Batched Book Reviews #10
Ignition!, Human Errors, Team of Teams, The Primal Hunter 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
Published in
2 min readAug 21, 2023
Non-fiction:
- Ignition! (1+/4) — Popular science done wrong. It presents, one by one, a list of facts — dates, peoples, chemical compounds and interactions between them — without providing much context or narrative around. By reading this book, you won’t learn how engines work or the chemistry behind them, nor will you hear many amusing anecdotes. The best you can hope to gain from it is a collection of names of people and substances. There was a lot of potential here but it was utterly wasted.
- Human Errors (3/4) — Popular science done right. Did you know that you can supplement vitamin B12 by eating your own feces, that we are fabricating virus DNA millions of times a day, that more than half of DNA is useless or even harmful, and that we are absolutely terrible at reproduction? This book is a definitive argument against creationism, as no designer could make such a flawed design, and a decent argument against the idea that “nature is always right”. It shows how nature and evolution are absolutely blind and quite dumb. The only downside: there is a chapter about cognitive biases, but it is a bit shallow, so don’t take it too seriously. The rest of the book is top-notch.
- Team of Teams (3/4) — A study of decentralisation and empowerment. A bit unusual for a “US Army leadership book” as it contains a wide perspective, often showing examples from outside of the army, e.g. from the history of manufacturing or startups. It also contains terms like “linear function” or determinism! It’s well-written with highly appreciated by me recap at the end of each chapter. The book shows, example by example, how different organisations changed their structures and culture to break down the silos and strict top-down management.
Fiction:
- The Primal Hunter 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (3/4) — Yes, I’ve binge-read most of the series. After reading the first volume a few months ago, I returned to it and went through all the remaining ones. It’s a really solid piece of LitRPG. Even though there is nothing particularly special or outstanding, it has enough good parts to make it worth reading. The series starts a bit slow and simple, but then adds more interesting elements: befriending one of the most powerful beings in the universe, several non-trivial ethical considerations, and a very strong solitary approach to adventures.
Stats:
- Books read this year: ~ 103 (+8)
- Books on the shelf: 15 (+0)
- Books on the wishlist: 173 (+11)
