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

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#81

Post by freedomben » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:14 AM UTC

ternaryoperator wrote: post #62

jacobn wrote: post #35

Righteous Mind, Why good people are divided by politics and religion by Jonathan Haidt (also applies to classic nerd feuds like Mac vs windows vs Linux) The Mom Test, how to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick (worst title ever, book is great)

The Righteous Mind is brilliant. It gives an excellent framework by which to understand today's events better.

yep, very much agree. I wish everyone would read that. It increased my ability to feel empathy toward those who I disagree with, even strongly.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#82

Post by jmcgough » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:16 AM UTC

Bad Blood is a must if you work in tech. Incredible page-turner, and shocking at the level of deception they employed.

I also got hooked on Endgame by Frank Brady, about Bobby Fischer (the american chess prodigy who quit chess and became a reclusive antisemite). It's a biography and doesn't discuss his matches with any kind of depth, but was still really interesting to read.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#83

Post by rtchau » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:16 AM UTC

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#84

Post by aytekin » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:16 AM UTC

Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda

An amazing book full of great stories and lessons to learn from people who made incredible innovations like the first iPhone. My favorite parts are the story of the iPhone keyboard and detailed encounters of Steve Jobs demos he has given.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#85

Post by Ice_cream_suit » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:16 AM UTC

Politics. Sachs translation of aristotle.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#86

Post by tomlock » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:19 AM UTC

libdjml wrote: post #20

lanestp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t dismiss this because you think you disagree with the politics. 12 rules is life changing.

Agreed. If anyone thinks it’s a legitimately bad book, feel free to discuss why.

It is a self-help book rooted in Jungian theory, widely discredited in modern psychology. His understanding of modern and postmodern philosophy is only deep enough to convince readers with no knowledge of those topics that he knows something about them.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#87

Post by JasonKidwell » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:19 AM UTC

p1esk wrote: post #80

slyall wrote: post #79

* The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough * Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City by Neal Bascomb * Caesar’s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us by Sam Kean * Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari * A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin * The Actor’s Life: A survival guide by Jenna Fischer * The Inter…

Have you read all of these?

Better have

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#88

Post by freedomben » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:19 AM UTC

agotterer wrote: post #32

No Easy Day by Mark Owen. It is about the seal team who killed Osama Bin Laden. I thought the book had a ton I action and was very captivating. I’m currently about half way through Principles by Ray Dalio and am enjoying it so far. Next on my reading list is The coddling of the American mind, by Greg Lukianoff

Interesting. I read "The Operator" this year by the SEAL that shot Bin Laden, and it was really good.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#89

Post by sizzzzlerz » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:20 AM UTC

* Bad Blood - John Carreyou

This has been listed multiple times. Depicts the darkside of the startup phenomena

* Chasing New Horizons - Alan Stern, David Grinspoon

Documents the people and machine that explored Pluto

* Sunburst and Luminary - Don Eyles

History of the Apollo guidance computer software from the man who wrote it

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#90

Post by WheelsAtLarge » Sun, Dec 23, 2018, 4:22 AM UTC

slyall wrote: post #79

* The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough * Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City by Neal Bascomb * Caesar’s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us by Sam Kean * Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari * A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin * The Actor’s Life: A survival guide by Jenna Fischer * The Inter…

"Sapiens," is extraordinary on how well it summaries the human journey through time from the start. It never gets too technical but it's highly informative. It's 500+ pages yet it's hard to put down because it's so entertaining. I highly recommend it.