Jason Cox

This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it if you want a fun read that doesn't constantly regurgitate the standard fantasy tropes.

The series is very well done and still continues to have solid additions. I originally read this book while I was in med school (borrowed it and a couple of the others in the series from a friend who recommended it) about 20 years ago. I've started re-reading the series recently and it's standing up well to the re-read. It's also useful because it's helping me to recall some details I've long forgotten. Also, in the re-read, there are a TON of inside jokes that hit me harder now that I know the characters well.

This is the first book in the series and should be read first, in my opinion. It is NOT chronologically the first in the series. In fact, there's a fair amount of chronological jumping in the series, so you might as well get used to that.

Jhereg introduces the reader to Vlad Taltos, who is the primary “protagonist” through all of these books. Vlad is an “Easterner” (an Earth-style human) living in the land of Dragaera amongst another humanoid species he calls “elves” and whom the author calls Dragaerans (they call themselves “humans.”) In Dragaeran society, there are 17 “houses” each with it's own characteristics. Vlad's father bought his way into the Jhereg, which is thought of as the house of criminals and is therefore a lower house. Dragaerans typically live hundreds to thousands of years, are 6.5 feet tall or taller and are typically thinly built.

Vlad himself runs a smallish territory in the town of Adrilanka. He also occasionally takes work as an assassin to supplement his income. He has some skill in the eastern arts of witchcraft along with Dragaeran sorcery. He also has some extremely powerful friends and acquaintances. It all makes for some interesting storylines throughout the series.

In this particular book, in addition to meeting the “cast” as it were, the main story involves a leader of house Jhereg hiring Vlad to assassinate another high-ranking member who has pulled a “fast one” on the house itself. As the story unfolds, you find out it's deeper and then deeper still than anyone knew. As is pretty common with the series, most of Vlad's time is spent trying to figure things out with frequent flurries of action along the way. There are twists, turns and surprises. I won't spoil the surprises for you, but I will say it is a convoluted but enjoyable ride the whole way. A great deal of the fun in reading these books is getting to see how Vlad figures things out and how he figures out how to get out of his tight spots.

As a final comment: Steven Brust has built an excellent world in this series. It's different, but exceptionally well thought-out. In addition to the Vlad Taltos books, there are several other books (6-7) that take place in the same world and focus on other characters who figure prominently through all of the series. Those are worthwhile reads as well. I'm continually surprised that Brust (and these books, in particular) isn't a much more prominent/popular author amongst those who enjoy the genre. (If you have any insight as to the reason for this, I'd love to hear it. It is mind-boggling to me.)

Wow, what an enjoyable read!

Neal Stephenson is one of those authors that until a couple of years ago had been notable because I had several of his books on my “to read” list (and on my shelves) who always seemed to get high praise, but for one reason or another, other books always kept leaping ahead of those. Now having read 4 of his books in the last 3 years (Snowcrash, The Diamond Age, Seveneves, and now Cryptonomicon), I think I'm going to have to read through everything he puts out. I think the main reason for my previous hesitation is the length of some of his works - he likes to publish thick books. Sometimes that's what I'm looking for, sometimes not. Also, he jumps genres and themes like no other author I've previously read.

Anyway, as for Cryptonomicon, here are a few things you should know:
1. This is not in any way, shape, or form a science fiction novel.
2. It isn't related to anything in the horror genre, either (in case you're thinking it is due to the Necronomicon, which is totally unrelated).
3. It IS historical speculative fiction with action and adventure
4. If you don't know anything about code-breaking, you will learn a lot. If you do, you'll have great fun with this one.

If you have a geeky background (like me), this book will likely hit your groove early and keep you happy for the entirety.

The construction of the book is interesting. There are essentially 2 timelines, one set in the WW2 era (late 30's to mid 40's) and one set in the “modern” era (2000-ish). The characters are wildly different, but through their efforts in the war, they intermingle around Bobby Shaftoe (early era) who seems to be the glue that ultimately binds them together. Lawrence Waterhouse is the “other” main character in the early era and you might also consider him the center of the whole story. He is the lead American cryptographer helping break codes to turn the tide of the war.

In the “modern era” story, the primary character is Randy Waterhouse, grandson of Lawrence mentioned above. Both eras have intriguing stories that ultimately come together in the modern era and weave it all together.

Along the way, you meet Historical figures such as Alan Turing and Douglas MacArthur. Travel around the world several times (with particular attention to the Philippines and Bletchley Park in Britain). Both eras have an interesting connection with cryptography, with Lawrence being a key contributor to the Cryptonomicon (a tome of Allied knowledge of code systems and code-breaking) and Randy working with a company focused on using cryptography to protect data and ultimately trying to establish an international data crypt storage facility/bank.

Other characters in the book flesh it out very well and really make the story about the people behind the events that they all seem to be caught up in and yet are out of their control. Bobby Shaftoe is an almost Forrest Gump type character who always seems to find himself in the middle of things, yet his single-minded determination and positive attitude take him extremely far. Goto Dengo is a Japanese officer who Shaftoe befriends early, before America is brought into the war with Pearl Harbor. Enoch Root is a somewhat mysterious figure who is a former member of the clergy who saves Shaftoe's life and ends up traveling with him on most of his adventures and yet also works with Lawrence Waterhouse and even makes it into the modern era storyline intact.

If the topic of cryptography seems intimidating to you, or boring, don't let that sway you from picking this up for a read. While there is some technical jargon, the whole book has much more of an adventure feel to it. The pace is pretty fast-paced and moves you right along from beginning to end. That said, if you have some interest in computers or crypto, then I suspect that will just add to your enjoyment.

Did I find any negatives to the book? There was some language, which I tend to find unnecessary, but others seem to think adds to the “grittiness” or authenticity of a book that is often about conversations between soldiers. There is some sex and sexual references that might be off-putting to some, but at the end of the day don't add up to any kind of deal-breaker. It might make it more appropriate for college-age readers, but some of the technical discussions would probably attract adult readers more than teenagers anyway.

I listened to the audiobook version and it weighed in at a hefty 42 hours and 53 minutes, but I enjoyed it immensely. As things wrapped up in the end, I really didn't want it to end at all. To me, that's a sign of a truly good book. Great world-building. Personable characters who change and grow. And a fantastic plot. All told, this is simply a fantastic book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

For whatever reason, when I was a teenager, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books were always books that I had on my “to read” list but it's only now that I've actually gotten around to reading them. There must have been a lot of talk amongst my friends about them. 25+ years later, I'm finding these pretty enjoyable light reading.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe takes up immediately after the end of Hitchhiker's Guide and involves the same main characters. They're on a galactic road trip, essentially caught up in the whirlwind of Zaphod's drama wherein he is trying to figure out a personal mystery that lead to him stealing a spacecraft in the first book. Along the way, you get to know a very little more about the characters, see some pretty interesting planets, and almost get to watch the end of the universe.

Honestly, the most impactful thing about this book is all of the cultural references that I had seen previously, but never knew the origin. Much of those are found in other science fiction (movies, etc) but also randomly in other places. There is some always-fun British humor, of course. Dry wit and sarcasm galore.

Overall, the story didn't go much of anywhere. The character development is pretty glacially slow. Towards the end there was some ironic time travel (for some reason, I find that I loathe time travel stories and elements... not sure why). Thankfully, it was a pretty short book and a “quick” read. I have all 5 books in a Kindle collection, but this one made me wonder if I'll get through them. Maybe I'll save it for when I'm needing some sarcastic dry wit or British humor. I'm still glad I've read the book, though.

Rating: 4 stars

What I liked about this book: Generally good writing style that allowed it to flow. Interesting take on the concepts of globalization and how it will effect the choices our children will have to make in regards to their education and future jobs. Good examples of the effects of globalization with interesting people, places and situations coming into the new economy.

What was not so great: This book is very much an “overview” and almost seems more targeted towards non-Americans with a very hopeful tone for certain regions and political regimes (which is great, just that I am not that target audience). There was a fair amount of political pushing toward traditional American Democrat agendas. It wasn't so heavy-handed as to be offensive, though.

Discussion:
As a man in my mid-forties now (sigh), there has been profound change in the world over my adulthood in a way that really alters my outlook for the children of Gen-X'ers such as myself. If you watch the news, it's almost always portrayed as a bleak future with little hope for our children. This is a huge change from when I grew up - there seemed no end to the optimism about our future and the never-ending opportunities that were before us. Work hard and the world would be your oyster. Now, it seems kids are wary of the world and the opportunities seem few and far between. Not only that, but you can work harder and somebody in India will still be available to work twice as hard at half the price.

So, going into this book, my thought was there is still opportunity out there. It is likely just harder to find. And best to ignore the media on what your future is likely to be like. But where is that opportunity for America's youth? Where should I be pointing my kids' efforts and how can I help guide and prepare them so they can realize the opportunities that are out there?

In many ways, The Industries of the Future ties in with The World Is Flat (and Hot, Flat and Crowded) by Thomas Friedman. In summary, for those of us here, we are best served by avoiding traditional old-school jobs and careers that put a premium on doing one thing well. Work to be broad in your knowledge and skill set. Learn languages. Look for opportunities to combine your specific knowledge with new technology and possibly even emerging markets. Be quick on your toes and expect change.

Overall, I found this to be a thought-provoking and well-reasoned book. Interesting examples of technologic change and how it has effected certain regions and industries are found throughout the book and are fairly engaging. Definitely worth the read if you are a young person or have young people in your life that you will be influencing.

Michael Hyatt's Platform is, in short, a book about getting your online presence in line, and why you should care to do that.

Many people, myself included, maintain an online presence including active Facebook posting, Twitter, websites or blogs, activity on other sites of various interests, etc. In this age of information and the internet, people depend more and more on these activities not only for social interaction, but for personal recommendations of products, books, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Less and less are we being influenced by traditional media advertising and at the same time, we are being swamped with information from every direction in all of our online activities.

This excellent and short (~250 pages) book doesn't talk in generalities like other books before it have done. It has short, direct chapters that serve in some cases to show you why you should care about a particular tool. In other cases they are essentially a “To-Do List” of how to get the most out of social media and your online presence.

Many chapters cover how to increase your social influence, how to get more out of Twitter. Why you should consider starting or maintaining your Blog and how to go about doing that. There are a number of chapters that cover what NOT to do as well as many people don't realize that side of things.

I read a lot of non-fiction and personal enrichment books and it's rare to find one packed as densely with useful information as Platform. If you are a professional of any sort, you should read this book.

First off, I'd just like to say that I could kick myself right now.

Why? Because this book started showing up on my “to-read” and suggested books lists in various places like Shelfari, Goodreads, and Amazon about 2 years ago. Maybe longer. I actually bought it over a year ago with a credit in Audible (unabridged and read by Will Wheaton, yes that Will Wheaton. And I started listening to it/reading it about a week and a half ago.

WOW! I've just completed this and I feel that near-gut-punch feeling of having finished a GREAT book. One with no sequel. If you're a reader, you'll know what I mean by saying “it feels like I've lost a close friend.” This book is instantly in my top 10 of all time and probably in my top 5.

RPO is set in a dystopian 2044 where the real world is ravaged by poverty, food shortages and economic collapse. But most people don't care because they spend the majority of their “lives” in The OASIS, which is a virtual reality universe. Because of the instability of the economies of the real world, the credits of the OASIS are actually more valuable than those in the real world.

Into this milieu is dropped our protagonist (Wade Watts, essentially a high-school senior) who is a self-proclaimed gunter. The creator of the OASIS has died and left his vast fortune as the prize for the first person to find the ultimate game Easter Egg in the OASIS. Millions of people spend their lives as egg-hunters (hunters) trying to find that egg. Wade has very little in the real world, but he has a good friend “H” and a much-better-than-average grasp of the knowledge needed to find the Egg.

The twist is that the creator, James Halliday, was obsessed with 80's culture and geeky pastimes. Video games like Pac Man, Zork, and the like, awesome 80's music and movies. You name it and it's probably references in Ready Player One.

Through an incredible set of discoveries and adventure, Wade makes new friends, falls in love, nearly calls it quits, nearly gets killed (several times) and takes us, the readers along for an incredibly fun, fast-paced ride into the future AND the past.

If you're a geek of the 80s (like me), jump in the way-back machine and pick up this book immediately. Just do it. Don't waste your time waiting. This is a FANTASTIC book.

And if you enjoy audiobooks, I highly recommend the audiobook. Will Wheaton's performance is fantastic. There's nothing distracting about it whatsoever. He's simply the perfect choice for narrating this one.

Anytime I see a Malcolm Gladwell book, it immediately goes on my “to read” list. The way he breaks down the topics he covers maximizes the interesting possibilities and puts it together in a way that, if you try just a little bit, just might expand your life. With a title like “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants,” how could this book not be an absolutely interesting read?

Yet again, Gladwell delivers the goods. This is a fantastic book! Definitely worth the read.

The titular conflict between David and Goliath gets the book started and will probably surprise you with his take on the battle. Right away Gladwell strips the issue to its basic components and shows how this may not have been such an unfair fight after all! Or, perhaps it was unfair in the opposite direction from what you'd think! It is a lot more interesting than a lot of people might think, and more eye-opening.

Besides David & Goliath, Gladwell talks about the Blitzkreig bombings of London and how they actually STRENGTHENED the will of the British people (especially Londoners) and how “near misses” effect individuals and groups. This segues into the 1960's Civil Rights Movement which is amazingly interesting and revealing. These sections actually revealed to me how “near misses” have affected my development.

He also spends quite a bit of time discussing dyslexia and business, giving great personal examples of how setbacks in an individual's life, under the right circumstances for that person can actually provide just enough push to make them exceptional in other ways to not only compensate, but excel in life and/or business.

Overall, this book was fantastic. I highly recommend it to pretty much any reader.

I listened to the unabridged audiobook and the narrator was fantastic (it was Malcolm Gladwell himself and he does a good job with narration, which isn't always true of other authors).

First off, this is absolutely a fantastic book and should be required reading for everyone in any country which holds elections.

Second, it's all of about 65 pages, so you can probably finish it in an hour or two.

If you are among the vast majority of Americans who are disenfranchised by our government (at pretty much every level), no matter which side of the political debate you stand upon, this book is a must-read.

And it's a call to action.
To sum it up in a sentence, How Do You Kill 11 Million People is a book about political leadership and the importance of character and true honesty in our leaders.

The racy title is an attention-grabber, but is the primary example used in the book that should get you thinking... how did the people of Germany allow the extermination of 6 million Jews and 5 million other people in concentration camps? And how did those people go to those camps without a fight?

They were lied to.
By their country's leadership.

And the other Germans knew it was happening. And they allowed it. They allowed themselves to be lied to and believed the lie even though they KNEW it was a lie.

This book doesn't point out a single thing currently going on in America. It doesn't mention one political party or the other. It doesn't say what the government should be doing or shouldn't. What it points out very clearly is that America has a recent history of electing officials (at every level of government) who tell the people what they want to hear (whatever they think will get them elected) and then once they get in office, they refuse to do the hard things that are actually best for the country. They are more likely to vote for something that will get their backers special privilege. Or won't upset their “party” or a subset of their constituency for fear of losing re-election.

In short, they forget they are working for We the People, instead of us for them.

Character and honesty should be the number 1 & 2 features we look for in a candidate. And it is our civic duty to call out those elected officials when they operate in any way that is not for the good of the people. Or when they deceive us.

If we do NOT call them out, that is exactly how atrocities like Germany, Somalia, Chechnya and so many other mass murders occur. When the people elect deceivers and then fail to hold them in check, that is exactly how that happens. It's not just a Hitler who does it. It's the people who allow it to happen.

And America, despite our great history, is no more immune to this possibility today and in the future than Germany was in the 1930's.

READ THIS BOOK!
Share it with everyone you know.

This book, by the author of the China study, starts off with an interesting premise: that a diet comprised of whole vegetables provides the most optimal health benefits to individuals while potentially reversing many ill effects of environmental contact and carcinogens that are consumed.

With all of the interest in anti-oxidant rich food and a general obsession with health topics in our modern culture, this is a timely discussion of a very interesting topic. And from an author who has decades of experience in the field of nutrition and research in that field.

That said, there are two things about this book that disappointed me:

1. I expected a LOT more data backing up the author's statements, opinions and view of the topic. There are references back to the China study, for certain. But Almost everything else is anecdotal. Now, much of his statements make sense, and might even be true in a lot of cases, but there is a paucity of data backing it up. If physicians treated all of their patients using the same standards, we would very quickly be labeled “quacks” or “witch doctors” (as this is essentially how medicine operated prior to the scientific method and evidence-based medicine). And we'd likely be out of practice in the current world of evidence-based medicine very quickly.

2. There is a severe and over-riding hostility towards almost the whole of scientific establishment, the field and practice of medicine, the federal government, and a rather anti-capitalistic bent.

While I'm certain it wasn't the author's intent, that over-riding skepticism is so strong and pervasive throughout the book that it becomes the book's central theme. I suspect the “Pro-Whole Food Diet” concept was where the author aimed in this regard. But that's not where the arrow hit.

Topics covered include:
1. How a whole food diet promises to provide almost all of the benefits of the pharmaceutical industry while simultaneously making us healthier and with essentially no side effects.
2. How the reductionist view of science hinders research into this interesting premise.
3. How the reductionist view of science is forwarded in our country and in the world through government funding and how boards of reductionists exclude “wholistic” research.
4. How the capitalist markets and company involvement in the “science of nutrition” impact and perpetuate #'s 2 & 3 above.
5. How capitalistic involvement in research funding & support subtly alter the whole field of nutrition.
6. How animal-protein rich diets have been implicated in increasing various cancers in the China study.
7. How doctors, in general, are unethical in the way they practice medicine, being far more influenced (no studies have been able to confirm this bias) by the pharmaceutical industry than actual science or an interest in patients' well being.

Much more of the book is devoted to discussions of how the field of nutrition is dysfunctional than it is to any support for the initial premise of the book, and to which the title of the book refers.

I will confess that, as a physician, the sections devoted to the field of medicine were highly insulting. Yes, there are millions of dollars being spent on physicians by pharmaceutical companies on dinners and educational “events” regarding their products. But don't be deceived... a physician is far more concerned about potential side effects and litigation due to medications than they are about benefiting a drug company by writing prescriptions for their products.

Also, for those of you who are not in the medical field, let me tell you about those “dinners.” They consist of “experts” paid by the drug company to educate the physicians in attendance about a specific drug's benefits and side effects. Where it is best used and best avoided. Frequently different companies have competing products and you also learn from them more of the specific problems with their competitor's product(s). Often these are things which are quite difficult to learn from reading a product-insert in 4-point font. And the subtle differences in products aren't covered in the PDR or those same product inserts.

Additionally, little is mentioned about individuals' tendency to want to “just take a pill” to treat their ill instead of making lifestyle changes to achieve better (if harder) results. Physicians fight this battle every day. We do it time and time again ad nauseum and it causes quite a divide between us and our patients. Yet we all see that in those patients who DO make lifestyle changes to diet, exercise, etc they almost universally have better results.

But of course that has little effect on our decision-making. Because we apparently make our decisions almost solely on the basis of what pharmaceutical company might buy us a dinner.

For this reason, I think this book is a “miss.” If the book were entitled “Why Your Diet is Wrong” or “The Great Nutritional Lie” or perhaps “A Failure In The System,” I think I could actually have rated the book higher. Heck, just leaving it at the subtitle “Rethinking the Science of Nutrition” would have sufficed. Nothing inside the book would have to be altered one bit. And it would probably sell just as many copies.

But with the title “Whole” I would have liked to have seen a lot more emphasis on the whole food diet. More case studies could have been very interesting. Reducting down parts of the China study with follow-up case studies would have been fascinating. Before-and-after transformations. There is a lot that could have been added to the discussion in order to merit the title “Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition.” And doing so might have actually provided a potentially life-changing benefit to its readers.

Ender's Game - A Reread Review

I first read Ender's Game while I was in High School in the late 80's. At the time, it quickly became one of my favorite books and has remained in that position for the past 25 years or so. Now I'm 42 and see there is a blockbuster movie version of Ender's Game hitting theaters in November 2013, so I decided to re-read this classic and all-time favorite.

I've done this with many books as the movies are released (notably the Harry Potter books, the Lord of the Rings, the Narnia books, and The Hobbit. I started Ender's Game last week because I wanted to make sure to give myself enough time to finish it prior to the movie release. I had no idea Ender's Game would be as gripping as it is.

In short: 25 years was long enough to dull my expectations of this fantastic novel. It hit me blindside. Grabbed my attention and imagination and wouldn't let go. And now, just about a week later, I've finished it and heading towards a re-read of Speaker For The Dead. I know for many of you 1 week is a long time to take on a book. For me, though, that's insanely fast. I usually just read 15 minutes a night and very rarely during the day. It takes a long time to read a 300 page book that way.

Brief Synopsis
Ender Wiggin is a 6 year-old prodigy. He is a Third, one of those rare examples where a couple are allowed to have a 3rd child due to the promise shown in their first two children, in the search for the perfect battle commander for the upcoming 3rd conflict between the humans and the alien race called “The Buggers.” In the first two conflicts with the buggers, the humans very nearly lost as the buggers attacked earth, winning only by chance as far as the International Fleet's leaders can tell.

Ender's early life is heavily influenced by his sadistic brother and empathetic sister. But then everything changes as he is taken from his family to Battle School to learn how to fight the buggers. Their influence on him remains, though.

What happens next is a marvelous story of Ender's development. How his life is affected by all the things done to him. And the interactions he has with the other children at Battle School create bonds that bind.

Ender's siblings get some attention during the book as well, and their part is quite different but also very interesting and impactful.

It all comes down through a series of climactic battles throughout the book. These are masterfully described and honestly, they're so well done that I'm worried that the movie just won't be able to do them justice.

The Verdict
In my lifetime there have been very few times when my expectations for a book that I've read have been exceeded. Great books will sometimes do that, and when it happens, its an incredibly joyous feeling.

But for a book to do that twice is something I can't recall happening quite like this before. As I mentioned earlier Ender's Game was fantastic when I read it as a teenager. Because of this, I was expecting it to be good, but not as good as it was back then. Boy, was I wrong! Reading this book as an adult it was even better! Areas of the book which I remember bogging down a little bit (in the computer game with the Giant, all the stuff with Peter and Valentine) not only flew by, but were enthralling on this read. They were much more important than I'd realized on the first read. The added maturity I've gained makes it better.

Ender's Game maintained ALL of the magic it had on first read. And gained depth, pace, and importance.

This is a 10/10 read with no qualms!

Who Should Read It?
Anyone who enjoyed the Hunger Games should definitely read Ender's Game. They are totally different, but completely compatible. Besides that, I honestly feel anyone who enjoys a sense of wonder and has the slightest imagination should get Ender's Game and read it. If you, like me, haven't read it in a decade or two, it's probably time for a re-read. You won't regret it.

My only problem with this book is that it has SIGNIFICANTLY raised my expectations for any book I read. Why can't every book be this excellent? Do you have recommendations for me that won't disappoint?

Folks, This Ain't Normal is an excellent exposition on what is wrong with our nation's farming and food infrastructure system. If you participate in big agriculture (the industrial agriculture complex), you'll probably hate this book.

But if you're an individual who is focusing on feeding your family. Raising your children to be healthy. Providing SAFE food for them, then reading this book is not only essential, but is a call to action in the political realm.

The first step in the process is becoming educated. Being enlightened to the fact that there is a problem, a major problem, with the way the food system in America works. Just knowing that there is a problem opens one's eyes to see what comes next. The problem is that “the system” in America is set up for the profit and benefit of big agriculture. NOT for the benefit of the consumer (which is the mistaken understanding that most people have). And that creates a false sense of safety and therefore compliance in the sheeple of America who just buy what's available in the supermarket, assuming it is safe and of high quality.

The second step in the process is to learn more about WHY there are problems, the nature of those problems, and how we got there in the first place. Learning about the evens of the past century or so which resulted in the U.S. Government creating oversight of America's food production. And the way those regulations severely hurt the American farmer while padding the profits of big agricultural business. The way the federal government has actually set legal precedent that says you, an individual, do not actually have the right and freedom to choose what you eat. And how regulations limit both the quality of food available to you and prejudicially infringe on the ability of small farms and farmers to enter the market.

The third step in the process is to see that there is an emerging movement to create change. Once educated, we the people still have in our power the ability to reclaim this government for the good of the people (as opposed to the good of big business). And this book is definitely a call to action to that goal.

Joel Salatin writes with an excellent easy-to-read style. There is plenty of fact and tons of humorous real-world examples to illustrate exactly what is going on in our food system. This book is genuinely a fun read.

As you can tell, I'm fired up about the content of the book. I don't see how anyone could read this (unless they are part of Big Ag) and NOT be fired up in the same way. We all want good food. Safe food. Healthy food. And after reading Folks, This Ain't Normal, your eyes will be forever opened to the fact that our very own government is set up against this very goal, while claiming they are doing us a service. And the lack of personal responsibility that pervades our culture HAS TO CHANGE. Maybe a little education will do the trick.

Read this book!

Last August I was provided a complimentary copy of Gabriela Taylor's book Google: The Ultimate Guide to Building and Marketing Your Business With Google. It's been a busy several months but I've worked my way through the book and would like to put it to review.

The Set Up
The first thing you should know is that I went into this review with the mindset of finding out how best to utilize Google to help my wife's direct sales business. I've heard at various meetings that other girls with Thirty-One have been using Google ads with success in driving their business and recruiting and desperately wanted to discover the key to this for her business. The title of this book seemed to be directly in line with my goals. The subtitle: A Step By Step Guide To Unlocking The Power Of Google Tools And Maximizing Your Online Potential cinched the deal. This has to be a must-read book for someone in my position.

Review
In the introduction, Gabriela sets up a 10-point plan for maximizing your success in your internet endeavor. She ties each of the 10 points together with the appropriate Google product to help accomplish each step.

First 2 chapters are a brief history of the internet followed by a brief history of Google itself. This serves to set up the bulk of the book which covers Google's specific tools. After this, however, the bulk of the book (2/3 or so) goes through a description of many of the Google apps and services that apply to the 10-point plan laid out in the intro.

I will admit that this is where I got entirely bogged down in the book. Going back over things again for the review, I can better see the author's intention than what I gathered from my initial reading (keep in mind the Set Up above... I was reading for specific information to help me make something happen). During reading, even though the “chapters” are arranged in a way to promote the Step By Step Guide promise of the subtitle, it simply read as a list of the various services offered by Google and their subsidiaries.

Amplifying that problem is that the book started from such a basic place, it started bogging down early. As a die-hard geek, there was little benefit to me having a run-down of the history of the internet and Google along with descriptions of all those Google “apps.” If this were covered in the first quarter of the book, I think it would have been easier to work through to get to the meat.

The good news is that there is actual meat to the book for me. It's the last 20% (roughly) where she talks about the Google Affiliate Network, Adwords, Adsense, Monitoring your brand and competitors, and Google Analytics.

The bad news is that these sections are still written in a way that makes them seem like a “manual for Google.” It's not very practical.

I would have liked seeing some real-world scenarios. Giving examples of the process used for an individual or company making use of these products. And using that approach to illustrate how the various services can be used together powerfully. Or setting up problem scenarios and going through steps with which a user is likely to need to become familiar to overcome them. What are the common workflow tasks for internet entrepreneurs? Bloggers? Again, some of this is covered, but it is spread out in descriptions of Google services and isn't particularly descriptive of common use.

Thoughts
I think this is a good book for the author's intention. Specifically, I believe this book is intended for that person who is not very internet-literate, but who has heard about Google and YouTube and AdWords. Maybe someone who is highly involved with business, but who never really dealt with “the online presence stuff,” but who now has an interest in becoming more involved in that area for some reason. This is definitely not a book for geeks who are intimately familiar with most things internet. I can also see this being something of a useful resource for someone who is overwhelmed with all of the services offered by Google and just wants to learn more about them and perhaps get an idea of the one or two apps they can utilize (likely for free!) to accomplish something specific.

So, really, it comes down to the question: what do you need from this book?

If your answer is an overview of services and features, then this is a good place to start. If the answer is something along the lines of “I want to learn how to put it all together and make something specific happen,” then there's a good chance you'll be left cold.

Sadly, most Christians rarely, if ever, put a second's thought into the doctrines of Christianity. Many may even find the title (Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe) to be offensive or controversial. Many, if not most, self-professing Christians may not even know what “doctrines” are or where they stand on the important doctrines that make up the Christian faith. All the more reason that every Christian should read this book (or listen to the audio version). No, not all Christians believe the same thing.

In this title, Mark Driscoll has chosen to go over 13 core Doctrines of Christianity:
1. The Trinity of God
2. Revelation: God Speaks
3. Creation
4. We are made in God's image
5. The Fall (and God's judgement)
6. Covenant: God's Pursuit of us
7. Incarnation of Christ
8. The Crucifixion of Christ
9. Resurrection
10. What exactly is The Church?
11. Worship
12. Stewardship
13. What is the Kingdom of God?

Each of these core doctrines is explained with direct Biblical reference from the perspective of the author. Many of these doctrines are debated differently by different groups and Driscoll devotes some time to discussing views different from his own. But he does clearly define his own view as he believes it and presents it to his church.

The discussions of each topic were fascinating. As a long time Christian (I am 42 as I write this and was saved at 12), I was honestly astounded at how little this content is discussed by Christians. Or at least that has been the case in my life, churches, and friends. That said, I found the book to be challenging and satisfying at the same time. The author doesn't just state “This is what you should believe” and leave it at that. There is explanation and discussion of what is said about it in the Bible. There is also discussion of pitfalls surrounding some of the doctrines and why people may believe things differently.

While the title states “What Christians Should Believe” it may have been even better to have stated “Why Christians Should Believe.” If you are a Christian but haven't really put much thought behind some of these topics, this is an excellent resource. Being Christian means putting your faith in the fact that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he died on the cross in payment for our sins, and that we are all sinners and in need of His saving, healing grace, without which we are doomed to death and hell. Getting that is crucially important. But then we need to take our knowledge further and this book helps explain the foundations of our faith in a way you may never have considered it before.

Clearly, this book is targeted at Christians. However, if you're not a Christian, this book is still a good explanation of the core beliefs of Christianity. So often Christianity is misrepresented in the media and by people who call themselves Christian but who simply aren't. Going to a Christian church doesn't make a person Christian, nor does calling yourself one. It's deeper than that. If you are interested in learning more about it, this is a good resource. Even better would be to visit an active local church that teaches the Bible and start some discussions. Or read the Bible yourself. But honestly, this book isn't an impassioned presentation intended to “convert” you.

I should mention this book is not “preachy” at all. It is very straightforward “teaching.” Some people might consider it very “dry.” I felt that it was quite dry at first, but as I kept reading, it was just so interesting, it ended up reading fairly quickly.

Overview: An excellent primer on the various current theories of possible multiple universes and explanations of how they have arisen through scientific, mathematic, and psychological principles.In More DetailIf you enjoy reading books that try to explain science on a layman's level, then you might want to consider this book. Especially, if you have a fairly basic understanding of physics and/or have read other significant books in this genre such as Stephen Hawking's excellent book A Brief History of Time If you would like to get your feet wet in the understanding of the physics of the universe, but don't have any current knowledge, then I would recommend starting there first.This book covers a LOT of ground. I consider myself fairly well versed in physics in a broader sense having always found that science quite interesting. Even following the field to some degree, it's easy to get “behind.” The Hidden Reality really did an excellent job of capturing my interest and discussing the topic at hand: multiple universe (multiverse) theories.Most of us have some idea of “parallel universes” based on science fiction television/movies or books. But this book covers 7 wildly different multiverse theories: The Quilted Multiverse, Inflationary Multiverse, Brane Multiverse, Cyclic Multiverse, Landscape Multiverse, Quantum Multiverse, Holographic Multiverse, Simulated Multiverse, and the Ultimate Multiverse. I knew of the existence of several of these theories, but none to the level of detail that I learned in the book.Even if you have little understanding of physics, Greene does spend several chapters giving a basic rundown of the physics involved or required for the understanding of several of these. I found these chapters to be quite interesting and worthwhile, for the most part. These specific chapters explain in basic language (and without any math required) classical mechanics, relativity, string theory (several different string theories, actually), Inference and Quantum Probability.More Like This[b:A Brief History of Time 3869 A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333578746s/3869.jpg 2192250] by Stephen Hawking[b:Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension 33426 Hyperspace A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension Michio Kaku http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347635932s/33426.jpg 629317] by Michio Kaku[b:Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos 33418 Parallel Worlds A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos Michio Kaku http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320549351s/33418.jpg 33496] by Michio Kaku[b:Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics 276057 Black Bodies and Quantum Cats Tales from the Annals of Physics Jennifer Ouellette http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309209330s/276057.jpg 267705] by Jennifer Ouellette[b:Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries 22543 Death by Black Hole And Other Cosmic Quandaries Neil deGrasse Tyson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347696841s/22543.jpg 1204936] by Neil deGrasse Tyson[b:The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory 771 The Elegant Universe Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory Brian Greene http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320504078s/771.jpg 907243] by Brian Greene (and just about anything else by Green, Kaku, or Hawking that isn't published in a journal)

This was an absolutely fascinating book on a topic I suspect few people educated in America have any foreknowledge.

Recently, I've found myself interested in fiscal responsibility both on a personal scale and national scale. To that end, I've read other books such as Endgame by John Maudlin as well as Michael Lewis' excellent books The Big Short and Boomerang. These books discuss the macroeconomic effects of our money system, national debt and trade. Very interesting stuff, especially if you have something of a traditional American education. Absolutely none of this stuff was covered in my economics classes during school.

The fact is that we are currently in a very interesting time. On the short term we have significantly increasing political turmoil in the USA and abroad. The national debt is astronomical and no real solution is on the horizon. The US elections are in 3 weeks. On the intermediate term, we are still in the throes of a significant depression for the past 4 years from a jobs standpoint and worldwide economic growth (though the stock market has mostly recovered). On a somewhat longer-term, we may be at a “market top” on a 30-40 year scale. Uncertain times, indeed. We've experienced significant economic manipulation by most of the major governments of the world in an effort to halt the downward slide of the current depression. Whether or not that has been successful is probably a very personal discussion for you.

That's a lot of preface for a book review, but if you have put any thought whatsoever into any of the stuff in the preceding paragraph, you really should consider checking out this book. It not only has an extremely well-considered accounting of our current situation, which turns out to be Currency War 3, but also gives a fascinating account of Currency Wars 1 and 2 (which occurred around WW1 and WW2, respectively).

There is excellent discussion of various United States monetary policies over the last 200 years. Discussion of various economic theory that you may hear spoken of on CNBC or maybe even some of the political debates and the commentary that follows. The educational value of knowing where The Fed came from and how it arose, as well as the changes to Federal Reserve policy and structure over the years is excellent and invaluable.

One of the great things about Currency Wars is that I felt James Rickards was very fair and non-political in his assessment. He applied the same degree of historical perspective with the current policymakers and situation as he did with the previous major shifts in monetary policy. There doesn't seem to be any political agenda other than educating individuals who have interest on the topic. In the end of the book, the author discusses some possible future scenarios depending on how things go from here based on economic theory.

While he doesn't seem to have a political bias, there is clearly a bias in his opinion on how monetary policy should be handled. This is interesting to me as a layman as well. We simply don't get to see much point-counterpoint discussion from the major policymakers at The Fed like Ben Bernanke and the other mega-bankers.

Overall, I just can't say enough positive things about this book. Totally awesome.

Beautiful Outlaw was a wonderful book and one I highly recommend.

As a Christian, I find that I often lose sight of who Jesus really is. So much of what we see in our world today both secular and religious serves to put more distance between Christians and the One who gave His life for us. This book is John Eldredge's attempt to bring us back to a personal, intimate (close) relationship with Christ himself. And he does a great job by reminding us of who Jesus really was and is. It just makes it easier to love someone you know, doesn't it?

The book is really genius in that it is set up to dispel the misconceptions that we let creep into our knowledge of Jesus. Even in many (MANY!) churches, the religious attitude just creates distance because they portray Jesus as this untouchable. Perfection personified. Jesus WAS perfect, but His whole purpose of coming here was (and is!) to get close to us. To draw us to Him. While here, He was fully human and as such he had a personality! He was playful, cunning, fierce, humble and of course loving. He got mad at pious religious attitudes. In fact, that was the stuff that made Him maddest.

Beautiful Outlaw is a great exhibition of His personality through study of his words and actions in the scriptures.

This is a fairly short book, and it's broken int o17 short-ish chapters. Each chapter is focused on one aspect of Christ's character and how that affects us in our relationship with Him. How it draws us closer to him. Solidifies our relationship.

So much of society's “understanding” of Christ and Christianity is just so wrong. It's easy to see how the world looks at Christendom, just watch the news. Search for just about anything in Google and you'll find references. And let's face it, there is a fiercely negative attitude towards Christianity in society. Much, if not all, of that is really the fault of Christians. So many of “us” are so attached to the “religious structure” that we are effectively pharisees. More concerned about the appearance, but rotten to the core. How offensive is that to non-Christians? How offensive should that be to YOU? If more people just lost the “religion” and got down to the “relationship” with Christ, it would be so hard to have a hateful attitude towards Christ and all of us who are filled with His Spirit.

In the final chapters, Eldredge discuses the personal relationship we have with Christ and gives some useful guidelines to see where that relationship truly exists. It essentially comes down to the statement “You will know them by their fruit.” There are good examples of how to use this which should help us not only improve our discernment about others around us, but also look into our own motivation. Are we doing it because we feel like we need to out of some religious structure, or are we doing it because of our true heart for Christ?

I'll be honest. There are a lot of Christians who may be offended by this book if they read it. Those are probably the people who are more tied to religion and ritual than an actual relationship with Christ. On the other hand, there are probably people who are not Christians who may read this book and be blown away by how wrong their understanding of Christ was. And how desirable He really is if you just let the rest go and start that relationship. That probably (sadly) goes for Christians, too.

Finally, I didn't actually read this book... I listened to the audio book through Audible. It is unabridged and is narrated by John Eldredge himself. Eldredge does a GREAT job narrating (he's been narrating his own audiobooks for years) and in the past, I've actually preferred the audio versions to the paperbook versions slightly. Just because his intonations make every joke and playful comment perfectly clear. I “get” a lot of that in reading the books, too, but maybe that's true for me because I have listened to the audiobook version of other books in the past.

This is an excellent book for anyone looking to shape some change into your organization or even your own life. A lot of people have difficulty with change and this book is an excellent resource for both learning about why we are resistant to change and how to make it easier and more successful.

Chip & Dan Heath look at the problem of “Change” and use an excellent analogy of an elephant and its rider to describe the emotional and logical components that fuel our actions and can effect direction change in our life. Sometimes change is hard because we can't see the logical benefit of the change. Often times, however, we are battling the emotional elephant that is resistant to change for deeper reasons that we may not even be aware. When you understand that analogy, you can start looking at problems and the need to change in another way and find solutions to tackling the problem that engage “the rider” or “the elephant” or, preferably, both to make the change happen and make it stick.

Throughout the book, the authors use colorful real-life stories to illustrate problems and how they have been overcome. They break down techniques directed at directing “the rider” and motivating “the elephant” in ways that I thought were thought-provoking, interesting, and very applicable to life and business. Change isn't just about getting other people to do what needs to be done, often it is about getting yourself to do it, too.

Finally, they talk about changing the environment to make the change either easier to happen, or more likely to stick. This is more broad-based thinking, but still is illustrative of how we often need to “look outside the box” at the problems behind the problem that keep our best efforts from succeeding.

I'm giving this book 4/5 stars because it's really a great read. The 5th star is taken simply because a lot of these ideas aren't new and if you've done a significant amount of reading in this genre, you've probably read much of this before. But, I give the authors full credit for putting those ideas together with a super-functional analogy that makes it memorable, and using modern references that most Americans will recognize and identify.

This book was packed with useful information. It covers topics that include Treaties and how they trump U.S. law and potential our nation's sovereignty, the World Bank and IMF and how they may affect our financial future, our relationship with Pakistan and Afghanistan, Financial aid given by the world bank and by the U.S. and how corrupted it is. Finally he discusses the lobbying trade that so strongly affects our country in ways you probably haven't realized. It's pretty damning of our political system and professional politicians, yet receives so little attention.

All of that has the potential to be good, useful reading. The problem is the way it is presented. Although the writing style keeps the book flowing well, it also comes across as very... biased. Maybe “snarky” is the better term for it. The information in this book is the kind of stuff that every American should learn about. It is important. But, much like anything Ann Coulter writes, the way this is written essentially precludes anyone reading this who is not a regular Fox News watcher. Which is sad and disappointing. I'm straight-up libertarian, so I can handle it. But anyone less than a 7 out of 10 on the “conservative” scale is probably going to read this book and refute the data they present just based on the presentation alone (again, just like Coulter). What's the point in that?

I give this book 4 stars because the information is critical and extremely timely. If you can get through the propaganda, you'll probably see that too.

A little over a year ago I heard about this book at a medical conference I attended where we were discussing the benefits of CPOE (Computerized Patient Order Entry) for hospital patients. Based on the recommendations of others at the conference I went ahead and bought the book and finally got to it a few weeks ago. I highly recommend you read this book.

About the Author:
Atul Gawande is a surgeon who both maintains a private practice and consults for the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding worldwide health issues. He has written several other books, and based on this one, I'll definitely be getting his others to read in the near future.

Basic Premise:
Gawande was presented with a statistical problem (epidemic) by the WHO - the rate of surgery and surgical complications is exploding in the world. That issue raises the question of what can be done to improve outcomes, not just in economically advanced countries but also in third world sites where surgery is still being performed at accelerating rates. While expensive solutions may be an option for developed nations, that isn't likely to be an option for those developing countries.

Dr. Gawande opens with a look into several medical cases as examples of the complexity of the medical decision-making process. These are, by the way, fascinating cases. He shows some failures and incredible successes. What makes the difference in these outcomes? He then takes the reader on a journey in which he looks for answers in different industries that could apply to the medical problem he is confronting. He looks at the construction industry, where incredibly complicated buildings are constructed in clockwork fashion taking into account thousands of natural variables. Those guys end up being able to do that with an incredibly small failure rate. Of course, when a building fails, it is likely to lead to many deaths. The same is true for medical cases. He discovers the value of a checklist in the construction world, but decides the type of checklist they use isn't really practical in medicine because while construction occurs over months to years, medical decisions must be made in seconds.

He then moves on to the airline industry, which is fascinating. This is a much more accurate fit with the medical problem and he finds again that checklists are in place in that industry leading to their very low rate of failure. Again he covers several interesting cases and how the implementation of checklists saved lives. Then he looks at the financial trading industry and how checklists have potential impact for that industry, but they fail to benefit from it due to the culture of the industry.

Finally, he gives some personal anecdotes as he implements a checklist in his own O.R. With success the outcome, of course.

Despite the setting of the book in the context of a medical issue, this book probably should be required reading for anyone who makes important decisions. The whole theme of the book, really, is that implementing checklists which ensure critical elements of any “process” aren't missed can and probably will result in improved outcomes. It's true in the construction and airline industry. There is evidence that it works even for institutional traders, if they'd use it, and the same is true for surgeons. How likely is it that your particular industry could do better with a checklist? I would suggest very likely. The Checklist Manifesto really raises a lot of questions about where can I benefit from developing checklists for my work as a hospitalist. There may even be room for a second book discussing how an organization should go about developing a checklist, although he does describe the process his team used. Consider the same for your own situation.

Rating: Five Stars (out of 5)

Snow Crash is a book I've had on my to-read shelf for a long time. I think I bought this book in the 90's when there was a ton of buzz about it and when I was reading Science Fiction and Fantasy regularly. Why it took me so long to actually get around to reading, I'm not sure. It probably had something to do with a combination of high expectations and the size of the book. Finally, though, I bit the bullet and actually got to it through my Audible.com account. I love audiobooks.

Brief Synopsis:
A fast-paced adventurous romp in the near future. The cast of characters include a 15-year old skateboarding delivery girl, a nuclear harpoonist, a mafia kingpin, an advanced librarian AI, a religious hacker, and the main character Hiro Protagonist. The story revolves around Hiro, who turns out to be the second-baddest dude on the planet, though he starts out as a sword-wielding pizza delivery guy and part-time hacker. Along the way he partners up with YT (the delivery chick) and encounters all the other main characters while he discovers and tries to foil an intricate plot that endangers everything they hold dear.

Deeper Discussion
World Building
One of the great things about this book is the world that Stephenson “creates” in his near-future dystopia. Though the book was written in 1992, it still reads well in 2012 (20 years later). It has a great not-too-distant future feel. The concepts used involve the breakup of law and the corporatization of essentially everything. Sometimes it has a Mad-Max feel and at other times it feels like Gibson's seminal cyberpunk works (Neuromancer et al.) In this book, there are not one, but two worlds created. And done well. The Metaverse is Stephenson's online habitat, where users “jack in” to a computer-generated otherworld in which is greater in scope than the real world, but which still has programmed “rules” that make it interesting. Both the near-future and the metaverse are remarkably plausible and make for great plot devices. Needless to say, the author puts them to great use.

Metaphysics and Religion
While the beginning and end of the book are mostly fast-paced adventure, the middle of the book gets a lot deeper with a venture into metaphysical concepts of language, religion, and viruses (computer and biological). I found it to be extremely interesting as a plot concept. Clearly there was a lot of research done by Stephenson, which allows him to put it all together nicely while not derailing the whole book. Briefly, he explores the idea of vectors (see the medical terminology) including biological viruses, thought concepts as vectors, language as vectors, and religion as vector and infected state. He takes this all the way to the hacker world by analogizing the way software viruses work (essentially these are language programs, after all). Bringing in some ancient-world religion and quite possibly real research into religion and tying it all together on three separate levels (biological, religious, and metaverse) gets pretty “deep.” I can see this being offensive to some people. It was borderline offensive to me.

But just as you start to get worried about the discussion crossing the line, the author gets back to the adventure and finishes things up with a mad dash to the finish line.

Thoughts
This was a super-fun book to read. It seems rare to find a book that will successfully build worlds these days. Maybe that's just because I'm not reading a lot of science fiction anymore. But this book is exceptionally good in that regard, in my opinion. It's equally rare to see a book where the author will even attempt to touch on deeper subjects such as religion and metaphysics in what is a fun adventure. Honestly, this book reminded me of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code in that respect. Maybe not quite as well researched, but with a similar “feel.” I would highly recommend Snow Crash to anyone who enjoyed The DaVinci Code.

For some reason, I got the feeling that the wrap-up was a bit abrupt. Somehow it felt like the author would have liked about 30% more space to write in the book. Maybe to go a little deeper in the middle section. Maybe to flesh out the ending a little differently. I could be wrong. Despite this, it was still very satisfying and makes me eager to read Cryptonomicon.

Who should read this book?
• Anyone who enjoys science fiction or dystopian fiction. This is a key book in the genre of cyber punk. For that reason alone it is required for SF readers.
• Anyone who enjoyed The DaVinci Code or that general type of fiction (adventure with some research) or even those who enjoyed the Indiana Jones flicks.

Wow, what a great book.

This is one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. Michael Lewis has a nack for finding a topic that is fundamentally interesting, timely, and thought-provoking and then putting together research to bring that topic to light in a way that makes it something you want to talk about.
The writing style is smooth and balanced with a fair amount of humor thrown in to make it a super-fast read.

Brief synopsis: during research for the awesome book The Big Short, Lewis interviewed several money-managers who made big bets against the sub-prime housing market that ended up making them each Billions. One of those interviews was useless for that book because the gentleman had already moved on to the “next thing” that had him excited. What would that be? The sovereign debt crisis. From that starting point, Lewis takes us on a journey of how the world has gotten to our current point. The mass-delusions of Iceland and Ireland are covered in detail. The Greece-Germany axis is covered well and is extremely interesting. The German involvement in the American sub-prime mess comes next. Finally there is some discussion of America's debt situation, mainly focusing on municipal debt.

My one criticism of the book is that there isn't enough coverage of the overall sovereign debt and state debt situation in the U.S. Nor is there enough space dedicated to the discussion of what this means to Americans and how we can change it. Essentially, I think Lewis is trying to say, without doing so directly, that the nation's debt crisis is parallel to the situation in California. Everyone wants services and they aren't willing to pay for them. And the government has been trying to provide just that. There is some element of mass-delusion in the idea that all of these entitlements are ok. Politicians are doing nothing to change the mindset of the people because they are too concerned about reelection to consider what is genuinely best for the future of our country. Maybe he is trying to inherently draw a parallel between the U.S. and Greece/Ireland.

I will say that despite the strongly political nature of the topic, Lewis has somehow managed to remain completely politically unbiased. In my read, there was no overt or implicit liberal or conservative bias. I suspect liberals might consider even covering the topic to be a conservative action. But if you actually read it, there is no bias. Because there is no narrative on how we should change our policies or direction, Lewis is able to escape this entirely. Personally, I wish he could have added a section describing a country who had come to the brink and then pulled themselves out of it to become financially solvent and prosperous because of it. Perhaps that would have been able to paint a picture of a future direction without entering the politcal-hot-water you would expect from covering it directly. I suppose this would be difficult or impossible using a modern example, though.

This is an extremely timely read. No matter which side of the political fence you sit upon, you will learn something here that will probably alter the way you think about our nation's (and the world's) debt situation. Profoundly. If you read Boomerang and don't want to make some changes in how you prepare for the next 10 years, you're either doing an excellent job already or have your head in the sand.

Honestly, I think anyone with even a passing concern about world finance and the potential for financial disaster needs to read this book

This book is an excellent overview of likely changes coming to our society from a world-view perspective. In generations past, there have been wholesale societal shifts in “direction.” For instance, moving from into the industrial age, there was a shift from a family-based agrarian societal structure. That had profound effects throughout society. People left the rural areas and congregated in cities to find production jobs. Capacity of production was limited by the workers available so the educational system was changed to educate our children to a degree that they would be capable of succeeding in those types of jobs. That required left brain thinking. Over the past 150 years, that has been an extremely successful and productive model for western countries. But in modern times, there is another shift that is currently in full swing: a new renaissance, wherein those jobs & professions that require left-brain thought and training are better handled by computers or low-paid workers in other countries.

If you have been exposed to Goleman's Emotional Intelligence or Social Intelligence books and Friedman's The World is Flat (or even Hot, Flat & Crowded), you'll have something of an idea of how this book reads. The writing style is very similar to Friedman's, though not as densely packed. There is certainly some conceptual content overlap among all of these books as well. I found them all to be quite interesting. Or maybe “thought-provoking” would be the more appropriate term.

The focus of AWNM is on the new renaissance and how this could affect our future and that of our children. Is the current education system going to serve our children, or will it adequately outfit them to enter a job market in which they have no chance of competing with someone who works for 1/2 or less the wages? What types of skills and perspectives do we need to educate and train our future generations in order to make the next economic leap? There are some specifics and a lot of general ideas to digest. And probably act upon through groundswells of pressure and support on our educational system in order to make the necessary changes to best serve our next generations.

My primary criticism of the book is there isn't enough specific application discussed. The topics covered are huge and will probably affect our next several generations to such a large degree that not acting on this is foolish. Probably even downright negligent. So what are the “next steps” to take as (a) individuals, (b) local thought-leaders, (c) people on educational boards, (d) people involved in various strata of government or even politics? Speaking of politics, I'm essentially straight-up libertarian, and this book read as having a significantly liberal bias. To me, that felt unnecessary as these topics are really non-partisan. Perhaps it was hard to contain as many current right-brain-dominant individuals find themselves in liberal fields of work. Still, it needs to be noted as the topics should be equally important to conservatives, liberals, or anyone in our country. And for those reading it from outside of the western world, it really gives a good thought-platform on skipping straight past “equality” with the western world to a position of dominance quickly.

Definitely a recommended read. Start up a conversation if you do.

Overall, if you enjoy the Vlad Taltos books, I would find it hard to believe you wouldn't like this. Moreover, if you also enjoyed the Khaavren books, you'll finally get to see the joining of those two “lines” in this novel.

The book essentially includes 3 “Parts” or novellas which are all connected by a thread. The first part concerns an episode from Vlad's past, primarily during the time of his engagement to Cawti.

The second part focuses on a consequence to this first episode, told in Cawti's perspective, but involving Norathar, the Empress, and the Countess of Whitecrest (Khaavren's wife). This occurs after Vlad and Cawti's separation while Vlad is apparently back East somewhere.

The final part is told from Khaavren's perspective, similarly to that you've seen in the books focused on the head of the Phoenix Guards. Yes, including some of the same banter and stylistic elements you'd expect in those books. This was excellently done, however, and you really get to see the care that the Empress has for Vlad and you see the respect for him grow in Khaavren throughout as well.

If you're looking for “all the answers” to the dangling plotlines in the series, you are definitely not going to find them. Besides, there's going to be at least one book for each of the houses in the cycle anyway. Duh.

If you're looking for deep and thought-provoking reading... why on earth are you reading the Vlad books? These are meant to be light, fun, fast-paced reads with action and humor. Maybe tinged with a little dark reality, but still. Be realistic.

If you've read the other books in the series (either series, really) then you probably ought to just go ahead and get and read it. You know you're going to do so eventually :)

Pretty good book overall. Definitely start with the previous book - QBQ, which discusses the fundamental concept of making sure you're asking the right questions to make forward progress.

Flipping the Switch takes it to the next level, though, discussing Application Principles that add to the QBQ. The application principles are Learning, Ownership, Creativity, Service, and Trust. Each section gives a relatively brief discussion of the principle, how it relates the the QBQ concept, and an entertaining anecdote to visualize the concept in action.

This is a brief book with simple concepts that should still help keep you more focused and productive in your work and personal life. Well worth the read.

I just finished reading QBQ - The Question Behind the Question, What to Really Ask Yourself to Eliminate Blame, Complaining, and Procrastination by John Miller a few minutes ago.

What a great book!

I purchased it on Amazon 2/22/11 and finished it today 2/27/11 which is probably an all-time record for me as books I buy usually take months, if not years, to percolate to the top of my to-read list. This one, however, I seemed to keep getting prompts about in my other reading, Amazon searches, and of course regular mentions from Dave Ramsey. I'm currently going through Financial Peace University with my wife and am doing some personal enrichment reading in that regard, including currently reading The Millionaire Next Door and listening to Thou Shall Prosper on audiobook. Hopefully that puts things into perspective.

Having read quite a few business-related books in the last few years, what sets QBQ apart?

1. An ultra-sharply clear concept.

2. Broad usage potential, both in professional and personal life.

3. Super-fast readability

This is a 115-page book that reads even faster than that. Most chapters are 1-4 pages long, and not particularly dense pages at that. Each chapter reads as a mini article covering a specific item all of which revolve around the QBQ concept.

What is that concept? It's simple: getting to questions in our lives that move us toward positive action. As opposed to all those questions most people use daily in their work and personal lives which attempt to avoid responsibility or place blame on others for the problem of the moment. It really is that simple. But because the concept is so clear, the majority of the book gives examples of how we can rephrase our words and thinking to become more effective at problem solving. More effective ourselves. Not by attempting to change others. Not by anything other than realizing that we simply can NOT change others, and asking questions about why others do or don't do what we want them to do are useless questions.

Too often in this country today people act the victim. “I couldn't do what I needed to do because that person didn't do their thing.” “It's not my fault I burnt my tongue on that coffee, the cup wasn't clearly enough labeled ‘HOT!'” You get the idea. So much of the genius in this country seems to be spent in figuring out how to avoid personal responsibility. At work. At home. At school. In parenting. For anything. Does anyone think this is a good thing? In any way?

To me, this book is a brief rebellion against that epidemic. It's something I'll make sure my kids read. It should be read by everyone in America, in my opinion. It's a short, easy, fun, enlightening read. Every 6th grader and every high school senior should be required to read it. Twice. Maybe again in college. QBQ is that good a concept.

If you've read it, let me know what you think.

-Jason