I might as well face it, I’m addicted to books: it’s rare for me to walk into a bookstore and not walk out with at least one book.
If you’re wondering what I’ve read, or what I think about what I’ve read, then you’ve come to the right place:
- Jump to book reports
- Jump to other books I’ve read
Of course, if you want to recommend something, then please drop me a line or use the comments section below! Some of the books I’ve most enjoyed were ones I wouldn’t normally have picked up that were recommended to me by a friend, so I’m definitely open to your suggestions.
List too long? You might want to check out this post of my favourite books.
Book Reports
The table below links to each book report and suggests why you should or might want to read each book.
| Book Title | Author(s) | Read This Book If… | Date Added |
|---|---|---|---|
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Geoffrey A. Moore | …You are, or aspire to be, a senior leader in business; or, if you’re involved with product or portfolio management. | 2018-11-27 |
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David Nour | …You’re looking for ways to jumpstart your business and can think of a few potential collaborators (outside of your company) interested in some mutually beneficial fun. | 2018-11-12 |
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Maria Konnikova | …You have an interest in how your own psychology can be used against you. | 2018-08-02 |
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Kitty Ferguson | …You like science, history, or amazing biographies, whether alone or in some combination. | 2018-07-26 |
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Christopher McDougall | …You want to be useful. | 2018-07-09 |
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Richard E. Nisbett | …You want to be a better thinker. | 2018-07-04 |
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Geoffrey A. Moore | …You’re a product manager or portfolio manager, have oversight of either, or simply want to understand the bigger picture relating to those two areas of responsibility. | 2018-06-08 |
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James Comey | …You want to learn more about effective, ethical leadership (or if you’re addicted to all scandals Trump-related – and I hope you’re not, because that must be exhausting). | 2018-06-06 |
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Christopher Johnson | …Either you want a crash course in what makes effective ‘micro’ content, or you want to put fancy names to tricks and heuristics you’ve already figured out. | 2018-05-13 |
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Ray Fisman
Tim Sullivan |
…You want a decent explanation of how market economics have evolved and how markets pervade modern life. | 2018-04-06 |
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Geoffrey West | …You’re a nerd; or, I suppose, if you’re some sort of policymaker who deals with economies, cities, or sustainability of human civilization. | 2018-04-01 |
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Ben Lindberg
Sam Miller |
…You’re interested in sports analytics, professional sports management, or just like a good sports story. | 2018-03-21 |
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Ben Horowitz | …You’re an aspiring leader within a technology startup. | 2018-03-17 |
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Eric Ries | …You’re in a position where innovation is a key objective. | 2018-03-08 |
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Cathy O’Neil | …You work with data of any reasonable magnitude, or algorithms that rely on data (personally, I think we’ve got a professional obligation to do so); or, simply, if you want a glimpse into how opaque algorithms are coming to exert enormous (and often very negative) influence on our lives as individuals and on society as a whole. | |
 |
Philip E. Tetlock
Dan Gardner |
…You’re interested in understanding how to make and assess forecasts, and in recognizing BS forecasts and forecasters when you see them – and you will see them almost everywhere you look. | 2018-02-26 |
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Philip Mudd | …You want to improve your own analytic decision-making, or that of an organization of which you are a part. | 2018-02-15 |
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Garry Kasparov | …You will appreciate a thorough philosophical and pragmatic examination of the evolving relationship between humans and machines, or just want to find out what was going through Kasparov’s head as he took on the challenge of Deep Blue. | 2018-01-28 |
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Tim Marshall | …You want a crash course in the geopolitics that have shaped the modern world, so that you can better understand what’s happening today and what’s likely to happen tomorrow. | 2018-01-13 |
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Matthew Syed | …You want to help create organizations that learn from mistakes, or at the very least want to be able to understand why many organizations (and people) don’t. | 2018-01-12 |
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Robert H. Frank | …Here’s the situation: if you’re a reasonable person, then you probably already suspect or recognize that luck’s had a pretty big impact in any success you’ve achieved. In that case, you might enjoy this book.
However, if you’re hellbent that no one but you deserves credit for your own successes, then you’d probably think you’re an exception to every point Frank makes. In that case, save yourself the effort and just keep being super-wrong about everything. |
2017-09-17 |
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Chris Smith (foreword by Jon Stewart) | …You’re a fan of The Daily Show or comedy, or need to learn how to produce an award-winning daily program. | 2018-09-01 |
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Timothy Snyder | …Just read this damn book. | 2017-08-17 |
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David Pearl | (quoting David Pearl) “…the donuts are the most interesting thing about your meetings.” | 2017-08-07 |
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Ian Chamandy and Ken Aber, with Howard Lichtman | …You want to ask yourself and your business some tough questions, to get some revealing and powerful answers. | 2017-02-21 |
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Adam Alter | …You want to gain an understanding and appreciation for the ways we’re all influenced by seemingly unremarkable things (and kindly don’t read this book if you’re going to be a nefarious jerk who tries to abuse the knowledge herein). | 2017-01-27 |
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Bruce Schneier | …You’re a human alive today. | 2017-01-21 |
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David Goldblatt | …You’re very interested in professional soccer, particularly in Great Britain. | 2016-07-04 |
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Steven Johnson | …You need to restore a little bit of faith in the modern world. | 2016-04-24 |
| Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble | Dan Lyons | N/A (not a traditional book report) | 2016-04-20 |
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Benjamin Errett | …You want to build up your repertoire of cunning references, or you’re a robot who wants to be more human. | 2016-04-02 |
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Steven Pressfield | …You’re your own worst enemy. | 2016-03-19 |
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Steven Johnson | …You want some insight into scientific progress and the dawn of epidemiology. | 2016-03-12 |
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Annie Jacobsen | …You’re curious about the origins of many of today’s technological wonders, or want to get freaked out about biological warfare or killer robots. | 2016-03-05 |
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Lynne Truss | …You’re a stickler for punctuation, or want to stop mucking up your punctuation. | 2016-01-23 |
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(edited by) John Brockman | …You want to worry responsibly. | 2016-01-18 |
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Ken Jennings | …You like trivia or knowing stuff about trivia (I assume you’ve already read it if you’re a Ken Jennings fan). | 2016-01-11 |
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The Secret Footballer | …You want to gain some understanding of the real world of professional football/soccer, but do so knowing that the knowledge might take some of the lustre off the beautiful game. | 2015-12-27 |
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Steven Johnson | …You want to gain a deeper understanding of your ‘self’, both mind and brain, and all the wonderful components (both psychological and anatomical). | 2015-11-22 |
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Annie Jacobsen | …You want to have your eyes opened to the horrors of World War 2, and the lengths to which governments will go to increase their own war-making capabilities while simultaneously crippling their enemies.
In today’s age of secrets, lies, and denials, we would do well to understand the past. |
2015-09-13 |
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The Secret Footballer | …You want an insider’s very pragmatic and unromantic view into the modern soccer/football world. | 2015-08-03 |
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Steven Johnson | …You want to open your mind to some amazing phenomena that seem to defy all expectation (i.e., crazy complex higher-order behaviour emerging with no coordination), and want to gain a foundation in the concepts of emergence. | 2015-07-13 |
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Dan Blank | …You play or coach soccer, and want to improve at either, or even if you just want to better understand what you see on the television. | 2015-07-04 |
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic, told to David Lagercrantz, translated by Ruth Urbom | …You want to gain an understanding of the inner workings of professional soccer, and/or of Zlatan’s mind. | 2015-06-30 |
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Steven Johnson | …You have a passion for innovation. | 2015-06-15 |
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Dambisa Moyo | …You want a glimpse into the future, and want an explanation for why things are going to get a lot more expensive in a couple of decades. | 2015-03-31 |
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Steven Johnson | …You want to appreciate the everyday luxuries of the modern world, or enjoy learning about all sorts of crazy connections. | 2015-03-09 |
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Andrew Yang | …You’re wondering why so many bright minds are going into finance and consulting, why they aren’t venturing off on their own, and what can be done about it. | 2015-03-01 |
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Chris Anderson and David Sally | …You’re into soccer (especially if you want to pick arguments with folks who think they know about it) or the power of analytics, really. | 2015-02-23 |
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Jay Baer | …You want to be useful to your prospects and customers, and the same old approach is giving you the same old results. | 2015-02-18 |
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Dan Blank | …You play or coach soccer, or even if you just want to better understand what you see on the television. | 2015-02-16 |
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Bruce Tulgan | …You are managing Generation Y/Z/Millenials, because it contains a great deal of practical advice and might shift your perspective slightly, or if you are a Generation Y/Z/Millenial, because it will give you some valuable context about the working world and how to succeed within it. | 2014-10-20 |
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Christopher McDougall | …You love running, don’t love running, are wondering why your feet/knees/ankles/hips hurt from running, want to get a taste of the crazy world of ultramarathons, or just want to read a good (true) story. | 2014-09-29 |
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John Kay | …You want to understand why best-laid plans sometimes don’t work out, or if you’re in an environment where people constantly over-simplify and seem to fail to grasp the complexity of situations and projects. | 2014-09-22 |
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Gary Mack with David Casstevens | …You want to learn what it takes to be mentally strong in the face of adversity. | 2014-08-18 |
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Michael Lewis | …You’re ready for a tale of hope, triumph, and “doing the right thing” that overcomes the usual corporate greed and destructive, selfish, short-term interests that usually win out on Wall Street. | 2014-06-27 |
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David J. Hand | …You want to understand why seemingly unlikely things happen all the time. | 2014-06-16 |
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David Epstein | …You are or aspire to be an athlete or coach, or just want to better understand why there is such variation in human athletic performance. | 2014-04-26 |
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Frank Luntz | …You want to become a more effective communicator, in work or life. | 2014-04-18 |
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Darrell Huff | …You don’t want to be manipulated by our stat-crazy media, politicians, employers, etc. Even if you don’t aspire to critically examine every stat with which you are presented, simply seeing how easily we can be fooled (or at least seen the tricks that are used to fool us) might develop a healthy skepticism that will cause you to think twice. | 2014-02-04 |
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Mark Monmonier | …You want to be able to critically examine maps, in all their forms. Do you watch or read the news? Then no doubt you’ve seen maps representing unemployment, political polling, impacts of weather, and so on. Are you on a town council? Then understanding maps will help you avoid being hoodwinked by property or infrastructure developers. If you keep your eyes open, I think you’ll find that you’re presented with maps far more than you might initially suspect. | 2014-01-26 |
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Al Ries and Jack Trout | …You work in marketing, or have a casual (e.g., “marketing is neat!”) or vested (e.g., “I own my own business!”) interest in marketing. | 2014-01-12 |
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Gavin Esler | …You aspire to be an effective leader or want to critically evaluate leaders with which you’re presented. | 2014-01-02 |
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Al Ries and Jack Trout | …You want to be an effective marketer (applies to B2B and B2C), or really want to turn some heads at your next strategy meeting by suggesting something that goes against all the so-called common wisdom. | |
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Mario Livio | …You like science, the scientific method, and human discovery, or want to feel better about the mistakes you make in your own life. | 2013-11-23 |
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Naoki Higashida | …You are even remotely interested in learning more about autism, or simply want to be amazed and inspired. In fact, even if you’re none of those, read it anyway if you get the opportunity and you will gain something, | 2013-11-17 |
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Annalee Newitz | …You liked (or got freaked out by) Collapse or Guns, Germs, and Steel, or have ever asked yourself what would happen if the Earth got directly smoked by a gamma ray burst (spoiler alert: bad stuff…bad stuff happens). | 2013-11-13 |
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Andrew Blum | …You’ve ever yourself wondered where your data goes, or how it gets to your home. | 2013-11-04 |
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Michael Lewis | …You liked Inside Job or related documentaries, or simply want to confirm your belief that the financial industry and markets are just one giant carnival game designed to take advantage of |
2013-10-28 |
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Matthew Syed | …You’re at all interested in achieving peak performance for complex tasks. | 2013-08-08 |
Others I’ve Read
I’ve also read these ones in the last few years (they aren’t listed in any order, and cover many, many themes), and shall endeavour to write a book report on each, at some point in the future:
- Priceless: The Hidden Psychology of Value
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
- Selected: Why Some People Lead, Why Others Follow, and Why It Matters
- Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy
- The Shadow Market: How Sovereign Wealth Funds Secretly Dominate the Global Economy
- Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey –and Even Iraq– Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World’s Most Popular Sport
- Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won
- Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics
- Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward
- The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture
- The Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
- Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life and Business
- I.O.U.: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay
- Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World
- Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization
- The Sportsman: Unexpected Lessons From an Around-the-World Sports Odyssey
- The Extra One Percent: How Small Changes Make Exceptional People
- The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives
- The Millionaire Messenger: Make a Difference and a Fortune Sharing Your Advice
- The Wealthy Barber
- The Wealthy Barber Returns
- Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Fast-Growth Firm
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Spiritual Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny
- The Black Swan:The Impact of the Highly Improbable
- Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
- Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
- Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
- The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
- Great Mathematicians
- In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
- Schrodinger’s Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the Quantum Mysteries
[Source: Frinkiac]
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