A review of Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby, more technical than Gawande, gripping on heart surgery and the machines that keep patients alive.
Category: Book Reviews
The Tatas: How a Family Built a Business and a Nation by Girish Kuber (Book Review 013)
A review of The Tatas by Girish Kuber, heard on audiobook. Informative on the family and modern India, but it skirts the failures and offers no critique.
Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen (Book Review 012)
A review of Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen, informative on the CIA, the Air Force and the cold war, though her habit of delaying the point annoyed him.
The Gods Themselves by Issac Asimov (Book Review 011)
A review of The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov, gripping on the electron pump and the para universe, though the alien section dragged for him.
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Book Review 010)
A review of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, which he found engrossing and read as a warning against trusting intricate financial models over judgement.
“The Last Question” and why I am so intrigued by it
A summary of Isaac Asimov’s short story The Last Question, with the parallels he draws to the Matrix and to the Bhagavad Gita on mind and body.
Issac Asimov’s Science Fiction Series – Suggested Reading Order
Planning to read Issac Asimov’s science fiction series? Then read on and find out where to start.
The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox (Book Review 009)
A review of The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, on learning the Theory of Constraints through a story and where it still applies to supply chains.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Book Review 008)
A review of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, finished in three days, on its model of social epidemics and why he recommends reading it once.
The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman (Book Review 007)
A review of The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman, read over a month with a pencil in hand and kept afterwards as a reference rather than shelved.
Anne Frank: The Diary of a young girl (Book Review 006)
A review of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, the 25 months in the Secret Annexe and the arrest that ended them. He finished the book feeling grief.
Freakonomics by Levitt & Dubner (Book Review 005)
A review of Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner, on crime, estate agents, sumo wrestlers and drug gangs. He finished it craving a second volume.
Biological Weapons: Issues and Threats by Chari & Rajain (Book Review 004)
A review of Biological Weapons: Issues and Threats, edited by Chari and Rajain, on why bio-chemical arms are the poor man’s WMD and so hard to detect.
Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho (Book Review 003)
A review of Paulo Coelho’s Eleven Minutes, on Maria’s road from Brazil to prostitution in Geneva. Gripping throughout, but the climax is predictable.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Book Review 002)
A review of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Santiago’s journey to the Pyramids, which he calls a master-piece and a must read for all age groups.