Book Log

My goal: Starting June 1, 2009, read one book per week until July 31, 2010 for a total of 52. You can follow my progress and help keep me on task on this page. Please comment and suggest some books!

Currently reading…

• Shake Hands with the Devil, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire
• This I Believe, Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
• The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
• Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela

June 2009

3.		We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: Stories from Rwanda, Philip Gourevitch 800,000 people slaughtered in under 100 days, the most efficient genocide ever. Gourevitch weaves together personal stories of the atrocity, exposes the complacency of the Western world and the complicity of France, Belgium, and Zaire, illustrates the ignorance of the development community, while praising the efforts of a few, including Rwanda President Kagame, Uganda President Musevina, Paul Rusesabagina, and Lt. Gen. Dallaire. Gourevitch offers astonishing insight into what drove a million Hutus to massacre nearly a million of their Tutsi neighbors–and any Hutu that stood in their way–and the complex political and social environment of attempting to rebuild a country recovering from genocide.
2.		The Think Big Manifesto, Michael Port Do more with less and revolutionize the world at the same time; not a unique story and a little propogandistic, but great if you use it as a brainstorming tool.
1.		Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad Excellent. In a way, it’s the embodiment of Ayn Rand’s philosophy in midst of a tail of an African expedition.

May 2009

• I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi – worthless; do not waste your time! I read this due to Tim Ferriss’ recommendation, but it is nothing more than a regurgitation of 20 other books; read The Automatic Millionaire instead, it is far better [*]

January 2009

• The Successful Investor, William J. O’Neil, founder of Investor’s Business Daily – highly recommended; how to base your buy/sell decisions on actual market conditions and not on projections [****]
• El mar y las campanas (The Sea and the Bells), Pablo Neruda – when in Chile…from the Nobel Literature prize winning poet-turned-diplomat [****]

December 2008

• The Audacity of Hope, Barrack Obama – inspiring, bold discussion of all the difficult topics politicians face, including race, family, values, and the downfalls of partisan ideology; will give you even more hope for the next 4 years [*****]

November 2008

• Economics: Making Sense of the Modern Economy, Simon Cox of The Economist – excellent introduction to modern economics, including globalization, global housing crisis, rise of China, and capital flows [****]
• Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein – an entertaining introduction to philosphy [***]
• Epidemiology: An Introduction, Kenneth J. Rothman – great introductory material

June 2008

• The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith – formed theoretical framework of market economics

May 2008

• The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho – simple & inspiring [****]
• The 4-Hour Workweek, Timothy Ferriss – revolutionized my approach to work through automation, outsourcing, elimination of waste and prioritization [****]

March 2008

• Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen – Fundamentally broadened my view of development. If you don’t have the time, at least read the introduction and first 3 chapters. [*****]

February 2008

• End of Poverty, Jeffrey Sachs – A great introduction to the economic optimist’s approach to fixing global poverty. Read White Man’s Burden by Easterly for a well-rounded perspective. [****]