Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#321

Post by CSMastermind » Tue, Dec 25, 2018, 4:53 PM UTC

unmole wrote: post #133

I see loads of great suggestions in this thread, let me just add three of my LEAST favourite nonfiction books: Thinking, Fast and Slow: Really should have been subtitled The Ludic Fallacy Run Amok . Filled with grand generalisations based on dubious conclusions from small under-powered behavioural experiments. Read if you want further evidence that Behavioural Economics , that bastard child of psychology is an edific…

> Masters of DOOM: A homage from a fanboy meant for other fanboys. It definitely has its bits of brilliance but it is still a chore to finish.

Can I recommend the audiobook? For what it's worth I found Masters of DOOM to be great. Mostly because the writing style _really_ does a good job of communicating the personalities of the people involved. I'm not a video game guy, in fact I've never played DOOM, but I still enjoyed it start to finish.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#322

Post by ThomPete » Tue, Dec 25, 2018, 6:51 PM UTC

ZoomZoomZoom wrote: post #304

henrik_w wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the idea is that you are somewhat a specialist in 2 areas (but not a worldclass specialist). As I recall, that advice does not apply to being a generalist.

This looks more close to reality, but parent said "20%", which doesn't look good enough.

Top 20% is definitely good enough, the value having removed the issue with transcendence between two normally unrelated fields will improve your advantage by many factors.

Of course, not everything goes.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#323

Post by richardreeze » Tue, Dec 25, 2018, 7:03 PM UTC

* The Beginning of Infinity - David Deutsch (taught me the true importance of knowledge)

* Tribe - Sebastian Junger (taught me how important it is to be part of a close community, decided to Airbnb all of next year after reading this book)

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#324

Post by artaak » Tue, Dec 25, 2018, 7:46 PM UTC

The case for Mars by Robert Zubrin, Arthur Clarke - highly recommended for technically minded folks. One of my favorites of 2018.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#325

Post by osdoorp » Tue, Dec 25, 2018, 9:20 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #61

Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind [1] Not just about an utterly fascinating topic (psychadelic drugs), in terms of history (LSD turning from a scientific wonder drug to illegal), his personal experiences, and the neuroscience behind it, but also just extremely well-written -- a real page-turner. A crazy potent combination of science, spirituality (from a skeptic), and narrative. I expect his book will be a sign…

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#326

Post by vitaminCPP » Tue, Dec 25, 2018, 11:24 PM UTC

weisser wrote: post #114

I read over 40 nonfiction books this year. Here are some favorites. Life-changing: Why We Sleep Page-turner: How to Change Your Mind Most useful: The Consolations of Philosophy On startups: Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age Random but amazing: Shadow Divers (true story about deep sea diving - think Into Thin Air)

> "Most useful: The Consolations of Philosophy"

Interesting ! Can you explain why it was the most useful to you ?

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#327

Post by mpweiher » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 12:01 AM UTC

gyre007 wrote: post #55

Scale: The Universal Laws of Life and Death in Organisms, Cities and Companies by Geoffrey West [1] [1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scale-Universal-Organisms-Cities-Co...

Also featured at the Long Now Foundation:

  http://longnow.org/seminars/02011/jul/25/why-cities-keep-growing-corporations-always-die-and-life-gets-faster/

Very much worth a listen, and probably a read.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#328

Post by el_cid » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 6:44 PM UTC

freddie_mercury wrote: post #156

lloydde wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Never Split the Difference” was fantastic. Still it was super weird that unlike the advice in the book, some of the book comes across as bragging. Also, Chris Voss does not perform the audiobook although in the book he discusses his mastery of voice, his smooth radio jockey voice and covers different speaking techniques. Still, one of my favorites of 2018.

I found the constant bragging intolerable and ended up stopping reading after two or three chapters.

I had a similar experience. And I usually try to go through books I start even if I dislike them. But this one... it was too much...

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#329

Post by el_cid » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 7:32 PM UTC

weisser wrote: post #114

I read over 40 nonfiction books this year. Here are some favorites. Life-changing: Why We Sleep Page-turner: How to Change Your Mind Most useful: The Consolations of Philosophy On startups: Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age Random but amazing: Shadow Divers (true story about deep sea diving - think Into Thin Air)

Which of the 2 books which are called How to Change your Mind? Michael Pollan or Martin E. Seligman?

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#330

Post by croo » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 7:39 PM UTC

lloydde wrote: post #105

shawnps wrote: post #37

Favorites that I read in 2018: * Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963-why-we-sleep ) * Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4806.Longitude ) * Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss (…

“Never Split the Difference” was fantastic. Still it was super weird that unlike the advice in the book, some of the book comes across as bragging. Also, Chris Voss does not perform the audiobook although in the book he discusses his mastery of voice, his smooth radio jockey voice and covers different speaking techniques. Still, one of my favorites of 2018.

I finished the book recently and I cannot recommend it enough. The bragging sometimes shows through the stories and the end of the book feels like a clever marketing about his company. But the book is well written, well structured, stories are good, and each chapter brings new techniques. The book changed the way I handle communication. There are actionable practical tips and tools for communication and it shaped how I think about a hard phone call, how to prepare for a meeting and how to push coffee chitchat at work in more interesting directions. You will have to ignore more self-centered persons in your life than this book's author anyway, take it as a practice lesson :) And to Chris Voss defense he also talks about examples he made mistakes.