An excellent overview of complexity science, with a particular focus on economics. Beinhocker develops his ideas thoroughly and carefully, and stitches them together into a coherent theory wonderfully. I’m a sucker for anything that comes from the Santa Fe Institute’s circle of influence, but among the material on complexity science I’ve encountered, this book stands out.
Beginning with a deep dive into the creation, organization and inner workings of the KGB, and its impact on Russian society, Macintyre follows the incredible story of Gordievsky, the KGB insider who decides to become an asset for British intelligence. The final third was so compelling, I stayed up until 3am to finish it, unable to bear the thought of waiting to know how it all ends.
This book is the story of Varoufakis’ journey from outsider to insider, attempting to survive as a man of principles among the political elite in Europe. He builds an incredibly detailed picture of the power struggles, betrayals, and lies that are part of the regular operation of political life.
Moshfegh seems to be in total control of every story she tells. More unrelentingly dark than her follow up novel (while still sharing a number a similar themes), this one brought me back to the dreary, anonymous towns of New England that I grew up in.
It took me about a 120 pages to understand what the author was trying to do with this book, but once I latched on to it, I loved the rest of it. I think the whole book could be summed up by quoting Wiio’s Law: “Communication usually fails, except by accident”.
A focused, intense love story that’s as good as everyone has said.
I picked this up after reading Moshfegh’s striking New Yorker profile. I loved every minute of it. Dark, funny, and full of pain, but with hope still streaming through the closed shades.
The original comic series had been in my reading queue for years and I finally decided to tackle it after watching a few episodes of the new TV adaptation. This is a big, multi-layered story that rewards thoughtful reading. I especially enjoyed the development of Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias.
I loved Tom McCarthy’s debut novel, Remainder. This, his latest, continued my admiration for his work. It’s a book about the secret, imagined, and mistaken connections between the insane clutter of modern life. The depth of the ideas feels endless, presented as both serious commentary and knowing satire.
Pollan has written a deep and important book. He does an excellent job telling the history of psychedelics, giving an overview of the science of consciousness they are being used to study, and most importantly, giving an inside look at the experience of using them.
Still fresh from the experience of reading it, I feel like this could be my favorite work of fiction I’ve ever read.
Reading these three novels right after reading Galen Strawson’s book, I found myself seeing connections to themes he had written about, regarding the self-deception of believing there is a story that can make sense of one’s life.
Bohm blends physics and philosophy to describe his revolutionary idea of implicate and explicate order. Parts of this book are accessible only to those with an advanced understanding of physics (not me), but I found it to be one of the most daring and creative books I’ve ever read.
I did not have a chance to read Kant during my university education, so coming to his thinking now has been a huge revelation. This book does exactly what I’d hoped, which is offer a serious but accessible overview of Kant’s most important work.
This is not an easy or quick read, but it’s worth the struggle. Popper carefully works through a thorough takedown of the totalitarian elements in Plato’s philosophy, the prophetic elements of Marx’s system, and, well, everything about Hegel, while defending the ideals of open-ended debate and democracy.
I picked this up on the recommendation of Susan Fowler. Of the Feynman literature I’ve read, this one was my favorite. The lectures that make up the book were aimed at a non-specialist audience, so the material is accessible while still being fairly deep. I particularly enjoyed chapter 5, “The Distinction of Past and Future.”
Fresh off reading Middlemarch, I couldn’t help but see parallels between the struggles of the young in both novels to rise above the place they were born into. The violence and passion of this story gives it an uncommon edge.
Reading this rekindled my love of massive old novels. What struck me most acutely is the depiction of how the narrowness of others’ expectations can crush almost anyone. Nearly every character finds their life shaped by the disappointment of discovering that their relationships are based on each partners’ false ideals of the other.
I read this mainly on the recommendation of David Deutsch. It’s in the same vein as other sweeping histories of humanity, society and science (think Sapiens or A Brief History of Nearly Everything), but has a more poetic and moral tone at crucial points. Bronowski shares with Deutsch the belief that scientific knowledge will inexorably grow, but also stresses that it is always threatened by a pendulum swing back to tyranny and dogmatism.
This book gave substance to my own gut feelings about the bullshit-nature of so much that goes on in the modern workplace. I read this at the right time in my life and it’s felt a bit life changing. Graeber is an excellent writer and theorist and manages to be radical without being dogmatic.
When I initially read this in early 2017 I found myself balking at many of Deutsch’s stances. Coming back to it after reading Magee and Gottlieb's books, I discovered that I was now much more philosophically aligned with it. Many of the more speculative claims that Deutsch makes are difficult to judge one way or the other, but the main message was incredibly inspiring: we must pursue knowledge with the understanding that no matter how much we know, it’s only the beginning of all possible knowledge.
Magee has written a grand tour of philosophy from an autobiographical perspective. He is an excellent expositor of both the philosophy he loves (Popper, Schopenhauer) and detests (logical positivism). This book (along with Gottlieb’s two books) was very useful in helping me to clarify my own philosophical beliefs.
This collection of three essays is one of the best places to start with the writing of Seneca as well as the Stoic tradition. The classic themes are all here: avoid wasting your time on superficial endeavors, seek after wisdom and moral clarity, protect your happiness from the unpredictable turns of chance.
An incredibly moving story about Paul’s diagnosis of cancer and his struggle to confront the meaning of his life and the prospect of his death.
Frankl tells the harrowing story of his time in a concentration camp and his discovery of how one can still retain a sense of the beauty and meaning of life even in the face of this experience.
I’ve often recommended this short book as a useful tool to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. It asks you to answer a handful of questions (for instance, ‘Am I a reader or a listener?’) and recommends that you focus more on improving your strengths rather than trying to improve your weaknesses. The conclusions likely won’t come as a surprise, but it will be a helpful reminder that life is far better when you work with your instincts rather than against them. I’ve provided an outline of the book as well.
Crawford meditates on the value of getting deep inside one’s work, engaging with it whole-heartedly, and discovering the pleasure and meaning that comes with doing and making. He describes office life as a tangle of contradictory or meaningless obligations and rituals and offers tangible, personal work as a way out.
First, a description of the unhappiness that comes from the misalignment between our present lives and the expectations we believe society has for us. Second, strategies to escape these anxieties and enjoy a richer inner world, with success coming on terms we decide for ourselves.