Well, my uninterrupted run of reading great books has stopped. The past few months have seen some great and some not so great books. Reviews below.
America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't by Stephen Colbert
The editor's at Amazon called this one of the best 100 books of the year. That's a bad year. The book is somewhat funny at times, but mostly it is just boring. I like sarcasm, but this book is too much sarcasm even for me. Grade: C
John McAfee's Last Stand (Kindle Short) by Joshua Davis
An interesting story about an unstable individual that made a ton of money and become more unstable, probably with the help of bath salts. Grade: B-
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
This is a book about a poem written over 2000 years ago that, the author claims, helped bring about the Enlightenment. I found the book about 10% interesting and 90% widely speculative and unpersuasive. How on earth did this book win the Pulitzer Prize?? Grade: D+
The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz
I love reading anything Steven Strogatz writes. He's both a brilliant writer and a great mathematician. This wasn't my favorite book of his, mostly because it is less targeted at advanced mathematics users. Still interesting, however. Grade: B
The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin
Easily the best book I've read in a few months. An incredibly insightful and interesting look at the Supreme Court over the past decade with a particular focus on the Obama Administration. The book makes a compelling case that the recent Supreme Court is fairly radical, and I hope that it moves to the center over the next few years. This book is a must read, but, if you haven't read, "The Nine" by the same author, you might want to read that book first. Grade: A-
Cold Blooded (Kindle Short) by Jere Longman
A nice summary of the case against Lance Armstrong. I've always suspected that Armstrong (and most other professional cyclists) used EPO to help with the first few Tours that he won. After reading this, the evidence is beyond a reasonable doubt, in my mind, that he used a variety of PEDs for virtually every tour he rode. Sad. Grade: B
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Book Reviews
My luck with selecting good books has continued. Here's some quick reviews of some great books:
Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle This books is the story of Greg Boyle's work with gangs in LA, including the founding of Homeboy Industries. The book is largely a collection of anecdotes from his 20+ years of work. The stories are moving and inspiring. Grade: B+
The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver I've been reading Nate's work for over 10 years since he got his start with Baseball Prospectus. I now enjoy reading his 538 blog. Here's what you need to know: it doesn't matter what room Nate is in, he's the smartest guy in the room. This book is extremely interesting and makes a strong case for Bayesian statistics. I found the chapters on global warming, stock market analysis and weather forcasting to be especially interesting. Grade: A-
7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker Maybe the best book I've read in the last few years. Here's the main reason: I know that I'm too focused on stuff and personal comfort. But, most of the books that I read that encourage me to simplify my life are written by people that I cannot relate to. Shane Claiborn is an amazing advocate for homeless people and an amazing individual, but I largely cannot relate to him. Jen Hatmaker, on the other hand, is a lot like me and she demonstrate how small pushes in the right direction can make such a huge difference. Grade: A
Good to Great by Jim Collins I very interesting book on the factors that separate companies that transition to greatness compared to companies that remain merely good. My take is that everyone could benefit from some of the ideas in this book -- not just business leaders. Grade: B+
Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle This books is the story of Greg Boyle's work with gangs in LA, including the founding of Homeboy Industries. The book is largely a collection of anecdotes from his 20+ years of work. The stories are moving and inspiring. Grade: B+
The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver I've been reading Nate's work for over 10 years since he got his start with Baseball Prospectus. I now enjoy reading his 538 blog. Here's what you need to know: it doesn't matter what room Nate is in, he's the smartest guy in the room. This book is extremely interesting and makes a strong case for Bayesian statistics. I found the chapters on global warming, stock market analysis and weather forcasting to be especially interesting. Grade: A-
7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker Maybe the best book I've read in the last few years. Here's the main reason: I know that I'm too focused on stuff and personal comfort. But, most of the books that I read that encourage me to simplify my life are written by people that I cannot relate to. Shane Claiborn is an amazing advocate for homeless people and an amazing individual, but I largely cannot relate to him. Jen Hatmaker, on the other hand, is a lot like me and she demonstrate how small pushes in the right direction can make such a huge difference. Grade: A
Good to Great by Jim Collins I very interesting book on the factors that separate companies that transition to greatness compared to companies that remain merely good. My take is that everyone could benefit from some of the ideas in this book -- not just business leaders. Grade: B+
Friday, September 7, 2012
Book Reviews
I've read some great books these past couple months! Here's some quick summaries and grades.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain As an introvert myself, I loved this book. It was interesting and insightful, and helped equip me with practical knowledge and advice. Grade: A-
Instanbul by Orhan Pamuk This is a largely autobiographical book about the author's experiences growing up in Instanbul. Some of the early chapters were a little challenging for me because I am unfamiliar with this most famous of cities, but that last 3 chapters were 3 of the best I've read in a year or more. Grade: B-
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer I read this book before learning about the Dillon quotes that the author fabricated. However, I absolutely loved the book even if I discard those quotes. I hope the rest is reliable because I am hoping to use what I learned in this book in everyday life. Very, very good. Grade: A-
Popular Crime by Bill James On the plus side, this book was mostly very interesting and very well written. On the downside, it was really, really long. Still worth reading if only for the Kennedy and Jonbenet chapters. Grade: B
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Good but not great. What's the fuss? Grade: C+
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the Elements by Sam Kean Interesting at times and a little dry at other times. I learned some chemistry, which is remarkable considering that I've taken at least 3+ years of college level chemistry. Grade: B-
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger An entertaining book about high school football and obsession in Texas. In hind sight, this book just makes me sad. Grade: C+
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain As an introvert myself, I loved this book. It was interesting and insightful, and helped equip me with practical knowledge and advice. Grade: A-
Instanbul by Orhan Pamuk This is a largely autobiographical book about the author's experiences growing up in Instanbul. Some of the early chapters were a little challenging for me because I am unfamiliar with this most famous of cities, but that last 3 chapters were 3 of the best I've read in a year or more. Grade: B-
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer I read this book before learning about the Dillon quotes that the author fabricated. However, I absolutely loved the book even if I discard those quotes. I hope the rest is reliable because I am hoping to use what I learned in this book in everyday life. Very, very good. Grade: A-
Popular Crime by Bill James On the plus side, this book was mostly very interesting and very well written. On the downside, it was really, really long. Still worth reading if only for the Kennedy and Jonbenet chapters. Grade: B
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Good but not great. What's the fuss? Grade: C+
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the Elements by Sam Kean Interesting at times and a little dry at other times. I learned some chemistry, which is remarkable considering that I've taken at least 3+ years of college level chemistry. Grade: B-
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger An entertaining book about high school football and obsession in Texas. In hind sight, this book just makes me sad. Grade: C+
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Book Reviews
The Litigators by John Grisham
This book was enjoyable but predictable. Grisham has written some pretty original books (by his standards) over the past few years, but this book was a bit of a regression to the mean. I don't know if this book is accurate or not, but it doesn't make life at a big law firm seem very appealing. Grade: C
Maphead by Ken Jennings While I am only a mild "maphead", I really enjoyed this book. Well, I enjoyed it as much as possible considering that it was a book about maps and people that are passionate about maps. Grade: B
13 Things That Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks A wonderful book about 13 unsolved mysteries in science. The book focuses mainly on problems in cosmology and human biology, but I loved the book even though I don't work in those areas. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in science. Grade: A-
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathon Haidt Another very interesting book about psychology, morality, and human nature. It highlighted a number of issues that I've observed but failed to full appreciate when it comes to division in the areas of politics and religion. I recommend this book because it will help you to appreciate where other people that you may not agree with are coming from. I'd give it a higher grade, but I feel like the author could have cut at least 30% of the words without cutting information. Grade: B
Maphead by Ken Jennings While I am only a mild "maphead", I really enjoyed this book. Well, I enjoyed it as much as possible considering that it was a book about maps and people that are passionate about maps. Grade: B
13 Things That Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks A wonderful book about 13 unsolved mysteries in science. The book focuses mainly on problems in cosmology and human biology, but I loved the book even though I don't work in those areas. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in science. Grade: A-
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathon Haidt Another very interesting book about psychology, morality, and human nature. It highlighted a number of issues that I've observed but failed to full appreciate when it comes to division in the areas of politics and religion. I recommend this book because it will help you to appreciate where other people that you may not agree with are coming from. I'd give it a higher grade, but I feel like the author could have cut at least 30% of the words without cutting information. Grade: B
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Five Word Book Reviews
The End of Money by David Wolman: Interesting, provactive, give up cash! Grade: B+
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer: Heart wrenching, extremely well written. Grade: A-
Big Lake by Nick Russell: entertaining, surprising, I miss Arizona. Grade: C+
Proofiness by Charles Seife: educational, usually insightful, appealingly short. Grade: B
The List by Konrath and Kilborn Enjoyable but lacking realism, forgettable. Grade: C+
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: Extremely interesting, similar to Blink. Grade: A-
The Information by James Gleick Hard subject, good writing. Long. Grade: B+
Radioactivity: A History by a Mysterious Science by Marjorie Malley Surprising, early focus, nuclear decay. Grade: B-
Those Guys Have All the Fun by Shales and Miller Comprehensive, interesting style, insufficient Simmons! Grade: B
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer: Heart wrenching, extremely well written. Grade: A-
Big Lake by Nick Russell: entertaining, surprising, I miss Arizona. Grade: C+
Proofiness by Charles Seife: educational, usually insightful, appealingly short. Grade: B
The List by Konrath and Kilborn Enjoyable but lacking realism, forgettable. Grade: C+
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: Extremely interesting, similar to Blink. Grade: A-
The Information by James Gleick Hard subject, good writing. Long. Grade: B+
Radioactivity: A History by a Mysterious Science by Marjorie Malley Surprising, early focus, nuclear decay. Grade: B-
Those Guys Have All the Fun by Shales and Miller Comprehensive, interesting style, insufficient Simmons! Grade: B
Monday, February 13, 2012
Homework #5 Solutions
4.25) H2: 70.8 kmol/hr in vapor, 1.7 kmol/h in liquid
4.33) For the final flash calculation, psi = 0.49
4.48a) Raffinate: 12.75kg with 75% chloroform, 22% acetic acid
4.53) Overflow: 810 kg/h of Na2CO3 and 2400 kg/h of H2O
Exam #1 Review Problem #2:
(a) K's = 2.4, 1.1, 0.54
(b) supervisor is wrong (helpful to try psi = 0.7 instead of psi = 0.3)
(c) pressure should be increased
4.33) For the final flash calculation, psi = 0.49
4.48a) Raffinate: 12.75kg with 75% chloroform, 22% acetic acid
4.53) Overflow: 810 kg/h of Na2CO3 and 2400 kg/h of H2O
Exam #1 Review Problem #2:
(a) K's = 2.4, 1.1, 0.54
(b) supervisor is wrong (helpful to try psi = 0.7 instead of psi = 0.3)
(c) pressure should be increased
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