Posted by BJ
Between some down time over the holidays and a fair amount of traveling since the New Year began, I’ve had a good deal of time for reading. That means I have a few recommendations for our faithful readers.
As a previous post stated, I read Tried by War: Lincoln as Commander in Chief (McPherson, Penguin). This is a documentary that looks at Lincoln’s handling of the Civil War. It was very well written and provides valuable insights into Lincoln’s decision making and leadership style. (This book contains many insights – what to look for in individuals, when to change Generals, how to effectively persuade others, etc., – that are applicable to managing proposal efforts. Another book along this line that I highly recommend is Lincoln on Leadership.)
Between some down time over the holidays and a fair amount of traveling since the New Year began, I’ve had a good deal of time for reading. That means I have a few recommendations for our faithful readers.
As a previous post stated, I read Tried by War: Lincoln as Commander in Chief (McPherson, Penguin). This is a documentary that looks at Lincoln’s handling of the Civil War. It was very well written and provides valuable insights into Lincoln’s decision making and leadership style. (This book contains many insights – what to look for in individuals, when to change Generals, how to effectively persuade others, etc., – that are applicable to managing proposal efforts. Another book along this line that I highly recommend is Lincoln on Leadership.)
Another book I read and would recommend is, The Lacuna (Kingsolver, Harper). Kingsolver is the author of The Poisonwood Bible, a favorite book of mine and one I highly recommend, and I was expecting this book to be very well written and engaging. I was not disappointed. The book is set in, for the most part, Mexico and follows the life of a man from childhood through his death. The story is related to the reader through his journals.
Somewhat similarly presented, this time through a series of letters passed between various individuals, the book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (How can anyone resist a title like that?) (Shaffer/Barrows, Dial Press). This book presents a remarkable and delightfully quirky group of people on the Island of Guernsey during the German occupation. I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy a book about human relationships.
On the business side I read, What the Dog Saw (Malcolm, Little Brown). This is the latest from the prolific Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and Outliers. This is a set of about 20 or so articles written by Gladwell over the years. It includes pieces on such notables as Ron Popeil and the famous “Chop-o-Matic”, ketchup and mustard, Cesar Milan (the piece on which the title is based) and Pit Bulls (the concluding chapter and a favorite [but then I admit to a bias here as an owner of an American Staffordshire Terrier – aka a pit bull.)
?
I’m always looking for recommendations for a good read (and attempting to not read a book which is not worth reading) so please do let me know what you’ve read lately and what you thought of it.
Somewhat similarly presented, this time through a series of letters passed between various individuals, the book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (How can anyone resist a title like that?) (Shaffer/Barrows, Dial Press). This book presents a remarkable and delightfully quirky group of people on the Island of Guernsey during the German occupation. I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy a book about human relationships.
On the business side I read, What the Dog Saw (Malcolm, Little Brown). This is the latest from the prolific Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and Outliers. This is a set of about 20 or so articles written by Gladwell over the years. It includes pieces on such notables as Ron Popeil and the famous “Chop-o-Matic”, ketchup and mustard, Cesar Milan (the piece on which the title is based) and Pit Bulls (the concluding chapter and a favorite [but then I admit to a bias here as an owner of an American Staffordshire Terrier – aka a pit bull.)
?
I’m always looking for recommendations for a good read (and attempting to not read a book which is not worth reading) so please do let me know what you’ve read lately and what you thought of it.
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