Jingo by Terry Pratchett
Sir Terry Pratchett is one of my all-time favorite writers.
If you haven’t heard of him, Pratchett is most famous for creating a fantasy world (The Discworld) that is very different and yet very similar to our own.
(By the way, don’t let the ‘fantasy’ moniker throw you. While there are witches and wizards on The Disc, fantasy doesn’t show up in all the novels. Jingo, for example, has no spellcasting whatsoever.)
Pratchett is a master satirist. He’s often described as such, but many miss the point.
Yes, his books are funny, but the real value in them lies in their unparalleled ability to teach us about the world we live in.
Jingo is a story of nationalism and conquest, of the scramble for resources, of shadow factions and out-of-control leaders.
It parodies Lawrence of Arabia fairly heavily and, while not required, an understanding of European (especially English) history will really let you get the most out of this book.
And yes, it’s funny, too.
Highly recommended, although I’ve never met a Pratchett book I didn’t like.
The Smartest Guys in the Room by McLean, Bethany, Elkind, Peter
Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway) is fond of saying, “Just show me where I will die so I never go there.”
This is one of those books.
This is the story of the collapse of one of the world’s biggest companies: Enron.
As a subgenre, I love this kind of book. For one thing, Munger’s adage is sound advice. Sometimes the best way to learn is from the mistakes of others. You can get very far in life by just avoiding big mistakes.
And this book is full of big mistakes.
It’s the kind thing that leaves you scratching your head. Like how did this all happen?
I had put this book off for a long time. I mean, I had watched the whole Enron thing in the news, right?
But this book goes way deeper than anything I saw in the news.
But the amazing thing about it is this:
Beneath all the fancy lingo, the mistakes these people made were common, very human mistakes. I make the same mistakes (albeit with much less money on the line) and you make the same mistakes.
This book helped me see all the ways I’m Enron-ing in my life.
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Another show-me-where-I’ll-die book. This is the story of Theranos, a scam of a company that swindled investors out of millions and, more importantly, physically harmed many innocent patients through faulty and fraudulent medical testing.
As I write this, Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos’ Founder) is standing trial for fraud, so this is a great time to read this one.
But be warned, you’ll end up furious that she’s just now standing trial. AND that she’s only standing trial for fraud, and not the actual human harm she committed.
The whole thing is completely unjust.
Bad Blood is an exciting read that didn’t need to ‘doctor up’ the story one bit. It reads like a thriller because that’s just how the whole thing happened.
Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch
Here’s an oldie but goodie. Parts of it feel very outdated…
But the parts that don’t (Which is most of the book) are evergreen and timeless.
This is probably the most practical, most broad-spectrum book on Marketing I have ever read. This book covers everything and it does it with very concrete, step-by-step directions.
(Contrast this with Seth Godin who tends to wax more philosophical)
You will need to take notes with this one. There is just too much info. Treat it like a reference manual.
The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
An autobiographical look at the learning styles of Josh Waitzkin. Josh was a child star in the chess world (Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on him) and later became the 2004 world champion in Taiji Push Hands (a martial art).
Josh interleaves stories of his life and competitions with the lessons he learned along the way.
This is his attempt to codify ways that we can all learn faster.
This is a great choice for any teacher that wants to teach better, any student that wants to learn faster, or anyone who is interested in cultivating new skills rapidly.
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Another book on marketing…sort of. This one takes a look at the psychology of what sticks in our minds and what doesn’t.
It is practical and pragmatic (there are six concrete aspects that you can use as a sort of checklist).
Why did I say this is ‘sort of’ about marketing? Well, it is about marketing better.
But it’s also about telling better stories.
And convincing people to support your ideas.
And helping people remember the most important part of your message.
So as an internet marketer, yes, this was valuable.
But it was also valuable to me as a History teacher. (It’s valuable to my students too as I see several ways to make things less boring).
The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
Another Pratchett. Another ‘funny’ book.
This one tackles our concept of leadership and regime changes, the narratives we build around positions of power.
But it also addresses gender rights, class warfare, outcasts, racism…
Oh, it’s also a sealed-room murder mystery.
And, yes, it is still very funny.
Everything in Its Place by Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks was a neurologist who also wrote these incredibly humane case studies of his patients.
(You might know him from The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat)
Everything in Its Place is a final collection of pieces that Sacks had written before his death. These essays didn’t fit neatly into one coherent theme, and that is the real virtue of this book.
If you’ve read his other work, you know how passionate about his patients he was, but, if you’re like me, you probably didn’t know that he also wrote about all kinds of random stuff.
Oliver Sacks was interested in more than just the brain, he was deeply interested in life.
This Is Marketing by Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a world-renowned marketing guru.
And this book will show you why. It’s the kind of thing you’d highlight to death.
Godin, at least here, is much more philosophical. This is Marketing is more about the mindset that you need to become a good, ethical marketer.
There are fewer nuts-and-bolts than in Duct Tape Marketing, but that’s fine. The philosophy is just as important.
Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut
This is a reread, although I can’t remember when I first read it. I’m thinking high school.
Vonnegut is another of my all-time favorite writers. Like Pratchett, he is often described with the throw-away ‘funny’.
And he is funny. In a bleak dark humor kind of way.
Bagombo Snuff Box is a collection of Vonnegut’s short fiction. These are stories from the golden age of short fiction (back when you could make a living selling short stories to magazines).
I love these because they are wise.
You will read these stories, and even if you don’t remember what happened in them, they become a part of you. They move your subconscious.
It’s fair to say that a good percentage of who I am today is because of Vonnegut’s short stories.
I Recommend:
If you are looking for fun, fiction, and wisdom:
(Jingo and The Fifth Elephant are part of The Watch series. You can read them in any order, but you might want to start at the beginning with Guards! Guards!)
If you are looking for beautiful words from beautiful souls:
If you want to avoid bad business outcomes:
If you want to up your marketing game:
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