Calin Plesa

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

A brilliant book dealing with several cognitive biases and our understanding of risk. Many interesting ideas are explored within and they raise even more questions. I think I’ll do a dedicated post on this later.

Baudolino By Umberto Eco

This book was a slight deviation from what I was expecting after Name of the Rose and Foucault’s Pendulum, but still fascinating in its own way. The plot is woven into various historical events in the Middle Ages. The novel has an interesting point to make about the accuracy of historical texts and the authenticity of artifacts and relics. That is, people who “recorded” history may have not written down what really happened but altered it to manipulate the opinions of future historians.

Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population By Matthew Connelly

The intricate history of the population control movement. This is a well written, comprehensive book on the subject. Although the author has a bias, and declares so himself, I felt he did a great job in presenting the facts and events objectively. The history of this movement reads like a soap opera at times, with interest groups, NGOs, the church, and governments all vying for control and influence. While I don’t necessarily agree with some of the author’s conclusions, I do think it is very important to note, in the authors own words: The only factor that has consistently and convincingly been found to correlate with lower fertility is increasing women’s education.

The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street’s Game of Money, Media and Manipulation By Howard Kurtz

An interesting, though dated, book which outlines why you should not trust any analyst you see on TV or any of the personalities appearing on financial channels such as CNBC. While historically interesting I would not characterize this as essential reading, although its central arguments remain true today.

The Last River: The Tragic Race for Shangri-la By Todd Balf

Unfortunately I did not get to see Solo at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam but I’m sure it would have been a good companion to this book, which documents the tragic 1998 kayaking expedition to the Yarlung Tsangpo gorge. One of the most remote places on Earth. It provides an interesting glimpse into the psyche of adventurers and practitioners of extreme sports.

The Arraignment By Steve Martini

A legal thriller / mystery novel. While entertaining, I wouldn’t recommend it.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This book has come with very high recommendations from several people I’ve met while travelling. Earlier this year I heard that a big-budget movie was being developed based on the book and knowing Hollywood’s terrible track record for movie adaptations, I definitely wanted to read the book before any movie came out. While short at under 180 pages, the book certainly lived up to its expectations. The plot centers around the journey of a boy as he journeys in search of a treasure in Egypt. Along the way he meets many interesting characters and learns some important lessons about life. An excellent read, highly recommended.

The Future of an Illusion By Sigmund Freud (1927) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_of_an_Illusion)

James Strachey 1961 Translation

An excellent essay by Freud on the nature of religion and why it is needed (for now) to ensure the survival of civilization. Although this was written in German originally, even in English the ideas presented are integrated into a beautiful smooth structural flow. Freud is able to predict many of the criticisms the reader may develop and address them. Perhaps Freud’s biggest strength is his ability to logically take on subjects which to this day are somewhat taboo in society (eg. People’s fear of death).

Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand By Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

An interesting book comparing life and society in New Zealand with the rest of the world.

A Shortcut Through Time: The Path to the Quantum Computer By George Johnson

A generalized introduction to quantum computers, the problems where they would succeed over classical computers, and some of the algorithms developed for these problems.

Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms By Wil Mccarthy

Perhaps a bit old now, this book gives an overview of the research being done towards the goal of creating a type of programmable matter which would allow us to fully control a variety of properties normally in the hands of nature.

I’ve compiled some short reviews of the books I’ve read recently.

Adventure Capitalist by Jim Rogers (http://www.jimrogers.com)

Good book chronicling one of the world’s longest road-trips by famed investor Jim Rogers at the turn of the millennium. While overall a great read, some countries are only briefly mentioned and he could have added more discussion on the various predictions and conclusions he makes as a result of the trip including:

• The new commodity bull market has started.
• The twenty-first century will belong to China.
• There is a dramatic shortage of women developing in Asia.
• Pakistan is on the verge of disintegrating.
• India, like many other large nations, will break into several countries.
• The Euro is doomed to fail.
• There are fortunes to be made in Angola.
• Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are a scam.
• Bolivia is a comer after decades of instability, thanks to gigantic amounts of natural gas.

Tai-Pan by James Clavell

A true classic which is hard to put down once started. A fascinating look at the opium trade, founding of Hong Kong, and international relations with China in the 1800s all wrapped around an excellent plot. It also got me looking at the history of Malaria (http://www.malariasite.com/MALARIA/History.htm).

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com)

I first heard about this when Prof. Steven Levitt went on the Daily Show to discuss some of his interesting findings. Simply put, when given access to rare types of datasets an economist can come up with many interesting insights into the world.

White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow by Giles Milton

In early April there was an article titled “Freedom of the Cyber Seas” over at CSO Online (http://www.csoonline.com/article/print/329164) which compared piracy on the high seas in the late 18th century with the current security problems on the internet. This book provides further insight into how the European powers attempted to deal with the Barbary states and centers around the story of Thomas Pellow who was captured on the high seas and served Sultan Moulay Ismail for over 20 years.

Ambassador without Credentials by Sergei Snegov

Written in 1977 by Soviet SF author Sergei Snegov, this is a collection of 12 short stories exploring various ideas being researched by two brilliant brothers as they attempt to solve various mysteries. One of the stories lays out the same fundamental ideas explored in Michael Crichton’s Sphere over 10 years later.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

The inspiration for the film Apocalypse Now, follows a journey up a river in the Congo to an ivory trading station. Complex, dark, psychological, it succeeds in putting the reader into the same state of mind Conrad must have experienced in his own journey up the Congo River in 1890.

Coalescent by Stephen Baxter

Average SF book exploring the possibility of humans using a hive type social structure as seen in beehives or ant colonies.

Tales from the White Heart by Sir Arthur C. Clark

A great collection of short stories centered around discussions at a small London bar in the 1950s.

Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimension by Michio Kaku (http://www.mkaku.org)

An excllent look at the historical development and implications of theories based on a multidimensional universe.

The Fourth Protocol by Frederick Forsyth

Good thriller centered around a plot by the Soviets to destabilize the UK government.

Hunting Al Qaeda by Anonymous

An account of the time spent in Afghanistan by a special forces unit of the US National Guard which tends to focus on the bureaucratic nightmare they encountered.

Chasing Shakespeares by Sarah Smith

A fictional book about two scholars investigating the Shakespeare authorship question in London. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_authorship_question)

The Trudeau Vector by Juris Jurjevics

A good thriller about an epidemiologist sent to determine the vector for a pathogen which is killing researchers at a remote Arctic station.

The Camel Club by David Baldacci

A decent thriller about a high-level conspiracy in Washington.

The Broker by John Grisham

Another decent thriller about a Washington lawyer being chased by various intelligence services.