Tagged by Jared:
1. A book that changed my life:
Good to Great by Jim Collins - Like the best writing and analysis, it moves past the complex to the simple, drawing not just from business but from all walks of life. Key insight: the hedgehog concept: what's the one thing you love doing, that you can be the best in the world at?
2. A book I have read more than once:
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov - Everything science fiction is supposed to be: an epic of galactic proportions, real thought about technology, human nature, and human ingenuity.
3. A book I would take to a desert island:
Any book of essays by Joseph Epstein. Probably the only frustration would be having to look up the cultural references. Great, literate essays.
4. A book that made me laugh:
Up Front by Bill Mauldin. Life as a dogface. Great cartoons, greater stories.
5. A book that made me cry:
1939: The Lost World of the Fair by David Gelernter. A story of lost optimism. I first read this book before September 11. I fight to remain optimistic, but now wonder if we can recapture that hope.
6. A book I wish had been (hope will be) written:
Almost Armageddon: How the US Government Averted Terrorist Disaster, Saved American Icons, and Delivered Iran to a New Generation of Leaders. There's still time for this one, though.
7. A book that should have never been written:
Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This book has been responsible for more mischief and Jew-hatred than even its authors could have imagined.
8. A book I am currently reading:
Blow the House Down by Robert Baer
One of the first War on Terror spy thrillers. I'm a little suspicious of the overdrawn conclusions and paranoia about the "neocons," but it's full of great tradecraft and you can't put it down.
9. A book I am planning to read:
The Clintons: An American Tragedy (published 2009 by the Free Press). A detailed description of the smallness that was the Clinton Presidency, and the stunning failure of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
10. People I will send these questions to:
John Andrews, Clay Calhoun, Michael Alcorn, and Richard Duston
