I came across the following quote courtesy of my friend Morry Fiddler at DePaul’s School for New Learning. I wanted to make sure I captured it for future contemplation:
Science is a kind of open laboratory for democracy. It’s a way to experiment with the ideals of our democratic societies. For example, in science you must [...]
The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Author: John Maeda
Year: 2006
Publisher: The MIT Press
ISBN: 0262134721
Here is an example of a short, little, book that benefits from the author’s decision to keep it focused. Maeda is a designer/computer scientist at MIT’s Media Lab and he consciously limits this book to [...]
Going Visual: Using Images to Enhance Productivity, Decision-Making and Profits
Rating: 3 out of 5
Author: Alexis Gerard
Year: 2005
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0471710253
This is one of those examples of a gem of a good idea that would be more valuable if it weren’t bulked up to fit into a book size format. It could be [...]
The Long Tail : Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More
Rating: 5 out of 5
Author: Chris Anderson
Year: 2006
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 1401302378
The book length version of The Long Tail has now been published. Based on Chris Anderson’s seminal Wired article, the book expands and elaborates on the article’s thesis [...]
Let My People Go Surfing : The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
Rating: 4 out of 5
Author: Yvon Chouinard
Year: 2005
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
ISBN: 1594200726
I got this book as a Christmas present from my brother-in-law. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise and that would have been unfortunate because [...]
Take a couple of hours out of your schedule this weekend or next and go see “An Inconvenient Truth,” the Al Gore starring documentary about global warming that is now in theaters. You’ll learn much about global warming and much about many other topics should you choose to pay attention and watch on multiple levels.
The reviews are uniformly positive (I confess I haven’t checked what Fox News thinks of it, but here is a link to the NY Times review). Besides its central message, it contains lessons on effective presentations and stroytelling and lessons on the contrasts between how science is done and how those who find the science “inconvenient” operate to undermine it. This has me thinking on multiple levels.
There’s an excellent website to accompany the movie, as well as a blog and an RSS feed.
Tags: InconvenientTruth GlobalWarming AlGore
Naked Conversations : How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
Author: Robert Scoble, Shel Israel
Year: 2006
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 047174719X
A bit slow, but I’ve finally found time to finish Naked Conversations.
This is currently the best choice available to introduce blogging to an executive level audience that is either trying to figure out “what’s [...]
This past weekend I gave a seminar at DePaul University on the topic of “Knowledge worker effectiveness in organizations” as part of the Master’s Program in Applied Technology (MAAT). As I was heading out of the house Saturday morning, I decided to grab some of the key books that I thought were important if you [...]
I did manage to read just over 50 books during 2004. If I were feeling exceptionally compulsive, I could go back and complete reviews of all of them, but the value for that isn’t clear.
I expect to manage a comparable reading load in 2005. In the interests of making this blog a better [...]
Black Wind
Cussler, Clive
If you are a Dirk Pitt fan (I am), this newest book in the line is a pleasure and a reassurance. Classic Cussler with all sorts of bad guys and good guys (of both sexes). Dirk has moved up to management and his son and daughter are taking on the reins of most [...]
