Special edition off-schedule post!
As previously discussed in the opening post, 2019 was my first year writing book reviews. At the time, it was just an email sent out to some coworkers at Northrop Grumman, but I’ve gotten some requests for other historical recommendations so I’m digging through the archives to bring you my 2019 Year in Review in Substack form. I hope there’s a nugget or two in there for you!
As always, all previous Book Reviews/ ratings can be found at jessesbooks.com (just the 2019 reviews here).
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All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr – ATLWCS is a Pulitzer Prize winner for good reason; this fantastic novel is so much more than a war story combined with a love story. Tracking the paths of a brilliant young German soldier, gifted with engineering ability, and a blind French girl throughout WWII, Doerr somehow manages to weave the detail of a scientist with the prose of a poet to form this masterpiece. The book is beautifully descriptive and really captures the raw emotions of a war-torn Europe from the perspective of two children forced to live through the conflict. I would highly recommend it to nearly any reader. “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever”.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/ A Study in Scarlet/ The Sign of Four/ The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – This is somewhat unfair because I read the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes as an early teen and to date, it remains my favourite book that I’ve ever read. Specifically, The Hound of the Baskervilles is my all-time favorite. That being said, I had forgotten how most of the stories went, and it was a refreshing re-visitation of a timeless classic. The only reason this collection is not ranked #1 is that this was a re-read.
Educated, Tara Westover – Honestly, I don’t even want to be giving Educated such a glowing review, as it appears to be dominating social circles in an almost clique-esque manner, akin to CrossFit. Unfortunately, the memoir really was that great. It’s hard to imagine a memoir being a page-turner, but Tara’s story of her upbringing in a dysfunctional, patriarchal, hyper-religious Mormon family in the mountains of Idaho keeps the reader gripping the edge of their seat. It seemed as though every chapter, written in the short-story format, somehow tops the previous ones in incredulity. Educated tells the story of a girl, denied any form of formal education through high school, who somehow defies all odds putting herself through college at BYU, a Master’s at Cambridge, a fellowship at Harvard, and finally receiving a doctorate from Cambridge. Throughout this impossible journey, Tara battles with the fact that the more she seems to receive in the form of education, the more she seems to lose in the form of family.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, John Carreyrou – You would not think that a retelling of the rise and fall of a startup would be thrilling, must-read material, but Carreyrou somehow accomplishes this in Bad Blood. I could not put this book down, finishing in one day, as the indiscretions and wrongful acts carried out by Theranos over the last decade were expertly exposed. It is absolutely incredible to read how Theranos completely scammed Silicon Valley, the government, high-profile people such as the Clintons, General Mattis, and essentially the entire country. It is a testament to the quality of the Wall Street Journal, that one of its reporters was able to piece together such a compelling tell-all, breaking through the secrecy surrounding the company. Unfortunately, the story of Theranos is the story of a company so obsessed with power that it bent and then broke the rules, resulting in monetary and potential life damages, and therefore this thrilling piece is nonetheless a tragic one.
It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered, Don Yaeger – This book hits very close to home, as a former Duke student and documents the entirety of the Duke Lacrosse scandal that rocked the nation in 2007. It is a shocking depiction of the gross misuse of justice that was thrust upon not only the team, but their coach as well; it should be noted that the coach co-authored the book, and therefore it is definitely written with a slant towards the team. I would highly recommend watching the ESPN 30 for 30 “Fantastic Lies” for a visual portrayal of the story, but It’s Not About the Truth was an excellent written version. The book does a great job of investigating the factors, including racial/class differences and extremely vocal outrage culture, that lead to the perfect storm of a national scandal.
Becoming, Michelle Obama – The memoir of a little girl from the South Side of Chicago. Becoming takes us into the life of one of the most high-profile women on the planet, and humanizes her, and her family, to a degree that I would not have thought possible. Expertly crafted, Becoming tells the story of Michelle’s upbringing in the South Side, through a Princeton education, Harvard Law School, a prestigious law position, quitting to focus on more impactful social issues, and culminating in her recognizable role as FLOTUS. It is amazing how her book strips away the title and persona, and reveals that deep down, the Obamas are just normal people like you and I. Additionally, it is fascinating to hear about some of the behind-the-scenes actions and reactions that went on during the eight years of the Obama administration and all of the untiring work that got the family to that point in the first place. Becoming was a window into the life of not just FLOTUS, but also the presidency, as well as an American mother, living the American dream her parents wished for her.
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour, James D. Hornfischer – Hornfischer expertly retells the heroic acts of Task Unit 77.4.3, Taffy 3, an overmatched, outnumbered, and outgunned naval group tasked with defending the beachheads of MacArthur’s return to the Philippines. For two hours on the morning of October 25, 1944, the Taffy 3 tried to stave off annihilation from the might of the Japanese navy. Relive the story of a tiny group of escort carriers, destroyers, and destroyer escorts going toe-to-toe with Japanese heavy cruisers and battleships, including the largest ever put to water, the Yamato. Through meticulous primary and secondary research, Hornfischer includes many harrowing first-hand accounts of the battle, one of the most well-known in naval lore. "In no engagement in its entire history has the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts, and gumption than in the two morning hours between 0730 and 0930 off Samar" – Rear Adm. Samuel Eliot Morison
The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch – What would you say to your students if you were given one lecture before you died? Randy Pausch had the chance to put this extremely moving question to the test when he gave one final lecture at Carnegie Melon before succumbing to a battle with pancreatic cancer. The Last Lecture was a surprisingly light and fun celebration of life and an easy read filled with Pausch’s best life lesson over his prestigious, yet tragically short, career.
Shoe Dog, Phil Knight – Phil Knight’s insightful memoir about the founding and early days of Nike, up until its IPO, is a shocking revelation of the razor-thin wire the current-day titan navigated whilst getting off the ground. It is incredible to learn the backstory behind Nike, and how many instances it very nearly went under. The memoir is written in a very honest and forthcoming manner, and Knight points out many of the mistakes he made, rather than try to justify or hide them. Additionally, the book is packed with a plethora of information that is not necessarily common knowledge about Nike; for example, did you know the company originally was called Blue Ribbon and started as a distributor of Japanese running shoes called Tigers? A very easy 400 pages to read, and it should be fascinating for any sports buff, or business nerd.
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Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, Chris Voss – Voss at one point was the lead international kidnapping negotiator for the FBI and essentially wrote the field manual for how they conduct negotiations today. NSTP is a simplified version of that manual, translated for application to the business world and everyday life. Voss gives practical applications, such as how to negotiate a higher salary, or score the best deal for your firm, but ties all of the lessons back to real-life crisis cases that he worked on. On top of this, he has since determined the psychological basis for why the empirically derived FBI methods work so well and provides this backing as well. I enjoyed this so much that I ordered a hard copy, which I am more than willing to distribute.
The English Spy, Daniel Silva – I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this novel, and boy did it exceed expectations. A true modern-day spy thriller, The English Spy, takes the reader on a journey from the Caribbean, to war-torn Northern Ireland, to Russia, and in between. Silva masterfully unravels a tangled web of deception and intrigue, all the while keeping the reader guessing and in suspense. A very solid read for anyone looking for an easy, yet exciting, page-turner.
Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, Brian Christian – Computer science is more than just a discipline that allows intelligent people to sit behind a screen all day for five days a week. As humans, perhaps we should take a few pages out of computer scientists’ books and bring computational logic to the decision-making table. Each chapter of Algorithms examines a commonly used or well-known computer science algorithm and how it can be applied to everyday life. The algorithm is first explained in its CS form, then optimal solutions, or an explanation for why the problem is intractable, are outlined, and finally, the problem is translated into the day-to-day human lexicon. Optimal stopping becomes ‘when do you give out a job offer if you want to maximize your chances of landing the BEST candidate’, explore/ exploit becomes ‘should I eat at my favorite restaurant or try a new one’, and scheduling is self-explanatory. Algorithms is a fantastic look into the world of computer science from a non-technical viewpoint, and I would say a must-read for any engineer.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens tells the story of humans, specifically our Sapiens species, from their origins in a remote corner of Africa, through 70,000 years of domination, eradication, and development. Broken into four major revolutions, the Cognitive, Agricultural, Scientific, and Industrial Revolutions, Sapiens provides a very comprehensive history of the rise of mankind. Harari forces the reader to question everything they know about human history—why are we special? what holds large societies together? are freedom and equality anything more than imagined social constructs? Sapiens is written with just enough technical detail on the biological and psychological basis for human dominance to lend itself credibility but is still easily comprehendible to those without an anthropological background.
Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman – TFAS is lauded as one of the most impactful, insightful, and influential representations of human cognition in recent times, and for good measure. Kahneman explores and explains the thinking of two personalities; a quick-thinking, biased, and error-prone, System 1, and a slower, deliberate, but lazy System 2. He unveils two species, the rational Econs, and non-ration Humans. Finally, he delves into the experiencing and remembering selves. A brilliant behavioral economics book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, will give you unbelievable insights into the hidden inner workings of your decision-making and thought processes that you never realized were there. The only reason this book is not ranked in the top three is the difficulty it takes to get through. Kahneman writes in a very academic style, as you would likely expect from a Nobel Prize awardee in Economics. This means that it was an uphill battle getting through the entire thing.
What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20, Tina Seelig – Each chapter of What I Wish I Knew is dedicated to a distinct recommendation that Seelig, now the head of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), would give to her younger self. If it seems the advice is practical and honest, that’s because the book started out as a letter to her son when he turned eighteen. All of Seelig’s advice can be neatly summarized into “give yourself permission”: to fail, to branch out, to excel, to innovate. Leaning on her experiences and lessons learned from a career that includes a doctorate in Neuroscience, time as a management consultant, an entrepreneur, and a professor at Stanford, Seelig’s book is geared towards those who want to innovate to change the world. She seeks to show that innovative thinking can be taught—all you need is to change your perspective.
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Michael Lewis – Lewis’ chronicling of the Oakland Athletics’ shrewd approach to field a baseball team, focused on sabermetrics rather than scouts, provides excellent insight into how a small market team can succeed in a big spender’s world. Moneyball dives into the history behind Billy Beane’s revolutionary approach to general management, giving credit to those who provided inspiration along the way. Sports nerds and math nerds alike can agree on the premise of this book, and the moneyball idea has today penetrated mainstream sports society (if you need an example, just look at how the Houston Rockets run their offense). I did wish that the book covered more than just one full season, however, to truly examine the impact of the moneyball approach on a franchise.
Rise Up: The #Merky Story So Far, Stormzy – Rise Up is a bit of a personal indulgence, as it covers the prolific ascent of perhaps Britain’s biggest name in music, and one of my current favorite artists, Stormzy. In four years he went from a relative nobody to the first-ever black solo artist to headline Glastonbury, the largest music festival in the world. Rise Up not only tells his story but also those of his dynamic team, providing insight into all of the pieces that operate to support artists. Probably not a read for most people, but Anglophiles and grime fans such as myself will take pleasure in this story.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, Christopher McDougall – The Tarahumara. A group of indigenous people living in the Copper Canyon of Mexico. A people whose life revolves around distance running. Ultramarathon distance running. Born to Run takes us into their mysterious world and shows a brief glimpse of what happened when they entered ours. McDougall challenges conventional biological theory and modern sports sciences in his thesis that humans are by nature, born to run; the Tarahumara serve as some of the last living proof. The story is as inspirational as it is motivational; it’s amazing what the human body can accomplish when pushed to its limits. And what happens when you pit the best of a super race with the best ultramarathoners the planet has to offer? Born to Run seeks to answer this question.
Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely – Ariely provides a grounded, relatable perspective on human decision-making and the misconception that we are rational beings. His hypothesis, that not only are we irrational, but systematically, even predictably, irrational, is proven time and time again through scientific study that is laid out in cogent, layman’s explanations. While not as detailed and profound as Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow, Predictably Irrational¸ is another tool in the arsenal for those seeking to understand human behavior and the driving forces behind it.
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein – Nudge is a great book for explaining some of the basics of behavioral economics and why humans behave irrationally. I would recommend this to anyone who is attempting to understand decision theory and the underlying processes that take place in shaping our choices. Choice architects, as Thaler and Sunstein call them, can dramatically influence human decisions through simple nudges towards certain options, or lack thereof. At times, Nudge can be quite slowly paced, but paradoxically, some of the examples are simply breezed through. I oftentimes found myself hoping for more explanation and then one shift in topic later, hoping for a reprieve. Overall, a very interesting read that allows a relatively simple exploration of the human mind.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, Matthew Walker – After this book, I’m here to tell you that if you are not sleeping eight hours a night, you are exposing yourself to all kinds of physical and mental health risks, as well as decreasing productivity, awareness, learning, and retention. Everything reported by Walker has been backed by rigorous scientific study, although it is not entirely clear how much is put in there to push a sleep scientist’s narrative. That being said, some of the alarming facts that I can remember off the top of my head:
Persistent lack of sleep (<6 hours) has been shown to lead to a 40% increase in cancer risk
Three-year-olds who sleep <10.5 hours have a 50% increase in being obese by the time they are seven over kids who get 12+ hours
Children who get more sleep in middle school have been shown to go on to develop higher IQ scores than those who do not
Among people who are dieting, controlling for food consumption and exercise, those who slept <6 hours lost 70% of their weight in muscle, compared to 50% of weight loss being fat in those who got 8+ hours
Driving after six days of getting six hours of sleep a night is statistically the same as driving while drunk (0.08 BAC)
Every year, traffic accidents and heart attacks spike the day after Daylight Savings Time, when the entire country has one hour less sleep
Every year, more people die from drowsy driving than drunk driving (an estimated one out of every five fatal crashes)
Loss in productivity due to lack of sleep results in an estimated $100B hit to the U.S. economy every year
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, James Clear – 1) Make the cue obvious 2) Make it attractive 3) Make it easy 4) Make it satisfying. These four simple steps form the outline for how to build habits, the basis for continuous improvement, and massive change. Rather than striving to perform radical overnight change, Clear argues that the true goal should be to get 1% better each and every day, and over time that will compound into a better self. Clear does not just speak in the abstract, but offers concrete examples and techniques for each of the four steps in the habit formation loop, both to build positive habits and break negative ones. Atomic Habits is not the most poetic read out there, but is extremely practical and the lessons can be immediately applied to nearly any aspect of one’s life.
An American Marriage, Tayari Jones – What happens when, a year into their marriage, a black husband is wrongly convicted and sentenced to 12 years in jail? What obligations does the black wife have to that husband? An American Marriage seeks to answer these two basic questions, exploring the dynamics of race relations in the present-day South, the American justice system, and the institution of marriage and its binding effects. Jones draws on a real-life conversation she overheard in a café as the basis for her novel, written from the joint perspectives of the husband and wife leading up to and throughout the incarceration.
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, Eric Reis – Reis’ attempt to offer startups a scientific approach to entrepreneurship is well-grounded and well-meaning, with extremely practical and applicable examples and suggestions. My gripe lies with his repetitive prose, which often seems unnecessary and could undoubtedly be condensed in a much more succinct manner. Still, for anyone looking to venture into the domain of rapid innovation, from an early-stage startup to an R&D unit within a large bureaucratic corporation, this is likely a must-read.
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Day of Infamy, Walter Lord – Lord provides a comprehensive retelling of the ‘day that will live on in infamy’, December 7, 1941. Based on firsthand accounts, and providing insights from the Japanese perspective, Day of Infamy is a must-read for anyone looking to understand what it was like to live through the attack on Pearl Harbor. I’ve gone on quite a WWII kick recently, and this was another excellent read, but I did think that some sections contained too much granular detail while hopping from sailor to sailor too frantically. That being said, some of the small minutiae are absolutely fascinating: the band on the USS Nevada finishing the Star Spangled Banner while under attack, the small island of Ni’ihau that was taken hostage by a crashed Japanese pilot, and the various warning signs leading up to the attack that indicated that danger was imminent.
Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Barack Obama – Obama’s memoir, written when he was a relative nobody, after his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1994 and republished following his iconic DNC speech in 2004, investigates a young man’s attempt to connect with a father that he never really knew. Along the way, Obama discovers for himself what it means to be a half-black, Kenyan, raised in Indonesia and Hawaii but with roots in the heart of Chicago. Through a deft retelling of his inner turmoil–never really fitting in but at the same time never fitting out–Obama puts a blinding spotlight on race relations in America at the turn of the 20th century.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a ****, Mark Manson – Manson’s short, easy-to-read book is an ironic criticism of the self-help genre. Uncompromisingly crude, as the title suggests, The Subtle Art is a punch in the gut, a reality check, to help people come to terms with the fact that sometimes life sucks and you have to get through it. The basic premise is that people are inundated with stimuli in their life, and the truly successful and happy have learned to not care about anything that is not important. Manson then spends the majority of the book exploring how exactly to only care about the things that are consequential or important. I found his radical honesty refreshing and his insights and lessons to be simple, actionable, intuitive, and insightful. For those who need a little motivation in their life, I’d say this is a must-read.
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie – Do not get me wrong, the techniques and ideas behind the book are great; I just don’t think it is necessary for a 240-page book to cover them. Carnegie covers topics including how to handle people, make people like you, win people to your way of thinking, and become a good leader and provides somewhat outdated (the book was written in 1936 after all) examples for each. I think that the archaic nature of the anecdotes is part of the reason for such a low ranking; with illustrations that I could easily relate to or understand, I would have gotten more out of reading. However, I firmly believe that Carnegie’s lessons are important to being a good human being and succeeding in life, and therefore HtWFaIP was well worth the investment.
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, Kim Scott – Scott outlines a new approach to managing teams; Care Personally while simultaneously Challenging Directly. I feel that these two concepts are not utilized nearly enough in corporate America today, and therefore Radical Candor could prove to be a transformational piece on how we approach managing. However, I am a bit dubious of some of the specifics that Scott details. In a politically correct culture where millennials are afraid to have their feelings hurt, some of the ideas that are described in Radical Candor seem to be a fast track to an unwanted HR meeting. In principle, however, I think we all need to Care more Personally, and certainly Challenge more Directly, and I agree with many of the overarching themes of the book. I also appreciate that half the book is dedicated to concrete examples of how exactly to be Radically Candid, as opposed to simply explaining the concepts in thought alone.
The Cellist of Sarajevo, Steven Galloway – Following three separate fictional characters through the siege of Sarajevo from 1992-1996, The Cellist of Sarajevo is a somewhat compelling story of the resilience of civilians in wartime situations. Based on real events where a mortar shell exploded outside a bakery where people were waiting in line for bread, the novel is centered around a cellist who plays in the center of the shell crater each day for 22 days, one for each casualty. This novel seems to be a poor person’s All the Light We Cannot See, and I was only really captivated by one of the storylines.
Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Adichie delivers a raw, vivid tale of Ifemulu, a Nigerian girl who moves to the United States for university and discovers a new life for herself. Never truly satisfied, she returns to Africa, to Lagos, an Americanah, an outsider in her own skin. The novel dares the reader to push outside of his/her comfort zone on racial topics, as well as investigate themes of love, identity, and intelligence. Americanah was brilliantly penned, but all of this considered, not my usual cup of tea.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell is trumpeted as a famed economist who brilliantly explains in laymen’s terms complicated topics, but I feel that he oversimplifies a good deal, and generalizes too much. The Tipping Point is a solid read, and the principles behind how an epidemic surges are solid, but I did not care for the way he went about explaining. On certain topics, he lingered far too long, and I feel that he omitted a good deal of detail. A parking lot read for a rainy day.
The Road to Character, David Brooks – Brooks does not claim to be the expert, nor a shining example of how to live a life defined by strong morality and character. The Road to Character examines historical case studies of people who were willing to make sacrifices, devout their life to a cause, to embody what Brooks calls the Adam II ethos. These case studies range from well-known figures, Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall, and Joe Namath, to extremely influential but relatively unknowns, such as Bayard Rustin, the organizer of the March on Washington D.C., or Frances Perkins, one of the unsung minds behind FDR’s New Deal. However, at times the book can be extremely dry, and reading it a chore. Additionally, Brooks frequently weaves religion into his analysis, while at the same time maintaining that religion is not a prerequisite for morality or character. Overall, after laboring to sift through often haughty and verbose prose, The Road to Character challenges the reader to look inward to discover a life defined by character. In the end, the book is just a bit too philosophical for my tastes.
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The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life: Before 8AM, Hal Elrod – Another self-help book that is targeted at those who are already underachieving and at their low points. That being said, there are some likely beneficial practices that Elrod espouses in getting a jump start on your day by having a dedicated morning to personal development. I agree with some of the content, but not the delivery; it is too preachy. And if I have to see the phrase ‘your “Miracle Morning”’ one more time…
The Product Diploma: Breaking Into Product Management Out of College, Davis Treybig & Alan Ni – To be honest, I only read this because one of my friends is one of the authors. Although the book does provide solid information on what it entails to be a Product Manager at a tech company, it was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, and highly repetitive. That being said, soon-to-be new grads may find it useful in preparing for a potential PM career.
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward – I suppose that the motifs that Ward focuses on are powerful ones–familial bonds, racial relations in a post-Civil Right south, drug addiction, and grief to name a few. However, the characters are infuriating, unlikable, and annoying. I found myself actively upset at what I was reading, which, although it may be a sign of promising penmanship, does not translate into a good rating. Additionally, there is a farcical supernatural undertone to the book, which was off-putting to me, for a book that otherwise was so grounded in realism. A quick, but unenjoyable read.
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, Jen Sincero – This is the type of self-help book that gives the genre a bad name. Not much else needs to be said.
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Edwin A. Abbott – Joe Kloiber recommended this one to me, and to be quite frank, it was terrible. The writing was exceedingly dense, consistent with the fact that it was written by a clergyman in the 1800s. The plot, if you can call it that, was dull, uninspiring, and downright boring. Do not read.
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Cheers,
Jesse