve with new information. https://t.co/RC7dAeltma
Stanley Kubrick
David Mikics
Stanley Kubrick revolutionized Hollywood with movies like Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange, and electrified audiences with The Shining and Full Metal Jacket. David Mikics takes readers on a deep dive into Kubrick's life and work, illustrating his intense commitment to each of his films. Kubrick grew up in the Bronx, a doctor's son. From a young age he was consumed by photography, chess, and, above all else, movies. He was a self-taught filmmaker and self-proclaimed outsider, and his films exist in a unique world of their own outside the Hollywood mainstream. Kubrick's Jewishness played a crucial role in his idea of himself as outsider. Obsessed with rebellion against authority, war, and male violence, Kubrick was himself a calm, coolly masterful creator and a talkative, ever-curious polymath immersed in friends and family. Drawing on interviews and new archival material, Mikics for the first time explores the personal side of Kubrick's films.Book 33 Lesson: You can’t know in advance what pleasant surprises might come from the next iteration. Do it again. https://t.co/Em8aCVH2Xx
Cognitive Surplus
Clay Shirky
Explains how new media technologies are prompting a return from consumerism to collaboration, making predictions about imminent wide-scale creative innovations that will positively transform civilization.Book 32 Lesson: Increases in community size, decreases in cost of sharing, and increases in clarity all make knowledge more combinable. https://t.co/P9Ryg64zpK
- Matt Mochary coaches the CEOs of many of the fastest-scaling technology companies in Silicon Valley. With The Great CEO Within, he shares his highly effective leadership and business-operating tools with any CEO or manager in the world. Learn how to efficiently scale your business from startup to corporation by implementing a system of accountability, effective problem-solving, and transparent feedback. Becoming a great CEO requires training. For a founding CEO, there is precious little time to complete that training, especially at the helm of a rapidly growing company. Now you have the guidance you need in one book.
Book 31 Lesson: Teams with formal systems for having priorities flow from leadership to the team and feedback from the team to leadership will inevitably overcome those dependent on unfocused raw talent. https://t.co/ubM1MDL82d
7 Powers
Hamilton Helmer
7 Powers details a strategy toolset that enables you to build an enduringly valuable company. It was developed by Hamilton Helmer drawing on his decades of experience as a strategy advisor, equity investor and Stanford University teacher. This is must reading for any business person and applies to all businesses, new or mature, large or small.@sariazout 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy https://t.co/JtZzMf8HZX
The Manager's Path
Camille Fournier
Managing people is difficult wherever you work. But in the tech industry, where management is also a technical discipline, the learning curve can be brutal--especially when there are few tools, texts, and frameworks to help you. In this practical guide, author Camille Fournier (tech lead turned CTO) takes you through each stage in the journey from engineer to technical manager. From mentoring interns to working with senior staff, you'll get actionable advice for approaching various obstacles in your path. This book is ideal whether you're a new manager, a mentor, or a more experienced leader looking for fresh advice. Pick up this book and learn how to become a better manager and leader in your organization. Begin by exploring what you expect from a manager Understand what it takes to be a good mentor, and a good tech lead Learn how to manage individual members while remaining focused on the entire team Understand how to manage yourself and avoid common pitfalls that challenge many leaders Manage multiple teams and learn how to manage managers Learn how to build and bootstrap a unifying culture in teamsBook 30 Lesson: Be kind, not nice. Do the things that actually set people up to succeed, not just make them feel better in the moment. https://t.co/iibsXnoulK
UNWINDING
George Packer
Paints a picture of the last thirty years of life in America by following several citizens, including the son of tobacco farmers in the rural south, a Washington insider who denies his idealism for riches, and a Silicon Valley billionaire.Book 28 Lesson: Revolutionaries are often disappointed because an idea must be very small for people to give it a chance https://t.co/LeToHOLPtd
- Presenting visual thinking as a complex process that can be supported in every stage using specific design techniques, this text provides practical, task-oriented information for designers and software developers charged with design responsibilities.
New work books https://t.co/sXMKAGveCp
Designing with the Mind in Mind
Jeff Johnson
Early user interface (UI) practitioners were trained in cognitive psychology, from which UI design rules were based. But as the field evolves, designers enter the field from many disciplines. Practitioners today have enough experience in UI design that they have been exposed to design rules, but it is essential that they understand the psychology behind the rules in order to effectively apply them. In Designing with the Mind in Mind, Jeff Johnson, author of the best selling GUI Bloopers, provides designers with just enough background in perceptual and cognitive psychology that UI design guidelines make intuitive sense rather than being just a list of rules to follow. * The first practical, all-in-one source for practitioners on user interface design rules and why, when and how to apply them. * Provides just enough background into the reasoning behind interface design rules that practitioners can make informed decisions in every project. * Gives practitioners the insight they need to make educated design decisions when confronted with tradeoffs, including competing design rules, time constrictions, or limited resources.New work books https://t.co/sXMKAGveCp
- Matt Mochary coaches the CEOs of many of the fastest-scaling technology companies in Silicon Valley. With The Great CEO Within, he shares his highly effective leadership and business-operating tools with any CEO or manager in the world. Learn how to efficiently scale your business from startup to corporation by implementing a system of accountability, effective problem-solving, and transparent feedback. Becoming a great CEO requires training. For a founding CEO, there is precious little time to complete that training, especially at the helm of a rapidly growing company. Now you have the guidance you need in one book.
New work books https://t.co/sXMKAGveCp
Cognitive Surplus
Clay Shirky
Explains how new media technologies are prompting a return from consumerism to collaboration, making predictions about imminent wide-scale creative innovations that will positively transform civilization.New work books https://t.co/sXMKAGveCp
Modern Monopolies
Alex Moazed
What do Google, Snapchat, Tinder, Amazon, and Uber have in common, besides soaring market share? They're platforms - a new business model that has quietly become the only game in town, creating vast fortunes for its founders while dominating everyone's daily life. A platform, by definition, creates value by facilitating an exchange between two or more interdependent groups. So, rather that making things, they simply connect people. The Internet today is awash in platforms - Facebook is responsible for nearly 25 percent of total Web visits, and the Google platform crash in 2013 took about 40 percent of Internet traffic with it. Representing the ten most trafficked sites in the U.S., platforms are also prominent over the globe; in China, they hold the top eight spots in web traffic rankings. The advent of mobile computing and its ubiquitous connectivity have forever altered how we interact with each other, melding the digital and physical worlds and blurring distinctions between "offline" and "online." These platform giants are expanding their influence from the digital world to the whole economy. Yet, few people truly grasp the radical structural shifts of the last ten years. In Modern Monopolies, Alex Moazed and Nicholas L. Johnson tell the definitive story of what has changed, what it means for businesses today, and how managers, entrepreneurs, and business owners can adapt and thrive in this new era.Book 27 Lesson: Left unchecked, a network will deteriorate in quality of new users and quality of interactions between users. https://t.co/LmxahSykkK
Modern Monopolies
Alex Moazed
What do Google, Snapchat, Tinder, Amazon, and Uber have in common, besides soaring market share? They're platforms - a new business model that has quietly become the only game in town, creating vast fortunes for its founders while dominating everyone's daily life. A platform, by definition, creates value by facilitating an exchange between two or more interdependent groups. So, rather that making things, they simply connect people. The Internet today is awash in platforms - Facebook is responsible for nearly 25 percent of total Web visits, and the Google platform crash in 2013 took about 40 percent of Internet traffic with it. Representing the ten most trafficked sites in the U.S., platforms are also prominent over the globe; in China, they hold the top eight spots in web traffic rankings. The advent of mobile computing and its ubiquitous connectivity have forever altered how we interact with each other, melding the digital and physical worlds and blurring distinctions between "offline" and "online." These platform giants are expanding their influence from the digital world to the whole economy. Yet, few people truly grasp the radical structural shifts of the last ten years. In Modern Monopolies, Alex Moazed and Nicholas L. Johnson tell the definitive story of what has changed, what it means for businesses today, and how managers, entrepreneurs, and business owners can adapt and thrive in this new era.@sarthakgh The argument in Modern Monopolies (https://t.co/XNaLOL6TaA) is basically that rather than having efficient value chains in firms, we’ll have efficient marketplaces on platforms
Catching the Big Fish
David Lynch
"Bonus: interviews with Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr"--Cover.Book 26 Lesson: Everyone on the team is rehearsing until they get it right. Do an iteration, talk about it, help each other make sense of their parts and the whole, get closer to a common shared idea, and go again. https://t.co/2C7SGyAPqw
Cult of the Dead Cow
Joseph Menn
The shocking untold story of the elite secret society of hackers fighting to protect our privacy, our freedom, and even democracy itself. Cult of the Dead Cow is the tale of the oldest, most respected, and most famous American hacking group of all time. Though until now it has remained mostly anonymous, its members invented the concept of hacktivism, released the top tool for testing password security, and created what was for years the best technique for controlling computers from afar, forcing giant companies to work harder to protect customers. They contributed to the development of Tor, the most important privacy tool on the net, and helped build cyberweapons that advanced US security without injuring anyone. With its origins in the earliest days of the Internet, the cDc is full of oddball characters -- activists, artists, even future politicians. Many of these hackers have become top executives and advisors walking the corridors of power in Washington and Silicon Valley. The most famous is former Texas Congressman and current presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, whose time in the cDc set him up to found a tech business, launch an alternative publication in El Paso, and make long-shot bets on unconventional campaigns. Today, the group and its followers are battling electoral misinformation, making personal data safer, and battling to keep technology a force for good instead of for surveillance and oppression. Cult of the Dead Cow shows how governments, corporations, and criminals came to hold immense power over individuals and how we can fight back against them.@juliey4 @blakeir https://t.co/5X3QAvpLZx
Nation of Rebels
Joseph Heath
In this wide-ranging and perceptive work of cultural criticism, Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter shatter the most important myth that dominates much of radical political, economic, and cultural thinking. The idea of a counterculture -- a world outside of the consumer-dominated world that encompasses us -- pervades everything from the antiglobalization movement to feminism and environmentalism. And the idea that mocking or simply hoping the "system" will collapse, the authors argue, is not only counterproductive but has helped to create the very consumer society radicals oppose. In a lively blend of pop culture, history, and philosophical analysis, Heath and Potter offer a startlingly clear picture of what a concern for social justice might look like without the confusion of the counterculture obsession with being different.@juliey4 @blakeir https://t.co/5X3QAvpLZx
What the Dormouse Said
John Markoff
An analysis of the political and cultural forces that gave rise to the personal computer chronicles its development through the people, politics, and social upheavals that defined its time, from a teenage anti-war protester who laid the groundwork for the PC revolution to the imprisoned creator of the first word processing software for the IBM PC. Reprint.@juliey4 @blakeir https://t.co/5X3QAvpLZx
From Counterculture to Cyberculture
Fred Turner
@juliey4 @blakeir https://t.co/5X3QAvpLZx
In the Blink of an Eye
Walter Murch
In the Blink of an Eye is editor Walter Murch's essay of film editing. Starting with what might seem to be the most basic editing question - Why do cuts work? - he treats the reader to a marvelous "ride" through the esthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his insights on such subjects as continuity and discontinuity in editing, dreaming, and real life; the criteria of a good cut; and the blink of the eye as both an analog to and an emotional cue for the cut. New to this second edition is Murch's lengthy meditation on the current state of digital editing.Book 25 Lesson: Using the right technology in the right way for a particular project centers on finding the correct balance of pre-planning and spontaneity. https://t.co/xVcaD8689y
In the Blink of an Eye
Walter Murch
In the Blink of an Eye is editor Walter Murch's essay of film editing. Starting with what might seem to be the most basic editing question - Why do cuts work? - he treats the reader to a marvelous "ride" through the esthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his insights on such subjects as continuity and discontinuity in editing, dreaming, and real life; the criteria of a good cut; and the blink of the eye as both an analog to and an emotional cue for the cut. New to this second edition is Murch's lengthy meditation on the current state of digital editing.(Currently reading Murch) https://t.co/eH3C1pXOHC
Contagious
Jonah Berger
Explains why some products and ideas go "viral," citing the roles of word-of-mouth promotion and the Internet.Book 24 Lesson: People share things that evoke strong emotion, make them look more interesting, or carry practical value that will make them look helpful. They work out what things have these attributes by watching what others do and respond to in public spaces. https://t.co/3SVJ20ENvD
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin
"Intricate and extraordinary." - New York Times on The Fifth Season (A New York Times Notable Book of 2015) WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2016 This is the way the world ends...for the last time. A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy. For more from N. K. Jemisin, check out: The Inheritance Trilogy The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Broken Kingdoms The Kingdom of Gods The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus edition) Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (e-only short fiction) The Awakened Kingdom (e-only novella) Dreamblood Duology The Killing Moon The Shadowed Sun The Broken EarthThe Fifth SeasonThe Obelisk GateBook 23 Lesson: History is always relevant. https://t.co/8NjvK0VbXf
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin
"Intricate and extraordinary." - New York Times on The Fifth Season (A New York Times Notable Book of 2015) WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2016 This is the way the world ends...for the last time. A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy. For more from N. K. Jemisin, check out: The Inheritance Trilogy The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Broken Kingdoms The Kingdom of Gods The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus edition) Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (e-only short fiction) The Awakened Kingdom (e-only novella) Dreamblood Duology The Killing Moon The Shadowed Sun The Broken EarthThe Fifth SeasonThe Obelisk Gate@julien I’ve been recommended books by Brandon Sanderson, haven’t gotten to them Have you read The Fifth Season?
Stubborn Attachments
Tyler Cowen
If we want to continue on our trends of growth, and the overwhelmingly positive outcomes for societies that come with it, every individual must become more concerned with the welfare of those around us - and in the world at large and most of all our descendants in the future. So, how do we proceed? Tyler Cowen, in a culmination of 20 years of thinking and research, provides a roadmap for moving forward. Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals argues that our reason and common sense can help free us of the faulty ideas that hold us back as people and as a society. Cowen's latest book, at its heart, makes the contemporary moral case for economic growth and in doing so engenders a great dose of inspiration and optimism about our future possibilities.Book 22 Lesson: If we valued the lives of people in the future, we'd accelerate processes that bring compounding benefits and work harder to diminish processes that bring compounding costs https://t.co/sUFzVdS7GO
The New Jim Crow
Michelle Alexander
A tenth-anniversary edition of the iconic bestseller--"one of the most influential books of the past 20 years," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education--with a new preface by the author Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Most important of all, it has spawned a whole generation of criminal justice reform activists and organizations motivated by Michelle Alexander's unforgettable argument that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." As the Birmingham News proclaimed, it is "undoubtedly the most important book published in this century about the U.S." Now, ten years after it was first published, The New Press is proud to issue a tenth-anniversary edition with a new preface by Michelle Alexander that discusses the impact the book has had and the state of the criminal justice reform movement today.I read it before I started tracking books on Twitter, but I also highly recommend The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
How Asia Works
Joe Studwell
Book 21 Lesson: No significant economy has successfully developed through policies of free trade and deregulation. What works: capital accumulation through household farming, manufacturing focused on exports, and regulated banks supporting these efforts. https://t.co/NPy9JJ4H6q
Red Mars (Mars Trilogy)
Kim Stanley Robinson
Book 20 Lesson: Very few people ever bother to find out what other people really think. They are willing to accept whatever they are told about anyone sufficiently distant. https://t.co/D1buTI1iq5
Expert Political Judgment
Philip E. Tetlock
Since its original publication, Expert Political Judgment by New York Times bestselling author Philip Tetlock has established itself as a contemporary classic in the literature on evaluating expert opinion. Tetlock first discusses arguments about whether the world is too complex for people to find the tools to understand political phenomena, let alone predict the future. He evaluates predictions from experts in different fields, comparing them to predictions by well-informed laity or those based on simple extrapolation from current trends. He goes on to analyze which styles of thinking are more successful in forecasting. Classifying thinking styles using Isaiah Berlin's prototypes of the fox and the hedgehog, Tetlock contends that the fox--the thinker who knows many little things, draws from an eclectic array of traditions, and is better able to improvise in response to changing events--is more successful in predicting the future than the hedgehog, who knows one big thing, toils devotedly within one tradition, and imposes formulaic solutions on ill-defined problems. He notes a perversely inverse relationship between the best scientific indicators of good judgement and the qualities that the media most prizes in pundits--the single-minded determination required to prevail in ideological combat. Clearly written and impeccably researched, the book fills a huge void in the literature on evaluating expert opinion. It will appeal across many academic disciplines as well as to corporations seeking to develop standards for judging expert decision-making. Now with a new preface in which Tetlock discusses the latest research in the field, the book explores what constitutes good judgment in predicting future events and looks at why experts are often wrong in their forecasts.Book 19 Lesson: To improve judgement, draw on information from non-redundant sources and update your beliefs as you encounter unexpected evidence. https://t.co/VbHsK79YvC
Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson
John Boone, Maya Toitovna, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars in order to release moisture onto their desolate landscape.Today in books https://t.co/KPpM0bennJ
Radical Candor
Kim Scott
Featuring a new preface, afterword and Radically Candid Performance Review Bonus Chapter, the fully revised & updated edition of Radical Candor is packed with even more guidance to help you improve your relationships at work. 'Reading Radical Candor will help you build, lead, and inspire teams to do the best work of their lives.' Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In. If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all . . . right? While this advice may work for home life, as Kim Scott has seen first hand, it is a disaster when adopted by managers in the work place. Scott earned her stripes as a highly successful manager at Google before moving to Apple where she developed a class on optimal management. Radical Candor draws directly on her experiences at these cutting edge companies to reveal a new approach to effective management that delivers huge success by inspiring teams to work better together by embracing fierce conversations. Radical Candor is the sweet spot between managers who are obnoxiously aggressive on the one side and ruinously empathetic on the other. It is about providing guidance, which involves a mix of praise as well as criticism – delivered to produce better results and help your employees develop their skills and increase success. Great bosses have a strong relationship with their employees, and Scott has identified three simple principles for building better relationships with your employees: make it personal, get stuff done, and understand why it matters. Radical Candor offers a guide to those bewildered or exhausted by management, written for bosses and those who manage bosses. Drawing on years of first-hand experience, and distilled clearly to give practical advice to the reader, Radical Candor shows you how to be successful while retaining your integrity and humanity. Radical Candor is the perfect handbook for those who are looking to find meaning in their job and create an environment where people love both their work and their colleagues, and are motivated to strive to ever greater success.Book 18 Lesson: A work culture where criticism is given from a place of caring for one another’s success is scarier but safer. Members of the team feel where their behavior has been deficient, but it ultimately helps everyone get closer to achieving their goals. https://t.co/y9XAJjDZPp
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels
Jason Schreier
Book 17 Lesson: In intensely iterative creative processes, everything tends to come together at the last minute. https://t.co/fGDoNi4DKN
Against the Gods
Peter L. Bernstein
A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller "Ambitious and readable . . . an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism." —The New York Times "An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book." —The Wall Street Journal "A lively panoramic book . . . Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it." —Business Week "Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read." —The Economist "[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world." —Worth "No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." —Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers "With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it." —John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. "An extremely readable history of risk." —Barron's "Fascinating . . . this challenging volume will help you understand the uncertainties that every investor must face." —Money "A singular achievement." —Times Literary Supplement "There's a growing market for savants who can render the recondite intelligibly-witness Stephen Jay Gould (natural history), Oliver Sacks (disease), Richard Dawkins (heredity), James Gleick (physics), Paul Krugman (economics)-and Bernstein would mingle well in their company." —The AustralianBook 16 Lesson: Only the foolhardy take risks when the rules are unclear. https://t.co/RBc9ivbRfI
The Intelligent Investor
Benjamin Graham
@AdamSinger @scheplick @dougboneparth @followtheh The Intelligent Investor (for mindset, actual approach a bit outdated) The Little Book of Valuation Competitive Strategy
Competitive Strategy
Michael E. Porter
Now nearing its sixtieth printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity—like all great breakthroughs—Porter’s analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces. Porter introduces one of the most powerful competitive tools yet developed: his three generic strategies—lowest cost, differentiation, and focus—which bring structure to the task of strategic positioning. He shows how competitive advantage can be defined in terms of relative cost and relative prices, thus linking it directly to profitability, and presents a whole new perspective on how profit is created and divided. In the almost two decades since publication, Porter's framework for predicting competitor behavior has transformed the way in which companies look at their rivals and has given rise to the new discipline of competitor assessment. More than a million managers in both large and small companies, investment analysts, consultants, students, and scholars throughout the world have internalized Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries, understand competitors, and choose competitive positions. The ideas in the book address the underlying fundamentals of competition in a way that is independent of the specifics of the ways companies go about competing. Competitive Strategy has filled a void in management thinking. It provides an enduring foundation and grounding point on which all subsequent work can be built. By bringing a disciplined structure to the question of how firms achieve superior profitability, Porter’s rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century.@AdamSinger @scheplick @dougboneparth @followtheh The Intelligent Investor (for mindset, actual approach a bit outdated) The Little Book of Valuation Competitive Strategy
The Little Book of Valuation
Aswath Damodaran
@AdamSinger @scheplick @dougboneparth @followtheh The Intelligent Investor (for mindset, actual approach a bit outdated) The Little Book of Valuation Competitive Strategy
Against the Gods
Peter L. Bernstein
A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller "Ambitious and readable . . . an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism." —The New York Times "An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book." —The Wall Street Journal "A lively panoramic book . . . Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it." —Business Week "Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read." —The Economist "[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world." —Worth "No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." —Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers "With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it." —John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. "An extremely readable history of risk." —Barron's "Fascinating . . . this challenging volume will help you understand the uncertainties that every investor must face." —Money "A singular achievement." —Times Literary Supplement "There's a growing market for savants who can render the recondite intelligibly-witness Stephen Jay Gould (natural history), Oliver Sacks (disease), Richard Dawkins (heredity), James Gleick (physics), Paul Krugman (economics)-and Bernstein would mingle well in their company." —The Australian@marissa Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk https://t.co/BqWH3ARIFM The Iliad https://t.co/567k5nCM2D
The Iliad
Homer
A new translation of Homer's ancient masterpiece endeavors to instill the poetic nature of its original language while retaining accuracy, readability, and character vibrancy.@marissa Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk https://t.co/BqWH3ARIFM The Iliad https://t.co/567k5nCM2D
The Most Important Thing
Howard Marks
"This is that rarity, a useful book."--Warren Buffett Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. After four decades spent ascending to the top of the investment management profession, he is today sought out by the world's leading value investors, and his client memos brim with insightful commentary and a time-tested, fundamental philosophy. Now for the first time, all readers can benefit from Marks's wisdom, concentrated into a single volume that speaks to both the amateur and seasoned investor. Informed by a lifetime of experience and study, The Most Important Thing explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career. Utilizing passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world. Brilliantly applying insight to today's volatile markets, Marks offers a volume that is part memoir, part creed, with a number of broad takeaways. Marks expounds on such concepts as "second-level thinking," the price/value relationship, patient opportunism, and defensive investing. Frankly and honestly assessing his own decisions--and occasional missteps--he provides valuable lessons for critical thinking, risk assessment, and investment strategy. Encouraging investors to be "contrarian," Marks wisely judges market cycles and achieves returns through aggressive yet measured action. Which element is the most essential? Successful investing requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects, and each of Marks's subjects proves to be the most important thing.@blakeir Recently read his book "The Most Important Thing" and his worldview is like a relaxing salve
A History of the Bible
John Barton
In Western culture, the Bible is monolithic. John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. He further argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording - which is impossible to determine - and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.@dwr @sriramk @eriktorenberg 📚 A History of the Bible 📺 Ozark
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Neil Postman
Examines the ways in which television has transformed public discourse--in politics, education, religion, science, and elsewhere--into a form of entertainment that undermines exposition, explanation and knowledge, in a special anniversary edition of the classic critique of the influence of the mass media on a democratic society. Reprint.@BrianNorgard Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
The Wizard and the Prophet
Charles Mann
From the best-selling, award-winning author of 1491 and 1493--an incisive portrait of the two little-known twentieth-century scientists, Norman Borlaug and William Vogt, whose diametrically opposed views shaped our ideas about the environment, laying the groundwork for how people in the twenty-first century will choose to live in tomorrow's world. In forty years, Earth's population will reach ten billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be? Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups--Wizards and Prophets, as Charles Mann calls them in this balanced, authoritative, nonpolemical new book. The Prophets, he explains, follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in using more than our planet has to give, our prosperity will lead us to ruin. Cut back! was his mantra. Otherwise everyone will lose! The Wizards are the heirs of Norman Borlaug, whose research, in effect, wrangled the world in service to our species to produce modern high-yield crops that then saved millions from starvation. Innovate! was Borlaug's cry. Only in that way can everyone win! Mann delves into these diverging viewpoints to assess the four great challenges humanity faces--food, water, energy, climate change--grounding each in historical context and weighing the options for the future. With our civilization on the line, the author's insightful analysis is an essential addition to the urgent conversation about how our children will fare on an increasingly crowded Earth.@ryanlawler You're a prophet and I'm a wizard and that's ok https://t.co/PwtETOT42l
@JaceDeloney @krystaelaine https://t.co/uF2JRR1FNI
The Design of Everyday Things
Don Norman
Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious—even liberating—book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time. In this entertaining and insightful analysis, cognitive scientist Don Norman hails excellence of design as the most important key to regaining the competitive edge in influencing consumer behavior. Now fully expanded and updated, with a new introduction by the author, The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how—and why—some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.One thing I like to do to make the time I spend reading more valuable is to write up “book reports” distilling insights that might be valuable for the rest of my team. Here are my takeaways from “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman: https://t.co/h3PrbapzeE
The Mating Mind
Geoffrey Miller
Drawing on the latest research in evolutionary biology, a groundbreaking study of the link between evolution and human sexuality argues that the development of the human brain can be linked to the need to attract and win sexual partners. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.@micsolana That’s one of its functions https://t.co/390Y2wWDPT
Masters of Doom
David Kushner
Presents a dual biography of John Carmack and John Romero, the creators of the video games Doom and Quake, assessing the impact of their creation on American pop culture and revealing how their success eventually destroyed their relationship.“If you want to learn to code, read Masters of Doom, not O’Reilly’s C++ for beginners. Fall in love with the idea, so that you can spend more time doing what you love.” https://t.co/CgUetv5yGg
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Neil Postman
Examines the ways in which television has transformed public discourse--in politics, education, religion, science, and elsewhere--into a form of entertainment that undermines exposition, explanation and knowledge, in a special anniversary edition of the classic critique of the influence of the mass media on a democratic society. Reprint.Book 6 Lesson: Since the introduction of the telegraph, electronic media has pushed our discourse toward irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence by transforming important elements of our culture into entertainment products https://t.co/jda0oD9PP5
Who Is Michael Ovitz?
Michael Ovitz
"Michael Ovitz co-founded CAA in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. For most of the past two decades he has been a private investor and an advisor to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. This is his first book"--Book 2 Lessons: -The truth is the ultimate sales tool. -Favors come back around. -No conflict, no interest. https://t.co/ISNQ282cww
Creative Selection
Ken Kocienda
@sergeyma Creative Selection
Scale
Geoffrey West
"Visionary physicist Geoffrey West is a pioneer in the field of complexity science, the science of emergent systems and networks... Fascinated by issues of aging and mortality, West applied the rigor of a physicist to the biological question of why we live as long as we do and no longer. The result was astonishing, and changed science, creating a new understanding of energy use and metabolism: West found that despite the riotous diversity in the sizes of mammals, they are all, to a large degree, scaled versions of each other... West's work has been gaming changing for biologists, but then he made the even bolder move of exploring his work's applicability...and applied...[it] to the business and social world."--@fchollet I think about it in terms of scale: for systems to get larger, the support structures get larger and become more expensive to operate, but the net effect stays positive https://t.co/fQT8EiESnf
Leadership
Doris Kearns Goodwin
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “After five decades of magisterial output, Doris Kearns Goodwin leads the league of presidential historians. Insight is her imprint.”—USA TODAY “A book like Leadership should help us raise our expectations of our national leaders, our country and ourselves.”—The Washington Post “We can only hope that a few of Goodwin’s many readers will find in her subjects’ examples a margin of inspiration and a resolve to steer the country to a better place.”—The New York Times Book Review In this culmination of five decades of acclaimed studies in presidential history, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin offers an illuminating exploration of the early development, growth, and exercise of leadership. Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader? In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope. Leadership tells the story of how they all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times. No common pattern describes the trajectory of leadership. Although set apart in background, abilities, and temperament, these men shared a fierce ambition and a deep-seated resilience that enabled them to surmount uncommon hardships. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others. This seminal work provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field. In today’s polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency.@sunnyrjuneja Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Manufacturing Consent
Edward S. Herman
Examines the political role played by the media in shaping events, assesses the relationship between the media and the corporations that control and finance them, and discusses the fine distinctions between news and propaganda.Go 👏 read 👏 Chomsky 👏 https://t.co/97VfRyleEl
What You Do Is Who You Are
Ben Horowitz
Ben Horowitz, a leading venture capitalist, modern management expert, and New York Times bestselling author, combines lessons both from history and from modern organizational practice with practical and often surprising advice to help executives build cultures that can weather both good and bad times. Ben Horowitz has long been fascinated by history, and particularly by how people behave differently than you’d expect. The time and circumstances in which they were raised often shapes them—yet a few leaders have managed to shape their times. In What You Do Is Who You Are, he turns his attention to a question crucial to every organization: how do you create and sustain the culture you want? To Horowitz, culture is how a company makes decisions. It is the set of assumptions employees use to resolve everyday problems: should I stay at the Red Roof Inn, or the Four Seasons? Should we discuss the color of this product for five minutes or thirty hours? If culture is not purposeful, it will be an accident or a mistake. What You Do Is Who You Are explains how to make your culture purposeful by spotlighting four models of leadership and culture-building—the leader of the only successful slave revolt, Haiti’s Toussaint Louverture; the Samurai, who ruled Japan for seven hundred years and shaped modern Japanese culture; Genghis Khan, who built the world’s largest empire; and Shaka Senghor, an American ex-con who created the most formidable prison gang in the yard and ultimately transformed prison culture. Horowitz connects these leadership examples to modern case-studies, including how Louverture’s cultural techniques were applied (or should have been) by Reed Hastings at Netflix, Travis Kalanick at Uber, and Hillary Clinton, and how Genghis Khan’s vision of cultural inclusiveness has parallels in the work of Don Thompson, the first African-American CEO of McDonalds, and of Maggie Wilderotter, the CEO who led Frontier Communications. Horowitz then offers guidance to help any company understand its own strategy and build a successful culture. What You Do Is Who You Are is a journey through culture, from ancient to modern. Along the way, it answers a question fundamental to any organization: who are we? How do people talk about us when we’re not around? How do we treat our customers? Are we there for people in a pinch? Can we be trusted? Who you are is not the values you list on the wall. It’s not what you say in company-wide meeting. It’s not your marketing campaign. It’s not even what you believe. Who you are is what you do. This book aims to help you do the things you need to become the kind of leader you want to be—and others want to follow.Book 42 Lessons: Your culture is the set of norms that shape people’s decision-making when you aren’t around. Cultivate the virtues that you can embody and follow, and don’t let ethical principles go unsaid. https://t.co/nhvxMkdcSx
I Am a Strange Loop
Douglas R. Hofstadter
@okkkboomer Almost done reading I Am A Strange Loop, all about this and very good https://t.co/rdQPZ94WQ2
The Effective Executive
Peter F. Drucker
What makes an effective executive? The measure of the executive, Peter F. Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that mold them into results. Drucker identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can, and must, be learned: Managing time Choosing what to contribute to the organization Knowing where and how to mobilize strength for best effect Setting the right priorities Knitting all of them together with effective decision-making Ranging widely through the annals of business and government, Peter F. Drucker demonstrates the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious business situations.Book 41 Lesson: Organizations aren’t more effective because they have better people; they have better people because their standards, habits, and climate motivate self-development https://t.co/XOxwjsfobK
American Prometheus
Kai Bird
A portrait of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, discusses his role in the twentieth-century scientific world, as well as his roles as family man and head of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies.@skupor Book 37 Lesson: Beware those who conflate dissent with disloyalty. https://t.co/UQMYZs8VJB
Physical control of the mind
Jose Manuel Rodriguez Delgado
@Noahpinion Here’s a fun book on what will be possible from 1969 that still felt relevant when I read it last year Physical control of the mind: Toward a psychocivilized society https://t.co/CWoX3A3SVZ
Creating Customer Evangelists
Jackie Huba
When customers are truly thrilled about their experience with a product or service, they have the potential to become one of its influential evangelists. Savvy marketing professionals know that this group of true believers can be leveraged as a potent force to build word of mouth that leads to new customers. Creating Customer Evangelists explains how to develop marketing and sales strategies that create communities of passionate customers. By cultivating a dialogue and then creating emotion-driven relationships with customers, companies can inspire grassroots support. Creating Customer Evangelists shows how to convert good customers into exceptional ones who willingly spread the word. "Lessons of customer evangelism related through real life company stories make this book an absorbing read." -- Harvard Business School "I'll admit it: at first, I was a skeptic. But halfway through this savvy and compelling book, I became a convert. And by the time I'd turned the last page, I'd become an evangelist. Say it with me, brothers and sisters: customer evangelism is the future!" -- Dan Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind "An inspiring and thorough book packed with real life examples, action items and insight." -- Emanuel Rosen, author of The Anatomy of Buzz Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell, authors of Citizen Marketers, popularized the term "customer evangelism." The Seth Godin-edited New York Times bestseller The Big Moo featured them among 33 of "the world's smartest business thinkers."@skupor Book 36 Lesson: Listen to your customers and identify how your product/service or the buying experience around it could make their lives more fulfilling. Evangelism comes from wanting to share something that’s made your life better and could work for someone else too. https://t.co/85K87RD1fI
American Prometheus
Kai Bird
A portrait of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, discusses his role in the twentieth-century scientific world, as well as his roles as family man and head of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies.This came from reading Oppenheimer's bio, "American Prometheus" Curious — does anyone I know happen to have a book rec for something compiling famous physics papers + annotations or commentary on their significance? https://t.co/ERo1cfK5TP
Competitive Strategy
Michael E. Porter
Now nearing its sixtieth printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity—like all great breakthroughs—Porter’s analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces. Porter introduces one of the most powerful competitive tools yet developed: his three generic strategies—lowest cost, differentiation, and focus—which bring structure to the task of strategic positioning. He shows how competitive advantage can be defined in terms of relative cost and relative prices, thus linking it directly to profitability, and presents a whole new perspective on how profit is created and divided. In the almost two decades since publication, Porter's framework for predicting competitor behavior has transformed the way in which companies look at their rivals and has given rise to the new discipline of competitor assessment. More than a million managers in both large and small companies, investment analysts, consultants, students, and scholars throughout the world have internalized Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries, understand competitors, and choose competitive positions. The ideas in the book address the underlying fundamentals of competition in a way that is independent of the specifics of the ways companies go about competing. Competitive Strategy has filled a void in management thinking. It provides an enduring foundation and grounding point on which all subsequent work can be built. By bringing a disciplined structure to the question of how firms achieve superior profitability, Porter’s rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century.Book 33 Lesson: Strategy is an exercise in empathy and self-awareness: what can your rivals see, and what does that make them think and feel? What are your strengths and weaknesses, and what paths do they leave available to you? https://t.co/WC4ZojR9LQ
Pictures at a Revolution
Mark Harris
Documents the cultural revolution behind 1967's five Best Picture-nominated films--"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The Graduate," "Doctor Doolittle," "In the Heat of the Night," and "Bonnie and Clyde"--and how they reflected beliefs about race, violence, and identity.Book 30 Lesson: Building the new guard requires pairing determined outsiders with the most flexible members of the establishment. https://t.co/rimzn2lXDA
George Lucas
Brian Jay Jones
Others along these lines: George Lucas: A Life https://t.co/y93cYaDLiG The Age of Gold https://t.co/ffxGpgEeSt And I'm excited to get to Selling Sounds https://t.co/b1ErnB551j
The Age of Gold
H. W. Brands
A history of the people and commercial imperatives that contributed to the California gold rush discusses the massive influx of hundreds of thousands of people to the area, which became a state in record time, in a volume set against the political climate and national issues of the period. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.Others along these lines: George Lucas: A Life https://t.co/y93cYaDLiG The Age of Gold https://t.co/ffxGpgEeSt And I'm excited to get to Selling Sounds https://t.co/b1ErnB551j
Selling Sounds
David Suisman
Others along these lines: George Lucas: A Life https://t.co/y93cYaDLiG The Age of Gold https://t.co/ffxGpgEeSt And I'm excited to get to Selling Sounds https://t.co/b1ErnB551j
Pictures at a Revolution
Mark Harris
Documents the cultural revolution behind 1967's five Best Picture-nominated films--"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The Graduate," "Doctor Doolittle," "In the Heat of the Night," and "Bonnie and Clyde"--and how they reflected beliefs about race, violence, and identity.Found my new "recommends in every coffee meeting" book - "Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood," telling the stories behind the 5 Best Picture nominees in 1968 https://t.co/xpghc74OWy
A World Lit Only by Fire
William Manchester
@DevRelCallum A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance https://t.co/FYHa78VJ9r The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream https://t.co/HTxsDGKG6c
The Age of Gold
H. W. Brands
A history of the people and commercial imperatives that contributed to the California gold rush discusses the massive influx of hundreds of thousands of people to the area, which became a state in record time, in a volume set against the political climate and national issues of the period. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.@DevRelCallum A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance https://t.co/FYHa78VJ9r The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream https://t.co/HTxsDGKG6c
The Snowball
Alice Schroeder
A portrait of the life and career of investment guru Warren Buffett sheds new light on the man, as well as on the work, ideas, business principles, strategies, and no-nonsense insights that have guided his phenomenally successful business endeavors.@CaseyNewton @pt Basics: holds insurance premiums, actuary work lets them predict when they'll need to pay out, invest in the meantime A bit on it in The Snowball, but I'm sure there's a blog post somewhere that covers: https://t.co/eGI7iBlwzD
Surface Detail (Culture)
Iain M. Banks
Book 26 Lesson: All we ever are is a bit of the universe, thinking to itself. https://t.co/1US2S1JqwL
7 Powers
Hamilton Helmer
7 Powers details a strategy toolset that enables you to build an enduringly valuable company. It was developed by Hamilton Helmer drawing on his decades of experience as a strategy advisor, equity investor and Stanford University teacher. This is must reading for any business person and applies to all businesses, new or mature, large or small.@ganeumann Have you read 7 Powers? https://t.co/JtZzMfqiRv
The Diamond Age
Neal Stephenson
The story of an engineer who creates a device to raise a girl capable of thinking for herself reveals what happens when a young girl of the poor underclass obtains the device.@blakeir Read a few fun ones this year: The Diamond Age Hyperion Surface Detail (currently halfway through)
Cradle to Cradle
Michael Braungart
Book 23 Lesson: It’s not enough to delay the depletion of resources with improvements to efficiency. For the sake of future generations, we must design products and processes which nourish and replenish our environment. https://t.co/jTtki0ObCA
Cribsheet
Emily Oster
From the author of EXPECTING BETTER, an economist's guide to the early years of parenting With Expecting Better, award-winning economist Emily Oster spotted a need in the pregnancy market for advice that gave women the information they needed to make the best decision for their own pregnancies. By digging into the data, Oster found that much of the conventional pregnancy wisdom was wrong. In Cribsheet, she now tackles an even greater challenge: decision-making in the early years of parenting. As any new parent knows, there is an abundance of often-conflicting advice hurled at you from doctors, family, friends, and strangers on the internet. From the earliest days, parents get the message that they must make certain choices around feeding, sleep, and schedule or all will be lost. There's a rule--or three--for everything. But the benefits of these choices can be overstated, and the trade-offs can be profound. How do you make your own best decision? Armed with the data, Oster finds that the conventional wisdom doesn't always hold up. She debunks myths around breastfeeding (not a panacea), sleep training (not so bad!), potty training (wait until they're ready or possibly bribe with M&Ms), language acquisition (early talkers aren't necessarily geniuses), and many other topics. She also shows parents how to think through freighted questions like if and how to go back to work, how to think about toddler discipline, and how to have a relationship and parent at the same time. Economics is the science of decision-making, and CRIBSHEET is a thinking parent's guide to the chaos and frequent misinformation of the early years. Emily Oster is a trained expert--and mom of two--who can empower us to make better, less fraught decisions--and stay sane in the years before preschool.Book 22 Lesson: There is no perfect set of choices in parenting. The best you can do is to identify your preferences and constraints and make the best decision you can with available data. But definitely vaccinate. https://t.co/6D4vAyBwNo
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Shunryu Suzuki
The Zen master explains the practice, nature, and basic attitudes of Zen meditation.Book 21 Lesson: There is no certain way that exists permanently. Moment after moment, we have to find our own way. https://t.co/1AmP7pcWZ0
The Writers Journey
Christopher Vogler
This updated and revised third edition provides new insights and observations from Vogler's ongoing work on mythology's influence on stories, movies, and man himself. The previous two editons of this book have sold over 180,000 units, making this book a 'classic' for screenwriters, writers, and novelistsBook 16 Lesson: Stories are orientation devices, making us more aware of our identities and responsibilities to the world. They act on us by disorienting us into a state of suggestibility with frequent reversals of circumstance. https://t.co/2w13NJ6xIS
The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron
First published by Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam 1992.@mbmalabu Some reading that might encourage you: https://t.co/oQVx3DIcVa https://t.co/wDEt8VAts2 https://t.co/JSoZs4AaNI
Opening Up by Writing It Down, Third Edition
James W. Pennebaker
"Expressing painful emotions is hard--yet it can actually improve our mental and physical health. Distinguished psychologist James W. Pennebaker has spent decades studying what happens when people take just a few minutes to write about deeply felt personal experiences or problems. This lucid, compassionate book has introduced tens of thousands of readers to an easy to use self help technique that has been proven to heal old emotional wounds, promote a sense of well being, decrease stress, improve relationships, and boost the immune system. Updated with findings from hundreds of new studies, the significantly revised second edition now contains practical exercises to help readers try out expressive writing. It features extensive new information on specific health benefits, as well as when the approach may not be helpful"--@mbmalabu Some reading that might encourage you: https://t.co/oQVx3DIcVa https://t.co/wDEt8VAts2 https://t.co/JSoZs4AaNI
Japanese Mind
Roger J. Davies
and The Japanese Mind on my Kindle https://t.co/LO3Onxi3NO
The Writers Journey
Christopher Vogler
This updated and revised third edition provides new insights and observations from Vogler's ongoing work on mythology's influence on stories, movies, and man himself. The previous two editons of this book have sold over 180,000 units, making this book a 'classic' for screenwriters, writers, and novelistsBringing a paperback of The Writer's Journey https://t.co/QXXKN0AWKc
The Age of Gold
H. W. Brands
A history of the people and commercial imperatives that contributed to the California gold rush discusses the massive influx of hundreds of thousands of people to the area, which became a state in record time, in a volume set against the political climate and national issues of the period. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.Book 15 Lesson: California is forever in a Gold Rush: persistently cheerful, energetic, courageous, and teachable, but also careless, hasty, trusting in luck, and blind to our social duties. https://t.co/PJKUUTb9Bi
Seeing like a State
James C. Scott
Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields.@thogge The book Seeing Like a State is good, and lots written about the Fed along these lines, but don't know any canonical blog posts
Physical Control of the Mind
Jose M. R. Delgado M.D.
@bendreyfuss This book from 1970 raises pretty wild possibilities for tech like this. Not just giving you a "be happy" button, but even things like "feel hyped to sit down for 6 hours to learn this new skill" https://t.co/dOM3DCc1Wg
The Revolt of the Public
Martin Gurri
Riding a tsunami of information, the public has trampled on the temples of authority in every domain of human activity, everywhere. The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how ordinary people, gifted amateurs networked in communities of interest, have swarmed over the hierarchies of accredited professionals, questioned their methods, and shouted their failures from the digital rooftops. In science, business, media - and, pre-eminently, in politics and government - established elites have lost the power to command attention and set the agenda.The consequences have been revolutionary. Insurgencies enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere have mobilized millions, toppling dictators in Egypt and Tunisia, crushing the ruling Socialist Party in Spain, inspiring "Tea Parties" and "Occupations" in the United States. Trust in political authority stands at an all-time low around the world. The Revolt of the Public analyzes the composition of the public, the nature of authority and legitimacy, and the part played by the perturbing agent: information. A major theme of the book is whether democratic institutions can survive the assaults of a public that at times appears to be at war with any form of organization, if not with history itself.Book 13 Lesson: Humans tend to identify very narrow problems to solve instead of looking at systems holistically; our solutions change the context around those problems, so our actions implicitly have more unintended effects than intended. https://t.co/EJLFsW2OX6
Catastrophic Care
David Goldhill
"A visionary investigation that will change the way we think about health care- how and why it is failing, why expanding coverage will actually make things worse, and how our health care can be transformed into a transparent, affordable, successful system. n 2007, David Goldhill's father died from infections acquired in a hospital, one of more than two hundred thousand avoidable deaths per year caused by medical error. The bill was enormous and Medicare paid it. These circumstances left Goldhill angry and determined to understand how world-class technology and personnel could coexist with such carelessness and how a business that failed so miserably could be paid in full. Catastrophic Careis the eye-opening result. Blending personal anecdotes and extensive research, Goldhill presents us with cogent, biting analysis that challenges the basic preconceptions that have shaped our thinking for decades. Contrasting the Island of health care with the Mainland of our economy, he demonstrates that high costs, excess medicine, terrible service, and medical error are the inevitable consequences of our insurance-based system. He explains why policy efforts to fix these problems haveBook 12 Lesson: Once enacted, we must judge policies by their effects, not the intentions of their authors. https://t.co/29dl9q4tOc
The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron
First published by Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam 1992.@arizerg It's basically therapy, trying to surface how I feel about things and why. I've found that it reinforces/helps achieve the benefits of meditation See also: https://t.co/oQVx3DIcVa https://t.co/wDEt8VAts2 https://t.co/jFRiY4ESdB
Opening Up by Writing It Down, Third Edition
James W. Pennebaker
"Expressing painful emotions is hard--yet it can actually improve our mental and physical health. Distinguished psychologist James W. Pennebaker has spent decades studying what happens when people take just a few minutes to write about deeply felt personal experiences or problems. This lucid, compassionate book has introduced tens of thousands of readers to an easy to use self help technique that has been proven to heal old emotional wounds, promote a sense of well being, decrease stress, improve relationships, and boost the immune system. Updated with findings from hundreds of new studies, the significantly revised second edition now contains practical exercises to help readers try out expressive writing. It features extensive new information on specific health benefits, as well as when the approach may not be helpful"--@arizerg It's basically therapy, trying to surface how I feel about things and why. I've found that it reinforces/helps achieve the benefits of meditation See also: https://t.co/oQVx3DIcVa https://t.co/wDEt8VAts2 https://t.co/jFRiY4ESdB
The Writers Journey
Christopher Vogler
This updated and revised third edition provides new insights and observations from Vogler's ongoing work on mythology's influence on stories, movies, and man himself. The previous two editons of this book have sold over 180,000 units, making this book a 'classic' for screenwriters, writers, and novelistsReally enjoying this book on mythic structures in storytelling. Reading it is like a writing workshop and a therapy session all in one https://t.co/YwOrOmmptI
Impro
Keith Johnstone
First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.New books! https://t.co/u528JgSdOx
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Thomas S. Kuhn
A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were—and still are. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. Fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach. With The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don’t arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation but that the revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of “normal science,” as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age. This new edition of Kuhn’s essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introduction by Ian Hacking, which clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn’s ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking’s introduction provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.New books! https://t.co/u528JgSdOx
Taxing Wars
Sarah Kreps
Why have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq lasted longer than any others in American history? The conventional wisdom suggests that the move to an all-volunteer force and unmanned technologies such as drones have reduced the apparent burden of war so much that they have allowed these conflicts to continue almost unnoticed for years. Taxing Wars suggests that the burden in blood is just one side of the coin. The way Americans bear the burden in treasure has also changed, and these changes have both eroded accountability and contributed to the phenomenon of perpetual war. Sarah Kreps chronicles the entire history of how America has paid for its wars-and how its methods have changed. Early on, the United States imposed war taxes that both demanded sacrifices from all Americans and served as reminders of their participation. Indeed, thinkers from Immanuel Kant to Adam Smith argued that these reminders were exactly the reason why democracies tended to fight shorter and less costly wars. Bearing these burdens caused the populace to sue for peace when the costs mounted. Leaders in a democracy, responsive to their citizens, would have incentives to heed that opposition and bring wars to as expeditious an end as possible. Since the Korean War, the United States has increasingly moved away from war taxes. Instead, borrowing-and its comparatively less visible connection with the war-has become a permanent feature of contemporary wars. The move serves leaders well because reducing the apparent burden of war has helped mute public opposition and any decision-making constraints. But by masking accountability, however, the move away from war taxes undermines the basis for democratic restraint in wartime. Contemporary wars have become correspondingly longer and costlier as the public has become disconnected from those burdens. Given the trends identified in Taxing Wars, the recent past-epitomized by our lengthy wars in Afghanistan and Iraq-is likely to be prologue.Book 10 Lesson: Eliminating the mechanisms by which people felt the costs of war (draft, war taxes, introducing drones) has led to aimless conflicts with no predictable exit circumstances. https://t.co/QmgVQVTNZJ
The Odyssey
Homer
'The Odyssey is a poem of extraordinary pleasures: it is a salt-caked, storm-tossed, wine-dark treasury of tales, of many twists and turns, like life itself' Guardian The epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural and supernatural threats - ship-wrecks, battles, monsters and the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon - Odysseus must use his bravery and cunning to reach his homeland and overcome the obstacles that, even there, await him. E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey was the very first Penguin Classic to be published, and has itself achieved classic status. Translated by E. V. RIEU Revised translation by D. C. H. RIEU With an Introduction by PETER JONESReading The Odyssey and Hephaestus was an incel who thought Ares was a Chad https://t.co/T4JHHcYypa
Man and Technics
Oswald Spengler
In this new and revised edition of Oswald Spengler’s classic, Man and Technics, Spengler makes a number of predictions that today, more than eighty years after the book was first published, have turned out to be remarkably accurate. Spengler predicted that industrialisation would lead to serious environmental problems and that countless species would become extinct. He also predicted that labour from Third World countries would increasingly outcompete Western workers by doing the same work for much lower wages, and that industrial production would therefore move to other parts of the world, such as East Asia, India, and South America. According to Spengler, technology has not only made it possible for man to harness the forces of nature; it has also alienated him from nature. Modern technology now dominates our culture instead of that which is natural and organic. After having made himself the master of nature, man has himself become technology’s slave. ‘The victor, crashed, is dragged to death by the team’, Spengler summarises. Finally, Spengler foresaw that Western man would eventually grow weary of his increasingly artificial lifestyle and begin to hate the civilisation he himself created. There is no way out of this conundrum as the unrelenting progress of technological development cannot be halted. The current high-tech culture of the West is therefore doomed, destined to be consumed from within and destroyed. A time will come, Spengler writes, when our giant cities and skyscrapers have fallen in ruins and lie forgotten ‘just like the palaces of old Memphis and Babylon’. It remains to be seen if this last, and most dire, of Spengler’s prophecies will also come true.Book 8 Lesson: All great discoveries and inventions are expressions of personality by strong minds, not of the utilitarian thinking of the masses. https://t.co/ei2SCVzFuC
7 Powers
Hamilton Helmer
7 Powers details a strategy toolset that enables you to build an enduringly valuable company. It was developed by Hamilton Helmer drawing on his decades of experience as a strategy advisor, equity investor and Stanford University teacher. This is must reading for any business person and applies to all businesses, new or mature, large or small.I’m only halfway in but I can already tell I’m gonna preach 7 Powers with the zeal of the recently converted https://t.co/pCmGbgAwD6
The Diamond Age
Neal Stephenson
The story of an engineer who creates a device to raise a girl capable of thinking for herself reveals what happens when a young girl of the poor underclass obtains the device.Book 5 Lesson: Conformity and rebellion are paths for those who struggle to cope with contradiction and ambiguity. Changing a system from the inside requires subversiveness. https://t.co/lIRJsD0HMu
The Diamond Age
Neal Stephenson
The story of an engineer who creates a device to raise a girl capable of thinking for herself reveals what happens when a young girl of the poor underclass obtains the device.@mims Have you ever read The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson?
Why We Sleep
Matthew Walker
"Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity ... An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now ... neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming"--Amazon.com.Book 4 Lesson: We seriously interfere with the development and mental health of teenagers with early school start times. https://t.co/c8jaftD7pS
The Courage to Be Disliked
Ichiro Kishimi
“Marie Kondo, but for your brain.” —HelloGiggles “Compelling from front to back. Highly recommend.” —Marc Andreessen Reading this book could change your life. The Courage to Be Disliked, already an enormous bestseller in Asia with more than 3.5 million copies sold, demonstrates how to unlock the power within yourself to be the person you truly want to be. Is happiness something you choose for yourself? The Courage to Be Disliked presents a simple and straightforward answer. Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of nineteenth-century psychology alongside Freud and Jung, this book follows an illuminating dialogue between a philosopher and a young man. Over the course of five conversations, the philosopher helps his student to understand how each of us is able to determine the direction of our own life, free from the shackles of past traumas and the expectations of others. Rich in wisdom, The Courage to Be Disliked will guide you through the concepts of self-forgiveness, self-care, and mind decluttering. It is a deeply liberating way of thinking, allowing you to develop the courage to change and ignore the limitations that you might be placing on yourself. This plainspoken and profoundly moving book unlocks the power within you to find lasting happiness and be the person you truly want to be. Millions have already benefited from its teachings, now you can too.Book 3 Lesson: You don’t have to hold on to the trauma in your past. https://t.co/dP4LwfGLlW
A World Lit Only by Fire
William Manchester
Highly recommend A World Lit Only by Fire for two big reasons: 1) The stats/anecdotes on just how bad the medieval period was for your average person 2) The section of the book on the bloody revolutions caused by the printing press https://t.co/t2EZisSUYy
Book 2 Lesson: When generative systems can automatically create high-fidelity art, human creativity can move up a level of abstraction to adding and removing constraints from a system and curating output. https://t.co/UTquxRq8BS
Physical Control of the Mind
Jose M. R. Delgado M.D.
@dwr Assuming a SV audience: 1) Physical Control of the Mind: Toward a Psychocivilized Society 2) Never Leave Well Enough Alone 3) Clockspeed: Winning Industry Control In The Age Of Temporary Advantage 4) The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination 5) George Lucas: A Life
Never Leave Well Enough Alone
Raymond Loewy
One of hte nation's leading industrial designers discusses his own life and accomplishments, from creating the Studebaker to designing the packaging for Lucky Strikes. (Fine Arts)@dwr Assuming a SV audience: 1) Physical Control of the Mind: Toward a Psychocivilized Society 2) Never Leave Well Enough Alone 3) Clockspeed: Winning Industry Control In The Age Of Temporary Advantage 4) The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination 5) George Lucas: A Life
The Creators
Daniel J. Boorstin
@dwr Assuming a SV audience: 1) Physical Control of the Mind: Toward a Psychocivilized Society 2) Never Leave Well Enough Alone 3) Clockspeed: Winning Industry Control In The Age Of Temporary Advantage 4) The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination 5) George Lucas: A Life
Strategic Intuition
William Duggan Ph.D.
This holds for all processes involving creative breakthroughs See also: Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement https://t.co/yGXhw0olpC and The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination https://t.co/OXJO1N9aWO https://t.co/fUbzXI8Bad
The Creators
Daniel J. Boorstin
This holds for all processes involving creative breakthroughs See also: Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement https://t.co/yGXhw0olpC and The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination https://t.co/OXJO1N9aWO https://t.co/fUbzXI8Bad
The Ascent of Money
Niall Ferguson
Chronicles the evolution of finance from its origins in Mesopotamia to the modern world's most recent upheavals, covering such topics as the stock market bubble that prompted the French Revolution and the theories behind common investment vehicles.Book 46 Lesson: As a system operates for an extended period without crisis, it becomes harder to imagine a crisis occurring and the more traumatic a crisis will seem for a given level of severity. https://t.co/XCklP9gBZh
The Dream Machine
M. Mitchell Waldrop
At a time when computers were a short step removed from mechanical data processors, Licklider was writing treatises on "human-computer symbiosis," "computers as communication devices," and a now not-so-unfamiliar "Intergalactic Network." His ideas became so influential, his passion so contagious, that Waldrop coined him "computing's Johnny Appleseed." In a simultaneously compelling personal narrative and comprehensive historical exposition, Waldrop tells the story of the man who not only instigated the work that led to the internet, but also shifted our understanding of what computers were and could be.The only time I find myself actively trying to be contrarian is when I see several smart young techies all reading the same things at once I look forward to reading the Michael Ovitz book and The Dream Machine sometime mid-2019. I'll get to Stubborn Attachments on a vacation
The Mating Mind
Geoffrey Miller
Drawing on the latest research in evolutionary biology, a groundbreaking study of the link between evolution and human sexuality argues that the development of the human brain can be linked to the need to attract and win sexual partners. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.Similar to the thesis of The Mating Mind, that the evolution of the human brain/intelligence was accelerated by men wanting to woo mates and women evaluating their advances https://t.co/CXdq8DZmaj https://t.co/2FBYALxsbC
A World Lit Only by Fire
William Manchester
@eladgil @dwr If you're into the subject, loved the treatment here: https://t.co/8Ow41bkVyp
Wonder Boys
Michael Chabon
Book 42 Lesson: We can get trapped in the narratives we imagine around us. Reality is not a structured plot. https://t.co/zJk4LID38f