Brian's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 05 Feb 2025 22:49:44 -0800 60 Brian's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite]]> 7936425
Wealthy, powerful, and potentially dangerous, hedge fund moguls have become the It Boys of twenty-first ­century capitalism. Ken Griffin of Citadel started out trading convertible bonds from his dorm room at Harvard. Julian Robertson staffed his hedge fund with college athletes half his age, then he flew them to various retreats in the Rockies and raced them up the mountains. Paul Tudor Jones posed for a magazine photograph next to a killer shark and happily declared that a 1929-style crash would be "total rock-and-roll" for him. Michael Steinhardt was capable of reducing underlings to sobs. "All I want to do is kill myself," one said. "Can I watch?" Steinhardt responded.

Finance professors have long argued that beating the market is impossible, and yet drawing on insights from physics, economics, and psychology, these titans have cracked the market's mysteries and gone on to earn fortunes. Their innovation has transformed the world, spawning new markets in exotic financial instruments and rewriting the rules of capitalism.

More than just a history, More Money Than God is a window on tomorrow's financial system. Hedge funds have been left for dead after past financial panics: After the stock market rout of the early 1970s, after the bond market bloodbath of 1994, after the collapse of Long Term Capital Management in 1998, and yet again after the dot-com crash in 2000. Each time, hedge funds have proved to be survivors, and it would be wrong to bet against them now. Banks such as CitiGroup, brokers such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, home lenders such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, insurers such as AIG, and money market funds run by giants such as Fidelity-all have failed or been bailed out. But the hedge fund industry has survived the test of 2008 far better than its rivals. The future of finance lies in the history of hedge funds.]]>
496 Sebastian Mallaby 1594202559 Brian 0 currently-reading, finance 4.09 2010 More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite
author: Sebastian Mallaby
name: Brian
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2010
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<![CDATA[No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality]]> 1099821 344 Judith Rich Harris 0393329712 Brian 0 currently-reading 4.08 2006 No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality
author: Judith Rich Harris
name: Brian
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
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<![CDATA[Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth With Commentary by David Clark]]> 29868590
Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1924, Charlie Munger studied mathematics at the University of Michigan, trained as a meteorologist at Cal Tech Pasadena while in the Army, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School without ever earning an undergraduate degree. Today, Munger is one of America’s most successful investors, the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Warren Buffett’s business partner for almost forty years. Buffett says “Berkshire has been built to Charlie’s blueprint. My role has been that of general contractor.� Munger is an intelligent, opinionated businessman whose ideas can teach professional and amateur investors how to be successful in finance and life.

Like The Tao of Warren Buffett and The Tao of Te Ching, The Tao of Charlie Munger is a compendium of pithy quotes including, “Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant� and “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time—none, zero.� This collection, culled from interviews, speeches, and questions and answers at the Berkshire Hathaway and Wesco annual meetings, offers insights into Munger’s amazing financial success and life philosophies. Described by Business Insider as “sharp in his wit and investing wisdom,� Charlie Munger’s investment tips, business philosophy, and rules for living are as unique as his life story, intelligent as he clearly is, and as successful as he has been.]]>
256 David Clark 150115334X Brian 0 to-read 4.08 Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth With Commentary by David Clark
author: David Clark
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<![CDATA[The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers―Straight Talk on the Challenges of Entrepreneurship]]> 18176747
In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, draws on his own story of founding, running, selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology companies to offer essential advice and practical wisdom for navigating the toughest problems business schools don't cover. His blog has garnered a devoted following of millions of readers who have come to rely on him to help them run their businesses. A lifelong rap fan, Horowitz amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs and tells it straight about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, from cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to knowing the right time to cash in.

His advice is grounded in anecdotes from his own hard-earned rise—from cofounding the early cloud service provider Loudcloud to building the phenomenally successful Andreessen Horowitz venture capital firm, both with fellow tech superstar Marc Andreessen (inventor of Mosaic, the Internet's first popular Web browser). This is no polished victory lap; he analyzes issues with no easy answers through his trials, including demoting (or firing) a loyal friend;
whether you should incorporate titles and promotions, and how to handle them;
if it's OK to hire people from your friend's company; how to manage your own psychology, while the whole company is relying on you; what to do when smart people are bad employees; why Andreessen Horowitz prefers founder CEOs, and how to become one; whether you should sell your company, and how to do it.

Filled with Horowitz's trademark humor and straight talk, and drawing from his personal and often humbling experiences, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures.]]>
304 Ben Horowitz 0062273205 Brian 0 4.20 2014 The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers―Straight Talk on the Challenges of Entrepreneurship
author: Ben Horowitz
name: Brian
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2014
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<![CDATA[Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell]]> 42118073
Bill Campbell played an instrumental role in the growth of several prominent companies, such as Google, Apple, and Intuit, fostering deep relationships with Silicon Valley visionaries, including Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt. In addition, this business genius mentored dozens of other important leaders on both coasts, from entrepreneurs to venture capitalists to educators to football players, leaving behind a legacy of growing companies, successful people, respect, friendship, and love after his death in 2016.

Leaders at Google for over a decade, Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle experienced firsthand how the man fondly known as Coach Bill built trusting relationships, fostered personal growth—even in those at the pinnacle of their careers—inspired courage, and identified and resolved simmering tensions that inevitably arise in fast-moving environments. To honor their mentor and inspire and teach future generations, they have codified his wisdom in this essential guide.

Based on interviews with over eighty people who knew and loved Bill Campbell, Trillion Dollar Coach explains the Coach’s principles and illustrates them with stories from the many great people and companies with which he worked. The result is a blueprint for forward-thinking business leaders and managers that will help them create higher performing and faster moving cultures, teams, and companies.]]>
240 Eric Schmidt 0062839268 Brian 0 to-read 3.94 2019 Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell
author: Eric Schmidt
name: Brian
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
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On War 117031 On War is the most significant attempt in Western history to understand war, both in its internal dynamics and as an instrument of policy. Since the work’s first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, political leaders, and intellectuals. First published in 1976 and revised in 1984, Michael Howard and Peter Paret’s Princeton edition of Clausewitz’s classic work has itself achieved classic status and is widely regarded as the best translation and standard edition of On War in English. This feature-rich edition includes an essay by Paret on the genesis of Clausewitz’s book, an essay by Howard on Clausewitz’s influence, and an essay by Bernard Brodie on the continuing relevance of On War. In addition, Brodie provides a lengthy and detailed commentary on and guide to reading On War, and the edition also includes a comprehensive index.]]> 732 Carl von Clausewitz 0691018545 Brian 0 currently-reading, war 3.98 1832 On War
author: Carl von Clausewitz
name: Brian
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1832
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Strategy 305909 "The most important book by one of the outstanding military authorities of our time." � Library Journal
Ěý
This is the classic book on war as we know it. During his long life, Basil H. Liddell Hart was considered one of the world's foremost military thinkers--a man generally regarded as the "Clausewitz of the 20th century." Strategy is a seminal work of military history and theory, a perfect companion to Sun-tzu’s The Art of War and Carl von Clauswitz’s On War.

Liddell Hart stressed movement, flexibility, and surprise. He saw that in most military campaigns dislocation of the enemy's psychological and physical balance is prelude to victory. This dislocation results from a strategic indirect approach. Reflect for a moment on the results of direct confrontation (trench war in WW I) versus indirect dislocation (Blitzkreig in WW II). Liddell Hart is also tonic for business and political planning: just change the vocabulary and his concepts fit.]]>
448 B.H. Liddell Hart 0452010713 Brian 0 to-read 4.08 1941 Strategy
author: B.H. Liddell Hart
name: Brian
average rating: 4.08
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<![CDATA[Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive]]> 2208661
What one word can you start using today to increase your persuasiveness by more than fifty percent?
Which item of stationery can dramatically increase people's responses to your requests?
How can you win over your rivals by inconveniencing them?
Why does knowing that so many dentists are named Dennis improve your persuasive prowess?

Every day we face the challenge of persuading others to do what we want. But what makes people say yes to our requests? Persuasion is not only an art, it is also a science, and researchers who study it have uncovered a series of hidden rules for moving people in your direction. Based on more than sixty years of research into the psychology of persuasion, Yes! reveals fifty simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life, too.

Cowritten by the world's most quoted expert on influence, Professor Robert Cialdini, Yes! presents dozens of surprising discoveries from the science of persuasion in short, enjoyable, and insightful chapters that you can apply immediately to become a more effective persuader. Why did a sign pointing out the problem of vandalism in the Petrified Forest National Park actually increase the theft of pieces of petrified wood? Why did sales of jam multiply tenfold when consumers were offered many fewer flavors? Why did people prefer a Mercedes immediately after giving reasons why they prefer a BMW? What simple message on cards left in hotel rooms greatly increased the number of people who behaved in environmentally friendly ways?

Often counterintuitive, the findings presented in Yes! will steer you away from common pitfalls while empowering you with little-known but proven wisdom.

Whether you are in advertising, marketing, management, or sales, or just curious about how to be more influential in everyday life, Yes! shows how making small, scientifically proven changes to your approach can have a dramatic effect on your persuasive powers.]]>
258 Noah J. Goldstein 1416570969 Brian 0 psychology, to-read 3.99 2008 Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
author: Noah J. Goldstein
name: Brian
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2008
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<![CDATA[The Absorbent Mind: A Classic in Education and Child Development for Educators and Parents]]> 60511 The Absorbent Mind takes its title from the phrase that the inspired Italian doctor coined to characterize the child's most crucial developmental stage: the first six years.

A new foreword by John Chattin-McNichols, Ph.D., President of the American Montessori Society, places this classic book in a contemporary context, offering an intelligent discussion of current thinking in child education.]]>
320 Maria Montessori 0805041567 Brian 0 to-read 4.22 1949 The Absorbent Mind: A Classic in Education and Child Development for Educators and Parents
author: Maria Montessori
name: Brian
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1949
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<![CDATA[The Age of Napoleon (The Story of Civilization, #11)]]> 78163 The Age of Napoleon surveys the amazing chain of events that wrenched Europe out of the Enlightenment and into the Age of Democracy:
* The French Revolution---from the storming of the Bastille to the guillotining of the King
* The revolution's leaders Danton, Desmoulins, Robespierre, Saint-Just---all cut down by the reign of terror they inaugurated.
* Napoleon's meteoric rise---from the provincial Corsican military student to the Emperor commanding the largest army in history
* Napoleon's fall---his army's destruction in the snows of Russia, his exile to Elba, escape and reconquest of the throne, and ultimate defeat at Waterloo by the combined forces of Europe.
* The birth of romanticism and the dawning of a new age of active democracy and a rising middle class, laying the foundation for our own era.]]>
870 Will Durant 1567310222 Brian 0 to-read 4.37 1975 The Age of Napoleon (The Story of Civilization, #11)
author: Will Durant
name: Brian
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1975
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The 33 Strategies of War 35289
Robert Greene’s groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power , The Art of Seduction , and Mastery Ěýespouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to help readers vanquish an enemy, ensnare an unsuspecting victim, or become the greatest in your field. In The 33 Strategies of War , Greene has crafted an important addition to this ruthless and unique series.

Spanning world civilizations, synthesizing dozens of political, philosophical, and religious texts and thousands of years of violent conflict, The 33 Strategies of War is a comprehensive guide to the subtle social game of everyday life informed by the most ingenious and effective military principles in war. Structured in Greene’s trademark style, The 33 Strategies of War is the I-Ching of conflict, the contemporary companion to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War .

Abundantly illustrated with examples from history, including the folly and genius of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher, Shaka the Zulu to Lord Nelson, Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, as well as movie moguls, Samurai swordsmen, and diplomats, each of the thirty-three chapters outlines a strategy that will help you win life’s wars. Learn the offensive strategies that require you to maintain the initiative and negotiate from a position of strength, or the defensive strategies designed to help you respond to dangerous situations and avoid unwinnable wars. The great warriors of battlefields and drawing rooms alike demonstrate prudence, agility, balance, and calm, and a keen understanding that the rational, resourceful, and intuitive always defeat the panicked, the uncreative, and the stupid. An indispensable book, The 33 Strategies of War provides all the psychological ammunition you need to overcome patterns of failure and forever gain the upper hand.]]>
496 Robert Greene 0670034576 Brian 0 to-read 4.22 2001 The 33 Strategies of War
author: Robert Greene
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average rating: 4.22
book published: 2001
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The Campaigns of Napoleon 389341 The Campaigns of Napoleon is an exhaustive analysis and critique of Napoleon's art of war as he himself developed and perfected it in the major military campaigns of his career. Napoleon disavowed any suggestion that he worked from formula ("Je n'ai jamais eu un plan d'opérations"), but military historian David Chandler demonstrates this was at best only a half-truth. To be sure, every operation Napoleon conducted contained unique improvisatory features. But there were from the first to the last certain basic principles of strategic maneuver and battlefield planning that he almost invariably put into practice. To clarify these underlying methods, as well as the style of Napoleon's fabulous intellect, Mr. Chandler examines in detail each campaign mounted and personally conducted by Napoleon, analyzing the strategies employed, revealing wherever possible the probable sources of his subject's military ideas.

The book opens with a brief account of Bonaparte's early years, his military education and formative experiences, and his meteoric rise to the rank of general in the army of the Directory. Introducing the elements of Napoleonic "grand tactics" as they developed in his Italian, Egyptian, and Syrian campaigns, Mr. Chandler shows how these principles were clearly conceived as early as the Battle of Castiglione, when Napoleon was only twenty -six. Several campaigns later, he was Emperor of France, busily constructing the Grande ArmĂ©e. This great war machine is described in considerable detail: the composition of the armies and the Ă©±ôľ±łŮ±đ Guard; the staff system and the methods of command; the kind of artillery and firearms used; and the daily life of the Grande ArmĂ©e and the all-seeing and all-commanding virtuoso who presided over every aspect of its operation in the field.

As the great machine sweeps into action in the campaigns along the Rhine and the Danube, in East Prussia and Poland, and in Portugal and Spain, David Chandler follows closely every move that vindicates -- or challenges -- the legend of Napoleon's military genius. As the major battles take their gory courses -- Austerlitz, Jena, Fried-land -- we see Napoleon's star reaching its zenith. Then, in the Wagram Campaign of 1809 against the Austrians -- his last real success -- the great man commits more errors of judgment than in all his previous wars and battles put together. As the campaigns rage on, his declining powers seem to justify his own statement: "One has but a short time for war." Then the horrors of the Russian campaign forever shatter the image of Napoleonic invincibility. It is thereafter a short, though heroic and sanguinary, road to Waterloo and St. Helena.

Napoleon appears most strikingly in these pages as the brilliant applier of the ideas of others rather than as an original military thinker, his genius proving itself more practical than theoretical. Paradoxically, this was both his chief strength and his main weakness as a general. After bringing the French army a decade of victory, his methods became increasingly stereotyped and, even worse, were widely copied by his foes, who operated against him with increasing effectiveness toward the end of his career. Yet even though his enemies attempted to imitate his techniques, as have others in the last century and a half, no one ever equaled his success. As these meticulous campaign analyses testify, his multifaceted genius was unique. Even as the end approached, as David Chandler points out, his eclipse was "the failure of a giant surrounded by pygmies."

"The flight of the eagle was over; the 'ogre' was safely caged at last, and an exhausted Europe settled down once more to attempt a return to former ways of life and government. But the shade of Napoleon lingered on irresistibly for many years after his death in 1821. It lingers yet."

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1172 David G. Chandler 0025236601 Brian 0 to-read 4.50 1966 The Campaigns of Napoleon
author: David G. Chandler
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average rating: 4.50
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The Giver (The Giver, #1) 3636 208 Lois Lowry 0385732554 Brian 0 4.12 1993 The Giver (The Giver, #1)
author: Lois Lowry
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average rating: 4.12
book published: 1993
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<![CDATA[The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World]]> 10483171
In our search for truth, how far have we advanced? This uniquely human quest for good explanations has driven amazing improvements in everything from scientific understanding and technology to politics, moral values and human welfare. But will progress end, either in catastrophe or completion - or will it continue infinitely?

In this profound and seminal book, David Deutsch explores the furthest reaches of our current understanding, taking in the Infinity Hotel, supernovae and the nature of optimism, to instill in all of us a wonder at what we have achieved - and the fact that this is only the beginning of humanity's infinite possibility.

'This is Deutsch at his most ambitious, seeking to understand the implications of our scientific explanations of the world ... I enthusiastically recommend this rich, wide-ranging and elegantly written exposition of the unique insights of one of our most original intellectuals' Michael Berry, Times Higher Education Supplement

'Bold ... profound ... provocative and persuasive' Economist

'David Deutsch may well go down in history as one of the great scientists of our age' Scotsman]]>
487 David Deutsch 0670022756 Brian 0 currently-reading 4.16 2011 The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
author: David Deutsch
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average rating: 4.16
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<![CDATA[Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points that Challenge Every Company and Career]]> 66863
Grove calls such a moment a Strategic Inflection Point, which can be set off by almost anything: mega-competition, a change in regulations, or a seemingly modest change in technology. When a Strategic Inflection Point hits, the ordinary rules of business go out the window. Yet, managed right, a Strategic Inflection Point can be an opportunity to win in the marketplace and emerge stronger than ever.

Grove underscores his message by examining his own record of success and failure, including how he navigated the events of the Pentium flaw, which threatened Intel’s reputation in 1994, and how he has dealt with the explosions in growth of the Internet. The work of a lifetime, Only the Paranoid Survive is a classic of managerial and leadership skills.]]>
224 Andrew S. Grove 1861975139 Brian 3 business-software <br /> 3.96 1996 Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points that Challenge Every Company and Career
author: Andrew S. Grove
name: Brian
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1996
rating: 3
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The Psychology of Money 41881472 242 Morgan Housel 0857197681 Brian 0 to-read 4.28 2020 The Psychology of Money
author: Morgan Housel
name: Brian
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2020
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<![CDATA[Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky]]> 194805 The New York Times). Noam Chomsky is universally accepted as one of the preeminent public intellectuals of the modern era. Over the past thirty years, broadly diverse audiences have gathered to attend his sold-out lectures. Now, in Understanding Power, Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky's recent talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power. In a series of enlightening and wide-ranging discussions, all published here for the first time, Chomsky radically reinterprets the events of the past three decades, covering topics from foreign policy during Vietnam to the decline of welfare under the Clinton administration. And as he elucidates the connection between America's imperialistic foreign policy and the decline of domestic social services, Chomsky also discerns the necessary steps to take toward social change. With an eye to political activism and the media's role in popular struggle, as well as U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Understanding Power offers a sweeping critique of the world around us and is definitive Chomsky. Characterized by Chomsky's accessible and informative style, this is the ideal book for those new to his work as well as for those who have been listening for years.]]> 416 Noam Chomsky 1565847032 Brian 0 to-read 4.42 2002 Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky
author: Noam Chomsky
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average rating: 4.42
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<![CDATA[Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense]]> 26210508 A breakthrough book. Wonderfully applicable to everything in life, and funny as hell.� Nassim Nicholas Taleb

To be brilliant, you have to be irrational

Why is Red Bull so popular � even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?

We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence.

But we aren’t, and we don’t.

In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd � from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.

Rory Sutherland is the Ogilvy advertising legend whose TED Talks have been viewed nearly 7 million times. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic, on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. The big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational.]]>
384 Rory Sutherland 0753556510 Brian 0 to-read 4.22 2019 Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense
author: Rory Sutherland
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<![CDATA[Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (Incerto)]]> 38315 Fooled by Randomness is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are The Black Swan, Antifragile,and The Bed of Procrustes.]]> 368 Nassim Nicholas Taleb 0812975219 Brian 0 to-read 4.08 2001 Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (Incerto)
author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
name: Brian
average rating: 4.08
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<![CDATA[What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars]]> 1334384
This book—winner of a 2014 Axiom Business Book award gold medal—begins with the unbroken string of successes that helped Paul achieve a jet-setting lifestyle and land a key spot with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It then describes the circumstances leading up to Paul's $1.6 million loss and the essential lessons he learned from it—primarily that, although there are as many ways to make money in the markets as there are people participating in them, all losses come from the same few sources.

Investors lose money in the markets either because of errors in their analysis or because of psychological barriers preventing the application of analysis. While all analytical methods have some validity and make allowances for instances in which they do not work, psychological factors can keep an investor in a losing position, causing him to abandon one method for another in order to rationalize the decisions already made. Paul and Moynihan's cautionary tale includes strategies for avoiding loss tied to a simple framework for understanding, accepting, and dodging the dangers of investing, trading, and speculating.]]>
190 Jim Paul 0963579495 Brian 0 to-read 3.85 1994 What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
author: Jim Paul
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average rating: 3.85
book published: 1994
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A History of Warfare 55196 432 John Keegan 0679730826 Brian 0 to-read 3.98 1993 A History of Warfare
author: John Keegan
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average rating: 3.98
book published: 1993
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<![CDATA[Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger]]> 944652 512 Charles T. Munger 157864366X Brian 5 wisdom
Next time, I’ll read it even more slowly.

And the third time I read it, I’ll read it a bit slower than the first time, but not as slowly as the second.

There’s a lot of worldly wisdom from Charlie Munger.]]>
4.38 2005 Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
author: Charles T. Munger
name: Brian
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: wisdom
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It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Next time, I’ll read it even more slowly.

And the third time I read it, I’ll read it a bit slower than the first time, but not as slowly as the second.

There’s a lot of worldly wisdom from Charlie Munger.
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<![CDATA[Principles of War (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)]]> 117028 Principles of War. Written two centuries ago by a Prussian military thinker, this is the most frequently cited, the most controversial, and in many ways, the most modern book on warfare. Author Carl von Clausewitz fought against the armies of the French Revolution and Napoleon, served as a high-ranking staff officer, and became a prominent military educator. By his day, war had become a contest of mass armies, with results decided by swift, concentrated action and superior effort. "Victory is purchased by blood," Clausewitz proclaims, stating that total victory is assured only through annihilation of the enemy's forces. Based on the author's "thought and observation, philosophy and experience," Principles of War examines the moral and psychological aspects of warfare, stressing the necessity of such qualities as courage, audacity, and self-sacrifice and the importance of morale and public opinion. Clausewitz emphasizes the notion of strategy as an evolving plan, rather than a formula, a concept that makes this work adaptable to modern strategists in fields beyond military science. Translated into virtually every major language, Principles of War is required reading in intermediate-level and senior military schools, as well as in many civilian strategic studies programs and business schools.]]> 96 Carl von Clausewitz 0486427994 Brian 0 to-read 3.97 Principles of War (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)
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<![CDATA[Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination]]> 118824 Seven years in the making and meticulously researched - Gabler is the first writer to be given complete access to the Disney archives - this is the full story of a man whose work left an ineradicable brand on our culture but whose life has largely been enshrouded in myth.
Gabler shows us the young Walt Disney breaking free of a heartland childhood of discipline and deprivation and making his way to Hollywood. We see the visionary, whose desire for escape honed an innate sense of what people wanted to see on the screen and, when combined with iron determination and obsessive perfectionism, led him to the reinvention of animation. It was Disney, first with Mickey Mouse and then with his feature films - most notably Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi - who transformed animation from a novelty based on movement to an art form that presented an illusion of life.
We see him reimagine the amusement park with Disneyland, prompting critics to coin the word Disneyfication to describe the process by which reality can be modified to fit one's personal desires. At the same time, he provided a new way to connect with American history through his live-action films and purveyed a view of the country so coherent that even today one can speak meaningfully of "Walt Disney's America." We see how the True-Life Adventure nature documentaries he produced helped create the environmental movement by sensitizing the general public to issues of conservation. And we see how he reshaped the entertainment industry by building a synergistic empire that combined film, television, theme parks, music, book publishing, and merchandise in a way that was unprecedented and was later widely imitated.
Gabler also reveals a wounded, lonely, and often disappointed man, who, despite worldwide success, was plagued with financial problems much of his life, suffered a nervous breakdown, and at times retreated into pitiable seclusion in his workshop making model trains. Gabler explores accusations that Disney was a red-baiter, an anti-Semite, an embittered alcoholic. But whatever the characterizations of Disney's personal life, he appealed to the nation by demonstrating the power of wish fulfillment and the triumph of the American imagination. Walt Disney showed how one could impose one's will on the world.
This is a masterly biography, a revelation of both the work and the man - of both the remarkable accomplishment and the hidden life.]]>
851 Neal Gabler 067943822X Brian 0 to-read 4.04 2006 Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination
author: Neal Gabler
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average rating: 4.04
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<![CDATA[Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution (Volume 59) (Campaigns and Commanders Series)]]> 32767558 320 Judith L. Van Buskirk 080615635X Brian 0 to-read 4.46 2017 Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution (Volume 59) (Campaigns and Commanders Series)
author: Judith L. Van Buskirk
name: Brian
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Where Are the Customers' Yachts?: or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street]]> 288897 -- From the Foreword by Michael Lewis, Bestselling author of Liar's Poker ". . . one of the funniest books ever written about Wall Street."
-- Jane Bryant Quinn, The Washington Post "How great to have a reissue of a hilarious classic that proves the more things change the more they stay the same. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."
-- Michael Bloomberg "It's amazing how well Schwed's book is holding up after fifty-five years. About the only thing that's changed on Wall Street is that computers have replaced pencils and graph paper. Otherwise, the basics are the same. The investor's need to believe somebody is matched by the financial advisor's need to make a nice living. If one of them has to be disappointed, it's bound to be the former."
-- John Rothchild, Author, A Fool and His Money , Financial Columnist, Time magazine Humorous and entertaining, this book exposes the folly and hypocrisy of Wall Street. The title refers to a story about a visitor to New York who admired the yachts of the bankers and brokers. Naively, he asked where all the customers' yachts were? Of course, none of the customers could afford yachts, even though they dutifully followed the advice of their bankers and brokers. Full of wise contrarian advice and offering a true look at the world of investing, in which brokers get rich while their customers go broke, this book continues to open the eyes of investors to the reality of Wall Street.]]>
208 Fred Schwed Jr. 0471770892 Brian 0 to-read 3.89 1940 Where Are the Customers' Yachts?: or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street
author: Fred Schwed Jr.
name: Brian
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1940
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days]]> 98233 456 Jessica Livingston 1590597141 Brian 0 will-finish-reading-later 4.02 2001 Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days
author: Jessica Livingston
name: Brian
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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On Page 93 - Notes on Google Doc
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<![CDATA[The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story of One Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls]]> 246468
This is the book that changed the way the world viewed Michael Jordan, while delivering nonstop excitement, tension, and thrills.

The Jordan Rules chronicles the season that changed everything for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. After losing in the playoffs to the “Bad Boys� Detroit Pistons for three consecutive years, the Bulls finally broke through and swept the Pistons in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, on the way to their first NBA championship.

Celebrated sportswriter Sam Smith was there for the entire ride. He reveals a candid and provocative picture of Michael Jordan during the season in which his legacy began to be defined, and seeks to figure out what drove him. The Jordan Rules covers everything from his stormy relationships with his coaches and teammates and power struggles with management—including verbal attacks on general manager Jerry Krause and tantrums against coach Phil Jackson—to Jordan’s obsessions with becoming the leading scorer, and his refusal to pass the ball in the crucial minutes of big games. Jordan’s teammates also tell their side of the story, from Scottie Pippen, to Horace Grant, to Bill Cartwright. And Phil Jackson—the former flower child who blossomed into one of the NBA’s top motivators and finally found a way to coax Jordan and the Bulls to their first title—is studied up close.

“Smith takes us into the locker room, aboard the team plane and team bus, and seats us on the bench during games. Sometimes, books reflecting on a team’s success don’t reach the personal level with the people who made it The Jordan Rules does� (Associated Press).

Discover the team behind the man, and the man behind the living legend, in this intense, fascinating inside story of the incomparable Michael Jordan.]]>
384 Sam Smith 0671796666 Brian 0 to-read 4.26 1992 The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story of One Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls
author: Sam Smith
name: Brian
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1992
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<![CDATA[Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle]]> 281123 In Softwar, journalist Matthew Symonds gives readers exclusive and intimate insight into both Oracle and the man who made it and runs it. As well as relating the story of Oracle's often bumpy path to industry dominance, Symonds deals with the private side of Ellison's life. With unlimited insider access granted by Ellison himself, Symonds captures the intensity and, some would say, the recklessness that have made Ellison a legend.
With a new and expanded epilogue for the paperback edition that tells the story behind Oracle's epic struggle to win control of PeopleSoft, Softwar is the most complete portrait undertaken of the man and his empire -- a unique and gripping account of both the way the computing industry really works and an extraordinary life.]]>
528 Matthew Symonds 0743225058 Brian 0 to-read 3.68 2003 Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle
author: Matthew Symonds
name: Brian
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Les Schwab Pride in Performance: Keep It Going]]> 587896 239 Les Schwab 0892881518 Brian 0 to-read Munger's rec. 4.11 1986 Les Schwab Pride in Performance: Keep It Going
author: Les Schwab
name: Brian
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1986
rating: 0
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Munger's rec.
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<![CDATA[Deep Simplicity: Bringing Order to Chaos and Complexity]]> 587906
Grounding these paradigm-shifting ideas in their historical context, Gribbin also traces their development from Newton to Darwin to Lorenz, Prigogine, and Lovelock, demonstrating how–far from overturning all that has gone before–chaos and complexity are the triumphant extensions of simple scientific laws. Ultimately, Gribbin illustrates how chaos and complexity permeate the universe on every scale, governing the evolution of life and galaxies alike.]]>
279 John Gribbin 140006256X Brian 0 to-read 3.95 2004 Deep Simplicity: Bringing Order to Chaos and Complexity
author: John Gribbin
name: Brian
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2004
rating: 0
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Models of My Life (Mit Press) 1501364 415 Herbert A. Simon 026269185X Brian 0 to-read 3.78 1991 Models of My Life (Mit Press)
author: Herbert A. Simon
name: Brian
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1991
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters]]> 4591 344 Matt Ridley 0060894083 Brian 0 to-read 4.05 1999 Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
author: Matt Ridley
name: Brian
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Damn Right!: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger]]> 1160 From the author of the bestselling WARREN BUFFETT SPEAKS. . .
"Charlie Munger, whose reputation is deep and wide, based on an extraordinary record of brilliantly successful business strategies, sees things that others don't. There is a method to his mastery and, through this book, we get a chance to learn about this rare individual." -MICHAEL EISNER, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company
"Janet Lowe uncovers the iconoclastic genius and subtle charm behind Charlie Munger's curmudgeonly facade in this richly woven portrait of our era's heir to Ben Franklin. With a biographer's detachment, an historian's thoroughness, and a financial writer's common sense, Lowe produces a riveting account of the family, personal, and business life of the idiosyncratically complex and endlessly fascinating figure." -LAWRENCE CUNNINGHAM, Cardozo Law School, Author of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America
"For years, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and investors worldwide (me included) have struggled to learn more about Warren Buffett's cerebral sidekick. Now we can rest and enjoy reading Janet Lowe's book about this rare intellectual jewel called Charlie Munger." -ROBERT G. HAGSTROM, Author of The Warren Buffett Way
"Charlie has lived by the creed that one should live a life that doesn't need explaining. But his life should be explained. In a city where heroism is too often confused with celebrity, Charlie is a true hero and mentor. He lives the life lessons that he has studiously extracted from other true heroes and mentors, from Ben Franklin to Ben Graham. This book illuminates those life lessons." -RONALD L. OLSON, Munger, Tolles & Olson llp
"Janet Lowe's unprecedented access to Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett has resulted in a first-class book that investors, academics, and CEOs will find entertaining and highly useful."-TIMOTHY P. VICK, Money Manager and Author of How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett]]>
304 Janet Lowe 0471446912 Brian 0 to-read 4.15 2000 Damn Right!: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger
author: Janet Lowe
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average rating: 4.15
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<![CDATA[The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design]]> 117047 ***30th Anniversary Edition***

Cover note: Each copy of the anniversary edition of The Blind Watchmaker features a unique biomorph. No two covers are exactly alike.

Acclaimed as the most influential work on evolution written in the last hundred years, The Blind Watchmaker offers an inspiring and accessible introduction to one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. A brilliant and controversial book which demonstrates that evolution by natural selection - the unconscious, automatic, blind yet essentially non-random process discovered by Darwin - is the only answer to the biggest question of all: why do we exist?]]>
466 Richard Dawkins 0141026162 Brian 0 to-read 4.09 1986 The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
author: Richard Dawkins
name: Brian
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1986
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Judgment In Managerial Decision Making]]> 89161
In situations requiring careful judgment, we're all influenced by our own biases to some extent. But, with Max Bazerman's Judgment in Managerial Decision Making, Sixth Edition, you can learn how to overcome those biases to make better managerial decisions.

The text examines judgment in a variety of organizational contexts, and provides practical strategies for changing your decision-making processes and improving these processes so that they become part of your permanent behavior. Throughout, you'll findnumerous hands-on decision exercises and examples from the author's extensive executive training experience that will help you enhance the quality of your managerial judgment.

Past editions have been used in top universities, in business schools, and in public policy, psychology, and economics classes. In addition, the text has been widely recognized by practitioners in the world of behavioral finance.

Revised with two new chapters

This Sixth Edition now adds chapters on bounded ethicality (Chapter 8) and bounded awareness (Chapter 11). Both of these chapters are based on Bazerman's recent writing with Dolly Chugh and Mahzarin Banaji.

Max H. Bazerman is the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. In addition, Max is also formally affiliated with the Kennedy School of Government, the Psychology Department, and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard. He is the author or co-author of over 150 research articles and chapters, and the author of numerous other books. Max was named one of the top 30 authors, speakers, and teachers of management by Executive Excellence in each of their two most recent rankings.]]>
241 Max H. Bazerman 0471684309 Brian 0 to-read 4.00 1986 Judgment In Managerial Decision Making
author: Max H. Bazerman
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average rating: 4.00
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<![CDATA[Master of the Game: Steve Ross and the Creation of Time Warner]]> 100789 395 Connie Bruck 0140244549 Brian 0 to-read 3.71 1994 Master of the Game: Steve Ross and the Creation of Time Warner
author: Connie Bruck
name: Brian
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class]]> 1751047 Now with a new introduction describing the fallout of America’s consumer credit boom, 1994’s wildly acclaimed bestseller A Piece of the Action tells the story of how millions of middle class Americans went from being savers to borrowers and investors through the invention of credit cards, mutual funds, and IRAs—resulting in profound societal change.Tracing the invention of products like credit cards, mutual funds, and individual retirement accounts, A Piece of the Action tells the stories of a handful of men who transformed the way Americans think about and deal with their money: men like Charles Merrill, the flamboyant founder of Merrill Lynch; Peter Lynch, the investing guru who managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund; and Charles Schwab, who transformed his eponymous company into the nation’s biggest discount broker. These innovations produced a genuine revolution—the democratization of money—in which the middle class became financial players.



Author Joe Nocera’s 2013 introduction describes where this revolution took those who embraced it, that is, practically all of us. We have gone into debt, made dicey investments, and lived through many bursting bubbles. We used the financial tools we now had at our disposal to act on bets and dares we didn’t yet understand. We bet on the Internet, borrowed on our homes, and compromised our retirements in pursuit of the American dream.



A Piece of the Action is an important piece of financial and social history, and Nocera’s 2013 critique of the uses of the revolution is a powerful warning and admonition to understand what is at stake before we act.]]>
464 Joe Nocera 0684804352 Brian 0 to-read 4.30 1994 A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class
author: Joe Nocera
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average rating: 4.30
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The Giving Tree 370493
So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.]]>
64 Shel Silverstein 0060256656 Brian 0 4.38 1964 The Giving Tree
author: Shel Silverstein
name: Brian
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1964
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Hatchet (Brian's Saga, #1) 50
Brian had been distraught over his parents' impending divorce and the secret he carries about his mother, but now he is truly desolate and alone. Exhausted, terrified, and hungry, Brian struggles to find food and make a shelter for himself. He has no special knowledge of the woods, and he must find a new kind of awareness and patience as he meets each day's challenges. Is the water safe to drink? Are the berries he finds poisonous?

Slowly, Brian learns to turn adversity to his advantage--an invading porcupine unexpectedly shows him how to make fire, a devastating tornado shows him how to retrieve supplies from the submerged airplane. Most of all, Brian leaves behind the self-pity he has felt about his predicament as he summons the courage to stay alive.

A story of survival and of transformation, this riveting book has sparked many a reader's interest in venturing into the wild.]]>
208 Gary Paulsen 0689840926 Brian 3 3.77 1987 Hatchet (Brian's Saga, #1)
author: Gary Paulsen
name: Brian
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1987
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[How to Teach Your Baby Math (The Gentle Revolution Series)]]> 335373
Time and again, the work performed at The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential has demonstrated that children from birth to age six are capable of learning better and faster than older children. How To Teach Your Baby To Read shows just how easy it is to teach a young child to read, while How To Teach Your Baby Math presents the simple steps for teaching mathematics through the development of thinking and reasoning skills. Both books explain how to begin and expand each program, how to make and organize necessary materials, and how to more fully develop your child’s reading and math potential.

How to Give Your Baby Encyclopedic Knowledge shows how simple it is to develop a program that cultivates a young child’s awareness and understanding of the arts, science, and nature―to recognize the insects in the garden, to learn about the countries of the world, to discover the beauty of a Van Gogh painting, and much more. How To Multiply Your Baby’s Intelligence provides a comprehensive program for teaching your young child how to read, to understand mathematics, and to literally multiply his or her overall learning potential in preparation for a lifetime of success.

The Gentle Revolution Series :

The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential has been successfully serving children and teaching parents for five decades. Its goal has been to significantly improve the intellectual, physical, and social development of all children. The groundbreaking methods and techniques of The Institutes have set the standards in early childhood education. As a result, the books written by Glenn Doman, founder of this organization, have become the all-time best-selling parenting series in the United States and the world.]]>
240 Glenn Doman 075700184X Brian 0 to-read 4.20 1979 How to Teach Your Baby Math (The Gentle Revolution Series)
author: Glenn Doman
name: Brian
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1979
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<![CDATA[The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation]]> 11797471 432 Jon Gertner 1594203288 Brian 0 to-read 4.16 2012 The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
author: Jon Gertner
name: Brian
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs]]> 37559166 Legendary venture capitalist John Doerr reveals how the goal-setting system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has helped tech giants from Intel to Google achieve explosive growth--and how it can help any organization thrive.

In the fall of 1999, John Doerr met with the founders of a start-up whom he'd just given $12.5 million, the biggest investment of his career. Larry Page and Sergey Brin had amazing technology, entrepreneurial energy, and sky-high ambitions, but no real business plan. For Google to change the world (or even to survive), Page and Brin had to learn how to make tough choices on priorities while keeping their team on track. They'd have to know when to pull the plug on losing propositions, to fail fast. And they needed timely, relevant data to track their progress -- to measure what mattered.

Doerr taught them about a proven approach to operating excellence: Objectives and Key Results. He had first discovered OKRs in the 1970s as an engineer at Intel, where the legendary Andy Grove ("the greatest manager of his or any era") drove the best-run company Doerr had ever seen. Later, as a venture capitalist, Doerr shared Grove's brainchild with more than fifty companies. Wherever the process was faithfully practiced, it worked.

In this goal-setting system, objectives define what we seek to achieve; key results are how those top-priority goals will be attained with specific, measurable actions within a set time frame. Everyone's goals, from entry level to CEO, are transparent to the entire organization.

The benefits are profound. OKRs surface an organization's most important work. They focus effort and foster coordination. They keep employees on track. They link objectives across silos to unify and strengthen the entire company. Along the way, OKRs enhance workplace satisfaction and boost retention.

In Measure What Matters, Doerr shares a broad range of first-person, behind-the-scenes case studies, with narrators including Bono and Bill Gates, to demonstrate the focus, agility, and explosive growth that OKRs have spurred at so many great organizations. This book will help a new generation of leaders capture the same magic.]]>
320 John Doerr 052553623X Brian 0 to-read 4.11 2017 Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
author: John Doerr
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average rating: 4.11
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<![CDATA[The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes--and Its Implications]]> 177068 390 David Deutsch 014027541X Brian 0 to-read 4.12 1996 The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes--and Its Implications
author: David Deutsch
name: Brian
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Class: A Guide Through the American Status System]]> 60044
Based on careful research and told with grace and wit, Paul Fessell shows how everything people within American society do, say, and own reflects their social status. Detailing the lifestyles of each class, from the way they dress and where they live to their education and hobbies, Class is sure to entertain, enlighten, and occasionally enrage readers as they identify their own place in society and see how the other half lives.]]>
208 Paul Fussell 0671792253 Brian 0 to-read 3.90 1983 Class: A Guide Through the American Status System
author: Paul Fussell
name: Brian
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1983
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Science and Method 1016008 304 Henri Poincaré 0486432696 Brian 0 to-read 4.10 1908 Science and Method
author: Henri Poincaré
name: Brian
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1908
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Darwin's Blind Spot: Evolution Beyond Natural Selection]]> 1615907 Ryan mixes stories of the many strange and beautiful results of symbiosis with accounts of the dramatic historic rivalries over the expansion of Darwin's theory. He also examines controversial research being done today, including studies suggesting that symbiosis among viruses led to the evolution of mammals and thus of humans. Too often Darwin's interpreters have put excessive emphasis on competition and struggle as the only forces in evolution. But the idea of "survival of the fittest" does not always reign. Symbiosis is critically important to the richness of Earth's life forms.]]> 320 Frank Ryan 0618118128 Brian 0 to-read 3.93 2002 Darwin's Blind Spot: Evolution Beyond Natural Selection
author: Frank Ryan
name: Brian
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2002
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<![CDATA[A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing]]> 11337189
“Where did the universe come from? What was there before it? What will the future bring? And finally, why is there something rather than nothing?�

One of the few prominent scientists today to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss describes the staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories that demonstrate not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With a new preface about the significance of the discovery of the Higgs particle, A Universe from Nothing uses Krauss’s characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations to take us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it’s going to end.

Provocative, challenging, and delightfully readable, this is a game-changing look at the most basic underpinning of existence and a powerful antidote to outmoded philosophical, religious, and scientific thinking.]]>
204 Lawrence M. Krauss 145162445X Brian 0 to-read 3.93 2012 A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing
author: Lawrence M. Krauss
name: Brian
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2012
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<![CDATA[The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal]]> 49234
With fascinating facts and his unparalleled readability, Diamond intended his book to improve the world that today’s young people will inherit. Triangle Square’s The Third Chimpanzee for Young People is a book for future generation and the future they’ll help build.]]>
407 Jared Diamond 0060845503 Brian 0 to-read 4.08 1991 The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal
author: Jared Diamond
name: Brian
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1991
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<![CDATA[The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor]]> 209176 The Wealth and Poverty of Nations is David S. Landes's acclaimed, best-selling exploration of one of the most contentious and hotly debated questions of our time: Why do some nations achieve economic success while others remain mired in poverty? The answer, as Landes definitively illustrates, is a complex interplay of cultural mores and historical circumstance. Rich with anecdotal evidence, piercing analysis, and a truly astonishing range of erudition, The Wealth and Poverty of NationsĚýis a "picture of enormous sweep and brilliant insight" (Kenneth Arrow) as well as one of the most audaciously ambitious works of history in decades.

For the paperback edition, Landes has written a new epilogue, in which he takes account of Asian financial crisises and the international tension between overconfidence and reality.]]>
531 David S. Landes 0393318885 Brian 0 to-read 3.95 1998 The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor
author: David S. Landes
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average rating: 3.95
book published: 1998
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<![CDATA[In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives]]> 7841446
Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes readers inside Google headquarters—the Googleplex—to show how Google works.

While they were still students at Stanford, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin revolutionized Internet search. They followed this brilliant innovation with another, as two of Google’s earliest employees found a way to do what no one else had: make billions of dollars from Internet advertising. With this cash cow, Google was able to expand dramatically and take on other transformative projects: more efficient data centers, open-source cell phones, free Internet video (YouTube), cloud computing, digitizing books, and much more.

The key to Google’s success in all these businesses, Levy reveals, is its engineering mind-set and adoption of such Internet values as speed, openness, experimentation, and risk taking. After its unapologetically elitist approach to hiring, Google pampers its engineers—free food and dry cleaning, on-site doctors and masseuses—and gives them all the resources they need to succeed. Even today, with a workforce of more than 23,000, Larry Page signs off on every hire.

But has Google lost its innovative edge? With its newest initiative, social networking, Google is chasing a successful competitor for the first time. Some employees are leaving the company for smaller, nimbler start-ups. Can the company that famously decided not to be evil still compete?

No other book has ever turned Google inside out as Levy does with In the Plex.]]>
432 Steven Levy 1416596585 Brian 0 to-read 3.83 2011 In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
author: Steven Levy
name: Brian
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
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Poor Richard's Almanack 855913 80 Benjamin Franklin 0880889187 Brian 0 to-read 4.06 1732 Poor Richard's Almanack
author: Benjamin Franklin
name: Brian
average rating: 4.06
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The Warren Buffett Portfolio 209955
Building a concentrated portfolio is critical for investment success. THE WARREN BUFFETT PORTFOLIO introduces the next wave of investment strategy, called focus investing. A comprehensive investment strategy used with spectacular results by Buffett, focus investing directs investors to select a concentrated group of businesses by examining their management and financial positions as compared to their stock prices. A strategy that has historically outperformed the market, focus investing is based on the principle that a shareholder's return from owning a stock is ultimately determined by the economics of the underlying business.

Hagstrom explains in easy-to-understand terms exactly what focus investing is, how it works, and how it can be applied by any investor at any level of experience. He demonstrates how Buffett arranges his stocks in a focus portfolio and reveals why this is as responsible for his incredible returns as the individual stocks he picks. Ultimately, Hagstrom shows how to use this technique to build and manage a portfolio to achieve the best possible results.]]>
246 Robert G. Hagstrom 0471247669 Brian 0 to-read 4.24 1999 The Warren Buffett Portfolio
author: Robert G. Hagstrom
name: Brian
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
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<![CDATA[The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns]]> 171127 216 John C. Bogle 0470102101 Brian 0 to-read 4.11 2007 The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns
author: John C. Bogle
name: Brian
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2007
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<![CDATA[Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In]]> 313605 200 Roger Fisher 0140157352 Brian 0 to-read 3.95 1981 Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
author: Roger Fisher
name: Brian
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1981
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success]]> 13586932
What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the qualities of today’s so-called celebrity CEOs—charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.

In this refreshing, counterintuitive book, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in investing, closely evaluating the performance of companies and their leaders. You will meet eight individualistic CEOs whose firms� average returns outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of twenty—in other words, an investment of $10,000 with each of these CEOs, on average, would have been worth over $1.5 million twenty-five years later. You may not know all their names, but you will recognize their companies: General Cinema, Ralston Purina, The Washington Post Company, Berkshire Hathaway, General Dynamics, Capital Cities Broadcasting, TCI, and Teledyne. In The Outsiders, you’ll learn the traits and methods—striking for their consistency and relentless rationality—that helped these unique leaders achieve such exceptional performance.

Humble, unassuming, and often frugal, these "outsiders� shunned Wall Street and the press, and shied away from the hottest new management trends. Instead, they shared specific traits that put them and the companies they led on winning trajectories: a laser-sharp focus on per share value as opposed to earnings or sales growth; an exceptional talent for allocating capital and human resources; and the belief that cash flow, not reported earnings, determines a company’s long-term value.

Drawing on years of research and experience, Thorndike tells eye-opening stories, extracting lessons and revealing a compelling alternative model for anyone interested in leading a company or investing in one—and reaping extraordinary returns.]]>
251 William N. Thorndike Jr. 1422162672 Brian 0 to-read 4.20 2012 The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
author: William N. Thorndike Jr.
name: Brian
average rating: 4.20
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<![CDATA[Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin To Munger]]> 1995421 318 Peter Bevelin 1578644283 Brian 0 to-read 4.22 2003 Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin To Munger
author: Peter Bevelin
name: Brian
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2003
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<![CDATA[Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion]]> 28815
You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.]]>
320 Robert B. Cialdini 006124189X Brian 0 to-read 4.21 1984 Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
author: Robert B. Cialdini
name: Brian
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1984
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<![CDATA[Ask Your Developer: How to Harness the Power of Software Developers and Win in the 21st Century]]> 48716700 Jeff Lawson, software developer turned CEO of Twilio, creates a new playbook for unleashing the full potential of software developers in any organization, showing how to help management utilize this coveted and valuable workforce to enable growth, solve a wide range of business problems and drive digital transformation.

From banking and retail to insurance and finance, every industry is turning digital, and every company needs the best software to win the hearts and minds of customers. The landscape has shifted from the classic build vs. buy question, to one of build vs. die. Companies have to get this right to survive. But how do they make this transition?

Software developers are sought after, highly paid, and desperately needed to compete in the modern, digital economy. Yet most companies treat them like digital factory workers without really understanding how to unleash their full potential. Lawson argues that developers are the creative workforce who can solve major business problems and create hit products for customers—not just grind through rote tasks. From Google and Amazon, to one-person online software companies—companies that bring software developers in as partners are winning. Lawson shows how leaders who build industry changing software products consistently do three things well. First, they understand why software developers matter more than ever. Second, they understand developers and know how to motivate them. And third, they invest in their developers' success.

As a software developer and public company CEO, Lawson uses his unique position to bridge the language and tools executives use with the unique culture of high performing, creative software developers. Ask Your Developer is a toolkit to help business leaders, product managers, technical leaders, software developers, and executives achieve their common goal—building great digital products and experiences.

How to compete in the digital economy? In short: Ask Your Developer.]]>
299 Jeff Lawson 0063018306 Brian 2 software 4.22 Ask Your Developer: How to Harness the Power of Software Developers and Win in the 21st Century
author: Jeff Lawson
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<![CDATA[Civilization and Its Discontents]]> 357636 127 Sigmund Freud 0393301583 Brian 0 to-read 3.79 1930 Civilization and Its Discontents
author: Sigmund Freud
name: Brian
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1930
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Twelve Years a Slave 18478222 363 Solomon Northup 0989794806 Brian 0 to-read 4.21 1853 Twelve Years a Slave
author: Solomon Northup
name: Brian
average rating: 4.21
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<![CDATA[The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley]]> 54304287 National Bestseller * New York Times Editors� Choice * Financial Times “Books to Read in 2022�
A SABEW BEST IN BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS FINALIST

“A gripping account of PayPal’s origins and a vivid portrait of the geeks and contrarians who made its meteoric rise possible� ( The Wall Street Journal )—including Elon Musk, Amy Rowe Klement, Peter Thiel, Julie Anderson, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman, and many others whose stories have never been shared.

Today, PayPal’s founders and earliest employees are considered the technology industry’s most powerful network. Since leaving PayPal, they have formed, funded, and advised the leading companies of our era, including Tesla, Facebook, YouTube, SpaceX, Yelp, Palantir, and LinkedIn, among many others. As a group, they have driven twenty-first-century innovation and entrepreneurship. Their names stir passions; they’re as controversial as they are admired.

Yet for all their influence, the story of where they first started has gone largely untold. Before igniting the commercial space race or jumpstarting social media’s rise, they were the unknown creators of a scrappy online payments start-up called PayPal. In building what became one of the world’s foremost companies, they faced bruising competition, internal strife, the emergence of widespread online fraud, and the devastating dot-com bust of the 2000s. Their success was anything but certain.

In The The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley , award-winning author and biographer Jimmy Soni explores PayPal’s turbulent early days. With hundreds of interviews and unprecedented access to thousands of pages of internal material, he shows how the seeds of so much of what shapes our world today—fast-scaling digital start-ups, cashless currency concepts, mobile money transfer—were planted two decades ago. He also reveals the stories of countless individuals who were left out of the front-page features and banner headlines but who were central to PayPal’s success.

Described as “an intensely magnetic chronicle� ( The New York Times ) and “engrossing� ( Business Insider ), The Founders is a story of iteration and inventiveness—the products of which have cast a long and powerful shadow over modern life. This narrative illustrates how this rare assemblage of talent came to work together and how their collaboration changed our world forever.]]>
496 Jimmy Soni 1501197266 Brian 0 to-read 4.21 2022 The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
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<![CDATA[Social Chemistry: Decoding the Elements of Human Connection]]> 48904521 Social ChemistryĚýwill utterly transform the way you think about “networking.â€� Understanding the contoursĚýof your social network can dramatically enhance personal relationships, work life, and even your global impact. Are you an Expansionist, a Broker, or a Convener? The answer matters more than you think. . . .Ěý

Yale professor Marissa King shows how anyone can build more meaningful and productive relationships based on insights from neuroscience, psychology, and network analytics. Conventional wisdom says it's the size of your network that matters, but social science research has proven there is more to it. King explains that the quality and structure of our relationships has the greatest impact on our personal and professional lives. As she shows, there are three basic types of networks, so readers can see the role they are already playing: Expansionist, Broker, or Convener. This network decoder enables readers to own their network style and modify it for better alignment with their life plans and values.

High-quality connections in your social network strongly predict cognitive functioning, emotional resilience, and satisfaction at work. A well-structured network is likely to boost the quality of your ideas, as well as your pay. Beyond the office, social connections are the lifeblood of our health and happiness. The compiled results from dozens of previous studies found that our social relationships have an effect on our likelihood of dying prematurely—equivalent to obesity or smoking.

Rich stories of Expansionists like Vernon Jordan, Brokers like Yo-Yo Ma, and Conveners like Anna Wintour, as well as personal experiences from King's own world of connections, inform this warm, engaging, revelatory investigation into some of the most consequential decisions we can make about the trajectory of our lives.]]>
368 Marissa King 1524743801 Brian 0 to-read 3.68 2021 Social Chemistry: Decoding the Elements of Human Connection
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<![CDATA[It's When You Sell That Counts]]> 4320295 225 Donald L. Cassidy 0786311290 Brian 0 to-read 2.75 1991 It's When You Sell That Counts
author: Donald L. Cassidy
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average rating: 2.75
book published: 1991
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When McKinsey Comes to Town 60644838 **A NEW YORK TIMES AND THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022**

An explosive exposé of the world's most prestigious and successful management consultancy.

'Panoramic, meticulously reported and ultimately devastating' Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain

McKinsey earns billions advising almost every major corporation as well as countless governments, including Britain's, the USA's and China's. It boasts of its ability to maximise efficiency while making the world a better place. Its millionaire partners and network of alumni go on to top jobs in the world's most powerful organisations. And yet, shielded by non-disclosure agreements, its work remains largely secret - until now.

In this propulsive investigation, two prize-winning journalists reveal the reality. McKinsey's work includes ruthless cost-cutting in the NHS, incentivising the prescription of opioids and executing Trump's immigration policies (the ones that put children in cages). Meanwhile its vast profits derive from a client roster that has included the coal and tobacco industries, as well as some of the world's most unsavoury despots.

McKinsey proudly insists it is a values-led organisation. When McKinsey Comes to Town is a parable of values betrayed: a devastating portrait of a firm whose work has often made the world more unequal, more corrupt and more dangerous.

*A The Times Best Book of 2022*
'A story of secrecy, delusion and untold harm' Observer
'Astonishing ... makes you so angry you want to chuck rocks at its offices' Sunday Times
'Every page made my blood boil' Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate
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368 Walt Bogdanich 1847926258 Brian 0 to-read 3.78 2022 When McKinsey Comes to Town
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<![CDATA[Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st Century Economy]]> 26114480
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.]]>
272 Alex Moazed 1250091896 Brian 0 to-read 4.03 2016 Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st Century Economy
author: Alex Moazed
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<![CDATA[The Almanack of Naval Ravikant By Eric Jorgenson, Tools of Titans By Timothy Ferriss 2 Books Collection Set]]> 121105473 Please Note That The Following Individual Books As Per Original ISBN and Cover Image In this Listing shall be Dispatched

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant By Eric Jorgenson, Tools of Titans By Timothy Ferriss 2 Books Collection

Tools of
The guests range from super celebs (Jamie Foxx, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc.) and athletes (icons of powerlifting, gymnastics, surfing, etc.) to legendary Special Operations commanders and black-market biochemists. For most of my guests, it’s the first time they’ve agreed to a two-to-three-hour interview, and the show is on the cusp of passing 100 million downloads.

The Almanack of Naval
Getting rich is not just about luck; happiness is not just a trait we are born with. These aspirations may seem out of reach, but building wealth and being happy are skills we can learn. So what are these skills, and how do we learn them? What are the principles that should guide our efforts? What does progress really look like?

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946 Eric Jorgenson 9123472669 Brian 0 to-read 4.35 The Almanack of Naval Ravikant By Eric Jorgenson, Tools of Titans By Timothy Ferriss 2 Books Collection Set
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How Google Works 23158207 How Google Works is the sum of those experiences distilled into a fun, easy-to-read primer on corporate culture, strategy, talent, decision-making, communication, innovation, and dealing with disruption.

The authors explain how the confluence of three seismic changes - the internet, mobile, and cloud computing - has shifted the balance of power from companies to consumers. The companies that will thrive in this ever-changing landscape will be the ones that create superior products and attract a new breed of multifaceted employees whom the authors dub 'smart creatives'. The management maxims ('Consensus requires dissension', 'Exile knaves but fight for divas', 'Think 10X, not 10%') are illustrated with previously unreported anecdotes from Google's corporate history.

'Back in 2010, Eric and I created an internal class for Google managers,' says Rosenberg. 'The class slides all read 'Google confidential' until an employee suggested we uphold the spirit of openness and share them with the world. This book codifies the recipe for our secret sauce: how Google innovates and how it empowers employees to succeed.']]>
286 Eric Schmidt Brian 0 to-read 4.05 2014 How Google Works
author: Eric Schmidt
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<![CDATA[Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives—and Our Lives Change Our Genes]]> 18296148
Inheritance

Conventional wisdom dictates that our genetic destiny is fixed at conception. But Dr. Moalem's groundbreaking book shows us that the human genome is far more fluid and fascinating than your ninth grade biology teacher ever imagined. By bringing us to the bedside of his unique and complex patients, he masterfully demonstrates what rare genetic conditions can teach us all about our own health and well-being.

In the brave new world we're rapidly rocketing into, genetic knowledge has become absolutely crucial. Inheritance provides an indispensable roadmap for this journey by teaching

-Why you may have recovered from the psychological trauma caused by childhood bullying-but your genes may remain scarred for life.

-How fructose is the sugar that makes fruits sweet-but if you have certain genes, consuming it can buy you a one-way trip to the coroner's office.

-Why ingesting common painkillers is like dosing yourself repeatedly with morphine-if you have a certain set of genes.

-How insurance companies legally use your genetic data to predict the risk of disability for you and your children-and how that impacts the coverage decisions they make for your family.

-How to have the single most important conversation with your doctor-one that can save your life.

And

-Why people with rare genetic conditions hold the keys to medical problems affecting millions.

In this trailblazing book, Dr. Moalem employs his wide-ranging and entertaining interdisciplinary approach to science and medicine-- explaining how art, history, superheroes, sex workers, and sports stars all help us understand the impact of our lives on our genes, and our genes on our lives. Inheritance will profoundly alter how you view your genes, your health--and your life.]]>
272 Sharon Moalem 1455549444 Brian 0 to-read 3.90 2014 Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives—and Our Lives Change Our Genes
author: Sharon Moalem
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average rating: 3.90
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<![CDATA[The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon]]> 17660462 The definitive story of Amazon.com, one of the most successful companies in the world, and of its driven, brilliant founder, Jeff Bezos.

Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But its visionary founder, Jeff Bezos, wasn't content with being a bookseller. He wanted Amazon to become the everything store, offering limitless selection and seductive convenience at disruptively low prices. To do so, he developed a corporate culture of relentless ambition and secrecy that's never been cracked. Until now. Brad Stone enjoyed unprecedented access to current and former Amazon employees and Bezos family members, giving readers the first in-depth, fly-on-the-wall account of life at Amazon. Compared to tech's other elite innovators--Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg--Bezos is a private man. But he stands out for his restless pursuit of new markets, leading Amazon into risky new ventures like the Kindle and cloud computing, and transforming retail in the same way Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing.

The Everything Store will be the revealing, definitive biography of the company that placed one of the first and largest bets on the Internet and forever changed the way we shop and read.]]>
384 Brad Stone 0316219266 Brian 0 to-read 4.12 2013 The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
author: Brad Stone
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<![CDATA[A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett]]> 20322188
There are a lot of books about Warren Buffett, but A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers is different. It tells in a short-easy-to-read way about what managers and investors can learn from Buffett. This is a selection of useful and timeless wisdom where Warren Buffett in his own words tells us how to think about business valuation, what is a good and bad business, acquisitions and their traps, yardsticks, compensation issues, how to reduce risk, corporate governance, the importance of trust and the right culture, learning from mistakes, and more.]]>
81 Peter Bevelin 1578647452 Brian 0 to-read 4.42 A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett
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<![CDATA[Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind]]> 917192
Evolutionary psychology is a revolutionary new science, a true synthesis of modern principles of psychology and evolutionary biology. Since the publication of the award-winning first edition of Evolutionary Psychology, there has been an explosion of research within the field. In this book, David M. Buss examines human behavior from an evolutionary perspective, providing students with the conceptual tools needed to study evolutionary psychology and apply them to empirical research on the human mind. This edition contains expanded coverage of cultural evolution, with a new section on culture–gene co-evolution, additional studies discussing interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals, expanded discussions of evolutionary hypotheses that have been empirically disconfirmed, and much more!]]>
518 David M. Buss Brian 0 to-read 4.41 2014 Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind
author: David M. Buss
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Snow Crash 61240297 The "brilliantly realized" (The New York Times Book Review) modern classic that coined the term "metaverse"--one of Time's 100 best English-language novels and "a foundational text of the cyberpunk movement" (Wired), now in a gorgeous new hardcover edition featuring bonus material

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous . . . you'll recognize it immediately.]]>
576 Neal Stephenson 059359973X Brian 0 to-read 4.02 1992 Snow Crash
author: Neal Stephenson
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<![CDATA[Direct Truth: Uncompromising, non-prescriptive Truths to the enduring questions of life]]> 40947505 The Truth is a path away from all fixes. And away from all chases. It is for the one who is Serious. It is for the one who is Sincere. This book is for but a handful of individuals in the world. Those with a rarest form of DNA. The DNA to arrive at the Direct Truth in all things. So that they may put an end to all chases. So that they may walk life’s Final Mile. And come to possess the things that they have called by various other names.]]> 154 Kapil Gupta Brian 0 to-read 4.39 Direct Truth: Uncompromising, non-prescriptive Truths to the enduring questions of life
author: Kapil Gupta
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average rating: 4.39
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Siddhartha 52036 152 Hermann Hesse Brian 0 to-read 4.07 1922 Siddhartha
author: Hermann Hesse
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<![CDATA[Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life]]> 36064445 New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan, a bold new work that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility

In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one’s own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.

As always both accessible and iconoclastic, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who spearhead military interventions, make financial investments, and propagate religious faiths. Among his insights:

â€� For social justice,Ěýfocus on symmetry and risk sharing. You cannot make profits and transfer the risks to others, as bankers and large corporations do. You cannot get rich without owning your own risk and paying for your own losses. Forcing skin in the game corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations.
� Ethical rules aren’t universal. You’re part of a group larger than you, but it’s still smaller than humanity in general.
� Minorities, not majorities, run the world. The world is not run by consensus but by stubborn minorities imposing their tastes and ethics on others.
� You can be an intellectual yet still be an idiot. “Educated philistines� have been wrong on everything from Stalinism to Iraq to low-carb diets.
� Beware of complicated solutions (that someone was paid to find). A simple barbell can build muscle better than expensive new machines.
� True religion is commitment, not just faith. How much you believe in something is manifested only by what you’re willing to risk for it.

The phrase “skin in the game� is one we have often heard but rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it’s also an astonishingly rich worldview that, as Taleb shows in this book, applies to all aspects of our lives. As Taleb says, “The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that’s necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster,� and “Never trust anyone who doesn’t have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them.”]]>
272 Nassim Nicholas Taleb 0241300657 Brian 0 to-read 3.88 2018 Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
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<![CDATA[The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves]]> 7776209
Yet Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. Prosperity comes from everybody working for everybody else. The habit of exchange and specialization—which started more than 100,000 years ago—has created a collective brain that sets human living standards on a rising trend. The mutual dependence, trust, and sharing that result are causes for hope, not despair.

This bold book covers the entire sweep of human history, from the Stone Age to the Internet, from the stagnation of the Ming empire to the invention of the steam engine, from the population explosion to the likely consequences of climate change. It ends with a confident assertion that thanks to the ceaseless capacity of the human race for innovative change, and despite inevitable disasters along the way, the twenty-first century will see both human prosperity and natural biodiversity enhanced. Acute, refreshing, and revelatory, The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.]]>
448 Matt Ridley 006145205X Brian 0 to-read 3.94 2010 The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
author: Matt Ridley
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average rating: 3.94
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<![CDATA[Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher]]> 5553 138 Richard P. Feynman 0465023924 Brian 0 to-read 4.22 1994 Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher
author: Richard P. Feynman
name: Brian
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1994
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<![CDATA["Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character]]> 35167685 A New York Times bestseller—the outrageous exploits of one of this century's greatest scientific minds and a legendary American original.


Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, thrived on outrageous adventures. Here he recounts in his inimitable voice his experience trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek; cracking the uncrackable safes guarding the most deeply held nuclear secrets; accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums; painting a naked female toreador. In short, here is Feynman's life in all its eccentric—a combustible mixture of high intelligence, unlimited curiosity, and raging chutzpah.]]>
400 Richard P. Feynman 0393355624 Brian 0 to-read 4.26 1985 "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character
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average rating: 4.26
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The Selfish Gene 61535 360 Richard Dawkins 0199291152 Brian 0 to-read 4.15 1976 The Selfish Gene
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The Origin of Species 22463
Yet The Origin of Species (1859) is also a humane and inspirational vision of ecological interrelatedness, revealing the complex mutual interdependencies between animal and plant life, climate and physical environment, and—by implication—within the human world.

Written for the general reader, in a style which combines the rigour of science with the subtlety of literature, The Origin of Species remains one of the founding documents of the modern age.]]>
703 Charles Darwin Brian 0 to-read 4.01 1859 The Origin of Species
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Economics in One Lesson 3028 Economics in One Lesson is a classic economic primer. But it is also much more, having become a fundamental influence on modern “libertarian� economics of the type espoused by Ron Paul and others.

Considered among the leading economic thinkers of the “Austrian School,â€� which includes Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich (F.A.) Hayek, and others, Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993), was a libertarian philosopher, an economist, and a journalist. He was the founding vice-president of the Foundation for Economic Education and an early editor of The Freeman magazine, an influential libertarian publication.Ěý Hazlitt wrote Economics in One Lesson, his seminal work, in 1946. Concise and instructive, it is also deceptively prescient and far-reaching in its efforts to dissemble economic fallacies that are so prevalent they have almost become a new orthodoxy.

Many current economic commentators across the political spectrum have credited Hazlitt with foreseeing the collapse of the global economy which occurred more than 50 years after the initial publication of Economics in One Lesson. Hazlitt’s focus on non-governmental solutions, strong � and strongly reasoned � anti-deficit position, and general emphasis on free markets, economic liberty of individuals, and the dangers of government intervention make Economics in One Lesson, every bit as relevant and valuable today as it has been since publication.]]>
218 Henry Hazlitt Brian 0 to-read 4.16 1946 Economics in One Lesson
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<![CDATA[The Wealth Of Nations: By Adam Smith (Illustrated And Unabridged)]]> 28241997 Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.� : Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Your 'The Wealth of Nations' by Adam Smith eBook Report: Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated. Working Table of Contents, Font adjustments & Navigation. About �The Wealth of Nations' by Adam Smith


Adam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher, pioneer of political economy, and key Scottish Enlightenment figure. Smith is best known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is cited as the "father of modern economics" and is still among the most influential thinkers in the field of economics todayAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.


Top 100 Best-Ever Classics Books:


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661 Adam Smith Brian 0 to-read 3.42 1776 The Wealth Of Nations: By Adam Smith (Illustrated And Unabridged)
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<![CDATA[Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success]]> 13383957
Simplicity isn’t just a design principle at Apple—it’s a value that permeates every level of the organization. The obsession with Simplicity is what separates Apple from other technology companies. It’s what helped Apple recover from near death in 1997 to become the most valuable company on Earth in 2011.

Thanks to Steve Jobs’s uncompromising ways, you can see Simplicity in everything Apple the way it’s structured, the way it innovates, and the way it speaks to its customers.

It’s by crushing the forces of Complexity that the company remains on its stellar trajectory.

As ad agency creative director, Ken Segall played a key role in Apple’s resurrection, helping to create such critical marketing campaigns as Think different. By naming the iMac, he also laid the foundation for naming waves of i-products to come.

Segall has a unique perspective, given his years of experience creating campaigns for other iconic tech companies, including IBM, Intel, and Dell. It was the stark contrast of Apple’s ways that made Segall appreciate the power of Simplicity—and inspired him to help others benefit from it.

In Insanely Simple , you’ll be a fly on the wall inside a conference room with Steve Jobs, and on the receiving end of his midnight phone calls. You’ll understand how his obsession with Simplicity helped Apple perform better and faster, sometimes saving millions in the process. You’ll also learn, for example, how

� Think Distilling choices to a minimum brings clarity to a company and its customers—as Jobs proved when he replaced over twenty product models with a lineup of four.
� Think Swearing allegiance to the concept of “small groups of smart people� raises both morale and productivity.
� Think Keeping project teams in constant motion focuses creative thinking on well-defined goals and minimizes distractions.
� Think Using a simple, powerful image to symbolize the benefit of a product or idea creates a deeper impression in the minds of customers.
� Think Giving yourself an unfair advantage—using every weapon at your disposal—is the best way to ensure that your ideas survive unscathed.

Segall brings Apple’s quest for Simplicity to life using fascinating (and previously untold) stories from behind the scenes. Through his insight and wit, you’ll discover how companies that leverage this power can stand out from competitors—and individuals who master it can become critical assets to their organizations.]]>
240 Ken Segall 1591844835 Brian 0 to-read 3.89 2012 Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success
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<![CDATA[Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole: How Entrepreneurs Turn Failure into Success]]> 32610608 Develop the Scaramucci mindset that drives entrepreneurial success

Hopping over the Rabbit Hole chronicles the rise, fall, and resurgence of SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, giving you a primer on how to thrive in an unpredictable business environment. The sheer number of American success stories has created a false impression that becoming an entrepreneur is a can't-miss endeavor—butĚýnothing could be further from the truth. In the real world, an entrepreneur batting .150 goes directly to the Hall of Fame. Things happen. You make a bad hire, a bad strategic decision, or suffer the consequences of an unforeseen market crash. You can't control what happens to your business, but you can absolutely control how you react, and how you turn bumps in the road into ramps to the sky. Anthony Scaramucci has been there and done that, again and again, and has ultimately come out on top; in this book, he shares what he wishes he knew then.

Your chances of becoming an overnight billionaire are approximately the same as your chances of being signed to the NBA. Success is hard work, and anxiety, and tiny hiccups that can turn into disaster with a single misstep. This book shows you how to use adversity to your ultimate advantage, and build the skills you need to respond effectively to the unexpected.

Learn how to deal with unforeseen events Map a strategic backup plan, and then a backup-backup plan Train yourself to react in the most productive way Internalize the lessons learned by a leader in entrepreneurship

For every 23-year-old billionaire who just created a new way to send a picture on a phone, there are countless others who have failed, and failed miserably. Hopping over the Rabbit Hole gives you the skills, insight, and mindset you need to be one of the winners.

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191 Anthony Scaramucci Brian 0 to-read 3.64 Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole: How Entrepreneurs Turn Failure into Success
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<![CDATA[Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.]]> 16121 ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýBorn the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world's richest man by creating America's most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýRockefeller was likely the most controversial businessman in our nation's history. Critics charged that his empire was built on unscrupulous tactics: grand-scale collusion with the railroads, predatory pricing, industrial espionage, and wholesale bribery of political officials. The titan spent more than thirty years dodging investigations until Teddy Roosevelt and his trustbusters embarked on a marathon crusade to bring Standard Oil to bay.
ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýWhile providing abundant new evidence of Rockefeller's misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettably human portrait of a quirky, eccentric original. A devout Baptist and temperance advocate, Rockefeller gave money more generously--his chosen philanthropies included the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and what is today Rockefeller University--than anyone before him. Titan presents a finely nuanced portrait of a fascinating, complex man, synthesizing his public and private lives and disclosing numerous family scandals, tragedies, and misfortunes that have never before come to light.
ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýJohn D. Rockefeller's story captures a pivotal moment in American history, documenting the dramatic post-Civil War shift from small business to the rise of giant corporations that irrevocably transformed the nation. With cameos by Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, Jay Gould, William Vanderbilt, Ida Tarbell, Andrew Carnegie, Carl Jung, J. Pierpont Morgan, William James, Henry Clay Frick, Mark Twain, and Will Rogers, Titan turns Rockefeller's life into a vivid tapestry of American society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is Ron Chernow's signal triumph that he narrates this monumental saga with all the sweep, drama, and insight that this giant subject deserves.


From the Hardcover edition.]]>
832 Ron Chernow 1400077303 Brian 0 to-read 4.15 1998 Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
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<![CDATA[Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond]]> 45894128 An engaging and deeply reported investigation of friendship: its evolution, purpose, and centrality in human and nonhuman lives alike.

The bonds of friendship are universal and elemental. In Friendship, journalist Lydia Denworth visits the front lines of the science of friendship in search of its biological, psychological, and evolutionary foundations. Finding it to be as old as life on the African savannas, she also discovers that friendship is reflected in our brain waves, detectable in our genomes, and capable of strengthening our cardiovascular and immune systems. Its opposite, loneliness, can kill. As a result, social connection is finally being recognized as critical to our physical and emotional well-being.

With warmth and compassion, Denworth weaves together past and present, field biology and cutting-edge neuroscience, to show how our bodies and minds are designed to make friends, the process by which social bonds develop, and how a drive for friendship underpins human (and nonhuman) society. With its refreshingly optimistic vision of the evolution of human nature, this book puts friendship at the center of our lives.]]>
312 Lydia Denworth 0393651541 Brian 0 to-read 3.65 2020 Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond
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<![CDATA[Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World]]> 51338489 In the tradition of Susan Cain's Quiet and Scott Stossel's My Age of Anxiety, Atlantic staff writer Olga Khazan reclaims the concept of "weird" and turns it into a badge of honor rather than a slur, showing how being different -- culturally, socially, physically, or mentally -- can actually be a person's greatest strength.

Most of us have at some point in our lives felt like an outsider, sometimes considering ourselves "too weird" to fit in. Growing up as a Russian immigrant in West Texas, Olga Khazan always felt there was something different about her. This feeling has permeated her life, and as she embarked on a science writing career, she realized there were psychological connections between this feeling of being an outsider and both her struggles and successes later in life. She decided to reach out to other people who were unique in their environments to see if they had experienced similar feelings of alienation, and if so, to learn how they overcame them. Weird is based on in-person interviews with many of these individuals, such as a woman who is professionally surrounded by men, a liberal in a conservative area, and a Muslim in a predominantly Christian town. In addition, it provides actionable insights based on interviews with dozens of experts and a review of hundreds of scientific studies.

Weird explores why it is that we crave conformity, how that affects people who are different, and what they can do about it. First, the book dives into the history of social norms and why some people hew to them more strictly than others. Next, Khazan explores the causes behind-and the consequences of-social rejection. She then reveals the hidden upsides to being "weird," as well as the strategies that people who are different might use in order to achieve success in a society that values normalcy. Finally, the book follows the trajectories of unique individuals who either decided to be among others just like them; to stay weird; or to dwell somewhere in between.

Combining Khazan's own story with those of others and with fascinating takeaways from cutting-edge psychology research, Weird reveals how successful individuals learned to embrace their weirdness, using it to their advantage.]]>
320 Olga Khazan 031641848X Brian 0 to-read 3.54 2020 Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World
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<![CDATA[What's Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve]]> 51949252 "The author makes a compelling case that we often start solving a problem before thinking deeply about whether we are solving the right problem. If you want the superpower of solving better problems, read this book." -- Eric Schmidt, former CEO, Google

Are you solving the right problems? Have you or your colleagues ever worked hard on something, only to find out you were focusing on the wrong problem entirely? Most people have. In a survey, 85 percent of companies said they often struggle to solve the right problems. The consequences are severe: Leaders fight the wrong strategic battles. Teams spend their energy on low-impact work. Startups build products that nobody wants. Organizations implement "solutions" that somehow make things worse, not better. Everywhere you look, the waste is staggering. As Peter Drucker pointed out, there's nothing more dangerous than the right answer to the wrong question.

There is a way to do better.

The key is reframing, a crucial, underutilized skill that you can master with the help of this book. Using real-world stories and unforgettable examples like "the slow elevator problem," author Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg offers a simple, three-step method - Frame, Reframe, Move Forward - that anyone can use to start solving the right problems. Reframing is not difficult to learn. It can be used on everyday challenges and on the biggest, trickiest problems you face. In this visually engaging, deeply researched book, you’ll learn from leaders at large companies, from entrepreneurs, consultants, nonprofit leaders, and many other breakthrough thinkers.

It's time for everyone to stop barking up the wrong trees. Teach yourself and your team to reframe, and growth and success will follow.

]]>
232 Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg 1633697231 Brian 0 to-read 4.25 2020 What's Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve
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<![CDATA[The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness]]> 54898389 244 Eric Jorgenson Brian 0 to-read 4.40 2020 The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness
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Trump: The Art of the Deal 1032 Ěý
“I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”—Donald J. Trump
Ěý
Here is Trump in action—how he runs his business and how he runs his life—as he meets the people he needs to meet, chats with family and friends, clashes with enemies, and changes the face of the New York City skyline. But even a maverick plays by rules, and Trump has formulated eleven guidelines for success. He isolates the common elements in his greatest deals; he shatters myths; he names names, spells out the zeros, and fully reveals the deal-maker’s art. And throughout, Trump talks—really talks—about how he does it. Trump: The Art of the Deal is an unguarded look at the mind of a brilliant entrepreneur and an unprecedented education in the practice of deal-making. It’s the most streetwise business book there is—and the ultimate read for anyone interested in achieving money and success, and knowing the man behind the spotlight.
Ěý]]>
384 Donald J. Trump 0345479173 Brian 3 3.65 1987 Trump: The Art of the Deal
author: Donald J. Trump
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<![CDATA[Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class]]> 176444107 The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, The Other Wes Moore, and Someone Has Led This Child to Believe, Rob Henderson vividly recounts growing up in foster care, enlisting in the US Air Force, attending elite universities, and pioneering the concept of “luxury beliefs”—ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class while inflicting costs on the less fortunate.

Rob Henderson was born to a drug-addicted mother and a father he never met, ultimately shuttling between ten different foster homes in California. When he was adopted into a loving family, he hoped that life would finally be stable and safe. Divorce, tragedy, poverty, and violence marked his adolescent and teen years, propelling Henderson to join the military upon completing high school.

An unflinching portrait of shattered families, desperation, and determination, Troubled recounts Henderson’s expectation-defying young life and juxtaposes his story with those of his friends who wound up incarcerated or killed. He retreads the steps and missteps he took to escape the drama and disorder of his youth. As he navigates the peaks and valleys of social class, Henderson finds that he remains on the outside looking in. His greatest achievements—a military career, an undergraduate education from Yale, a PhD from Cambridge—feel like hollow measures of success. He argues that stability at home is more important than external accomplishments, and he illustrates the ways the most privileged among us benefit from a set of social standards that actively harm the most vulnerable.]]>
336 Rob Henderson 1982168536 Brian 3 4.10 2024 Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
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<![CDATA[Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs]]> 134939419
Outside Atlanta, a middle-class Black family faces off with a school system seemingly bent on punishing their teenage son. North of Dallas, a conservative white family relocates to an affluent suburban enclave, but can’t escape the changes sweeping the country. On Chicago’s North Shore, a multiracial mom joins an ultraprogressive challenge to the town’s liberal status quo. In Compton, California, whose suburban roots are now barely recognizable, undocumented Hispanic parents place their gifted son’s future in the hands of educators at a remarkable elementary school. And outside Pittsburgh, a Black mother moves to the same street where the author grew up, then confronts the destructive legacy left behind by white families like his.

Education journalist Benjamin Herold braids these human stories together with local and national history to make Disillusioned an astonishing reading experience—and an urgent argument that suburbia and its schools are locked in a devastating cycle that has brought America to a point of crisis. For generations, upwardly mobile white families have extracted opportunity from the nation’s heavily subsidized suburbs, then moved on before the bills for maintenance and repair came due, leaving the mostly Black and Brown families who followed to clean up the ensuing mess. Now, though, rapidly shifting demographics and the reality that endless expansion is no longer feasible are disrupting that pattern. Forced to face truths that their communities were built to avoid, everyday suburban families suddenly find themselves at the center of the nation’s most pressing How do we confront America’s troubled history? How do we build a future in which all children can thrive?

In exploring these questions, Herold pulls back the curtain on suburban public schools and school boards, which he argues are the new ground zero in the fight to revive the country’s faltering promise. Then, alongside Bethany Smith—the mother from his old neighborhood, who contributes a powerful epilogue to the book—Herold offers a path toward renewal. The result is nothing short of a journalistic masterpiece.]]>
496 Benjamin Herold 0593298187 Brian 3 3.87 2024 Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs
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<![CDATA[Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave]]> 91587
An astonishing orator and a skillful writer, Douglass became a newspaper editor, a political activist, and an eloquent spokesperson for the civil rights of African Americans. He lived through the Civil War, the end of slavery, and the beginning of segregation. He was celebrated internationally as the leading black intellectual of his day, and his story still resonates in ours.]]>
160 Frederick Douglass 1593080417 Brian 0 to-read 4.25 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
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<![CDATA[The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age]]> 82256
The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization.

Few observers of the late twentieth century have their fingers so presciently on the pulse of the global political and economic realignment ushering in the new millennium as do James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Their bold prediction of disaster on Wall Street in Blood in the Streets was borne out by Black Tuesday. In their ensuing bestseller, The Great Reckoning, published just weeks before the coup attempt against Gorbachev, they analyzed the pending collapse of the Soviet Union and foretold the civil war in Yugoslavia and other events that have proved to be among the most searing developments of the past few years.

In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries—the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government. This outstanding book will replace false hopes and fictions with new understanding and clarified values.]]>
448 James Dale Davidson 0684832720 Brian 0 to-read 4.20 1997 The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
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<![CDATA[The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook]]> 129909 The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, he tells their stories of trauma and transformation through the lens of science, revealing the brain's astonishing capacity for healing. Deftly combining unforgettable case histories with his own compassionate, insightful strategies for rehabilitation, Perry explains what exactly happens to the brain when a child is exposed to extreme stress-and reveals the unexpected measures that can be taken to ease a child's pain and help him grow into a healthy adult. Through the stories of children who recover-physically, mentally, and emotionally-from the most devastating circumstances, Perry shows how simple things like surroundings, affection, language, and touch can deeply impact the developing brain, for better or for worse. In this deeply informed and moving book, Bruce Perry dramatically demonstrates that only when we understand the science of the mind can we hope to heal the spirit of even the most wounded child.]]> 288 Bruce D. Perry 0465056520 Brian 4 4.59 2007 The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook
author: Bruce D. Perry
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average rating: 4.59
book published: 2007
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart About the Numbers]]> 41138379 288 Mihir Desai 1633696707 Brian 0 to-read 4.50 How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart About the Numbers
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<![CDATA[Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age]]> 41793 Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham

We are living in the computer age, in a world increasingly designed and engineered by computer programmers and software designers, by people who call themselves hackers. Who are these people, what motivates them, and why should you care?

Consider these facts: Everything around us is turning into computers. Your typewriter is gone, replaced by a computer. Your phone has turned into a computer. So has your camera. Soon your TV will. Your car was not only designed on computers, but has more processing power in it than a room-sized mainframe did in 1970. Letters, encyclopedias, newspapers, and even your local store are being replaced by the Internet.

Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham, explains this world and the motivations of the people who occupy it. In clear, thoughtful prose that draws on illuminating historical examples, Graham takes readers on an unflinching exploration into what he calls “an intellectual Wild West.�

The ideas discussed in this book will have a powerful and lasting impact on how we think, how we work, how we develop technology, and how we live. Topics include the importance of beauty in software design, how to make wealth, heresy and free speech, the programming language renaissance, the open-source movement, digital design, internet startups, and more.]]>
272 Paul Graham 0596006624 Brian 0 to-read 4.03 2004 Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age
author: Paul Graham
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<![CDATA[To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care]]> 16691891
Who are the children of foster care? What, as a country, do we owe them? Cris Beam, a foster mother herself, spent five years immersed in the world of foster care, looking into these questions and tracing firsthand stories. The result is "To the End of June," an unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives of foster children at the critical points in their search for a stable, loving family.

The book mirrors the life cycle of a foster child and so begins with the removal of babies and kids from birth families. There's a teenage birth mother in Texas who signs away her parental rights on a napkin only to later reconsider, crushing the hopes of her baby's adoptive parents. Beam then paints an unprecedented portrait of the intricacies of growing up in the system--the back-and-forth with agencies, the shuffling between pre-adoptive homes and group homes, the emotionally charged tug of prospective adoptive parents and the fundamental pull of birth parents. And then what happens as these system-reared kids become adults? Beam closely follows a group of teenagers in New York who are grappling with what aging out will mean for them and meets a woman who has parented eleven kids from the system, almost all over the age of eighteen, and all still in desperate need of a sense of home and belonging.

Focusing intensely on a few foster families who are deeply invested in the system's success, "To the End of June" is essential for humanizing and challenging a broken system, while at the same time it is a tribute to resiliency and offers hope for real change.]]>
337 Cris Beam 0547999534 Brian 5 4.00 2013 To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care
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average rating: 4.00
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<![CDATA[The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less]]> 56913172
A revolutionary roadmap for building startups that go the distance
Ěý
Now more than ever, you don’t need a fancy office, Ivy League degree, or millions of dollars in venture capital to launch a business that matters for the communities you care most about. Software, the internet, and remote work have made it possible for entrepreneurs to start for free, make a customer of anyone, and grow a profitable, sustainable company from anywhere.Ěý

Packed with hard-won, battle-tested lessons from Lavingia’s own journey of building Gumroad, a platform for creators to sell their work, The Minimalist Entrepreneur teaches founders how
Ěý
ĚýĚý•Ě� start then learn
ĚýĚý•Ě� build a community, then solve a problem for them
ĚýĚý•Ě� charge for something even before you’ve built anything
ĚýĚý•Ě� avoid running out of money and, more importantly, energy
ĚýĚý•Ě� run a tight ship amid the rise of the gig economy and remote work
ĚýĚý•Ě� own a business without it owning you back.
Ěý
The Minimalist Entrepreneur is the manifesto for a new generation of founders who would rather build great companies than big ones. This is essential knowledge for every founder aspiring to build a business worth building.]]>
256 Sahil Lavingia 0593192397 Brian 4 4.16 The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less
author: Sahil Lavingia
name: Brian
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/14
date added: 2024/01/14
shelves:
review:

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