Comments on: What I’m Reading

By: Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:54:03 +0000

Thick Face Black Heart has an awesome title, decent premise, mediocre execution. If The Canon was failed by its editor, TFBH needed to have one but clearly didn’t.

By: Dillon

Dillon — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:23:16 +0000

I read Teacher Man earlier this year, along with McCourt’s other two books, Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis, both of which I highly recommend

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:11:21 +0000

“Six Easy Pieces” by Richard Feynman is a classic

By: Nick M

Nick M — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:21:23 +0000

The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan

Mendel’s Dwarf by Simon Mawer

By: Johnny C

Johnny C — Mon, 26 May 2008 02:52:04 +0000

Ryan, could you please elaborate on “Thick Face, Black Heart”? The reviews I have received from others are mixed. Some way it’s airy and unorganized but others say it’s blunt and insightful. Amazon doesn’t offer much clarity, either. If you can spare some time to write a few more sentences about the content I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for your time.

By: Newshoes

Newshoes — Sun, 25 May 2008 23:03:14 +0000

I second the Bill Bryson book.

Fascinating book.

Tons of info, tons of laughs, hours reading well spent.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:33:11 +0000

Marcus du Sautoy – The Music of the Primes

By: corkhead32

corkhead32 — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:28:16 +0000

I’ll second A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It’s basically a broad overview of a bunch of scientific disciplines written from the perspective of a non-scientist. There’s a lot of quirky facts about the scientists themselves too.

Also, Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene is a great introduction to the mind-blowing world of Physics. Covers everything from String Theory to relativity.

By: pj

pj — Sun, 25 May 2008 16:58:21 +0000

a humble chemstry major and long time lurker’s recommenadations for good science books:

Carl Sagan – Cosmos;

Sagan – A Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark;

Bill Bryson – A Short History of Nearly Everything

Donal O’Shea – The Poincaré conjecture: in search of the shape of the universe. (more advanced, tread cautiously if your math background is light)

Do not read: Guns, Germs & Steel – wildly overated as a biology investigation, gets many of the causalities backwards.