Jer

Not what I expected (and barely squeaked by with 4 stars because it gave me some interesting insights into the UK and Europe)... if you want to learn about design perspectives, you will be disappointed. If you want to hear rebuttals to every semi-public negative exposure of the author, you're in luck! But, overall, still a decent read IF you already think it might be a decent read.

AMAZING! Best book I've read this year by far (#1/~50), really easy to read, digest, apply, and very accessible. I listened on audio to get the overview and had to keep pausing to write stuff down, so glad I also have the Kindle to highlight. Going to buy this for mentees and start applying in my work projects and personal life. Had no idea it was going to be this good. Seriously. Read it!

I feel bad giving this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️, given the man's contributions, but as a compiled work, it was really more of a ⭐️⭐️ situation. Didactic, repetitive, opinionated, and focused on self in a way that was somehow grating, this confusing melee of memories really let me down.

The first 5-10% about the author's early career were really interesting. Even some of the initial CIA covert action stuff was fine, given his unique perspective as the ops officer running something so well-known... but everything after that was confusingly circular, focusing on topics instead of following chronology, providing narrative from a perspective of continuity even when he was in completely different roles.

Overall, it felt like either a case of “if I had more time this would have been shorter” or “I want to get all my opinions and perspectives aligned in a self-reinforcing manner to refute any objections,” not the work of a senior national security advisor recounting his career. I don't think there's more than one point where he admits anything he said or did may have been in error, but I would say a solid 20% of the book is riddled with accusations levied at how others did not follow his advice and “look where that got us.”

While I am grateful for his service, the book makes very clear that Mike Vickers was more of an opinionated manager than an inspired leader, someone who cares about doing “the right thing the right way” (without room for alternative views or personal errancy) regardless of the self-contradictions or absurdities. If you took his one-sided views at face value then the defense budget would be 50% of the US GDP and we would have troops deployed in every country in “small forces tamping down insurgencies” or “countering regional hegemonic encroachment” (because global hegemony is somehow the obvious natural state of things).

Maybe this book will get better with age... it's unlikely I'll ever find out, as there's really nothing worth returning for after you've a slogged through once. Ironically, that makes Afghanistan a more appealing place to spend some time than between these pages... if Vickers was a true “insurgent at heart” (which seems to be at least partly true) then perhaps some solace will be found in the reader's immediate need to divest from the overwhelming self-indulgence of this work... an intellectual revolt, if there ever were one.

Surprisingly good - I've owned this book for years and assumed it was just going to be “another SOF cool guy bro-out history” replete with their version of history and whose fault all the mistakes were (rarely them).

To be fair, there's plenty of finger-pointing to go around, but it's in this oddly (and usefully) instructional way. Despite it being a narrative, I honestly felt like the guy was right there telling me about what happened and inviting me to participate in learning from him.

Some great key points and takeaways were hit over-and-over; I'm going to get the Kindle edition just so I can more easily snag and review those quotes, and I can really see myself re-reading at least parts of this, not for the story they tell, but the lessons they teach.

Guess it goes to show not all SOF are created equal.

Not your run-of-the-mill leadership book, this one was highly entertaining (though I'm not sure how much of that was intentional). The author/protagonist is a somewhat egoistic engineer with a free spirit and loads of self-assurance. He ends up at JPL and involved in some pretty gnarly, rocket sciencey projects, which he takes charge of because... well, you'll see. The point is that there's definitely some good leadership material here, some fascinating insights into JPL and NASA, and quite an amusing, introspective perspective from a guy who is at least trying to do a better job leading people to a bigger truth than themselves. I'd recommend it.

An entertaining and interesting look at personality psychology through the lens of “people's stuff,” this was a fun read. If you're already familiar with the Big Five mode of evaluating personality, this will be a cool twist – if not, then you will probably find it even more interesting. Although not without points of controversy (my guess is that many people disliked the section on stereotypes), I am not familiar with any other similar books that present the material in such an accessible way. Check it out!

I was not expecting much out of this book, but was pleasantly surprised; it is a very interesting look at what kind of behavior is manifested when deception is occurring.

Far from the hallowed steps of “Lie to Me” (the TV show centered around reading micro-expressions), this team of former CIA polygraphers delves into simple physical and speech-based cues to when someone is being deceptive.

I think the most interesting aspect was the commentary accompanying the appendices, which are actual transcripts with commentary from the testimony of individuals (I won't spoil who) that are either proven or suspected to be deceiving the questioner.

If it strikes your fancy, it's definitely worth the read.

Interesting story of a guy who went from being an addict to crushing Ironman competitions. There's info about his vegan approach that some may enjoy, but I didn't find either that interesting... maybe fun if you're reading a lot about adventure racing or different dietary approaches, otherwise I think there are better reads out there.

Both a fascinating concept and a great read, Eric Greiten's sophomore book is a resource for leaders, thinkers and anyone who may walk through hard times. So... everyone.

If you're a fan of the Stoic philosophers, the Bible or even Confucius, you will recognize the “common sense” and wisdom within - but more than than a Seneca redux, Greitens makes philosophy an active process.

If you're even remotely interested in this book, you should read it. I could do it justice in a review. If you're NOT remotely interested, well, maybe get it from the library. But you will probably buy it, because there is so much to highlight, underline and comment about!

It might seem silly to give this five stars, but it's absolutely brilliant and fun in its simplicity, a great “right before bed” read that gives you plenty to think about for at least a couple weeks and can be read and re-read time and again for continued inspiration. I look forward to reading his other books.

Although broken up by slower sections, this is a unique examination of one of the most interesting (and impactful) espionage cases of this last century.

Well-researched, thoroughly-organized and even (at times) entertaining, this is very much worth the read, even if just to gain a perspective on history through one man's eyes. Raynaud and Kostin even appeal to the literary enthusiast, with themes of revenge, solitude and self-grandiosity bringing to question even the smallest of actions (why DO we do what we do?).

Some portions of the book are a little slower than others, but if you are not totally engrossed a third of the way in, well, this clearly is not the right genre: because the hook gets set deep. And, you know, after reading it, I'd even read it again (which is really saying something).

Basically just a bunch of blog posts turned into a blog - nothing original (other than the eponymous “You Are Not So Smart” tag lines sprinkled throughout... which add nothing). Go read Kahneman, Ariely, or any other more in-depth book if you want anything deeper than a blog post's perspective on behavioral science or cognitive biases. But if you like snarky comments and have no idea what behavioral economics is... go for it.

A fascinating must-read; I have no idea the degree to which this account is true, but it is an important place to put one's mind in when evaluating the way America is perceived in other parts of the world, as well as in the larger context of many different conflicts.

For my part, I hope there is resolution - America is many things, but this book will make you think pretty hard through some of the less-savory aspects of her recent past.

Decent insight for anyone who runs and is not familiar with CrossFit. The skills and drills integration was novel to me (at the levels MacKenzie prescribes) - his short-hand notation for workouts is still pretty frustrating (and not nearly as intuitive as other CF jargon). I'd give it a higher rating if that were more of a focus, but it seems almost purposefully obtuse (no master index, helpful reference sheet, just an almost throw-away “This will get easier as you get used to it.”)

Other than that, decent read, worth it for anyone looking for a change in their racing or CF focus (and I believe it would make races like Ultras more safe).

I thought this was a really good intro to this subject matter. The instructor was clearly interested and engaging in his lectures, and I definitely came away with a greater interest in reading the original works of Thucydides and Xenophon.

Worth checking out if the topic and delivery method (audio) seems appealing.

Pretty interesting - Dr. Harl definitely has a view on what he thinks the Spartan role was in winning, and I think the non-standard view is refreshing, because he provides lots of interesting details to support his claim. Definitely worth the listen if you're interested in or otherwise studying the topic.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in the complexities of Afghanistan (and US military involvement there) from the tribal perspective.

Both highly personal and very well-told, it is anything but unbiased, yet does an amazing job of telling what life is like for the small teams of special operations soldiers ordered to embed and train local Afghan forces.

Epic and tragic, there is much displayed about both the dangers of imbalance, pain of betrayal and power of loyalty. Not for the vulgarity-sensitive, but well-worth your time.

I hope it eventually becomes known for being less about politics and more about men and war and trust.

A fascinating look at one man's journey to Christ in China under the early years of Communism, as well as dissident actions since, this book covers a wide range of themes. History and culture pervade the initial third of the book, and provide a useful backdrop for anyone not familiar with China. The middle third is centered around faith and what the author discovers in a most remarkable way. The last third weaves the previous themes together with a meta-level criticism of Chinese human rights violations against people of many different faiths and beliefs. Polemic, at times, it is written by someone who cares deeply and fights hard, and it lays some interesting diplomatic and political intricacies out plainly. If you are new to any of those topics, you will find this book insightful, interesting, chilling, and even compelling.