Category: Book Review
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Books I’ve Been Reading
Some of the best books I’ve read were recommended by friends. I try to return the favor. A while back, someone suggested I share what I’m reading here on my blog
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How To Be A Stoic
The book How To Be A Stoic” is part of the Great Idea series from Penguin Books. This volume includes the work of Epictetus (Enchiridion), Seneca (On The Shortness of Life), and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
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Book Notes: “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Malcolm Gladwell combines unique stories to make a point. In his book, “Blink” he looks at rapid cognition—the ability of our subconscious minds to make quick and often accurate decisions. He believes both the power and the pitfalls of snap judgments can be both beneficial and misleading.
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Book Summary – Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State
The book, “Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State” by Byron Tau, explores the covert and intricate relationship between major tech companies and the U.S. government in establishing a pervasive surveillance network.
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Book Summary: The Age of Grievance
In the book “The Age of Grievance,” New York Times columnist Frank Bruni explores how grievance has become a defining feature of American politics and society. He argues that grievance, fueled by a sense of victimhood and injustice, has become a destructive force that dominates public discourse.
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Book Notes: “Right Thing, Right Now”
Ryan Holiday’s “Right Thing, Right Now: Good Values. Good Character. Good Deeds” is the third book in his Stoic Virtues series, focusing on the practical application of ancient Stoic wisdom in modern life.
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What I Read In May
In May, I read a historical account of a former president, tips on improving our communication skills, poisons around us, and all about crytocurrency
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Developing A Reading Habit
We become better thinkers when we are regular readers. But how do you find time to develop a regular reading habit in your busy schedule? Here are some ways to do it.
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Book Summary: Super Communicators
“Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection” by Charles Duhigg explores the art and science behind effective communication. The book argues that the foundation of successful communication lies in recognizing and aligning with the specific type of conversation one is engaged in.
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Wisdom From A Successful Entrepreneur
Naval Ravikant is a successful entrepreneur, investor, and philosopher. His wisdom is shared in the book, “, “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant,” compiled by Eric Jorgenson. Let’s look at what he has to say.
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5 Books On Leadership
It is a well-known fact that ‘leaders are readers.” Periodically, I like to share some books you might consider reading if you are interested in improving your leadership skills.
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Book Notes: “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story
In “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story,” technology reporter Kara Swisher shares her insights on Silicon Valley’s luminaries, tracing their evolution from ambitious dreamers to powerful moguls.
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Book Notes: One Thing
It’s easy to get distracted or forget what you are working on. Distractions are all around us. But the authors of a book have a simple suggestion.
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Book Notes: “Slow Productivity”
In the book, “Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout”, author Cal Newport shares three ways to slow down and be more productive.
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Dave’s Leadership Library – part 1
It was Harry S. Truman who said, “Not All Readers Are Leaders, But All Leaders Are Readers”. Today, I want to share three books you might want to consider reading.
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Book Summary: The President’s Book of Secrets
“The President’s Book of Secrets: The Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to American Presidents” by David Priess is a fascinating behind-the-scenes book that chronicles the evolution of intelligence briefings for U.S. Presidents.
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Book Summary: “Oath and Honor” by Liz Cheney
Congresswoman Liz Cheney has had a front-row seat to the controversy over Donald Trump and all of the turmoil in Congress. She details that in her book, “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and A Warning.” Here’s a summary of the book.
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Book Summary – The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two
“The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two” by Steve Drummond explores the Truman Committee’s important role during World War II. Drummond delves into the intricate dynamics of wartime America, detailing how Senator Harry Truman led a groundbreaking committee tasked with investigating corruption and inefficiencies in the defense industry.
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What’s Really Behind Book-Banning Efforts?
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a growing trend of book challenges in the United States. Let’s look at what’s behind this effort.
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Our Reading Habits
We’ve read that book sales have declined, but many Americans are regular readers. How do you compare with the averages?
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Book Summary: The Chaos Machine
Social media has become commonplace and has had a significant influence on our society. The book “The Chaos Machine” explores the impact.
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Learn to Give And Take
In his book, “Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success” author Adam Grant focuses on the three ways we interact with people by their personality types.”
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Communication Secrets from Jeff Bezos
Not only is Jeff Bezos rich, but he is seen as a great communicator to his stockholders and workers across his many companies. Here are some things we can learn from him.
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Launching Your Own Online Business
Jeff Walker’s book, “Launch” is ideal for someone who is interested in developing an online business and learn about marketing in the digital age.
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The Power of Noticing: What The Best Leaders See
The premise of the book, “The Power of Noticing: What The Best Leaders See” is that we need to rethink the decision-making process to be open to more data points.
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Book Summary: Mind Your Mindset – The Science That Shows Success Starts With Your Thinking
We go through life without much thought to how our minds work or process our thoughts into ideas. Because so much goes on in our subconscious, it is easy not to question our thoughts the way we might challenge the thoughts of others.
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Leadership Library: Focus
How can we keep our focus on what is really important?. That’s what Daniel Goleman, a New York Times science writer, writes about in his book, “Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence “ How can we keep our focus on what is really important?. That’s what Daniel Goleman, a New York Times science writer, writes…
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Leadership Library – “Ultralearning”
“Ultralearning” is a book about developing a strategy to learn something new that is “self-directed and intense.” Here’s a summary of the book.
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Is A World Without Email Really Possible?
In his book, “A World Without Email”, Cal Newport argues that email reduces our productivity. We take a look at his theory and how we can manage all of the other inputs coming at us every day.
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Leadership Library: Lead Yourself First
The focus for becoming a great leader is usually on how you relate to the people around you. But the book, “Lead Yourself First” takes a more introspective approach.
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Leadership Library: The Lakota Way
A book on Native American history has powerful advice on leadership that we can all learn from.
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Leadership Library: “The Effective Executive” by Peter Drucker
According to management guru Peter Drucker, there are five habits that effective executives need to develop. His book, “The Effective Executive” outlines each of them.
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Leadership Library: The Leadership Challenge
The book, “The Leadership Challenge: How To Make Extraordinary Things Happen In Organizations,” is a best-selling book that has been providing advice to managers for over 25 years. Yet, not everyone has learned its lessons.
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Leadership Library: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Author John Maxwell has researched and found The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Here they are.
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Dave’s 2022 Book List
I read 39 books in 2022. That’s a bit short of my goal, but I read a pretty wide range of non-fiction books. I’m posting my five favorites along with my entire list as I get a lot of ideas about books I want to read from the recommendations of others.
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Dave’s Leadership Library
Because we can always learn from the successful journeys of others, here are more books that you might find helpful in your desire to be more productive.
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Book Summary: Building A Second Brain
We all come across interesting facts while we are doing our work or reading a good book. We are certain that this information will be valuable to future projects or our general knowledge. But how do we store these facts? And, how will we remember them when we need them? In his book “Building A…
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Dave’s Leadership Library
Because we can always learn from the successful journeys of others, here are three more books that you might find helpful in your desire to be more productive.
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The Effective Executive: Timeless Advice
Today’s executives are not the first to have ever dealt with a too-long to-do list and stresses on our time. Management guru Peter Drucker wrote about this decades ago, and his advice is still applicable today.
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How To Build Better Habits
The idea of building better and more productive habits may sound ominous, but in his book “Atomic Habits”, author James Clear takes us through the process that starts with small wins.
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Dave’s Leadership Library
It was Harry S. Truman who said, “Not All Readers Are Leaders, But All Leaders Are Readers.” It makes sense. Or, as Mark Twain put it, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” Here are three books I’d urge you to consider adding to your list of…
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Leadership Lessons from a US General
I wanted to read a book that told me more about the recent actions of our military. I also wanted to learn more about how a US General functions as Defense Secretary and navigates the highly charged political environment. That’s why I started to read “Call Sign Chaos” from US General Jim Mattis and loved…
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Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management For Mortals
Here’s a different way of looking at personal productivity. We live for about 4,000 weeks. How do we make the best of them?
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The Laws of Human Nature
Robert Greene’s “The Laws of Human Nature” may be the best book I have read in a long time and if I had my way it would be a textbook in every high school in America.
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Dave’s Leadership Library
It was Harry S. Truman who said, “Not All Readers Are Leaders, But All Leaders Are Readers”. It makes sense. Or as Mark Twain put it, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” Here are three books I’d urge you to consider adding to your list of…
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