91–100 of 223 posts
I guess no book list can ever escape the mediocrity of Neal Stephenson. At least it wasn't Snow Crash this time.
"Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1455544590
"What the Luck?: The Surprising Role of Chance in Our Everyday Lives" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1468313754
"Shrinking the Earth: The Rise and Decline of American Abundance" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019984495X
My disagreement with the placement of "Strangers in Their Own Land" is basically that it really is well loved by Mother Jones[1], NYT[2], etc. but not at all liked by the people it claims to report on[3]. I guess if you hold liberal beliefs and want some reinforcement, then its a good book, but I would think you probably want to read books by people who actually are the people being talked about. 1) http://www.mother…
Can you recommend an alternative?
I'm not trying to be cute here btw.
This is my favorite passage from Titan: With a talent for seeing things anew, Rockefeller could study an operation, break it down into component parts, and devise ways to improve it. In many ways, he anticipated the efficiency studies of engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor. Regarding each plant as infinitely perfectible, he created an atmosphere of ceaseless improvement. Paradoxically, the mammoth scale of operations e…
First, it seems like a marketing photo-op for the CEO. In your opinion, is the author trying to make Rockefeller relatable? You can see how it works with HN readers.
These days his success is attributed to business acumen and notorious practices, not engineering, but I haven't read much about him. What impression does the book give?
Also, I would argue that the time he spent on solder drops was a waste of company resources much more valuable than solder: his time. What would he say if he saw the machine operator similarly wasting company time or resources? Rockefeller would have helped his company much more by improving his own efficiency.
Finally, in most companies when Rockefeller asks if you can reduce the number solder drops and you are the lowly solder machine operator, you reduce the solder drops no matter what. There is no way that story could have ended differently, and nobody would reveal that the boss's idea had bad consequences: The barrels had to be handled more carefully, they leaked at a higher rate, they had to increase some other sealing process to compensate, etc.
All my cynicism may be unfair, however.
EDIT: A bunch of edits
Creativity INC is one of the best books I have ever read on creativity and I have read a lot to know how much most of them really suck. It has the added bonus of providing an alternative biography of Steve Jobs which in itself is interesting. It's much more than a story about Pixar. It's a great insight into some of the very problems you deal with as you build and try to maintain a culture. I can't recommend it enoug…
Creativity, Inc. is also one of the best books on management. I say this with reverence for the work of Peter Drucker and W. Edwards Deming.
One genre that is always missing from HNer's and YC's recommendations is Fantasy. It feels like most people here read books to acquire knowledge and philosophy to apply to real life. Most fantasy books are read for entertainment and imagination. There's no hidden message to parse and put toward your next start-up project. That doesn't mean Fantasy books are a waste of time though if they're engrossing and entertainin…
I read a LOT of fantasy, including all authors on your list :) . However, I do get a feel that they're more "escapist" than the books YC readers (and people like Bill Gates) read. Many of the recommendations are more in line with what they're building (people going through similar struggles or role models or understanding the world). And the engrossing fantasy books can take good chunks of your time (which I guess an…
I think this is unfortunate. Fiction is as important a reflection of society as non-fiction and I would hope that everyone will take time to appreciate art, fiction, music, etc. We understand many now gone societies through their fiction. Not just what they did, but they way they thought and behaved.
Even if you dismiss this as a worthwhile goal, science fiction and fantasy are worthwhile in understanding the world. I'm thinking of Star Trek, The Hainish Cycle, or a Stranger in a Strange Land. All of these explore contemporary problems by abstracting them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Didn't both of those publications vigorously oppose Trump? The "conservative intellectual" niche may be the most politically irrelevant group in the country.
>Didn't both of those publications vigorously oppose Trump? Yes. >The "conservative intellectual" niche may be the most politically irrelevant group in the country. Trump won the Presidency, not the Movement. The rest of the GOP, though shell-shocked, has not suddenly ditched conservatism and embraced Trumpism. The vast majority of the GOP members of the House and Senate, and those in state governments, are conservat…
My hope is that Trump Twitter fatigue sets in very early.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. He's a pretty compelling presenter/speaker. He participated in a discussion on Channel 4 news [1] along with a former Kremlin Advisor that I find highly entertaining. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZjqicN8Zug
Have you found any notable economist that critiques his work?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Didn't both of those publications vigorously oppose Trump? The "conservative intellectual" niche may be the most politically irrelevant group in the country.
>Didn't both of those publications vigorously oppose Trump? Yes. >The "conservative intellectual" niche may be the most politically irrelevant group in the country. Trump won the Presidency, not the Movement. The rest of the GOP, though shell-shocked, has not suddenly ditched conservatism and embraced Trumpism. The vast majority of the GOP members of the House and Senate, and those in state governments, are conservat…