Category Archives: Books
So you want to talk about race
So you want to talk about race By Ijoma Oluo Seal Press, New York, 2018 In the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis, and the nation-wide protests that followed, many white people, … Continue reading
Good Economics for Hard Times
Good Economics for Hard Times By Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo Hachette Book Group, New York, 2019 Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for their research into alleviating global poverty. In Good Economics … Continue reading
Together
Together By Vivek H. Murthy, MD HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 2020 You can die of loneliness. It’s not just poetic sentiment, it’s a medical fact. Research shows that lack of social connection is just as hazardous to life expectancy as smoking … Continue reading
The Storm Before the Calm
The Storm Before the Calm By George Friedman Penguin Random House, New York, 2020 I can’t decide whether George Friedman is a genius or a crackpot. Friedman has made a career of geopolitical forecasting. He’s founded a couple of consulting … Continue reading
The Optimist’s Telescope
The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age By Bina Venkataraman Riverhead Books, New York, 2019 As I write this in late March 2020 in Seattle, the world is gripped by the coronavirus epidemic. It feels like everything everywhere … Continue reading
Doughnut Economics
How do we shift our economy from a focus on never-ending GDP growth to living within the “Doughnut?” Continue reading
20/20 Foresight
20/20 Foresight: Crafting Strategy in An Uncertain World By Hugh Courtney Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, 2001 What better way to start 2020 than a book called 20/20 Foresight? There’s an old Danish proverb that says, “It is difficult to … Continue reading
Range
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World By David Epstein Riverhead Books, New York, 2019 I didn’t finish Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World for the same reason I don’t eat chicken wings: too much effort for … Continue reading
High Output Management
High Output Management is one of the most disappointing books I’ve ever read, and in some places it flat out pissed me off. The focus is always on output. Everyone and every team produces output. A manager’s job is … Continue reading
More From Less
More From LessBy Andrew McAfeeScribner, New York, 2019 More From Less is a book about dematerialization Demawhat? No, it’s not some sort of Star Trek transporter technology. Dematerialization is the phenomenon of producing the same goods from less material and … Continue reading
