What is amazing is not just that people are greedy and prone to engage in ethically questionable activities; the big lesson is how people can reach unimaginable positions of power and essentially be (a) incompetent, and (b) not willing to do even the most mundane and trivial parts of their job. — Jeffrey Pfeffer, reviewing The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis (quoted on WSJ.com) Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Book Reviews
HW’s Book Reviews: Go the Fuck to Sleep
If you think saying “fuck” to a toddler is the funniest thing ever, and evidently a lot of people do judging from the rave reviews on Facebook, then you’ll love this book. SPOILER ALERT: The joke is that infants don’t have the same sleep patterns as grownups — ha ha — which is breaking news to this hapless unfit shithead of a parent, who spews page after page of rhymed obscenities at his child. I didn’t say “fuck” to my kid until he was a teenager, and even then it wasn’t to be funny. Seriously: Children are a gift from God and I don’t even believe in God. I love the time that my son and I were boys together more than I love anything. If you think there’s anything clever or funny about this book, please stay away from me . . . Read more →
EppsNet Book Reviews: The Odyssey by Homer
The author displays a lively imagination. The cast of characters includes both gods and mortals, and the story builds to a thrilling climax. I can’t wait to see what this promising young writer comes up with next. Read more →
Lightning’s Book Reviews: Don’t Know Much About History
Hi everybody! It’s me, Lightning! My owner’s son has this book for his AP U.S. History class. You should read it! The title — Don’t Know Much About History — makes you think of the famous song by Sam Cooke, so right away you want to know more about it! History is fascinating! For example, did you know that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor had ELEVEN pugs?! The Duke used to be the King of England but he had to “adbdicate” (that means quit) so he’d have enough time to walk all of his dogs. I hope that fact is in the book! — Lightning Read more →
HW ‘s Book Reviews: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Gayest. Crime Story. Ever. Read more →
EppsNet Book Review: Dig Your Job
Full disclosure: I got a free advance copy of this book because I know the author, G.L. Hoffman. The books I’ve read on business and career advice fall into three main categories: Academic theory (Quoting Dogbert) A bunch of obvious advice packaged with quotes from famous dead people A person who’s actually done something talks about what worked for them and what didn’t. Dig Your Job is in Category 3, like every other book I can think of to recommend to people. It’s a high-density book. Hoffman has done startups for 25 years and shares hundreds of ideas and observations about the workplace in blog-sized chunks. The style is conversational, easy to read — like having a career mentor you can consult whenever you want to. Hoffman is currently running excerpts from the book on his blog, so you can click over there for a free preview. Highly recommended! Read more →
EppsNet Book Review: The Elegant Solution
Unreadable . . . unbelievably bad. Ironically, for a book about innovation, the concepts are trite and the prose consists of one lazy cliche after another. Watch — I’m going to open the book to a random page and list the cliches: “secret sauce,” “blow the doors off,” “boil the ocean,” “where the action is,” “ivory tower,” “marching instructions.” The book is an insult to the intelligence of anyone who might conceivably want to read it. Read more →
HW’s Book Reviews
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter C.P.A. And I know a father who had a son He longed to tell him all the reasons for the things he’d done He came a long way just to explain He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping Then he turned around and he headed home again — Paul Simon, “Slip Sliding Away” Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories. — John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester You might get the idea from reading this book that being rich is synonymous with being happy. I’ve never seen any indication that that’s true. Read more →