Barking up the Wrong Tree
What's great about this book is that the author examines both sides of common perceptions (often misconceptions) about success. He takes them to their logical extreme, digs in and finds research to…
The Black Swan
The point of the book is well worth knowing and understanding, though I think you could get the point with a very well made 10 minute video.
Blink
I'm writing this review six years and one month after buying this audiobook—I started this project of reviewing my Audible library at Thanksgiving 2018, and I'm writing this review at Christmas…
Confessions of an Economic Hitman
The recent history of America is fascinating, and this book will provide an interesting perspective on how USA waged economic war in the cold war era, and beyond.
Crossing the Chasm
It's hard to believe this was only released in 2012, because it instantly became part of the common language of tech startups everyone. It was brought up so frequently that by the time I read it in…
Do More Faster
Once upon a time, the idea of a startup accelerator was new, uncommon, even unique. YC and Techstars were the originators of this model. I moved to Boulder to be part of the tech startup world here,…
Eisenhower in War and Peace
I'm not super into biographies, but I really wanted to read about great leaders, and heard good things about this book. I enjoyed learning out Eisenhower, but when it got into his presidency it…
Escape from Cubicle Nation
I don't remember anything about this book. To be fair, I'm writing this review in November of 2018, over nine years from when I read it. But some books stick with you for the impact they make on you,…
The Founder's Dilemmas
I had the pleasure of seeing Noam speak at Techstars in Boulder, and I was deeply impressed by his research. If you are in the startup world, this is a must-read. Forget the link-bait articles and…
Freakonomics [Revised Edition]
This is a great, easy read with some mind-bending research and conclusions. I highly recommend picking this book up for a fun read—and that's not something you'd like anyone would ever say about an…
I'm Feeling Lucky
I've learned that I don't really go in for memoirs, but for whatever reason this one appealed to me. It was written by one of Google's first marketing people. It's a wild story that covers a lot of…
The Long Tail
Reading this in 2006 when it came out or even in 2009 when I picked it up, it felt like the inevitable future of the internet. "Mass Customization" was the trend of the day. I remember being…
Mastery
I'm really torn on "Mastery" as to whether I loved it, hated it, or just liked it. The stories of everyone from Faraday to PG to Darwin and Franklin and dozens more are absolutely brilliant. I love…
Measure What Matters
I was all gung-ho on OKRs for a while and when this book came out, I picked it up right away. While the stories are great, I kind of wanted more out of it. Really what the book did for me was whet my…
The Power of Habit
What's interesting about this book is that it's the why behind the how. If you want the "how" then read Hooked. But the "why" these things work, and why we have habits and what we do with or without…
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
I first read this book in 2000 when I was a day-trader. The stories were just as entertaining then as they were when I recently re-read it. And by entertaining, I mean entertaining to a finance nerd.…
Screw It, Let's Do It
Richard Branson is one of those guys that everyone wants to be or wants to know. He does cool shit, does it his way, and doesn't seem to be a dick about it—from the limited I've read about him. I was…
Sex at Dawn
This entire book was a retort to another anthropology book, "Anatomy of Love" by Helen Fisher. I had read that book right after college and recalled being blown away by it. Somehow I stumbled across…
Start with Why
An absolute must-read. There are very few non-fiction books I recommend unequivocally, and now that I think about it, this might be the only one that I recommend without preamble or qualification. I…
Startup CEO
I really want to be able to strongly recommend this to most of the startups I work with on a daily basis, but it's not for early stage startups. I have to keep in mind that this series of startup…
Startup Communities
Ah, the "Boulder Thesis". Startup Communities is essential reading for anyone in the startup world, especially if you're in the startup world outside of the Bay Area. I've read this book quite a few…
Startup Life
Juli and I listened to this on a few road trips. It provoked some very good discussion between us, and often enough that we would pause the book, talk about what we just heard, debate and discuss,…
The Humor Code
My friend Peter co-wrote this, and I was very glad to see it come out on Audible right away (I do hate to read books in the old-fashioned sense). It's outside of my normal genres of sci-fi, startup,…
The Lean Startup
Reading this for the first time in 2013 felt like reading the secret code for how all businesses will be run in the future. And it is. It's a must-read for the startup world. It's such an important…
The Rise of The Creative Class
I picked up this book because Brad Feld referenced it once or twice in Startup Communities. Five and a half years later, I'm trying to write a review for it. I vaguely recall nodding my head quite a…
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
There were times during this book where I thought I was listening to a self-aggrandizing autobiography, and just as I was judging the author for a pointless diversion, BAM! He'd hit me upside the…
The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point is research and stories about what happens after you follow the advice in Made to Stick. If you want the how, read the latter. For the "what" read the former. That's not a…
Venture Deals
Note: this review is for an older edition of the book—they're on the third edition now. I don't offer many conditional reviews, but this review is predicated on the fact that you want to learn more…
Who Stole the American Dream?
There are very few things in the world that have had such a profound impact on me as "Who Stole the American Dream?" I read this in 2014, after being hired by SoftLayer, a recent IBM acquisition.…