2001: an aruggeri.com odyssey
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I've often thought that one of the best ways to know a person is to know what they've read. So, in the interests of edification, here is the "things I've read" list going back to 1997 or 1998.

Title Author(s) Comments
How to Win Friends & Influence People Dale Carnegie There are a few good points in here, but I would like to suggest some alternate titles. "How to Become a Sleazy Manipulator" is one. "How to Be Patronizing and Treat Other People Like Children" is another. How about "The Practical Guide to Being a World-Class Demagogue?" Your mileage may vary.
The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back James Waldroop and Timothy Butler Interesting book about 12 common personality traits (fatal flaws, as Shakespeare would say) that cause otherwise highly competent people to be less sucessful.
The Future of Success Robert B. Reich Alternately insightful and tepid examination of the larger forces shaping today's society.
Liar's Poker Michael Lewis The classic true story of one man's experience on Wall Street in the 80's. By the way, he went to Princeton.
Discovering Your Career in Business Timothy Butler and James Waldroop A book about personality, MBA's, and jobs, by the directors of the career development program at Harvard Business School. As such it is one of the more relevant career books I have read.
Please Understand Me II David Keirsey Good reference about temperament, character, and intelligence based on the Myers-Briggs personality types. Better as a reference since it is rather long-winded and redundant.
When Elephants Weep Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy Interesting treatise on the emotional lives of animals.
Immortality Ben Bova Well-written exploration of trends in medicine and biology that may extend human lifespans indefinitely.
The Art of Happiness The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler Not my usual kind of book. Recommended by someone I met in the Bahamas. Very bland writing.
On the Road Jack Kerouac Not as good as The Dharma Bums but still a good travel book.
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury It's not just about burning books, but about where society is headed. Excellent read.
Harvard Business Review on Change Various Probably what you'd expect given the title. Some good stuff in here but rather dry.
Beyond Humanity: CyberEvolution and Future Minds Gregory S. Paul and Earl D. Cox Interesting if somewhat wandering treatise on the future convergence of biology and artificial intelligence.
Rapid Development Steve McConnel Very good book on how to build good software quickly.
The Mythical Man-Month Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. A classic in the field of software engineering and project management. Much is no longer relevant, but some is intensely so.
Great Mambo Chicken & the Transhuman Condition Ed Regis A but uneven, but an interesting walk through future directions in today's technology.
The Elegant Universe Brian Greene A very good, fairly deep but no very mathematical treatment of quantum mechanics and the emerging field of superstring theory.
Visions Michio Kaku Not as good as Kaku's other book (see below), but still a fairly thorough and interesting look at logical trends in different technologies and their possible implications.
Data and Databases Joe Celko Good solid introduction to the fundamentals of databases, but one of the leading experts in the field.
The Fabric of Reality David Deutsch Fascinating but sometimes dry look at how disparate fields of science may combine to give us a much better understanding of the universe and how it works.
The Matter Myth Paul Davies and John Gribbin A somewhat standard if well-written review of modern theories in physics.
The Demon-Haunted World Carl Sagan Very good, if somewhat preaching examination of man's embrace of irrationalism in the past and present.
Pale Blue Dot Carl Sagan Well-written exploration of what may lie ahead for the human race as it explores outer space.
Engines of Creation K. Eric Drexler The classic manifesto on nanotechnology and its potential by its leading proponent. Gets a little long-winded towards the end.
Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut Great book. A story about hubris and how things can go wrong unexpectedly.
The Age of Spiritual Machines Ray Kurzweil Great book on the potential of artificial intelligence and the rapid advances in computational technology that will make it a reality.
The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway I think this is the book that won Hemingway the Nobel in literature. It's a good book.
The New Pioneers Thomas Petzinger, Jr. A Wall Street Journal columnist collects his thoughts on an emergent business model based on evolutionary theory. Kind of bland but better than average.
Death March Edward Yourdon Great book about why software development is difficult, why lots of projects fail, and I suppose why software professionals deserve their lofty compensation.
Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand For quite a while this was my favorite book. Speaks to anyone who has ever fought against mediocrity and apathy.
Dynamics of Software Development Jim McCarthy Varied discourse on some of the intricacies of programming, by an old gunslinger in the field.
Reengineering the Corporation Michael Hammer and James Champy Better than average business book about process engineering and efficiency. I eat this stuff up.
Software Project Survival Guide Steve McConnel Rather long-winded but thorough guide to succeeding in software projects.
The Ten-Day MBA Steven Silbiger A lot of good basic information, but maybe not the best writing. Pretty much what I expected.
Managing for Dummies Bob Nelson and Peter Economy It's... a dummies book about managing people. Some good tips but also a lot of the same old stuff.
What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School Mark H. McCormack Interesting business book with a lot of varied material. Some of it useful, some of it seems like rubbish, but there you go.
The End of Science John Horgan Very interesting book postulating that most of the basic knowledge about the universe is already known, which is kind of a pessimistic view when you think about it.
Debugging the Development Process Steve Maguire Great book about software development and project management. Lots of relevant and very true examples.
The E-Myth Manager Michael E. Gerber I don't remember why I read this. Some motivational garbage from a business consultant.
The Portable Nietzsche translated by Walter Kaufmann Either you like the philosphies of Nietzsche or you don't. I do.
In Search of Schroedinger's Cat John Gribbin Very good overview of quantum mechanics.
Theories of Everything John D. Barrow Kind of a bland catch-all book about competing theories of... yes, everything... in physics.
Hyperspace Michio Kaku Optimistic, wonderful, almost breathtaking book about advances in superstring theory and its potential applications by humans. Read it and you will wish you lived a thousand years from now.
Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers S. E. Frost, Jr. It's a book... about... basic... teachings... of the great philosophers. Kind of like Encylcopedia Brittanica.
All content copyright (c) 1993-2001 by Anthony Ruggeri. All Rights Under Copyright Reserved.