Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters by Scott Rosenberg Three Rivers Press (1 June 2010) Publisher's page What's it about?: This is basically a history of blogging as an overall process, and its impact on the media, politics, business, and our personal lives. My opinion: A very concise history … Continue reading Say Everything →

Gorbachev: The Path to Power by Christian Schmidt-Hauer I.B. Taurus (11 July 1986) Where to find it What's it about?: Biography of Mikhail Gorbachev, former Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union, from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991. Looking at his life and career, it was published in 1986. … Continue reading Gorbachev →

Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by William Shakespeare Penguin (27 October 1994) Publisher's link What's it about?: Four of Shakespeare's tragedies, with notes, introductions, background and sources, and other additional materials to accompany each text. My opinion: It's Shakespeare. How can one go wrong? Let's just leave it at that. Kidding... sort of. … Continue reading Four Tragedies →

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel (with Blake Masters) Virgin (1 June 2015) Publisher's Link What's It About?: Startups, at least as the word is currently defined in the Silicon Valley sense, and how to test ideas and get your company moving. It challenges readers to … Continue reading Zero to One →

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (translated by Rex Warner) Penguin (31 December 1963) Publisher's link What It's About?: Thucydides' historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). The author served as an Athenian general during the war, a … Continue reading History of the Peloponnesian War →

My Pilgrim's Progress: Media Studies, 1950-1998 by George W. S. Trow Vintage (2 May 2000) Publisher's link What It's About?: A study of the media culture of the United States, how television came to dominate media consumption in the 1950s, and how things continued to evolve towards the end of the twentieth-century. George W. S. … Continue reading My Pilgrim’s Progress →

The Art of War: The Essential Translation of the Classic Book of Life by Sun-Tzu (translated by John Minford) Penguin Classics (14 July 2009) Publisher's link What's It About?: Sun-Tzu's classic treatise on military strategy, studied and widely applied by military, financial, business, and political leaders around the world. My opinion: This book is a … Continue reading The Art of War →

Winchell Exclusive: Things That Happened to Me - and Me to Them by Walter Winchell Prentice Hall (1975) National Library of Australia What's It About?: The autobiography of Walter Winchell (1897-1972), American tabloid journalist and radio news commentator, and unquestionably the most (in)famous media figure of the twentieth-century. This book was written and completed prior … Continue reading Winchell Exclusive →

Valley of the Gods: A Silicon Valley Story by Alexandra Wolfe Simon & Schuster (10 January 2017) Publisher's link What's it about?: A history of the youth who come to Silicon Valley in Northern California to change the world and make billions of dollars. An expository work of sorts, on the men and women - … Continue reading Valley of the Gods →

Magellan by Stefan Zweig Pushkin (30 October 2011) Publisher's link What's it about?: The biography of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), and his voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. My opinion: Ryan Holiday talks about "moral biographies" - the lives of people with a focus on what lessons can be learned. To quote … Continue reading Magellan →