A few of my favorite books…

I love to read. I’ve always loved to read. I remember reading Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys, Boy Scout merit badge pamphlets, encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, yada yada. Usually I’m surrounded by people who love to read, even when I’m doing Army stuff.
I was a little shocked the other day when I was driving along with one of our radio operators and we were talking and I said, “Have you had a chance to read Rumsfeld’s book?”
To which he replied, “Oh I really never read any books. I don’t even read the newspaper.”
It actually took a moment for me to make a graceful recovery from that while the whole time thinking the guy was clearly far dumber than I had given him credit for.

So in honor of that, I wanted to list a few of my favorite books. I’ve tried several times to compile “Jon’s Reading List” but I never feel it is complete and it is always so many books as to be kind of useless.

The Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Religion
Simply stated: read it; test it; it’s true and it will change your life.

 

 

 

Basic Economics
Economics
The problem with economic illiteracy, as with historical illiteracy, is HUGE. Without a basic grounding in these principles, the behaviors of people, markets and governments seem random. In this LARGE primer, Thomas Sowell does an amazing job of clarifying and explaining without tedium and without dumbing it all down. Reading this book requires an investment of time, yes, but it is an investment that will be repaid when you see through the headlines with new clarity on economic matters – and really, most matters are economic at their heart.

Nothing Like It In The World
History
I love reading history, so picking just one history book really made me think. I settled in on one of Stephen Ambrose’s probably lesser known books. It tells the story of the US transcontinental railroad from its earliest conception to the epic battle between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific. One of perhaps the most cogent points Ambrose makes when discussing the shady financial dealings whereby the railroad-men reaped huge profits from the construction. He sums it up by saying simply (and I’m paraphrasing), that yes, it happened, but all those warrants for land along the right-of-way would have been worthless had they not succeeded in building the railroad and that for all the money earned, the cost to the Federal government was remarkably low relative to the amazing benefits to the public good.
Bonus points if you read this as a follow on to Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage – which covers Lewis and Clark. It feels like a natural set.

John Adams
Biography
David McCullough, despite his name being larger than his subject’s, provides a rich and well-told story of a life most excellently lived. The amazing blend of stalwart love of family and sense of duty and a sense of personal frustration. I felt sad for John Adams in that he was so attuned to any slight against him personally that he seems never to have appreciated his own value to the country he loved and helped create. And that leaves aside some of the painful and touching family moments. I believe there’s no way you can come away from this book without re-assessing your own life with fresh perspective.

The Inmates Are Running The Asylum
Technology
Alan Cooper’s 2004 cry for sanity is a bit aged for a tech book, but it is still remarkable to read it and see how much we’ve learned – and the lessons that still seem to elude us. Consider that when this book came out, the iOS with its emphasis on smooth transitions between user tasks didn’t even exist.
Whether you are in the tech business or just a victim of it, this book is worth your time.

Jude The Obscure
Classic
In Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy spins a tale that makes music by The Cure seem positively upbeat by comparison. If you can survive the trip through its pages, you are bound to feel a whole lot better about your own life. If nothing else, this story reminds the reader that every choice has a consequence, and you can’t pick the one without picking the other too.

 

Patton On Leadership
Leadership
A terrifying title, but an excellent book. It dissects some of the speeches and writings of a man who is arguably the finest combat general in the history of the United States and distills out the intent and application of these principles in a less deadly workplace.
And it has the added side-effect of looking very scary to co-workers when it is sitting on your shelf. Sun Tzu is passé! Patton is where it’s at. 

Well, there it is.
I could go on and on with Science, Politics, etc. but the point was a brief list.

“Hey…what are you reading?”

I know I need to get caught up on my experiences at the Army’s Warrior Transition Course and the holidays and <gulp> my oldest daughter’s engagement, but I just wanted to do a quick post on a couple books I’m reading.

Level Up

I’ve been a big fan of Scott Rogers since I first saw his talk “Everything I Learned About Game Design I Learned From Disneyland” at the 2009 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Some people share my my appreciation of Scott’s work; and some people don’t. That’s cool, I’m not saying he’s the end-all-beat-all genius of game design. (After all, I’ve played Pac Man World and it kind of sucks.) But having seen the talk and felt his enthusiasm for the subject first hand, I had to pick up his book Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design. I’m about 3/4 of the way though it on my Kindle and I’m really enjoying it. It is an outstanding exploration of the details of designing fun and engaging experience in interactive storytelling in all its facets – from Mario Brothers to Alan Wake. I really recommend this for anyone in the industry and for anyone who really enjoys gaming.

A Theory of Fun

On the other hand, I also checked out A Theory of Fun by Raph Koster (courtesy of the Microsoft corporate library). Superficially, these books cover some of the same ground, but my what a difference. Raph’s book is not without merit, but the presentation of the material is really quite poor – especially in comparison with Scott’s book. Beyond just the material itself, the production values of the book – which is filled with very crude doodle-like illustrations – really detracts from the material that is there. It’s not fun, it’s not interesting, and it isn’t fun to look at. Scott’s book is all of those things and more. I feel like Raph’s book sets out to be a little more academic while specifically claiming that it isn’t.

Other stuff…

I was getting my stuff together for my upcoming Reserve weekend and was putting on my ACUs to make sure everything was in the right place and they were presentable. It was kind of weird to be reminded – oh yeah, I really am in the Army. In December, we just had a one day assembly where we had an ASU inspection, a legal briefing for an upcoming deployment, and then a Christmas party in the evening, which was very nice. It’s weird to remember that just a couple months ago I was wearing it constantly.

Here’s a picture of me and the delightful Mrs. Pulsipher in the living room on the way to the party.

As a final note, can I get an “amen” from the congregation on those great Xbox numbers in the Microsoft quarterly earnings released today? And remember, you can never have too many Xbox consoles, games, Kinect sensors, and LIVE subscriptions. Stock up!

The Forgotten Man

I think one of the foremost problems in our country is the level of indifference and ignorance to history. When you don't understand history, every change in the wind can look like an unprecedented crisis.

Since "they got this depression on", I'm reading The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes.
The title comes from an 1883 essay of the same title by Yale professor and sociologist William Graham Sumner. Quoting:

"The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this:
A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man."

In other words, when things look bad for somebody, you can count on two other people getting together to solve it and stick someone else with the bill.

The book was originally published in 2007 and predating the sudden "crisis" of 2008 so there is no taint of foreknowledge. So it is amazing at the similarities not just in the events, but also in the political situation and the personalities of the people involved.

In particular, the comparisons between Hoover and Bush are very interesting. Both brought "firsts" to the presidency. Hoover was the first trained engineer and Bush the first MBA - which means both were men of their times. Both men carried ideologies that were heavily colored by deeply held religious beliefs. And both were Republicans who did not hold to Conservative principles.


I'll be sharing more on this book over the next several posts, but it in the meantime, consider that it is interesting that Ben Bernake, who, along with Henry Paulson, is in charge of central planning for the US economy right now, said in his remarks on Milton Friedman's 90th birthday regarding the Federal Reserve's role in making an ordinary recession in the late 20's into the Great Depression: "You're right. We did it. We're very sorry." Ummmm......

Ready... Fire... Aim...
We should all be a lot less worried about the US economy weathering down cycles than I am about the government stepping in to try to "fix" it.

I think it is curious that the financial crisis suddenly erupted six weeks before the Nov 2008 election and then it was necessary for a bunch of politicians to "solve" a complex situation years in the making over a long weekend with little to no input from actual economists - who clearly opposed it - saying basically - "We're not sure what the right answer is, but this is definitely NOT it."