Jonathan Clement – A brief history of Japan
The broad strokes and accessible style help to create a basic understanding of Japan – although necessarily with major simplifications.
When writing a movie script: don’t try to be unique but give movie execs what they expect and follow a proven recipe
The book positions screen writing is a craft – and may explain why so few successful movies are actually worth your time.
Without active allies and inclusive policies, disadvantaged groups will never get the same opportunities as the privileged
Sheree Acheson – Deminding more
A refrehingly data-centric book that elegantly yet firmly addresses issues without pointing blame.
A bunch of geeks figured out a better way to run a company and are now taking over the economy
The case that “data trumps opinions, provided your corporate culture doesn’t get in the way” contains little original thinking, but that – to be fair – is not the author’s objective
Through an anthropological lens, the English can be characterized as a withdrawn, class-conscious, ironic, understatement-loving and uptight tribe, whose members loosen up only in the pub
Kate Fox – Watching the English
Light read with amusing observation, stretched out over slightly more pages than necessary to convey the message.
There are many documented anecdotes illustrating that Medieval monks were only human and struggled with focus and concentration
Jamie Kreiner – The wandering mind
The book loses a lot of specificity and power due to the suppression of differences in denomination and gender and even more because the writer does not really seem to have a clear point to make.
If the talent density in your organization is high enough and your corporate culture strong enough, you could give extreme freedom to your people to increase te level of innovation
Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer – No Rules Rules
Pretty strong boundary conditions need to be fulfilled in order for this scheme to work; including broad acceptance of a high level of interpersonal ruthlessness.
Africa and Africans have never been taken seriously by the Western world, simplifying the story of the continent to ‘famine and safaris’
Dipo Faloyin – Africa is not a country
Well known story told in a fresh style, which unfortunately still serves a purpose.
The subtle nuances that can be achieved by varying ingredients, shaping, and timing of your bread are under-appreciated
Dan Lepard – The handmade loaf
Impressive collection of inspiring perspectives and variation on bread making.
The initial strength of the Hanseatic League was the fluidity of the institution, but that also limited the degree to which it could scale its power
Carsten Jahnke – Die Hanse (read in German)
Nice to read as an example of a successful alternative power structure (in the sense of Graeber en Wengrow), that is nonetheless is firmly rooted in proto-capitalist principles.
When structuring your tech-heavy organization it helps to think in archetypes of team roles and interaction modes
Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais – Team Topologies
An elegant little book that provides a refreshingly clear view on how to make Conway’s law an effective principle for organizing products and platforms.
Indigenous societies show that, next to capitalism, there are many alternative blends of violence, knowledge and charisma on which a viable social power structure can be built
David Graeber and David Wengrow – The dawn of everything
The authors attack a overly simplified version of the theories they aim to refute, failing to recognize the necessarily non-linear nature of evolution.
A selfless focus on creating impact makes employees highly valuable for organizations
The book gives surprisingly little attention to the question how Impact Players can assure they get rewarded for the value they bring
From Anime to the Karaoke machine and the Gameboy, Japanese design has had an outsized influence on pop culture
Highly entertaining book, providing entertaining facts and refreshing perspectives.
The US postal service is a success story of the benefits of public funding
Winifred Gallagher – How the post office created America
In theory a fascinating topic, but in practice a boring read; as I should have expected because the Post leveraged rather than drove innovation.
To solve the problems facing our planet today, we need to think ahead seven generations
Roman Krznaric – The good ancestor
Hard-felt plea for including future generations into political decision making.
Today’s dominant ideology is the acceptance of ‘how the world really is’ and that any attempt to change that will lead to ruin
Slavoj Zizek – Like a thief in broad daylight
Mix of interesting Marxist perspectives on contemporary politics and confusing rants about old movies.
A hero is someone directing their rage towards achieving an unattainable goal and, if successful, ending up a star
Fresh and highly entertaining retelling of classic tales.
Like in other instances of decolonization, forming the USA has been a murky affair largely dependent on chance
Colin Woodard – American nations
The book is more about political realities than about cultures, with little attention given to the role of black people (apart from them being enslaved).
