Book Reviews

Charter Schools and their enemies by Thomas Sowell

On page iii of the book, the words “To those children whose futures hang in the balance” are inscribed. As I had already been listening to the audiobook online, the sight of those words brought a feeling perhaps best described as “Urgent Fury” to my being. It is why I have taken so long to read it. I had to leave off from time to time to cool down and remind myself that all men are liars who devour widows’ houses and for a pretence make long prayer. Read more…


A Beautiful Constraint by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden

book-picSeveral years ago, I came across an expression in Reader’s Digest that went something like “If you don’t have an education, you’ll just have to use your head.” It is simply amazing how the entire known world seems to think of not having an education, or, more accurately, not having been schooled, as a debilitating limitation. “A Beautiful Constraint” turns that around by applying that Reader’s Digest expression in so many ways. Read more…


Brick by Brick by David C. Robertson

brickbybrick-3dleft1The world is full of people scrambling frantically to get out of imaginary boxes so that they can pursue the maxim “Think out of the Box.” In studying how LEGO rewrote the rules of innovation and conquered the global toy industry, David C. Robertson shows us how Innovation doesn’t just exist “outside the box.” In this bandwagon-crazy world, we would probably do well to innovate “inside the box” first. Read more…


Connectography by Parag Khanna

connectographyI came across this book while reading a STRATFOR post on what STRATFOR themselves happened to be reading. STRATFOR’s philosophy, or, at least, founder George Friedman’s[1] philosophy, is that geopolitics is an impersonal force that shapes humanity whether we like it or not. It is therefore best not to attempt to oppose this force but recognize it for what it is, and posture to benefit as much as possible from the inevitable. Read more…


The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

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Someone recommended Erin Meyer’s “The Culture Map” to me, so I borrowed a copy from the National Library and read it. I’ve since decided to purchase the book, and this brief review shows why. Read more…

 


Leadership Team Coaching by Professor Peter Hawkins

Peter Hawkins Team CoachingIt took me quite a while to read this book. Part of the reason lay in my own neglect in maintaining my own edge in eruditeness. Attempting to assimilate a work assembled by as sharp a mind as Professor Hawkins’ is challenging if the reader’s has not been continuously worked, laid to the grindstone at regular intervals, and perhaps re-forged in the fires of actual coaching/ consulting practice. Having said that, I did find the experience remarkably gratifying. Read more…

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