Book Reviews

Here are reviews of some books I have read (or, at least, started reading) over the past year or so…

The Greatest Show on Earth (Richard Dawkins) – ♦♦♦ 3 stars
Makes a persuasive case for evolution, but gets a bit repetitive.  In some sections, this book presents complicated material in a simplified manner that I could understand while other sections were over my head.

American Conspiracies (Dick Russell & Jesse Ventura) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
A ton of thought-provoking material here on conspiracies starting with the assassination of Lincoln through the cause of the financial meltdown.  The one drawback is it is tough to separate factual information from the speculative.

The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition (Richard Dawkins) – ♦♦♦♦♦ 5 stars
I can’t give this book enough stars.  The Selfish Gene is a clear, easy-to-understand explanation of evolution that explains virtually everything about how life has developed and thrived on Earth.  Probably one of the most important books on science, this should be required reading for everyone.

The Odds (Chad Millman) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
I read this book for the second time recently before my trip to Las Vegas for the NCAA Tournament. The Odds is a fascinating look into the life of those who gamble on sports for a living told through three perspectives: the college dropout just moved to Vegas to gamble, the 20-year gambling veteran, and the bookmakers for a large Vegas casino.

Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air (David J.C. Mackey) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
This book tackles the world’s coming energy problem using a plethora of stats and figures.  Unlike most books on energy, Sustainable Energy looks at the viability of energy solution mathematically determining what could plausibly fill our energy needs in the future. Includes a ton of excellent information, though will all its charts and graphs, it would have been easier for me to digest in a physical book rather than the Kindle’s digital version.

Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller (Jeff Rubin) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
This book is an economists look at oil, energy and the world economy, arguing that the high price of oil was the reason for the financial meltdown and the driving force that will shape our economy in the years to come.  This is probably the most fair and objective analysis of the coming energy crisis that I have come across.

Soccernomics (Stefan Szymanski) – ♦♦♦ 3 stars
This book starts off great and includes a lot of interesting facts pertaining to world soccer.  Unfortunately, I found some of the arguments not very convincing as I would have interpreted the data much differently – virtually opposite in fact.  I would say that some of the chapters in this book are 5-star worthy while others are closer to 1-star caliber.

Last Words (George Carlin) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
I found this autobiography of George Carlin a great read.  Carlin was a fascinating man and this book tells the story of his life from early childhood until his recent death.  If you are a Carlin fan and don’t know about his personal life, this book is a must read.

Value of Nothing (Raj Patel) – ♦♦ 2 stars
This book makes some good points regarding the true economic cost of the stuff we buy -including long-term environmental costs. But I found the overall anti-capitalist theme to be much too idealistic and out of touch with reality.  While the “free market” system has some problems, I don’t see the solutions in this book being very plausible.

Stones Into Schools (Greg Mortenson) – ♦♦♦ 3 stars
Mortenson is a true inspiration who does amazing work, dedicating his life to building schools in the most desolate places on Earth.  This book chronicles his story and for a while it was a captivating read.  I must admit that I got bored with it after a while as the minutia was just too much for me and I quit reading before I was finished.

Eating the Dinosaur (Chuck Klosterman) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
This collection of essays from Chuck Klosterman features more hits than misses.  While not his best work, I found most of the essays an interesting read at the very least.  As only he can, Klosterman seems as though he is trying too hard to prove how intelligent he is yet still comes off as interesting and likable.  This book is a quick read full of original thoughts on topics including but not limited to: ABBA, Ralph Sampson, what it’s like to be a wolf, the idiocy and lasting impact of laugh tracks, and Pepsi’s marketing strategy.

Every Hand Revealed (Gus Hansen) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
A unique poker book that takes the reader through an entire poker tournament through the mind of an unorthodox player.  I found this book provided great insight into the actual decisions made on each and every hand of a championship-level tournament.

The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown) – ♦♦ 2 stars
This book actually starts out interesting, but the suspension of belief the reader needs to take is just too much.  This book should have ended hundreds of pages before as the ending (which I never even got to) is just ridiculous, even for a Dan Brown novel.  I felt bad after reading this, feeling as though I had just wasted many hours of my life.

The Given Day (Dennis Lehane) – ♦ 1 star
I have enjoyed many Dennis Lehane books, but this one just didn’t do it for me.  Set in the early 20th century, The Given Day is basically about baseball and racism.  To me, it felt contrived and overly sappy/politically correct.  I did not make it very far with this one.

Free (Chris Anderson) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
This book makes a compelling case that many traditional companies are going to have to adapt their business models to a new price point – Free!  Those that embrace this have the potential to thrive while old, rigid businesses who fight this will die.  This book makes a compelling case and is a must read for anyone who works in or is interested in the future of marketing, online business and/or the transfer of data/ideas.

$20 Per Gallon (Christoper Steiner) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
I found this to be an entertaining (and very ambitious) take on how our society would change if and when gas goes up to $20 per gallon.  Each chapter is labeled Chapter $6,  Chapter $8, Chapter $10, etc. all the way up to Chapter $20.  The book takes the outlook that people will not change until they are forced to – and with astronomical oil prices they will be forced too.  I especially liked the section about smart electricity grids – don’t know how close that would be too reality, but interesting nonetheless!

The Post-American World (Fareed Zakaria) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
I found this too be a good read, not so much about the fall of America, but the rise of new world powers – China, India, Russia, Brazil (BRIC).  Although I think Zakaria underestimates the tough problems these emerging economies are going to face, his general premise of a new world order without one dominant superpower is probably an inevitability.  I found this book to be optimistic and fairly unbiased.

Street Fighters (Kate Kelly) – ♦♦♦♦ 4 stars
This insiders look at the last 72 hours of Bear Stearns paints a clear picture of the culture that has persisted on Wall Street for years, and ultimately helped to cause the current financial crisis.  Its amazing to think that a company with the history of Bear Stearns could go from seemingly worth billions on Friday to virtually worthless on Monday, but thats pretty much the story told here.

Columbine (Dave Cullen) – ♦♦♦♦♦ 5 stars
This book was a fascinating look at the Columbine massacre and the 2 boys behind it.  Dave Cullen does an excellent job researching and presenting everything there is to know about what happened at Columbine.  Also features a shocking look into the psychology of the sociopath who planned and carried out the massacre.