Quinn

This book was recommended to me a couple years ago by a climate scientist working at the NASA Goddard Institute and I'm so glad I got around to it. Although it's been over ten years since the book was written, Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air provides an easy-to-understand guide to thinking about modern day power consumption, generation, and storage from an environmentally concious, realist perspective. MacKay does a excellent job comparing and contrasting major contributors to Britain's (and the world's) total energy consumption, from the heating in our homes to the manufacturing of “stuff”, and breaks down the ways in which we can meet this demand by discussing a plethora of sustainable energy generation methods and the practicality of implementing each on a large scale.

If you've ever you wondered what a complete sustainable energy transformation could actually look like, I'd highly recommend giving this one a read. Hint: turning off your lights isn't going to do much.

Neil Degrasse Tyson, equipped with his uniquely soothing voice, takes readers on an intellectual journey exploring the Universe from a fraction of a second after the Big Bang to the ever-expanding edges of the cosmos. A great read for those who possess a reasonable amount of scientific knowledge and lukewarm curiosity about our natural world and the physical laws that govern it.

As much as it is a book marketed to the layperson, I would personally argue that it's not necessarily a book written for the layperson. Tyson, in an attempt to cover many of the major topics in astrophysics, swiftly introduces the reader to a wealth of scientific concepts without lingering too much on the details of any particular one. Thus, I found the audiobook version of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry to be a bit too much in a hurry (pun-intended), and I suspect the book would be much more easily digested in a written format.

Although I found the evidence Angela Duckworth puts forth in her book compelling and her commentary inspiring, I felt this book could be summed up in a single chapter without losing all that much depth. In summary, Dr. Duckworth asserts that grit is a learned trait which can be augmented throughout one's life through deliberate practice, unwavering perseverance, strategic goal setting, and aligning oneself with people and organizations that exemplify and incentivize gritty behavior.

If you find yourself lacking a defined direction in life or perhaps pursuing TOO many different directions in life, this book will definitely help clarify and realign your priorities. Overall, the book serves as a nice introduction to the concept of grit and puts forth a number of actionable ideas for cultivating grittiness in not only yourself, but also within people you interact with, whether they be your own kids or members of your organization.

Here's some major takeaways:
- Identify your top-level, long-term goals – try out many different things, pursue only those things that truly interest you, and stick with them
- Align yourself with individuals and organizations who will push and inspire you to achieve those goals.
- Engage in regular, deliberate practice, measure your progress, and conciously seek to improve
- Continually push through challenges despite how difficult they may be (certainly easier said than done)

In The Life You Can Save, Peter Singer puts forth a highly convincing argument based on the maxim “a human life is of equal value to each and every other human life.” Because we live in a globalized economy and a world in which extreme wealth inequality is widely apparent, he argues, individuals who reside in countries with a relatively high standards of living are thus morally obligated to donate a significant portion of their income to quite literally save the lives of those in need.

Although the arguments presented in the first couple chapters and the last chapter of this book are well-crafted, though-provoking, and at times, inspiring, I found the content covered in the middle chapters to be somewhat disjointed and lacking sufficiently thorough analysis. Although Singer seems to have the best of intentions, his commentary does come off as slightly self-righteous, which may be off putting for some. That said, the last chapter of the book wonderfully encapsulates Singer's overall message – to give more to those in need than you did yesterday.

Tools of Titans is not meant to be read all the way through and I wholeheartedly agree. Although I struggled to get through certain sections due to a lack of interest in the topic, much of the information and concepts presented in this book are moderately interesting at worst and profound at best. On occasion, Ferriss's writing can come across as a bit self-centered (i.e. “As I was writing this book is Paris, sipping my glass of (x)...” sort of thing), but the value of the book's content makes up for it.

If you're looking to get as much value from this book in the least time possible, I would highly recommend going straight to the back of the book, where Ferriss summarizes some of the commonalities of the people he's interviewed over the years and more importantly, the books that have been most frequently recommended by those same people. After doing so, flip through each section and skip liberally if you so desire.

Is it a page turner from start to finish? No. Absolutely not. Would I recommend it just based on likelihood of finding at least one profound nugget of wisdom or info that may shift your perspective on something? Absolutely.