Reading List
“The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made” Greg Sestero & Tom Bissell (8/10:
“Game of Thorns: The Inside Story of Hillary Clinton’s Failed Campaign and Donald Trump’s Winning Strategy”–Doug Wead (5.5/10): Not much “inside story” and lots of tabloidish “reporting” about Clinton family scandals only her haters (of whom I am one) will enjoy
“Losing the Signal” (7/10)
“Steve Jobs”–Walter Isaacson (7.5/10): A well-written, well-researched account of one of the most influential people of our lifetime does justice to the subject matter and reminds us that he truly was one of a kind. [Winter 2012]
“Liar’s Poker” Michael Lewis (6.5/10): A funny memoir on the life as a bond trader is a fun read, but not as memorable as “Moneyball” [Spring 2011]
“Street Fighters: The Last 72 Hours of Bear Stearns, the Toughest Firm on Wall Street”–Kate Kelly (3.5/10): An excruciating account of the fall of Bear Stearns that’s so impersonally written that it reads like a timeline, “The Smartest Guys in the Room” this book ain’t. [Spring 2011]
“The Last Lecture”–Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (7/10): More a series of essays than a book, this is an inspirational, must-read collection authored by a man who in his dying moments taught those of us who are left in this world what life is about and how to make the best of it. [Winter 2011]
“Decision Points:–George W. Bush (8.5/10): A book by a man even my politically indifferent friend calls a “delusional lunatic” won’t change anyone’s opinion about him, but this book provided the insight and the closure I needed to the presidency I loved. [Winter 2011]
“Pirate Latitudes”–Michael Crichton (6.5/10): Crichton’s last complete book is a good, but not superb, one; he’s a great story teller, although the story itself isn’t the best he’s ever told. [Winter 2010]
“Moneyball–The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”–Michael Lewis (9/10): The story of how Billy Beane changed the game of baseball is a beautifully written book that personalizes a rather mundane topic: baseball management. [2010]
The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron-Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind (9/10): This gripping account of the Enron scandal gives a briskly-paced detailed blow-by-blow of what occurred at the energy trading company without being bogged down in the details. [2010]
“The Broker”–John Grisham (1/10): I so thoroughly detested this shallow book in which the only thing that happens is the protagonist trying to escape some government agents that I vowed never to buy another book by this author, who, over a decade ago, was my favorite. [Summer 2009]
“Final Cut : Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven’s Gate, the Film That Sank United Artists”–Steven Bach (7/10): A fascinating read when the book is talking about “Heaven’s Gate” (1980). [Summer 2009]