Hey everyone,

This post is inspired by Mark Lord suggesting a book to me in another thread. (Thank you Mark, I ordered the book and can't wait to read it). I realized that this group of people has probably read some pretty amazing books. Probably quite a few I've never even heard of.

I've shared reading lists with people I respect for years. I have no idea why it hasn't occurred to me to share reading lists on this BBS. I can't imagine a group of people whose reading lists I'd like to see more! Please share the books that have been most influential in your life.

In the last couple of weeks, I've read some books I've enjoyed tremendously:

Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States. This had been on my list for several years. This book tries to present US history from the point of view not taken by the high school civics books. So, the story of colonization is told with emphasis on the Native Americans, the Civil War with particular attention to the Confederate States and blacks, WWI history focuses on the fate of those who spoke out against it. The Industrial Revolution is told from the point of view of the workers. You get the idea. Well, the author clearly has a point of view and a bias, but he is up front about it. The book is incredibly well researched and footnoted. It's also fantastic. Really hard to put down. I hate reading history books because they tend to be so dry. This one is extremely enjoyable reading in addition to being fascinating information.


On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an "official history" of the war in Iraq written by three senior Army officers. I am fascinated by the US military as organizations. I believe the US service branches are amazingly well run organizations that do things that other organizations should consider. (I am not saying that the Army is always employed to do the right things! I am talking about the organizations themselves.) One of the things that they do incredibly well is they have formal procedures to incorporate "Lessons Learned" and "Histories" of previous engagements and actively incorporate these into an ever-evolving doctrine. The business world talks about "continuous improvement", but in the US military, it isn't lip service. This book is the Army's history of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and it explains the military operations in detail. It's amazing. The first two chapters explain "Preparations", and describe everything that took place to make the operation possible in the first place. The book explains all of the tremendous logistical operations required to deploy the troops. For instance, a deep-water harbor needed to be built in Kuwait to handle freight and equipment that would eventually pour into the region. The middle third of the book explains the actual combat operations and the fights, but again goes into detail about the logistical complexity of supporting and refueling the advancing units. The final section of the book is a summary of what did and didn't work well and what the Army believes needs improving. One more tidbit:

Quote:
To understand the scale of this effort, [the forces] expected to consume 40 million gallons of fuel by D+20, or about 10 April. By comparison, the Allies in WW I consumed 40 million gallons of gasoline during the four years of the war, a war that Winston Churchill described as having been won "on a sea of oil." By contrast, during World War II, the Allied fuel reserves in Normandy reached 7.5 million gallons only on D+21.

The book is hard reading because its filled with abbreviations and is primarily written for the Army. There is an abbreviation glossary that helps. The politics of the war are not the subject of this book and they are not discussed. This book tells how the job got done, and does not venture into whether it was a worthy effort. The book is available free online.


The Three Meter Zone: Common Sense Leadership for NCOs, by J.D. Pendry, Command Sergeant Major. I picked this up because I was impressed with the personal story of a CSM in the On Point book. This book, written in conversational, folksy style, is the leadership philosophy of one of these guys. If you've ever seen the movie "We Were Soldiers", well Sergeant Major Plumley, played by Sam Elliot, is what is today called the "Command Sergeant Major" of Mel Gibson's unit. The CSM is responsible for the leadership and development of the soldiers in a unit. It is an elite position, the enlisted equivalent to being a general, and is considered the "backbone of the Army". This short book is just fascinating reading. I am so impressed by it. The book starts with the author's explaination of why the leader's values are central to his success, and shows how a moral inventory (he calls it "cleaning the toolbox") is the starting place. Later he explains that there are two kinds of organizations: "Give more" and "Get more", and examines the differences between the two. A better explanation of what's wrong with the business world couldn't be written. This is not a book filled with motivational techniques or cute team-building activities. The focus of the book is personal integrity and leadership by example. If you were impressed by Plumley in We Were Soldiers and wondered about the real people like that, this book is a great insight into their world view.


Free to Choose, by Milton Friedman is on deck right now. Friedman is a hero of mine. I haven't read it, so I don't have much to say about it yet.



Here is a list of the best books I've ever read, without the long review.

Nonfiction
#1 - A Brief History of Everything, Ken Wilber. This book has done more to develop my view of the world than any other. It is the most important book I have ever read. It will blow you away. By page 40, this book had already changed the way I see the world. I am not exaggerating, I'm referring to a specific idea: the "pre/trans fallacy". It was the first of many "ah-ha" experiences I had reading this book. This got me hooked on Wilber, and I subsequently read everything he's written.

#2 - Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell

#3 - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Persig

#4 - Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry, Thomas Szasz. Another one of my heroes. This book got me to read all of Szasz, many other books of his should be on this list. The second most influential author in my life.

#5 - Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness, Koestenbaum

#6 - SPIN Selling, Niel Rackham. This book will improve your career and your business relationships, no matter what your profession. If you ever intend to have another job interview in your life, it is reason enough to read this book.

#7 - Optimum Sports Nutrition, Colgan

#8 - Cloud Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown, Alan Watts. Continuing a familiar theme, this book got me to read everything by Watts.

#9 - The Perennial Philosophy, Aldous Huxley.

#10 - How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler

#11 - Open Society, George Soros. Elsewhere on the empeg BBS, I gave a glowing review to Soros' Bubble of American Supremecy.

#12 - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman and What Do You Care What Other People Think?, by Richard Feynman. Feynman is another hero of mine. These are fantastic books full of short stories from Feynman's life. An amazing look into one of the greatest minds in history.

#13 - Structure and Implementation of Computer Programs, Abelsonn and Sussman. This is available online for free. I'm not a professional programmer, but this was recommended to me by one and it blew my mind. I worked all the problems through chapter 3, then stalled out, though I've read the whole thing. I intend to finish all of the problems in the book. To me, programming is about problem solving. Learning how to program a computer teaches one how to think differently. I'm sure most here are familiar with this book. This book teaches programming by teaching a particular approach to solving problems. Mostly, it teaches you a way of thinking, the computer programming is almost incidental.

#14 - Code Complete, McConnell. Again, I'm not much of a programmer, but this sure helped me out. I also really loved the Programming Pearls series.

#15 - Small Stakes Holdem, Miller and Sklansky. Well, I have to include this because its had such a central role in my life over the last year. If you want to know how to play Holdem, this is the book you need. Until you start playing for serious money, this book is THE book on how to beat the games. If you play for fun, until at least the $10/$20 limit, and probably higher in most live games today, and you play as this book teaches, you will win. It is not an easy book.


Fiction Favorites

#1 - A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole. Number one for a reason.

#2 - 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

#3 - Time Enough for Love, Robert Heinlein. I've read all of his books, and I'm sure many others here have as well. This is the foundation.

#4 - Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett. Yes, the same Ken Follett. This book is different from all his other books. It is really a great book and impossible to put down.

#5 - The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Fantasy.

I don't read much fiction. I'll try to think of other great fiction books I've read.

Other Favorites

Rogue Warrior, Richard Marcinko
By Way of Deception, Victor Ostrovsky
Cosmic Consciousness, Richard Maurice Bucke
I am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta, Nisargadatta Maharaj
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Chogyam Trungpa
Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, Richard Bandler
Digital Economy, Don Tapscott
The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Ries and Trout
Comprehensive Applications of Shaolin Chin Na, Jwing-Ming Yang. This is the definitive reference on locking, pressure point, and joint destruction techniques in Kung Fu.