Freedom's Forge
Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
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Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#12You can find documentaries also on youtube, for example. There was one interesting about Dubai's development
“Check out something other than books” is a hilarious response to a request for book recommendations, though I would have included a specific example of a non-book, like “I see you mentioned private equity, have you listened to the songs of Jim Croce? He often writes about love and getting into bar fights, which are things that some people have difficulty with”
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#13Richard Hamming's book on AT&T Bell Labs R&D culture in inventing and solving many of the important problems [1].
Another is Where Wizards Stay Up Late by Katie Hafner on the early days of the Internet [2].
[1] The Art of Doing Science and Engineering:
https://press.stripe.com/the-art-of-doing-science-and-engine...
[2] Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet:
https://katiehafner.com/books-new/where-wizards-stay-up-late...
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#14The Innovators, Walter Isaacson
It’s interesting to read how many individuals contributed in all sorts of important ways in the history of computing.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#15You can find documentaries also on youtube, for example. There was one interesting about Dubai's development
Extra points for not linking said docos.
Creating an account to post this and this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42612506, what's the game plan?
Trying to pollute HN like TLAs did 4chan or just a misfiring brain?
I'll call it aaron695s adage, it's now impossible to tell mental illness and TLAs apart on the internet.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#16I rather liked 'The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation'
Agreed. Just finished it a couple of weeks ago. Hackers by Levy and fire in the Valley may also fit the bill.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#17The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop [1]. An in-depth history of how personal computing was created.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#18“South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition, 1914–1917” by Sir Ernest Shackleton. Here, Shackleton documents the journey of the Endurance expedition, which aimed to traverse Antarctica but instead became a legendary tale of survival after the ship was trapped and destroyed by pack ice.
I haven't verified the info in this video myself, but it's making a point about Shackleton actually being somewhat incompetent/overeager and getting himself and crew into more trouble than necessary (as compared to Amundsen): https://youtube.com/watch?v=DU06c7f9fzc (TED talk, sorry)
I'm currently listening to "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing". I've also heard of some of the arguments against Shackleton (I haven't watched the talk).
I have to think of what Shackleton, as a leader (boss), was going through and with uncertainties abound.
28 people who he hired based not only on capability alone, but also for crew (team) fit.
He apparently cared deeply for them, and they in-turn cared for one another.
They managed to work together in the harshest of environments. They all made it.
That in and of itself, is a remarkable feat.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#19Copies in Seconds: Chester Carlson and the Birth of the Xerox Machine by David Owen
"A history of the photocopier offers a portrait of reserved physics graduate Chester Carlson, who invented the copier to ease his job as a patent clerk and who saw his marketing efforts daunted by numerous rejections, before the head of Xerox research recognized the machine's potential. "
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#20"Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX" by Eric Berger documents how SpaceX employees poured their blood, sweat, and tears into launching a cost-effective rocket at a time when legacy operators dominated the space market with their costly cost-plus-fee contracts.
This book mostly follows the journey of employees and (thankfully) doesn't resolve to Elon praise too much.
There is a continuation to this book called "Reentry" but I haven't read it yet.