Recommended Reading of last Several Months
Recommended Reading of last Several Months
Below are some recommended readings from the books I’ve read over the last year or so. This is but a small selection of the books I’ve read and includes the books, which really stood out from the crowd.
Business and Strategy:
I tend to find most business strategy and how-to books lack luster. They usually have just a couple important take home messages, and the authors fill space with unimportant anecdotes for the sake of length. Consequently, learning to speed read business books should be a skill of anyone that regulars business know how books. That being said, the two below stood out as books worth reading through-and-through.
Peter Thiel, one of the pioneers of Silicon Valley, known for his courage to stand outside the norm, Ivy League educated and attached to several successful ventures, details what it takes to take a company from nothing to success. Because Thiel doesn’t subscribe to the standard acceptable use language, he takes a no-nonsense approach that is refreshing and instructive. When one isn’t afraid to cross societal norms, the lessons that come out stand on their own.
Who: The A Method for Hiring, Geoff Smart and Randy Street
For anybody who is ever in the position of hiring or recruiting, this is an instructive read. Smart provides a very detailed process for recruiting “A” talent into an organization. He provides enough detail that this book could be utilized as coursework in business school. For Eusoh.com, I utilized the book to create a complete recruiting template that guides the process of recruiting for every position going forward.
Non-Fiction:
The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
What do you say to a person that is a holocaust denier? What do you say to the person who asks why they should care? 6 million Jews were killed. Now, what would you say if you were to find out that it is estimated that up to 10 times more (yes, 60 million) Russians were killed and tens of millions more were tortured? Do you know of this story? It happened less than 100 years ago. Somehow, the world is unaware of the Russian genocide. And just as it is incumbent on us to know about the Jewish holocaust, it is more so to know of the Russian one, as it’s root cause is still ever present in our lives.
An American Sickness, Elisabeth Rosenthal
A somewhat somber look at what’s ailing the American Healthcare system. Rosenthal does a good job of trying to remain impartial and simply diagnose the problems at hand, which are numerous. It’s impossible for any treatise on the subject to identify all the focal points, however Rosenthal does an impressive job at identifying many pain points that are often missed in these discussions. Do not be surprised if you have to take a break from the book on more than one occasion as you read of the ridiculous things happening behind the scenes in the world of healthcare.
The Science of Interstellar, Kip Thorne
A fantastical novel and a great companion to the movie, Interstellar. I am fascinated by space and the beyond and Dr. Thorne does a tremendous job breaking down the core of what the field as of yet understands. I read this so fast — I couldn’t put it down. The material and the presentation was very well done.
Fiction:
Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Mark Sullivan
Sullivan lists this book as historical fiction, but in reality, 90% of the core of the story is true. An impressive story of an unsung Italian hero that really deserves more credit for assistance of Jews and his espionage against the Nazis during world war II. Well written. A truly worthwhile story.
The Nightingale: A Novel, Kristin Hannah
Pure fiction but likely one of the best books I have ever read. I genuinely believe this. One of my favorite fictional novels. A story of two sisters in France during world war II and the divergent paths they took to survive the turmoil. If there is only one more fiction book you read, this may be the one.
If you like what you read, please ‘clap’ so that others may happen upon this essay. Allen is the founder of Eusoh, a novel community support platform. His musings focus on reflections on life, culture, philosophy and raising able children.
