Thoughts

Book Reviews, Summer 2010

August 23, 2010

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Fiction, highly recommended.
It’s true that the hero-protagonist is named Hiro Protagonist. But don’t let that drive you away from an interesting concept in a neat world. I love to see how science fiction imagined yesterday’s future — today’s present — and Stephenson does not disappoint. The best-written sentences are toward the beginning; the best-written plot is toward the end.

The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nonfiction, recommended.
There’s a very important message here, and many good points along the way. Unfortunately, these pearls of wisdom are broken among dry babble. Taleb has a bad habit of prefacing points that he’s about to make, mentioning what he has written or will say in other chapters, and explicitly declaring conclusions. I didn’t find the academic flavor to be very engaging, but the substance is brilliant.

The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Nonfiction, recommended.
This story is so unbelievable and well-crafted that I sometimes forgot what I was reading really happened. Lewis provides interesting insight through the experiences of several people, told in a compelling manner that’s rare for nonfiction. It’s striking how incredibly stupid Wall Street was, and probably still is.

Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
Nonfiction, not recommended.
Not as good as The Big Short.