Ask HN: What books are you reading this week?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12509249

by adamnemecek • 10 years ago

3 9 10 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

gentleteblor• 10 years ago

I'm rereading the Malazan Book Of The Fallen series. Finished Gardens of the Moon last night. It only gets better.

megamike48• 10 years ago

The Life of Louis XVI by John Hardman

120bits• 10 years ago

A friend gifted me this book on my birthday "On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy"

gffrd2• 10 years ago

Grunt by Mary Roach. About the science, R&D behind "mundane" war things—chafing, noise, etc. so far, so good …

I have a fascination with military tactics, specifically when it comes to morale & psyche, so curious to see where this book touches on those.

adamnemecek2• 10 years ago

I have a fascination with military tactics, specifically when it comes to morale & psyche, so curious to see where this book touches on those.

What are some books on this topic?

gffrd2• 10 years ago

apologies for the long delay in reply …

I'm not deeply-read on the topic, but here are a few others I've liked …

· Certain to Win: The Strategy of John Boyd, Applied to Business by Chet Richards. This one in particular analyzes heavily blitzkrieg tactics, and how disorientation and morale are some of the most effective "weapons." Has many good cross-references.

· The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Military strategy and conflict philosophy. Basically, the philosophy that undergirds the blitzkrieg: lots on gaining advantage, using morale, turning "deficiencies" in to advantages, etc.

· Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink. It's rah-rah and a bit repetitive, but has some good bits on team dynamics, element of surprise—if nothing else, an interesting glimpse in to the dynamics of high-functioning military units.

So far, Grunt has touched on military uniform fashion design and its role in psyche … we'll see where else it goes, but an enjoyable read thus far.

adamnemecek2• 10 years ago

I'm finally taking a stab at Elements of Programming (https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Programming-Alexander-Stepan...). I think that this might actually be one of the most important books to read as a software developer. The book puts C++ and abstract algebra into a blender and creates this abstract algebra for software development which has some really deep insights. The author is Alexander Stephanov (the father of generic programming).

This is double true if you are using one of the newer languages that aim to kill C++ like Swift or Rust as some of the concepts apply really nicely.

Bjarne Stroustrup (the guy who made C++) wrote a comment about it on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/review/R1MG7U1LR7FK6/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt...) and gave it five stars.

marpstar• 10 years ago

E Myth by Michael Gerber based on a recommendation from an HN thread a couple weeks ago.

lscore720• 10 years ago

Jungle (Upton Sinclair). I never tire of reading about the immigrant experience in America, especially as a Chicagoan in this case.

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism (Doris Kearns Goodwin). Similar time period, but focusing on a vastly different world in America.

Ask HN: What books are you reading this week?

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