All in Autobiography
Michael Harris' ATOMIC TIMES
A lot of this book makes for unpleasant reading but it is an important record of the times, told by the author from an older and wiser perspective. He is lucky to have survived.
Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace’s “CREATIVITY INC: OVERCOMING THE UNSEEN FORCES THAT STAND IN THE WAY OF TRUE INSPIRATION”
This “management of creativity” is a fascinating topic since it touches on so many things. In Catmull’s own case the journey started with personal interests in animation, Disney, and engineering.
Richard P. Feynman's “SURELY YOU MUST BE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN!”
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
Guy Delisle's SHENZHEN
Have you ever worked by yourself for an extended period of time in a foreign country? If so, you’ll recognize a lot of what author Delisle writes about in Shenzhen.
Herman Wouk's THE LANGUAGE GOD TALKS
At first I thought this book was both meandering and annoying. It wasn’t till page 69 (out of only 183) that I finally figured out what it’s about.
Guy Delisle's PYONGYANG
This graphic novel depicts a two-month visit to North Korea by animator Delisle to supervise children’s TV animation work subcontracted by Delisle’s French employer.
Guy Delisle's BURMA CHRONICLES
This comic strip depiction of Delisle’s year in Burma as a “house-dad” while accompanying his Doctors Without Borders wife is simultaneously touching, funny, and scary.
Elie Wiesel's NIGHT
This short book, newly re-translated into English, is the memory of a teenage Jewish boy who is sent to a series of German concentration camps during World War II.
Suketu Mehta's MAXIMUM CITY
The author, a Western educated writer who returns with his young family after 21 years away from Bombay, starts the book with a history of Bombay and some of its more unusual social and cultural aspects, such as its legacy of tenants’ rights that has stultified development and maintenance of the city’s vast population of rental units.
George Orwell's HOMAGE TO CATALONIA
Reading this book is essential to understanding Orwell since his experiences in the Spanish Civil War had such a profound effect on him. He saw with his own eyes how politicians in remote locations can cause death and destruction in the name of political ideals, ideals which Orwell points out are sometimes little more than an unapologetic quest for power in the name of high ideals.