Category Archives: Books
The Black Swan
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, options trader cum philosopher, defines a Black Swan as an extremely improbable event that has huge impact. Think 9/11 or the current subprime lending crisis. The title comes from the fact that black swans – the birds … Continue reading
Reading Like a Writer
Reading Like a Writer is a book for aspiring writers that teaches by example. In it, Francine Prose, author of about two dozen works of fiction and non-fiction, examines various aspects of writing by quoting and then analyzing the works … Continue reading
Book Review: To the Castle and Back
In December 1989, when the Communist government was driven from power in Czechoslovakia, the crowds demonstrating in the squares of Prague chanted “Havel na Hrad!” or “Havel to the Castle!” They were calling for the playwright turned dissident Václav Havel … Continue reading
Book Review: Freakonomics
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Harper Collins, New York, 2005 The authors of Freakonomics, University of Chicago economist Steven D. Levitt and writer and journalist Stephen J. … Continue reading
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