Considering you just calculated your preference for one one book over another cardinally, maybe you didn't get the epistemological lessons from The Black Swan :P
No, I've read neither yet, so I can't comment. I'll have to check them both out.
Twilight in the Desert - Matthew Simmons It's an analysis of Saudi Oil production. I give it a 3/5, but I am in the industry so my rating might not be the same as a layperson. Good reading if you want a non-technical book that will teach you about oil production in the Middle East.
Moneyball - Michael Lewis Great book chronicling the success of the Oakland Athletics baseball team by the use of data driven analysis by the general manager Billy Beane. 5/5.
The Big Short - Michael Lewis Great book chronicling some of the different players in the CDS market (the guys who made the money, primarily). 4.5/5.
Physics of the Impossible - Michio Kaku The author, a physicist, looks at the possibility of certain science fiction technologies and analyzes their feasibility (he also assigns a timeline of to the possibilities, ranging from 100 years to 1000+ years). He looks at force fields, teleportation, faster than light travel, etc. 4/5.
Nearly done with:
Too Big to Fail - Andrew Sorkin Excellent book that analyzes the ridiculous financial implosion in 2008. Puts you in the room of many meetings between Bernake/Paulson/Geithner and all the major Wall Street CEOs. Easily a 5/5.
Next: We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism - John Derbyshire Panic - Michael Lewis George Soros On Globalization - George Soros Freefall - Joseph Stiglitz The Diversity of Life - Edward Wilson
-- Edited by Abyss on Sunday 12th of December 2010 06:50:30 PM
-- Edited by Abyss on Sunday 12th of December 2010 08:48:45 PM
I just read a book called "Escape". It's the non-fiction account of Carolyn Jessup, the FDLS woman who escaped with her 8 children from a compound, before the big Warren Jeffs scandal.
I found it a bit repetitive at times. It's not normally the kind of book I would pick up, but a friend loaned it to me. For a woman who married the guy of her own choosing and who has a pretty good life, it was hard to believe that this story was set in the last 20 years.