My Bookshelf
- Number of books listed: 70
- Number of different authors: 57
- Average book rating: 7.6
Currently on my nightstand:
- Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything by Steven Levy
Published in 2000, this follows the action at Apple from its early days building the Macintosh II, Lisa and beyond.
- Where Keynes Went Wrong by Hunter Lewis
A nice way for the layman (ie. myself) to gain decent exposure to Keynes's General Theory and other works. The pointing out of contradictions in his writings and reliance on hunches rather than evidence is enlightening. Unfortunately, the book itself is not a treat to read and, at least on my Kindle, it was often hard to distinguish the parts that were Keynes's own words vs the author's. The author explains at the beginning that he will jump from quoting Keynes to commenting on those quotes, but there were still many moments asking, "So wait, did Keynes say that or is the author saying that?" If the writing were clearer the book would merit a higher rating.
Retired to my bookshelf:
- What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
- Read in 2012
A selection of Gladwell's pieces from The New Yorker. It's hard not to enjoy his writing and I often find myself thinking, "I hadn't though of it that way." His one piece on Ron Popeil was enough to give me the confidence to purchase the Ronco knife set when I saw it advertised on tv a few days later! So far, so good...
- A Devil's Chaplain by Richard Dawkins
- Read in 2011
A collection of Dawkins' essays and letters.
- After America by Mark Steyn
- Read in 2011
It seems one is considered a racist or fascist (or both) for even touching this book, but reading it was great fun. Steyn's point about the dropping quality of education (at ever-increasing cost) is hard to ignore.
- Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter L. Bernstein
- Read in 2011
The world really started to advance after the discovery and application of probability theory allowed people to quantify risk, whether it be in business, exploring or warfare, and plan their activities accordingly. This guy likes Keynes way too much.
- Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis
- Read in 2011
Lewis focuses on five (Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany, U.S. municipal bonds) centres of the financial crisis and entertainingly describes how things got or are getting so out of hand.
- Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibi
- Read in 2011
Exposing how the political class and high financiers are in bed together, gaming the system so that they can't lose.
- Guns, Germs and Steel - The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
- Read in 2011
A thought-provoking read explaining why some cultures advanced quicker and thus defeated and dominated others. (Think Spain controlling large parts of South America.) The critical importance of farming and having animals to domesticate was something I had never really thought about. Once a culture can easily feed itself, more of its people can focus on advancing its technology. (and build armies)
- How to Run the World by Parag Khanna
- Read in 2011
I saw Khanna on a series of The Agenda episodes in the summer and decided to buy his book. He sees NGOs as an important force for good in the world. Usually more effective than governments themselves, NGOs can initiate and run beneficial programs rather than dither about weighing political implications.
- Letter to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens
- Read in 2011
Working on the TVO archive website, I was seeing lots of old videos including one of Hitchens discussing the so-called axis of evil: Iraq, North Korea and Iran. He spoke so well and I had read god is Not Great so I decided it was time to read some more. I found this Kindle version for $10 and downloaded it. It's set-up as a correspondence between the author and a student. The main theme is to speak out for your principles, for which you can expect to be shunned, criticised and ostracised, and to call others out when they betray their own principles.
- The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
- Read in 2011
I got onto a Richard Dawkins kick and grabbed this for my Kindle. It is his summary for the evidence of evolution thereby making it a fact, not a theory. As you come to expect from Dawkins, it's very well-written and very convincing. I'm not sure how you can argue against evolution unless you blatantly ignore scientific evidence.
- The Little Book that Still Beats the Market by Joel Greenblatt
- Read in 2011
Clearly written and simple to understand investment advice based on Greenblatt's "magic formula" to investing.
- The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu
- Read in 2011
Wu traces the cycle of ground-breaking technologies creating information empire monopolies (think Bell's invention becoming the behemoth AT&T, original film studios controlling production, distribution and screening of movies) and their eventual destruction. It remains to be see if the internet is different; will it become monopolised?
- The New Cold War by Edward Lucas
- Read in 2011
Lucas writes for The Economist and is an expert on Eastern Europe and Russia. He analyses Russia's use of energy, corruption and political "sovereign democracy" as weapons to win/manipulate friends and silence critics.
- The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition by Richard Dawkins
- Read in 2011
Examining gene propagation from the gene's point of view. More technical than The Greatest Show on Earth so parts tend to (necessarily) drag on a bit.
- The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
- Read in 2011
If you're reading about Buffett, you're probably interested in his path to success, the specifics of business deals etc. After reading this I'm not quite sure what to think of Buffett. He's very good at what he's good at (business, playing bridge), but somehow comes across as inept at anything outside of his comfort zone.
- When Money Dies: The nightmare of deficit spending, devaluation and hyperinflation in Weimar Germany by Adam Fergusson
- Read in 2011
Describing Germany's post World War I spiral into hyperinflation and the destruction of its middle and lower classes. Amazingly, the German central bankers and politicians didn't seem to think printing money on a colossal scale had anything much to do with the collapse of its value.
- Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder
- Read in 2010
Historian lays out the facts and circumstances of what happened in Eastern Europe as it was caught between Hitler and Stalin in the build up to and during WWII. Millions of innocents killed and deported and not many people are aware of it.
- Fooling Some of the People All of the Time by David Einhorn
- Read in 2010
Best-selling financial book that was mostly a factual accounting of events that the author experienced after shorting Allied Capital. A worthwhile read for sure, but very dry when compared to something like Michael Lewis's The Big Short.
- Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
- Read in 2010
Written quite a while ago, but I saw it on my dad's bookshelf and read it through. Always enjoyable to read stuff that bucks conventional wisdom so that you can say, "That's what I always thought - I was right all along!"
- Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
- Read in 2010
Mandela's autobiography. At times fascinating, at times a bit boring.
- Meltdown by Thomas E. Woods Jr.
- Read in 2010
An Austrian school economist's take on why things tanked and why everything governments are doing to fix the problem are wrong and will only make things worse.
- Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre
- Read in 2010
First-person told tale of a man who figures out his own technical analysis system at a young age and winds up trading stocks for a living. Takes place in the early 1900's but it pretty much reads like any modern tale about the stock market. I guess things don't really change.
- Sinine on sinu taevas by Mihkel Raud
- Read in 2010
An Estonian book about terrorists going on a killing spree in Estonia. It's the authors way of bringing up many of his thoughts on the Estonian political and social landscape.
- The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
- Read in 2010
Very entertaining read about the subprime meltdown. If you liked Liar's Poker, you'll like this.
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
- Read in 2009
Needed a book to read while in Washington D.C. and Borders had this one for cheap.
- Bad Thoughts a guide to clear thinking by Jamie Whyte
- Read in 2009
Enjoyable read. Whyte is a former philosophy lecturer and the book demonstrates how to identify bogus logic. Often people will move an argument off topic rather than prove their opponent's reasoning to be wrong.
- Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman
- Read in 2009
Friedman's take on what is required to save the world.
- I.O.U.S.A. by Various authors
- Read in 2009
Accompanying book to the I.O.U.S.A. documentary film. America is bankrupt and in denial.
- The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
- Read in 2009
History of money and financial innovation. Recommended and loaned to me by Erik S.
- The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
- Read in 2009
Classic book about value investing.
- The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman
- Read in 2009
Friedman's explanation of Globalisation and the Electronic Herd of investors affecting the world. Almost 10 years old but a fun read.
- Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard J. Maybury
- Read in 2009
A short book set-up as a series of letters from "Uncle Eric" to his nephew Chris. Each letter covers some economic topic (ex. inflation) and explains it in an easy to understand way.
- Everything You Know About CSS is Wrong! by Rachel Andrew and Kevin Yank
- Read in 2008
SitePoint claims it's time to use CSS tables, even though IE only supports them beginning with IE8. I plan to dive in with my new foreign ministry site, which should be ready Winter 2008.
- Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski
- Read in 2008
Left to me by Toomas O. after his August 2008 visit to Estonia. Thoroughly enjoy it, when I finally take the time to read a few pages here and there. On a side note, it's amazing how much less I read now that I walk to work instead of reading through the 20 minute TTC commute I had in Toronto.
- Build your own Ruby on Rails Web Applications by Patrick Lenz
- Read in 2007
An introduction to Ruby on Rails programming for the web. Shows how to use it to build a site with functionality similar to digg.com. I got most of the way through it but realised I wasn't about to switch to Ruby on Rails just yet so I have shelved it.
- god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens
- Read in 2007
Ex-Marxist Hitchens is an atheist and this is his attempt to disprove religion and convince readers to give up their faith.
- In Business As in Life, You Don't Get What You Deserve, You Get What You Negotiate by Chester L. Karrass
- Read in 2007
Follow-up to Karrass's "The Negotiating Game"
- The Art & Science of CSS by Multiple Contributors
- Read in 2007
Not a CSS textbook as much as a "check out what you can do" collection featuring CSS techniques to make attractive, standards-based sites.
- The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Read in 2007
Taleb explains black swan events and how not being prepared for them (or not to expect them) is a big mistake.
- The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
- Read in 2007
A professor of evolutionary biology, Dawkins is a proud atheist who attempts to prove that God does not exist and that religion is a waste of time.
- The Negotiating Game by Chester L. Karrass
- Read in 2007
At the time of reading I had just taken a negotiating course based on the principles discussed in this book. A useful read.
- Vanamees ja Meri (Old Man and the Sea) by Ernest Hemingway
- Read in 2007
An Estonian translation of Hemingway's classic tale. I hadn't read the original English so now I suppose I'll have to for comparison's sake.
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
- Read in 2006
Being amazed with how scientists have discovered how the world works, Bryson attempts to explain how in a way that can be understood by they layman.
- Build your own AJAX web applications by Matthew Eernisse
- Read in 2006
Uses sample applications to demonstrate the power of AJAX coding techniques.
- Building Accessible Websites by Joe Clark
- Read in 2006
A book about the importance of making websites accessible and how to go about doing it.
- Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman
- Read in 2006
Mr Zeldman outlines the importance of designing websites using standards and uses an example site to show the steps to make your site standards compatible.
- DHTML Utopia: Modern Web Design using javascript & DOM by Stuart Langridge
- Read in 2006
Lots of examples of small apps using unobtrusive coding techniques. I found the chapter about form validation particularly helpful.
- Empire of Debt by Bill Bonner
- Read in 2006
Compares America to past empires hinting that the reason we no longer bow to Rome is the same reason we will soon stop bowing to America. Excess credit and inflation will be America's downfall.
- Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Read in 2006
Explains how ego and arrogance often lead to humans believing they are exceptionally intelligent when in actual fact, their success is better explained by random chance.
- How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer
- Read in 2006
The author uses his obsession with soccer as a mirror onto the world.
- Just One Thing by John Mauldin
- Read in 2006
Twelve of the world's "greatest" investors reveal the one strategy most important to investing success.
- Managing my Life by Sir Alex Ferguson
- Read in 2006
A birthday gift from a fellow Manchester United fan. Fergie walks us through his life from modest beginnings in Glasgow to his team's 1999 treble triumph.
- Prioritizing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen & Hoa Loranger
- Read in 2006
Usability mavens filter through their thousands of guidelines to give us those that are most important.
- Struck by Lightning by Jeffrey S. Rosenthal
- Read in 2006
Professor in the Department of Statistics at U of T who got his PhD from Harvard at age 24. Explains how we are confronted every day with randomness and we can use probability to make better decisions. Written to be understood by non-academics.
- The Border by James Laxer
- Read in 2006
York University professor discusses the border relationship between Canada and the United States by visiting just about every border crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
- The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson
- Read in 2006
Originally written in Swedish, this story of the life of Orm provides what is supposed to be an accurate description of Viking life. The tale follows Orm's adventures as he passes from childhood to becoming a great Chieftain.
- The Lyre of Orpheus by Robertson Davies
- Read in 2006
Novel whose plot surrounds the production of a new Opera. This was read sometime in 2005 when CBC was doing its "Greatest Ever Canadian" competition. Written on the inside cover are some unexpected and mostly joke top picks from a few friends including Gowan, Emmanuel Sandhu, Mitsou and Ed the Sock.
- The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
- Read in 2006
Friedman lays out the ten main forces that flattened the world; from the fall of the Berlin Wall which opened up closed societies to the ubiquity of digital communication giving us a global village. To succeed in the flat world is to accept flatteners like outsourcing and develop your education and skills to be valuable in a world where anything can be done from anywhere.
- Writing Mobile Code by Ivo Salmre
- Read in 2006
The author is a friend so I want to read his book. All about the ins and outs of coding applications for mobile devices. I started strong but got sidetracked by other books so this will take some time to complete.
- Conned Again, Watson by Colin Bruce
- Read in 2005
Bruce is a physicist who uses the fictional character Sherlock Holmes and the mysteries he faces to shed light on common probability, logic and decision theory problems.
- Does IT Matter? by Nicholas G. Carr
- Read in 2005
Questions the wisdom of companies' huge Information Technology expenditures when the strategic importance of having the latest and greatest decreases as core IT functions become affordable and accessible to all. How much new equipment and man time is required if what you have now works fine?
- Mean Genes by T. Burnham & J. Phelan
- Read in 2005
Two academics showing that often our own genes work against us in our efforts towards self-improvement. For instance, losing weight can be tough at the best of times but our genes do not like it and fight against our bodies losing valuable energy stores.
- The Global Soul by Pico Iyer
- Read in 2005
After hearing Iyer interviewed on CBC radio, I picked up this book. Iyer's background is interesting in that he is East Indian by descent, grew up in England but now has a home in California. His varied background and experiences provide great insight to all the places he visits throughout the book.
- Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este
- Read in 2004
Analysis of the tactical successes and blunders in the days following the D-Day landings. Remarkable to see how often and quickly high-ranking officers were replaced if they were not meeting their objectives.
- Murther & Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies
- Read in 2004
Follows the ghost life of an accidentally murdered newspaper editor. As a ghost, he sees the history of his family from hundreds of years back to present day. As always with Davies, very well written.
- The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin
- Read in 2004
An educational romp from the discovery of keeping time to the development of the atomic bomb. Catalogues the accomplishments of famous and not so famous explorers, philosophers and scientists.
- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
- Read in 2003
Hemingway's well-known story of an American fighting with anti-fascist forces in the mountains of Spain in the 1930's.
- The Cunning Man by Robertson Davies
- Read in 2003
Novel following the experiences of a bachelor physician in Toronto.
