Category Archives: book

Detroit: An American Autopsy

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Mike

Even though I am genuinely interested in understanding what happened in Detroit and why, there a certain level of guilt involved in reading a book like Charlie LeDuff’s Detroit: An American Autopsy. Don’t get me wrong — it’s a great … Continue reading →

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Racing the Beam

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Mike

I’d never heard of “platform studies” before, but in “Racing the Beam” (2009) Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost do a good job of telling the history of the Atari 2600 gaming console from the perspective of its game developers. The … Continue reading →

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The Age of Edison

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Mike

In “The Age of Edison,” author Ernest Freeberg reminds us of what we take for granted every time we flip a light switch or plug in a smartphone. The energy ecosystem that we enjoy today — power plants, transmission lines … Continue reading →

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Punching Out

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Mike

In “Punching Out” (2011), Paul Clemens spends a year at the massive Budd Detroit Automotive Plant, Stamping and Framing Division in Detroit — the year after the plant has been shut down. He chronicles the plant’s press lines being disassembled … Continue reading →

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We Live in Water

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Mike

I very much enjoyed Jess Walter’s short story collection “We Live in Water” (2013). I often find short fiction to be unsatisfying.  It can be difficult to get to know (and have any feeling about) characters in such a short … Continue reading →

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Exploding the Phone

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Mike

Phil Lapsley’s “Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell” tells the story of the underground “phone phreaking” culture of the pre-PC era.  That group included Steve Wozniak (who wrote the book’s forward … Continue reading →

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The Idea Factory

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Mike

In The Idea Factory (2012), Jon Gertner tells the story of Bell Labs, the “idea factory” of the title. Bells Labs was established as the research & development arm of AT&T (once known as “Ma Bell”), which was committed to … Continue reading →

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Trading Bases

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Mike

I very much enjoyed Joe Peta’s Trading Bases: A Story About Wall Street, Gambling, and Baseball (Not Necessarily in That Order). The product of a horrible collision between the author and a New York City ambulance (not to mention the … Continue reading →

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Elsewhere

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Mike

Richard Russo’s memoir “Elsewhere” (2012) is, quite simply, required reading for anyone who has enjoyed Russo’s work, especially his earlier books. Sadly, the decline of upstate New York cities like Gloversville, where Russo grew up, has only hastened since Russo … Continue reading →

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The Signal and the Noise

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Mike

An awesome read from Nate Silver, a guy who has done some fascinating things. His advice on in a nutshell:  make forecasts, not predictions; avoid over-confidence; challenge your heuristics; and fill your knowledge gaps whenever possible. Read reviews from the … Continue reading →

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