Category Archives: Books
The Myth of the Strong Leader
We all admire strong leaders, leaders with a commanding presence, leaders who aren’t afraid to make tough decisions, who “tell it like it is” and press forward undaunted in the face of critics and nay-sayers. But are these strong leaders … Continue reading
Machine, Platform, Crowd
Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital FutureBy Andrew McAfee and Erik BrynjolfssonW. W. Norton & Co., New York, 2017 Machine, Platform, Crowd is an update to Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson’s fabulous 2014 book, The Second Machine Age. (My review … Continue reading
Thank You for Being Late
Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of AccelerationsBy Thomas L. FriedmanFarrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2016 It’s a good thing Tom Friedman is an optimist. Reading his latest book, Thank You for … Continue reading
How Will You Measure Your Life?
How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth & Karen Dillon HarperCollins, New York, 2012 Clayton Christensen is best known for his groundbreaking book The Innovator’s Dilemma, probably one of the most important business books ever … Continue reading
Post-Election Reading
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in CrisisBy J. D. VanceHarperCollins, New York, 2016 The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott WalkerBy Katherine J. CramerUniversity of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2016 Before … Continue reading
The Grid: The Fraying Wires between Americans and Our Energy Future
A PhD in cultural anthropology might seem like an odd background for someone writing a book about our national electricity grid. But Gretchen Bakke sees the grid as more than just generating plants, transmission wires, substations, poles, meters, outlets and … Continue reading
Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto
Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto By Lesley Hazleton Riverhead Books, New York, 2016 Lesley Hazleton does not like the word “the”. At least not when it’s used in discussing matters of religion, faith, or spirituality, such as the meaning of life, … Continue reading
Big World Small Planet
Are we doomed? Have we messed up the Earth beyond all hope? News reports about the environment would sure make you think so. From CO2 emissions to deforestation to species extinction; you name it, it seems like humans are totally … Continue reading
The Court and The World
The Court and the World is about the increasing interplay between the Supreme Court of the United States and the people, laws and courts of foreign countries. And it’s written by an extremely well-qualified expert, Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice of … Continue reading
Mindset
Everyone knows there are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who do not. Well Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford, is clearly one of the … Continue reading
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