Recommended Reads

Recommended Reads:

Zero, The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife

   Think change is hard in corporate life?  Try suggesting zero be added to the math system a few centuries ago.  Off with your head….   

The Science of Fear by Daniel Gardner

  NASCAR vs. the risk of smoking pot.   One is above the law, the other will get you in trouble with the law.  Explore     

Is God a Mathematician? by Mario Livio

  Fun read, albeit a bit repetitive. Knot theory in chapter eight is worth paying full price for the book.

Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean by Linda Cobb

  Toilet Tang? Ideas you won’t find on the internet for getting rid of red wine stains.

The New Paradigm for Financial Markets:

The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means by George Soros

  Powerful.  Unlike many other classically trained economists who weave a spider web of baloney, Soros admits he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.  If only all economists were subject to the Hippocratic Oath.   

Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein

  Classic.  A book worthy of a decade of dominance. Dusted this one off from my archive, and worth browsing a second time.

Positivity by Barbara L Fredrickson, PH.D.

  Listening to the digital version was like trying to gnaw on wood chips and unshelled walnuts for breakfast.  Numerical prosecution should be relegated to footnotes or an obscure academic journal, not a mainstream book. I know there was some wholesome granola and mixed berries for the soul in there somewhere; too bad I broke a tooth trying to find the nourishment.

Why your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller:  Oil and the end of Globalization by Jeff Rubin

  Reverse globalization on the way?  An argument worthy of contemplation.  As for the notion of “chain store enslavement’:  I adore Costco.  You can’t enslave a willing participant.     

In Search of Time: The Science of A Curious Dimension by Dan Falk

   Brilliant without being condescending, Falk’s work is thought provoking and worth the time.  Does Caesar live?  Is time an illusion?  How to pass the time…

The Ethical Executive by Robert Hoyk and Paul Hersey

   Culture trumps all.  Read Trap #3 for insight into why Wall Street blew itself up.  Trap #6 provides a clue to one of the problems that brought down General Motors.    

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

   Prepare for the winter party season and the irritating know-it-all acquaintance you can never avoid.  Better organized than The Black Swan.   

The Secret Cardinal by Tom Grace

   A word of warning to action junkies: you may be tempted to read all night.

 The Food of a YoungerLandby Mark Kurlansky

   One hour into the audio CD and the author was still treading water with irrelevant hubris, so I punted. Maybe the subject material was worthy, but I couldn’t stomach the monotony.  Get a new editor.