Buffett: The Making of An American Capitalist

This one wasn't exactly my usual cup of tea-- I usually stay away from biographies in general. I was not, however, disappointed with it in the least.

The book is a VERY complete picture of Warren Buffett's life and his various investments over the years. In fact, the book may have too much detail if you're just a casual reader who was interested in Buffett as a person. There is a good deal about his personal life, but it also deals in great part with the various statistics about his companies, profit margins for Berkshire Hathaway, etc.

I thought it was a really great read, and gave some awesome insight into Buffett that none of us would probably expect. I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in either Buffett or the realms of investment.

By the way, did you know that Buffett's investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, originally made lining for men's suits?

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Fabulous beach-read, can't-put-it-down mystery/thriller. Instantly absorbing, interesting characters, and convincing dialog. Not totally lightweight, as suggested by the original Swedish title, "Men Who Hate Women". I think everybody would like this.

How To Build Your Own Spaceship

Guess I've been on the same wavelength as Colin, reading about space, fiction or non! This short book by Piers Bizony is very interesting. He discusses the basic science behind propulsion and orbits, some history of space travel, and a great deal about past and future commercial opportunities. Bizony has a dry sense of humor and overall the book is informative and entertaining. (Famous dancer Buzz Aldrin recommends it).

The World Jones Made

Recently read The World Jones Made by Philip K. Dick. This novel is set in 2002 on a post-apocalyptic earth that has been nearly destroyed by radiation and is filled with bizarre and disturbing mutants. The populace is ruled by a Federal World Government, aka Fedgov, and has been bullied into adopting Relativism, a philosophy that has led to the legalization of hard drugs and public acts of perversion. The plot revolves around the messianic fervor aroused by the titular character, Jones, and explores the issues of liberty and free will.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

A Canticle for Leibowitz is Walter Miller's classic science fiction novel about post-apocalyptic Catholic monks in the desert of Utah, preserving what scraps of ancient writing they have managed to gather together through a post-nuclear dark ages in which all scientific knowledge is seen as evil. The novel is composed of three sections, roughly analogous to the dark ages, the renaissance, and a new technological age. The Catholic church provides what little cultural stability exists in the period, and the story follows the history of the abbey of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz, founded by a scientist after the war who became a martyr in his attempts to save books from being burned by the barbaric remnants of human civilization.

This is one of the masterpieces of American science fiction. I'm glad to have finally filled this particular hole in my knowledge of the genre, and I really can't recommend this book highly enough.

Where is Everybody?

This book presents a set of 50 possible solutions to the Fermi Paradox ("where is everybody," i.e. if the universe is so big why haven't we met any other technological civilizations?). The solutions come in three main categories: they're already here, they exist but haven't communicated, and they don't exist. The book is not at all rigorous but serves as a broad-ranging introduction that includes more speculative material than the textbook below. My only quibble with this book concerns his chapters on evolutionary biology, where I don't feel he's fully acquainted with the complexity of the issue, but in fairness there isn't space to even begin to address those questions here. Overall this was a entertaining and good broad overview to a wide selection of factors to consider on the subject, from the physics of interstellar travel to von-Neumann probes and Dyson spheres, although a lot of the science is glossed over and I found a couple of his mathematical models a bit suspicious (or at least poorly defended).

Rocannon's World

Rocannon's World is Ursula K. LeGuin's first novel, published in 1966 as a lengthening of the story "Dowry of the Angyar," which appeared in Astounding in 1964 and comprises the prologue to the novel as "Semley's Necklace". It's currently out of print, but I found it in a used book store in Seattle and there are some used on the internet as well. It is basically an epic fantasy set in a world of relativistic interstellar travel, in which an anthropologist studying quote highly intelligent life forms (a hilfer) from the galactic league of worlds is stranded on Fomalhaut II, an alien world with a heroic early age culture (think Homer) that involves living in castles and riding giant flying cats (see cover). Our boy Rocannon has to journey across the planet with a motley band of locals (think Tolkien), seeing the sights and getting into various problematic situations along the way. It's not her most mature work, but in particular the way in which she incorporates relativistic travel into the epic register is pretty impressive. Plus, giant flying cats are sweet.