2002 Reading List |
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The story is essentially a dolled up version of the old maxim: "Be careful what you wish for", but in telling the tale Ferguson manages to skewer large swaths of society. To which I say: "Bravo". Ferguson is an equal opportunity skewerer, and just about everyone comes into his sights at some point. It's juicy fun. In an ironic twist, the book has been retitled "Happiness" in the US. Most likely by the useless and irrelevant marketing department at a publishing house, much like the one at Panderic Press described by Ferguson in the book. 6 July 2002 |
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It's a business book and I hate business books. They're mostly a padded rahash of simple ideas designed to play to the frustrated ambitions of millions of folks who think they need to uncover some gem of wisdom to help them become more successful. But I had to read it. My boss thought it would help with a problem we are facing. So I read it. Definitely padded. Designed to stimulate interest in the author's consulting business...that's obvious. Yet there is also a pretty good idea here. Decide what strategic decisions your organization needs to make and then think through a few plausible but different scenarios of the future to see how the chosen strategy will perform in each. Obvious, but probably more rare outside the boardroom than you might imagine (and one just assumes that it happens inside the boardroom because strategic decisions are their raison d'etre). Did it help with my problem? Too soon to tell. 25 June 2002 |
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The inside of Ethan Coen's head is a strange place. Sort of like our world, but distorted to emphasize the the bits and pieces that we normally dont want to talk or think about. It's a world of unlikely but undeniably entertaining juxtapositions. Great stuff, highly recommended. 22 June 2002 |
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Y-A-W-N....... 22 June 2002 |
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What a great book. This is a great goofy honest look inside the life of Everyman the Accountant. It ain't pretty, but I'd say it hits closer to home than most people (not just accountants) would care to admit. 9 June 2002 |
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An academic takes a break from dissecting the life of Issac Newton and applies his powerful analytic skills to those around him in the Irish countryside. He completely misunderstands just about everything. What does that say about insights into the mind of Newton? 9 June 2002 |
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An interesting book stuffed with more anectdotes and trivia about NaCl than you could ever want to know. Several hundred pages too many by my count. Told with a light touch, and an undisguised fascination with the topic, but there is just too much time spent going over the same ground from different perspectives. It would have made a great book, had it been half as long. |
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Still to come |
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"We live in a stochastic world", boomed JJ Hubert, my biostats prof at University of Guelph in the 1970's. 20 years later the financial world gets a clue. Taleb has an irritating writing style that assumes that we are as interested in him as in the ideas. For readers who are prepared to look through his arrogance though, there are some challenging thoughts that deserve to be debated. 22 June 2002 |
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I can't for the life of me remember when I read this book, but it is classic Bryson. Starts with a bang, has you rolling on the floor, then settles into a comfortable groove that although it feels good, never quite recaptures the side-splittingly funny opening chapter. Still, highly recommended. |
