OT - Another Book Thread
Been looking through Amazon reviews for 2 days and can't settle on anything. Looking for non-fiction and not political. I like Bios, business, sports, etc. Pretty much anything "real" and interesting. My last reads are:
Shoe Dog
Can't Hurt Me
Elon Musk
Bitcoin Billionaires
The Phenomenon
Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar is a really engaging non-fiction (but admittedly highly speculative) book. It reminds me a bit of Into Thin Air. It is about the little known, but very fascinating Dyatlov Pass incident in Russia. Really good read.
The Right Stuff
correct choice on this, and not close. wolfe's nonfiction is a blast to read.
That great book contains one of the best descriptions I've ever read:
Wolfe described an out-of-control aircraft tumbling out of the sky as having "the same glide angle as a set of car keys."
Seems like Bad Blood would be up your alley if you haven't read it yet.
I'd recommend it, especially if you haven't seen any of the documentary movies / footage yet, because then you can watch those and see how it compares vs. what you imagined while reading the book.
I went the other way on this one. I didn't care about the logistical details of how they were faking it (which Bad Blood covered extensively), I cared about 1.) how Holmes fooled investors and 2.) who Holmes was. It didn't cover that so much.
I liked the book, but your points are very true. I would like to know more about how she was able to so completely fool otherwise smart, good people. Couldn't have been just her looks, could it? Gawd, I hope not! I mean, she was pretty, but not that pretty...
Well her demo was "working" in their eyes and she must have been charismatic enough to be trust worthy
There was a lot going on. Frauds work because the audience wants them to be true. Hers had all the elements of the perfect Silicon Valley story: a great origin story (supposedly she was afraid of needles, which, probably not but it was well played, Stanford dropout reminiscent of Zuck and Gates dropping out of Harvard, etc), saying all the SV buzzwords ("disruptive," "change the world," etc), black turtlenecks, all the narrative elements.
Everything but the science. But the the Board was stocked with all-stars that didn't have any scientific expertise, so they couldn't call bullshit, but other scientists did. The ones I worked with were calling BS in 2013. That said, "fake it til you make it" is not the least bit unusual here and not considered a bad thing, it's just that usually it doesn't involve faking test results that could have a huge impact on someone's health.
She went to my high school in Houston, btw. It didn't surprise me. That place churns out a lot of eccentric smartypantses ("Rushmore" by alum Wes Anderson was filmed on campus and was kind of an homage to the school). Cough, cough. I guess she skipped the weekly chapel services where we talked about ethics, though.
I dunno. I sort of get this, fine. But:
- Didn't she have some major, major Stanford Engineering guy back her out of the gate? I recall he was the reason she got her first funding.
- Fine, the board didn't supervise her. But what I don't get are the outside investors. Like, I dunno, did nobody ever kick the tires? The book is really opaque on this, I think -- it touches Holmes's direct interactions with investors, but doesn't have much on their internal dynamics (funding decisions, etc) which was what I was really looking for.
- I mean, vaporware is real in SV for sure. But there's a reason MVP is a phrase there -- and she didn't have a VP years and years into development!
There is a story here, and it's one Bad Blood doesn't explore.
Boys in the Boat.
If you read it and don’t like it, I’ll eat a lemon tree.
I think you recommended this in another thread and had it marked. For some reason I don’t think I’m into it. I still have it marked though. Thanks.
Ha, I probably did. I’m that supportive! That being said, if you’re not feeling it, don’t push it and dislike it, I don’t think I could actually chow the lemon tree.
How about Flash Boys? That was fascinating/sort of infuriating look into the financial markets and folks leveraging nano-seconds to pilfer from one another.
I-rewatched Chernobyl on HBO over last weekend, and then stumbled on a great audiobook on the history of the accident on youtube not long after. I was listening to it as I was practicing and working on cooking projects.
Part 1-
Part 2-
Here's the link for a print version on Amazon-
I know it's kind of a harrowing subject, but I find the whole thing pretty fascinating.
On this theme, Chernobyl Prayer is very good (oral history of "nobodies" -- locals, firefighters, etc) involved with Chernobyl by a Nobel Prize winner. Highly recommended.
Here's what I'm currently reading and/or recently read:
"Backlash" by Brad Thor
"Trunk Music" by Michael Connelly
"Air Raid 3.0" by Rich Hargitt
"One Perfect Lie" by Lisa Scottoline
"The Passenger" by Lisa Lutz
"Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari
"One Perfect Lie" kinda sucks, but I like to finish the books I start, so I'll keep going. The rest are good.
Cant Hurt Me is a must read
I’ve read a lot of Bios but I’ve never wanted to meet and talk with someone so much after reading Can’t Hurt Me. I think about some of the quotes almost daily.
Ditto. Check out his instagram and interviews!
Not an Instagramer but follow him on Twitter. Wish he would use that more. His short videos are amazingly both motivating and hilarious at the same time.
No problem, I'm almost certain you can still view his page even without an IG account. He posts a ton of short vids that are great
Thanks for this rec. I used one of my audible credits for this one.
Be More Chill was a good read. If you like high school teenagers doing high school teenager things. Includes stuff you may not be comfortable with.
Dear Evan Hansen was a good book also.
Never Split the Difference is a great book, but doesn't sound like the genre you're after.
But if you're looking for business, development, or inspirational, I have lots of suggestions.
+1 on that one.
What are some of your favorites for business, persuasion, and development?
Some of mine that I've found to be very useful:
Never Split the Difference, by Voss
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Carnegie
You Can Negotiate Anything, by Cohen
How to Fail At Almost Everything and Still Succeed, by Adams
Drive, by Pink
The Power of Habit, by Duhigg
Influence, by Cialdini
Life in Half a Second, by Michalewicz
Bold, by Diamandis and Kotler
Some great titles and there and some I need to check out.
Traction - Gino Wickman
The Compound Effect - Darren Hardy
Completing Capitalism - Roche and Jakub (academic but the premise and concept are an amazing advance, IMO, to a system that badly needs updating)
The Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino
The Go Giver (whole series except "Sell More") - Burg and Mann
7L - The Seven Levels of Communication - Michael Maher (a bit dated, but the concept still applies)
Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
Thanks. I haven't read any of those -- will take a look.
For all of you golfers out there, A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein. Enlightening view of the PGA tour.
I'd recommend "The Match" to you, if you haven't read it already.
American Icon - about how Alan Mulally saved Ford, was a really good read with a fair amount of insight into the auto industry.
Barbarians at the Gate is an older book about the Nabisco-RJR merger, which was the first really big mega-merger. The book details how it came together, including a lot of info on all the big players.
Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street - sounds political, but it's not. Its a fact-based narrative of what happened, how, and why. And if you're not sided with big banks somehow, it's pretty sickening.
There are so many to choose from! I'm currently reading a Empire of Lights, about Edison and Westinghouse, and the others (Tesla, et all) in the early days of electrical lighting. Its packed with a lot of good, and interesting, information, but I don't really like the way the author writes (very flowery descriptions of everything, especially the way people are dressed) or narrated (slow and void of most emotion, with long, drawn out words). (Yes, I'm listening while commuting...)
As for biographies, I’m working my way through Chernow’s books. I’ve read Titan and Washington. I’m about to start Grant. They’re a bit dense and long, but very comprehensive and fascinating how complex these figures were (both positive and negative). If you like business, Titan might be a good fit (bio of Rockefeller).
If you like science, Bill Bryson has a few books that are interesting, fun, and well written. I’d start with “a short history of nearly everything”.
+1 on Short History of Everything. Awesome book, and it's great as an audiobook, too, with Bryson narrating.
Big fan of Chernow's work. I've devoured most of them. I really enjoyed the Grant book - so many things I didn't know about the man before I read Chernow's take.
A really good business/economics combo that I'm currently on the second half of:
-Uncanny Valley: A Memoir
-The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
The former kind of sets the table for the latter. Both extremely well-written, both giving me a better understanding of the tech economy.
Shoe Dog was fantastic.
I've read your first three and would suggest each of them. If I was to put them in order, I'd say Can't Hurt Me and Shoe Dog are a step up from Elon Musk. As far as description, Can't Hurt Me is inspirational and I was surprised at Phil Knight's writing ability. All good options.
The Outpost by Jake Tapper is a great one that I'm reading now. It's been made into a feature film that's releasing tomorrow.
For the workings of civilizations (and what enormous mistakes are made again and again), I have enjoyed:
Why Nations Fail, by Acemoglu and Robinson
Basic Economics, by Sowell
Civilization, by Furguson
Detroit: An American Autopsy, by LeDuff
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Gibbon (up through fall of Western Roman Empire)
Loved the LeDuff book.
A very interesting book that I'm going through right now on this point is "Fear City," which is about the NYC bankruptcy in the '70s and austerity politics in America. Really fascinating, very readable, super recommended. I think it's a totally underremembered event that set the tone in American politics for a long time.
Sowell is always great.
Detroit is a great book too.
Currently reading this. If you like true crime, or horror, or any sort of dark fiction this book is... OMG. I've read lots of true crime books including In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter and this is up there as a genre defining book.
The way they caught him is absolutely amazing. One of the greatest successful detective stories in history and a total testament to the power of hard work combined with forensic science.
HBO has a docuseries about this right now. First episode was solid.
Shoe Dog is a great business book. Very entertaining.
What I’ve been reading lately:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Dilbert Principle
The Fountainhead
Einstein’s Dreams
I’m reading/listening to “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah. Pretty good so far.
Big recommendation to The Emerald Mile if you love history, sport, etc.
Currently, I'm most of the way done with Charles Payne's book. "Unstoppable Prosperity", not a bad book if you are an investor. He points out mistakes he has made with his 30 years as being an investors and is a good book if you are just starting out purchasing stocks. Interesting that he grew up poor in Harlem and got interested in the stock market when he was a teenager, back in the early 80s when it was difficult to invest.
Anything by Walter Isaacson - very readable and informative
It's a novel but A Long Walk to Water is very good.
I think it was Mark Bixler who wrote the non-fiction work on the Lost Boys of Sudan.
That title reminds me of A Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography which is also very good.