Category Archives: book
Fortune’s Fool
Fortune’s Fool by Fred Goodman tells the story of the recording industry through the tale of Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and his gamble on Warner Music Group (and the recording industry in general). While interesting at times, it’s tough to recommend … Continue reading
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The Price of Everything
Perhaps not everything, but a Eduardo Porter provides some fascinating insights about why we value the things we value, and what that means in our lives. Recommended for the behavioral economist in your life. Reviews from the NY Times and … Continue reading
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The Poisoner’s Handbook
The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum is well described by its subtitle, Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. But I probably would have gone with CSI: New York (Prohibition Era). If you know what … Continue reading
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The Gun
The title of C.J. Chivers Pulitzer Prize winning book refers to the AK-47 (and its lethally improved successors, the AK-74 and AKM). The book provides a fascinating history of human combat since the American Civil War, largely through the view … Continue reading
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Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter
What really blew me away about this book was the following realization: even given the thousands of hours I’ve wasted in my life playing video games, I have never played a single game Tom Bissell covers in this entire book. … Continue reading
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Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America
Griftopia, Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi’s book-length rant against Wall Street’s greed can be quite entertaining and is occasionally enlightening. One of the book’s early chapters, entitled “The Biggest A**hole in the Universe,” provide the author’s (rather strong) views on … Continue reading
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Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception
In Proofiness, author Charles Seife explores the power of numbers in our lives, especially specious numbers, and argues that they undermine our democracy. His discussion of bogus mathematical arguments draws on real world events, and he presents an interesting analysis … Continue reading
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The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires
Tim Wu’s “The Master Switch” is a great read at a number of different levels. At one level, it is an interesting history of the information and telecommunications industries in the United States — telephony, radio and television, film and … Continue reading
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A Measureless Peril
Keeping up with the Winston Churchill theme, this book’s title is derived from a Churchill quote — describing his concern over the threat posed by the German U-boat campaign. Author Richard Snow uses his father’s experience serving in the Navy … Continue reading
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Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
Winston Churchill called Prohibition “an affront to the whole history of mankind.” In retrospect, it’s pretty amazing to think that it could happen at all — a constitutional amendment to prohibit all intoxicating beverages. Daniel Okrent’s “Last Call: The Rise … Continue reading
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