Author Archives: Harry Katz
On Writing
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft By Stephen King Scribner, New York, 2000 I’ve posted before that there are two kinds of books about writing: those that focus mainly on the craft of writing, and those focused on the … Continue reading
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan is brilliantly written and utterly harrowing. During World War II, an estimated 200,000 Asian civilian laborers and 60,000 Allied prisoners of war were used as forced labor by the Japanese … Continue reading
Informal Leadership: Leading Without Authority
During a lunchroom conversation at work the other day, a colleague asked how you can lead without authority. How can you be an effective leader without having the formal or positional authority of a VP, director or manger? It’s a … Continue reading
We Don’t Say Goodbye Anymore
A while ago I was watching an episode of Murdoch Mysteries, a detective series set in Toronto in the late 1890’s. At the end of the episode our hero, Detective William Murdoch, says goodbye to the visiting Egyptologist who was … Continue reading
Blackfish City
Blackfish City By Sam J. Miller HarperCollins, New York, 2018 A warrior woman comes to the city of Qannaq in a small skiff accompanied by an orca and a polar bear. Who is she? Why has she come? What’s her … Continue reading
Crucial Conversations
Have you ever had a conversation with someone and they suddenly got defensive? Maybe you were talking with your partner or your child and you brought up some behavior of theirs that you found annoying or troubling. They took it … Continue reading
Principles
I don’t often read books by celebrity CEOs. They can be jejune; more a testament to the author’s ego and less about providing any real insight or substance. Principles by Ray Dalio is a partial exception. There’s ego here for … Continue reading
Fast Train to Mordor: Trump v. Hawaii
Reading through the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Hawaii – the Muslim travel ban case – is like drifting off to sleep on an ordinary commuter train headed for home and then being jolted awake when it shudders to … Continue reading
Carpenter v. United States
Today, instead of a book review, I’m going to take a plunge into law review. I want to look at the decision of the United States Supreme Court in a case called Carpenter v. United States announced on June 22. … Continue reading
Seven Books in Seven Days
I recently did one of those social media challenges where you’re supposed to post one thing each day for seven days. In this case, the “one thing” was the cover of a book you love. I thought I’d recap my … Continue reading
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