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Reviews of Recently Read Books
Reviewed Jun 18, by Jon. Much like the Elephant and the Dragon, Billions of Entrepreneurs is a comparison of India and China and a discussion of the underlying factors which will make them critical components of the world economy. Unlike the Elephant and the Dragon Khanna goes into a great deal of depth of many dimensions of Indian and Chinese culture and society to get at the reasons both are entrepreneurial cultures. He shows both similarities and differences. Well worth reading - although sometimes a bit long.
Reviewed Jun 4, by Jon. Corporate Strategy is a textbook that outlines a theoretical framework and implementation guide for business strategy – particularly of the multi-business corporation. This book is both rigorously academic – in that it ties to academic theory, and very practical – in that it is clear and articulate with an understanding of implementation and execution issues. Corporate Strategy is easy to read and well worth reading for those trying to understand and implement strategy. It does require some knowledge of strategy and economics, however – so it is not a beginning text.
May 30 by Jon. Zakaria is an Indian-born American who writes for Newsweek on international affairs. He describes a changing world that is characterized not by American decline but "the rise of the rest". He describes how emerging countries - particularly China and India - are modernizing and growing - thus creating a challenge for America. He postulates a multi-polar world that is unlike the superpower dominated world post 1980s. This is a very well-written book about international affairs and, given my experience with emerging markets, is pretty accurate and insightful. Well worth reading.
May 26 by Jon. Nudge is about designing situations so that people will make the choices that are best for them. Thaler, a friend of our friend Nick, is an economist at the University of Chicago. He talks about the idea of "libertarian paternalism" in which choices are not restricted - but rather the "defaults" for choices are those that lead to good decisions. He calls this "choice architecture" and compares designing of programs like healthcare and education to designing a building. The beginning of the book lays out the case for choice architecture and libertarian paternalism and the second half of the book covers detailed prescriptions for a variety of situations facing the world today.
April 17 by Jon. Joseph Stiglitz is an expert on globalization. He is clearly a proponent of a globally integrated world, but he sees unfettered free markets as an impediment to achieving the promise of globalization. Thus, he is both a critic and a fan of globalization. Making Globalization Work tries to address the challenges brought about by unfettered free markets with the promise of globalization. He has a lot of prescriptions to create more fairness, to reduce corruption and corporate welfare in the developed economies, to address labor and environmental concerns, and to help developing economies reap the benefits. I'm not sure I agree with everything he suggests but he provides a good perspective on the globalization debate.
April 13 by Jon. Fighting Globesity ties together fitness and global sustainability. It is a nice idea but the book is pretty lightweight. It has the breathless style of a lot of fitness books - interesting but somewhat unconvincing. The tie to sustainability is weak. The book is lightweight but a good effort.
March 23 by Jon. This is Berenson's second novel and is better than the first - it has a little more substance. It does feature John Wells and Jennifer Exley, the main characters from The Faithful Spy. Berenson develops their characters a bit more. The plot was a little more interesting - very relevant with current events in China, Iran, and North Korea. The Ghost War is almost like a Tom Clancy novel - without the right-wing political views. A good, entertaining book. I look forward to Berenson's next book.
March 3 by Jon. About a CIA agent who is embedded in Al Qaeda. This is candy reading but is interesting because it is one of the first spy novels about modern-day espionage involving Al Qaeda. John Wells is an American agent embedded in Al Qaeda and has to figure out how to deal with it when he is set to the U.S. to conduct a terror attack. A little lightweight but an enjoyable read.
Reviewed February 23 by Jon. This is LeCarre’s classic spy novel which I have not read until now. It is a psychological thriller with a lot of twists and turns in the plot. What seems obvious becomes very slippery and the result is not at all what the reader is led to expect. As with other LeCarre novels, this is a study in both deception and moral ambiguity. This is a classic cold war spy novel that is a must read.
Reviewed February 10 by Jon. As usual, Drucker’s writing is clear, lucid, to the point and insightful. Management Challenges for the 21s Century looks forward at the major changes that are occurring at the beginning of the 21st century. Drucker addresses major shifts in the issues that drive society and articulates the management challenges in responding to them. Much of the writing is familiar ground – but he does provide a fresh perspective. Drucker articulates the role of the knowledge worker and contrasts the elements that make a knowledge worker with those that made a manual worker successful – something Drucker maintains characterized the 20th century. Reading Drucker is always refreshing. Much of what he says seems like common sense – and it is – but common sense informed by an unusually insightful thinker who can take a complex pattern and make it simple and digestible. Highly recommended.
Reviewed January 25 by Jon. Imperial Grunts predates a book I previously read by Kaplan - Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts. Imperial grunts follows a similar format – covering US troops from and embedded reporter’s perspective and getting to know them as individuals and collectively. Kaplan’s thesis is that the U.S. is an imperial power but must project force in small, behind the scenes ways. He very much supports the thread I have been reading on counterinsurgency and the need to win hearts and minds. He is strongly critical of the conventional US military – particularly the bureaucratic Army. Imperial Grunts chronicles the people in small units in the Philippines, Mongolia, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places. Kaplan also discusses the nature of military personnel – largely southern and working class – as opposed to the cultural elites. He characterizes the 21st century military role as much like the “injun” wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. I really liked this book although I am not sure how I feel about its messages. Kaplan’s point of view is provocative – which, I supposed, is what characterizes a good book.
Reviewed January 25 by Jon. Ellis is a historian who chronicles the founding fathers of the United States. American Creation is interesting – although a bit tedious. Ellis covers the genesis of the Republican and Democratic parties and the expansion of the the U.S. though the Louisiana purchase. He makes people like Jeffereson, Washington, and Adams into real people with real interests. He lists the two big failures of the founding fathers as allowing slavery to persist and failing to protect native American populations. American Creation is a worthwhile view into the people and ideas which shaped the U.S.
Reviewed January 25 by Jon. Rogers is the investor who wrote Investment Biker and Adventure Capitalist. As the title implies, he is hugely bullish on China. He believes China is a huge growth and investment opportunity. The book is written in chapters that cover various sectors of the Chinese economy. Rogers provides an overview of the sector followed by companies that might be worthy of investment. The discussions of each economic sector are quite interesting and optimistic in an almost breathless kind of way. The company discussions are less useful – although provide a good overview if one is interested in investing in individual stocks. A Bull in China is worth reading for the overview and optimism it provides on the Chinese economy.
Reviewed January 25 by Jon. Where is Joe Merchant is about a seaplane pilot and his girlfriend – Tevor – who is searching the Caribbean for her long-lost rock star brother, Joe Merchant. They encounter a cast of characters and a number of related adventures as they search for Joe Merchant. This is easy, entertaining reading. Kind of feel-good without any kind of deep meaning. Good vacation reading
Reviewed January 25th by Jon. This is a joint Army/Marine operations manual for conducting counterinsurgency operations. It was produced by General Petreus and collects the lessons learned from Vietnam, Malaysis, Iraq, and other places on what works and what does not on successfully conducting operations against an enemy who uses asymmetrical force. Having just read Fiasco, this is a very interesting follow-on that shows how to implement the approaches Petreus was successful with in Northern Iraq.
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