Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss

Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ferriss's book is a smorgasbord of ideas, strategies, philosophies and resources on how to live one's life. They were culled from a variety of business, entertainment, athletic and cultural leaders including Scott Adams, Kevin Costner, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Sam Harris, Tony Robbins, Chris Sacca, and Peter Thiel. This is not the type of book that you read from cover to cover but one that you sift and skim through for ideas and thoughts that interest you. The book is over 670 pages and I found about three quarters of it to be interesting even for an older reader like myself who does not really rely on career and business advice like he used to.

I judge the value of a book like this by how much I highlighted it and took notes. I can tell you that I did a lot of both. I highly recommend this book for individuals who are just starting their careers or are considering starting their own business.

Very good information and ideas resource to start 2017.


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Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power by Michael Kranish

Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power by Michael Kranish
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read many biographies of our past Presidents. Trump's biography does not fit into it any of them – – maybe Warren Harding's. This book provided additional details and insights into Trump than the earlier biography I've read from David Cay Johnston (The Making of Donald K. Trump). Unfortunately this reader wondered how someone like Trump could be elected president. Read the chapters on the Atlantic City casinos, his bankruptcies and the USFL, and you're at a loss to explain why just these failures were not disqualifiers to be President.

Well written book. I just wish that the last chapter showed that he failed to be President.


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The Spy by Paulo Coelho

The Spy by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 I read this novel in one day. The book is about Mata Hari a woman who was executed for being accused as a spy during World War I. And that is pretty much what I knew about Mata Hari till I read this book. As it turns out, she was not really a spy but a feminist trying to live on her terms. She was a dancer/stripper and a "companion" to many men of influence and power. She aroused interest and contempt in various elements of French society. She struggled in her early life and came to an epiphany from a tragic event that she witnessed. She quickly left an unhappy marriage to a physically and mentally abusive husband and a very boring life. It turned out that she wound up using her body through dance and prostitution to move on with her life.

She marveled right before her death, "How was it that a woman who for so many years got everything she wanted can be condemned to death for so little? That is the essence of this book…

This reader sympathized with Mata Hari's struggles to be independent and was dismayed at the injustice forced on her at the end of her life.


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Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington and The Education of a President by Ron Suskind

Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President by Ron Suskind
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is another view of the financial crisis and how the newly elected Obama administration handled it. Based on Suskind's findings, they did not handle it very well. Too many egos, too much political infighting and a lack of leadership from the President stymied progress on financial and economic fronts. This book basically covered events from 2008 – 2010 so given the economic recovery Obama and his administration must've gotten their act together. Pres. Obama is shown as a very smart man who grasped quickly the implications and effects of the economic turn down. Unfortunately the team and cabinet he assembled were not able to work together and develop a comprehensive economic plan to address the nation's woes, particularly unemployment.

This book is 482 pages but if you are a political junkie like me, you'll find it an interesting read.


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Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs by James Dixon

Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs by James Dixon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are a Pro wrestling fan, you may enjoy this book about the WWE in the late 90s. This was the start of the "Attitude Era." During this period, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and other wrestlers began to make their mark. This was also the period where the WWE began to pull away from its WCW competitor. The most interesting part of the book has to do with the "Montréal Screw job." This was the wrestling bout where Shawn Michaels won the WWE Championship from Bret Hart. The result came from a "shoot" where the action and the chosen winner were off script. The book contained a lot of interesting stories and insights into the very characters, people and personalities in the wrestling business.


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Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons

Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I identified personally with the author and his story. Dan Lyons was a 53-year-old laid off Newsweek writer who made a significant career change by working for a tech startup. He experiences a vastly different business culture and management style from what he experienced at Newsweek. Lyons found out quickly that his ideas, expertise and knowledge were not as valued as he expected them to be. Lyons was working for a boss about half his age and he was surrounded by other twenty somethings whose worth ethics were significantly different than his own. He was also met with skepticism and condescension due to his age.

Lyons struggles to fit in both with his coworkers, his boss and upper management. He finds it to be a losing battle. Allies become enemies and he can no longer trust those around him. He sympathizes with the plights of the salespeople who face enormous odds in meeting quotas and quickly understands that upper management are more concerned about making money than developing a useful and user friendly product.

This is a cautionary tale for workers over age 40 entering new jobs. The older you are, the less serious you will be taken. You may think that your experience can be useful but your employer and management may find it antiquated.

There is some intrigue at the end of the story as certain corporate forces are concerned about the publishing of the book and the FBI is called in...


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Bright, Precious Days by Jay McInerney

Bright, Precious Days by Jay McInerney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have not read the two books that precede this one (Brightness Falls and The Good Life) tracking the lives and marriage of Corrine and Russell Galloway. The story covers their life post 9/11 living and working in New York City. Changes are brewing. The economy is headed for a huge fall and it carries huge consequences for their careers and marriage. There is an assortment of interesting characters, friends, lovers, business and literary associates that move the story along. The book was about 400 pages and I read it avidly cover to cover. The focus of the novel is on the state of the Galloway marriage which at times was as unstable as the Wall Street Market in 2007-2009. Would love to see a screen version of this book...


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