111–120 of 313 posts
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
Seriously? I've often seen this book recommended, but I just can't figure out what people find in it. Care to share?
Read in this way, the book can act as a catalyst for meditative insights -- overlooked possibilities, bigger pictures, new roles and options, and alternative directions for the future.
* Thinking, Fast and Slow: http://amzn.to/sXQGSR - probably makes my list because I just finished it, and as he says "what you see is all there is" - we're biased towards things that come to mind easily. Actually, it is a pretty good book even looking through all the others I've read.
* 1491: http://amzn.to/uaR0yf - about the Americas prior to the arrival of "Cristoforo Colombo".
* Built to sell: http://amzn.to/ukmyNP - how to create a business that is something that you can sell because it can exist without you. Not quite so relevant to startups working on a product, but some good concepts nonetheless. A good summary is probably just as good as reading the book, as the core concepts are fairly simple.
* Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World: http://amzn.to/tVvltK the history of the world as seen through languages.
* The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East: http://amzn.to/spQCF7 - a look at how the legal systems of 'the west' and the middle east differed and the results those systems led to.
And of course, if you haven't read this one, I think it's a great read:
Start Small, Stay Small: http://amzn.to/v2DHyx - a great guide full of practical advice on "startups for the rest of us".
What I haven't read:
Lean Startups by Eric Ries. Does it contain much practical advice? I get the impression it's a bit on the 'strategic' side without giving you concrete ideas about how to go about doing things.
The Steve Jobs biography. It looks to be so pervasive and widespread that I'm wondering if I can absorb most of the good parts from other people who have read it. I may get it anyway; we'll see.
FWIW, all links contain a referral code to help fuel my reading habit.
Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow". It's a great account of things we know about how the mind works, with amazing insights.
* A Random Walk Down Wall Street
* Predictably Irrational
* Black Swan
* Blink
and enjoyed those too. I've also read "How To Make Friends and Influence People" and started "Lords of Finance" but never finished.
- "Physics for Future Presidents" by Richard Muller
Not really a book but I found the "MIT Guide to Lock Picking" an interesting read.
"The 4-Hour Body", by Tim Ferriss. Because of that book, within 3 months I went from running completely out of breath after 2 minutes of running, to finishing a half-marathon in 2 hours. And during the prior 3 months, I had lost 15 kilos by following the "slow-carb diet" described in the book. Reading it seemed to flip a switch in my brain: before, I would think of my body as something I had little control over, whil…
"The 4-Hour Body", by Tim Ferriss. Because of that book, within 3 months I went from running completely out of breath after 2 minutes of running, to finishing a half-marathon in 2 hours. And during the prior 3 months, I had lost 15 kilos by following the "slow-carb diet" described in the book. Reading it seemed to flip a switch in my brain: before, I would think of my body as something I had little control over, whil…
On a similar note I'd nominate Good Calories, Bad Calories as my book. Ferris gets my back up, especially the received wisdom that others quote from him, but Taubes really opened my eyes to the fact I could change what I eat and feel ten times better.