Books
A list of books I've read and what I thought about them
2024
Chris Dixon
Rating: 3/5
Chris Dixon's thesis on why crypto is still exciting.
It got me really excited about the future of crypto
Vaclav Smil
Rating: 1/5
A study on when innovative hype fails. Interesting, but I fundamntally disagreed with the thesis of the book
Technological innovation follows cycles
Michael Porter
Rating: 2/5
Just a business book
Honestly didn't take anything from this book
Heroditus
Rating: 2/5
Interesting to read what the ancients thought about the world
We don't live all that differently from the ancients
Malcom Gladwell
Rating: 4/5
Average book with the best ending of any book I'v read. About howstrengths are not always strenghts and weakness is not always weakness
Humility and forgiveness are the best way to act in any situation
2023
Andrew Roberts
Rating: 4/5
Fascinating book on Napoleon's life
It is important to understand catastrophic weaknesses and hedgeagainst those
John Lewis Gaddis
Rating: 3/5
Interesting high level summary of war
It's easy to lose one's bearings when one becomes successful
Ed Catmull
Rating: 4/5
Great book on Ed Catmull's life and how he built Pixar
Being candid and open is hard, but is the only way to create asustainable culture
Niall Ferguson
Rating: 4/5
Great history book about networks
People that achieve greatness go through a period of great humility intheir life
Brian Merchant
Rating: 2/5
The parts about Apple creating the iPhone are fascinating, but thebook suffers from scope creep
Steve Jobs created greatness, but his top-down management style forcedhim to wander through a desert of his own making
Richard Lyman Bushman
Rating: 4/5
Great biography of Joseph Smith. Humanized a figure I look up to
Achievement only comes in the crucible of adversity
Nassim Taleb
Rating: 4/5
Great book about how our brains fail to comprehend randomness
The truth of things usually lies beneath what is obvious. In the wordsof Jesus: "Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky andof the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?"
Simon Winchester
Rating: 3/5
Decent book on the origins of geology
Times change quickly with new technology
Daniel Coyle
Rating: 3/5
Interesting book on how talent develops
We develop myolin when we are in a zone where things are just outsideour grasp
Raja Rajamannar
Rating: 1/5
Boring book on marketing from the CMO of Mastercard
Legacy industries are boring and should be disrupted
Sendhil Mullainathan
Rating: 2/5
A study on how scarcity affects the brain
Scarcity can be a powerful source of good or bad
Daniel Priestley
Rating: 3/5
Teaches you how to market yourself. Would be a 4/5 if not so salesy
I can be an important person in my industry if I work at it
Michael Mauboussin
Rating: 3/5
A study into how much of success is luck vs skill
I can create my own luck through hard work
Scott Kupor
Rating: 4/5
Fascinating look into the incentives of venture capital
Venture capitalists expect to be with a company for ~10 years, so pickyour partners well
Sebastian Mallaby
Rating: 5/5
One of the best books on the history of venture capital I'v everread
There are 1,000 ways to succeed in venture capital and equally as manybusiness models for venture capital firms
Plato
Rating: 2/5
Study on class interactions
Acting justly is the best way to act in the end
Don Miguel Ruiz
Rating: 1/5
Toltec wisdom on being free. I did't like it at all (read it outof obligation)
I am free when I work on controlling the things I can control
Ron Chernow
Rating: 5/5
One of the best biographies I've ever read. Washington is afascinating person who endured great adversity for a greater cause
Great people suffer greatly in their life
Homer
Rating: 4/5
Greek epic poem about Odysseus's journey home after the TrojanWar
Adjectives make stories much more interesting
James Clear
Rating: 3/5
Good book on how to build habits
By small habits, great things can be achieved
Niall Ferguson
Rating: 4/5
Fasinating book on 19th century Jewish banking
Greatness can be achieved over time through focused, persistent hardwork and being in the right place at the right time
2022
Simon Winchester
Rating: 3/5
Interesting book on the discovery of the West
People in the 1800s had the same incentives we have today
Chris Voss
Rating: 4/5
Great book on negtiation and communication
Negotiating is just communicating and it is in the other party'sbest interested to be well negotiated with
Richard Miles
Rating: 3/5
Interesting book on the rise and fall of Carthage
The same forces that affected the ancient world affect us today
Daniel Coyle
Rating: 4/5
A guide to building a strong culture
Cultures work best when people feel comftorable to be themselves
Daniel Goleman
Rating: 2/5
Scientific book on the science of emotional inteligence
Understanding social situations can be more valuable than being smartin a traditional sense
Simon Sinek
Rating: 4/5
A study into successful people/organizations
Understanding my personal why will help me be more successful
Jack Weatherford
Rating: 4/5
A modern history of money and the people that shaped our relationshipwith money
Many things we take for granite come from years of interconectedhistory
Seneca
Rating: 1/5
Seneca's teachings on stoicism
Honestly didn't take anything from this book
David Marquet
Rating: 5/5
David Marquet't take on leadership
The most powerful kind of leadership is one where the leader steps outof the way and lets other exercise power when possible
Andrew Chen
Rating: 3/5
Andrew Chen's take on growing two-sided markets
Two sided markets are usually about one side of the market more
Nassim Taleb
Rating: 5/5
A study into things that improve from randomness/time/disorder
What are things I can do to expose myself to things that improve withuncertainty because the only thing certain is uncertainty?
Jack Weatherford
Rating: 5/5
Fascinating history of Genghis Khan and his effect on the modern world
Deep struggles can lead to great success
Ben Horowitz
Rating: 4/5
A look at how great leaders create great cultures
Toussaint Louverture was a fascinating dude
Norman Ohler
Rating: 5/5
A fun look into how drugs changed Nazi Germany
Evil does not pay in the end
Andy Grove
Rating: 4/5
A Bible of sorts on management in tech
There should always be a final decision maker in the room, otherwisedecisions will not get made
Thomas Schelling
Rating: 2/5
A guide on how to act in conflicts
Honestly didn't take much from the book. Very forgettable
Jessica Livingston
Rating: 5/5
Interviews with some of the most successful founders in Silicon Valley
Solving problems for others is the best way to create a successfulbusiness
2021
Robert Cialdini
Rating: 2/5
We persuade people by setting the stage for them to be persuaded
I can be more persuasive in my communications
Eliot Brown
Rating: 4/5
A fun book on the rise and fall of WeWork
Adding value and extracting value are two very different things. Behumble when I extract value
Andrew Grove
Rating: 5/5
Andy Grove's account from his time at Intel
A leader must understand when people's feedback is noise or abellweather for a looming problem
Ron Chernow
Rating: 3/5
A study into the family of the Warburgs
Greatness is achieved through starting small, being in the right placeat the right time, and understanding what is important and what is not
2020
Ron Chernow
Rating: 4/5
A study into the modern history of banking and JP Morgan
Wealth is created sometimes by being at the right place at the righttime and can be captured through hard work and a bit of luck