Not as compelling as the second book, mainly because a lot of the plot reveals were telegraphed so clearly in the first two books, it felt like I already knew how most of the character arcs would resolve. I’ll probably keep going with the series, but it’s not near the top of the list.
26th book of 2020. A book of stories with few answers. Each chapter tells the story of a different executive who found ways to make their company moral as well as profitable. In most cases they failed, in a few (and only the ones that didn’t go public) they were able to build a lasting institution. O’Toole gives a quick summary of the company, what made them successful, how they were enlightened and what happened after the founder disengaged. In the depressing majority of cases, the companies reverted back to bread and butter capitalism, but there seem to be a few, such as Lincoln electric and Johnson and Johnson that found an enduring corporate culture beyond shareholder value. ...
27th book of 2020: This man Fights. Grant was not destined to rise through the ranks. Had the civil war not created a dire need for somebody, (anybody!) with an officer’s training, he would have lived out his life as a struggling head of a poor family with a problem drinking and driving fast cars horses. Indeed both before and after his second run in public service, this was his life path. ...
Better than the first book. Shallan is a far more interesting character than Kaladin, and the twists related to her story were the most surprising thing I’ve seen in the story so far. Despite this series being known for its world building, it still feels pale in comparison to other series.
20th book of 2020. Heartbreaking. Along with slavery, this feels like the original sin of the American dream. Even a few weeks later I’m still struggling to process it. Reminded me of Cities of Salt, stories about the colonization told from the perspective of Arabs.
2025 Re-review Sometimes, a fragment of a book stays with you - like a song you can’t get out of your head. That’s what has happened with Sanderson’s first ideal. The ideal itself is pure Sanderson: cliche, optimistic, noble. But the structure works. Plug in some different ideals, and the grammar has worked as a prayer ever since. “Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.” * 2020 Review: 21st book of 2020. ...
18th book of 2020. This book has a great start, giving a framework to think about modern economies, nearly declaring an economic ’end of history’ in that capitalism has proven to be the state that all developed countries have converged upon. I most appreciated the taxonomy for flavors of capitalism in the world today: Classical Capitalism - Think belle epoch France or England. Meritocratic Liberal Capitalism - USA today. Increasing inequality, divergent interests between classes. Political Capitalism - Lots of problems with corruption. Able to sustain high growth rates. ...
17th book of 2020. I came into this book with essentially no understanding of WW2, and what I did understand came from the American perspective, thinking that the war started in December 1941. I can’t really judge the accuracy, it could have all been made up and I wouldn’t have known the difference. But as a story I immensely enjoyed it. Perhaps the element I enjoyed most was the way that Churchill’s character shone through, regardless of whether that character was the right fit for the circumstances or not. In some ways, Churchill reminds me of Steve Jobs, in that their personalities, while in most circumstances a liability, ended up intersecting with history in a way that elevated them to the forefront of contemporary affairs. ...
Never have I read so much on a topic I find so interesting to learn so little. An interesting snapshot into the housing debate currently taking place in San Francisco. It didn’t feel like Conor Dougherty was really trying to make sense of the issue, and there is little in the way of thesis or narrative thread. My biggest takeaway is that SF will likely muddle through the next few decades with no substantial change in zoning regulations, NIMBY organizers will continue to make building difficult, YIMBY groups will get some things passed, but likely fall into infighting and half-measures, prices will continue to increase. ...
15th book of 2020. An Outsider’s view. If you want an entertaining remix of the facts, I would recommend watching ‘The Social Network.’ It’s equally inaccurate and has a better soundtrack. Having worked closely on the areas that Levy covers, I can affirm that Levy is no Bob Woodward. Levy’s book reads like a summary of press from 2017-2019, too busy dunking on Facebook’s mistakes to bring any new insight to the table. If you want to understand Facebook, read Ben Thompson’s newsletter, or Chaos Monkeys, a book written by an actual (if disgruntled) insider.