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Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

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Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#111

"Guns of August", Barbara Tuchman I am particularly interest in rereading it and paying particular attention to the question of judgement and how poor judgements were formed. World War 1 is notable for its poor judgements. This interest is sparked by my recently listening to [1], which was very enlightening. The essential question in our field often is not how fast we work, but if we're working on tasks worthy of att…

If you haven't read it already, Tuchman's The March of Folly continues the same theme, but as the consequences of the limits of humans and our institutions played out in a few other historical settings. Not as good as Guns of August, but still worth reading

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#112
"How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job", by Dale Carnegie. I can open any page in this book and find some wisdom and truth in it. He conveys a deep understanding of human nature and on how to lead a more effective life. As some say, "I was a good man; after reading this book, I was a better man".

I also recommend "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by the same author.

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#113
Reading right now: Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief

Up next: God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Clear-Scientology-Hollywood-Pris...

http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Bankers-History-Money-Vatican/dp/...

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#116
post #5

I just read Andy Weir's The Martian in one day -- it was (obviously) fantastic. I highly recommend it.

One of the best books I read in 2013, hugely enjoyable and very funny. Was also lucky to get the 99p Kindle self published one before he got picked up by a publisher.

I remember seeing that deal. Should have jumped on it then but forgot about it. Then I saw the book at an airport news stand and grabbed it...glad it got picked up by a publisher!

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#118
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not missing anything. There's a reason John Rogers wrote “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."

Can anyone explain to me why so many intelligent people love hating on this book? Do you disagree with her philosophy? If so - can you tell me about which things exactly made you dislike it and why? Everyone repeats this quote, and everyone generally says bad things about this book, but never anything concrete, never a clear reason what exactly is so bad about it.

I'd also like a clear refutation of that book. I've only read two Rand books: Anthem and Capitalism. I loved Anthem in spite of its anti-government bullshit because of my libertarian side but my socialist side overrides all of it and that's where my criticism of her lies.

I'm sorry I can't offer anything with regard to Atlas since I haven't read it but it's clearly rooted in her ridiculous philosophy of capitalist moralism. It doesn't stand up to even the most elementary scrutiny and once you apply any of it to real life you find that society would collapse in less than a year.

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#119
Regenesis by George Church

It's an interesting primer on the potential benefits of synthetic biology to society at large from one of the field's luminaries.

He covers everything from engineering "mirror humans" (with inverted biochemical chirality) to reviving extinct species.

http://www.regenesisthebook.com/

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