Read this once in middle school. Haven't revisited it since. Quite a shame since it is even better than I remembered.
Another home run biography by Isaacson. This bio will sit proudly on my bookshelf next to Jobs, Franklin, Einstein, and da Vinci. Hardcore mode should be the default mode for most companies that want to accomplish anything. I work at a very lean small/medium company that operates in hardcore, get-it-done mode most of the time and it was refreshing to see it highlighted and potentially normalized. My favorite story was the twitter server move story where Musk basically said "Yeah that's way to expensive. Go rent trucks and we will do it ourselves." At the company I work for this mentality is the rule not the exception. My co-workers and I talked fondly of "the twitter move" story on a work trip in Jan (2024) over some well earned texas pours from Texas Roadhouse after what we call a "hardware day."
Currently Reading. February 2024 update: still reading. This is my read-a-chapter-at-night book for when I want a bit of non-tv stimulation. Slowly!
Great short read. Definitely go and rent this (along with Tribe (below)) from your local library. Makes you feel. Makes you think.
I think this is Junger's better work. Since I read this and Freedom so close together I got to get a good feeling for both of his books. The part on how mental health issues dropped to nil during WWII was very insightful regarding the need for purpose as a society and the "every-man-for-himself" at it's core doesn't genuinely work. We can't all live alone in a hut in the woods. Even if the "hut" is an apartment in the city and the "woods" is the internet. Societal connection is what holds the world together and that can't be replicated online.
A detailed account of Oppenheimer's life, from his upbringing to his foundational years with his Communist associations, and then on to the Manhattan Project and the fallout from his pre-war associations during the McCarthy era. I enjoyed the MP portion and the descriptions of physics involved - I didn't know that the fusion type thermo-nuclear bomb was theoretically in the works prior to even the first detonation of a fission type nuclear bomb at Trinity, which was cool - as well as the philosophical debates in regards to atomic weapons. One description that stuck out referring to the "why" in "why should we stockpile nuclear weapons" was the defensive strategy known as "defense by genocide." Overall, I'd say skip this read and hopefully the movie does his life justice.
Update Feb. 2024 - I saw the movie and after explained some things I learned in the book to my girlfriend that was not covered in the movie that filled in some important aspects. So I would say read it! It makes the movie that much better!
A book every 25-year-old should read and then re-read every decade there after. It contains consumable and actionable health practices with subject-matter-expert level details so that you feel that you are truly understanding the whys and hows. The basic premise is: It really doesn't matter if you live to see 95 if the last 10-15 years of your life you are confined to a nursing home/wheel chair or you are so chronically uncomfortable, your "life" ends when those health factors start to erode your established way of life. Attia provides a set of tactics, encompassing both recommended approaches and ones to steer clear of, to build a foundation upon which a long "healthspan" can be built which naturally will increase your lifespan while enjoying it all the way until the end.
Very enlightening book showing the strengths and pitfalls of the military industrial complex. A recurring theme throughout that I have noticed in more and more political discussions is: what are the incentives? Incentives drive everything and without them progress/change would not happen. Every social movement has underlying incentives, including creating the world's most advanced military and basically arming the rest of the world.
I enjoyed the philosophical approach the author brought to the climate change debate. By framing the problem as a human-centered issue, interesting problems arise when thinking that we, as humanity, should unilaterally reduce fossil fuel usage as a means to slow down climate change. Who will go without A/C? Residents of Chicago, United States or Lae, Papua New Guinea? The purpose of fossil fuels are to make a person's life better, so we should make them more accessible to more people. Only after we get more people using fossil fuels to increase their quality of life and reduce overall mortality we can work on, through even more science, a way to stabilize the planet or even move people to other parts. If we are so close to a climate apocalypse, why are banks securing 30 loans on beach front property? If the Obama's had hard data that the coasts will flood and hurricanes will get unbearably stronger, they'd live in Denver instead of the coastal island of Martha's Vineyard.
This was a fun read. It starts you off with creating the "mini habit": When you start reading this book, you MUST ready two pages per day until the book is done. Even if it is 11:58 PM, you HAVE to read to pages before going to sleep. I really enjoyed how it hit the ground running on page one with an example that gave me a practical understanding to build upon throughout the rest of the book as the author provided more strategies and tactics.
Recommended by Andrew Huberman of the Huberman Lab Podcast, this book was a shock to say the least. I myself went through many iterations of braces and expanders when I was a child which, after reading this book, I feel could have been avoided. I took many action items from this concise, detailed book including mouth taping and "chewing more hard foods" and I have noticed a difference in my breathing and jaw line as a result. Highly, highly recommend.
I listened to this book on audio (via the almightily Libby app) while I was in Toledo, OH for a work trip. Overall it was nice and entertaining. There are two main plot lines that converge in the third act; one is really engaging and the other was not for me. I almost completely tuned out the secondary plot half way through and I feel like I could have enjoyed the story without the extra time; a lot of tangents into figurative fighting mixed with niche internet game streaming communities. It just wasn't captivating when compared to the other chapters. Listening to the audio book was a saving grace or I would have ended up skipping the "secondary" plot. Like I said earlier, overall it was an entertaining read with some interesting problems/solutions to global warming and proposes some very serious philosophical questions to ask once we, as caretakers, embrace geo-engineering/terraforming/weather-control/active-global-cooling.
Another home run from Jack Carr. I feel like this third book in the Terminal List series elevates the series into a conneted story arc rather than an independent story (Terminal List) or a sequel (A True Believer) and sets up the later books in the series. Reading Savage Son solidified my trust in Carr's storytelling to the point where I blindly trust new releases by him and any recommendations that he makes public.
I have been wanting to read this book for a while now (5+ years). I started it a couple times, but with it's 1,000+ pages, it takes quite a while to get into the story. I can happily say I am currently about 40% of the way through and I am really into it. It is delightfully technical for a fiction book and I will surely add more Stephenson novels to my nightstand.
Update Jan. 2023 - I lost interest in this book and it has started to collect dust again
Not quite as cant-put-it-down as the first one in the Terminal List series, but it was a nice read. Excited to continue with the series and since I limited myself to read it while on the stationary bike at the gym, I was itching to get on the bike when I was done with work just so I could find out what happens next. The third book in the series is sitting on my shelf!
Honestly, this book had a lot of potential and I was really into it for a while, but then I hit a wall. The story just kind of stuttered and I lost interest. A while ago I read a quote that said "You don't have to finish books you don't like" (or something like that) and I took that to heart and put it away. Maybe another day.
After finishing my first read related to law, I feel this is the beginning of a long journey exploring more. Full of nice explanations with real world examples as to why the judicial system is structured the way it is within the constitutional republic and the consequences if the original intentions are not considered. I deeply enjoyed the answers provided to: Why is there a strong emphasis on the separation of powers in the US and how the Judicial branch's power has grown by the Legislative branch's inaction and the Executive branch's overreach. The section on agency judges was particularly alarming.
I actually rented this book in audio format from the library and for about a week I think I made excuses for myself to drive so that I could listen. I was excited to hear that Amazon is making this into a tv series, so I will 100% be watching that. As soon as I finished, I ordered the next two books in the series and I can't wait to dive in.