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Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
121–130 of 454 posts
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#122I really enjoyed the book "iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It", which not only talks about the beginning of Apple and computers in general, but also gives a fascinating insight into the character of Steve Wozniak.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#123Reading some of these books recommended here, perhaps the most shocking thing is that so much is due to randomness: an arbitrary person does something small that turns out to be on the critical path, and without it the big thing would not get completed. I like the kind of books recommended here, but please be aware of survivor's bias (there not many books about failures! Any great recommendations? "How we could NOT g…
That's my problem with a lot of the literature on building successful businesses. They all seem to be offering a white glove path and don't talk about all the tactics ranging from shady to downright illegal that helped many of the biggest companies today to be where they are now.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#124Your title says "people who did hard things" then you say "less interested in people..."
It sounds like you want second hand accounts of the events or groups that occurred around "hard things". Like a description of NASA going to the moon, but not the accounts of a particular astronaut.
What is a "hard thing"?
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#125The road to character.
It's a great reality check, poking into human nature, morality, suffering, all with real life examples and littlz tolerance for bullshit without delusion of grandeur.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#126[dead]
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#127Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World http://www.simonwinchester.com/exactly Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(book) Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38840.Boyd
I loved Longitude, and Harrison was a determined guy, but the most interesting part for me was seeing the “rewrite from scratch” and “never ship” dynamics are old indeed! He had a MVP with his first iteration.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#128Reading some of these books recommended here, perhaps the most shocking thing is that so much is due to randomness: an arbitrary person does something small that turns out to be on the critical path, and without it the big thing would not get completed. I like the kind of books recommended here, but please be aware of survivor's bias (there not many books about failures! Any great recommendations? "How we could NOT g…
That's my problem with a lot of the literature on building successful businesses. They all seem to be offering a white glove path and don't talk about all the tactics ranging from shady to downright illegal that helped many of the biggest companies today to be where they are now.
I share your thoughts. Sometimes you just need to be at the right place, at the right time, solving the exact problem and this is troublesome, especially in this era when so much is already invented.
Maybe I just have a wrong view, but I don't know how to decouple from this.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#129“Walt Disney” by Neal Gabler. The man was reinventing himself through his life. Disney is sort nowadays stereotypical corporate americana but by god, it actually was started by the whims, passion, skill & vision of Walt. A must read imo to anyone interested in creation and building.
Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
#130"The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York" by Robert Caro This is an incredibly long biography of a man who figured out how to build an urban empire. While he wasn't an "entrepreneur" per se, he figured out how to generate huge amounts of revenue via tolls/bridges, how to manage and manipulate public policy, and how to attract the best urban planning talent. ... and you can then read about how it all f…
Absolutely also recommend! Took a while to get through it but Moses figured out how to hack government and civil engineering projects. He literally changed the New York State constitution, used bond contracts to build a defensive barrier around himself, and for better or worse then built half of the public works projects in the US himself or through his disciples.