There are millions of books for sale and thousands of new ones are published every week. The percentage of books that will reach the "Top 10" list rounds to zero. The marketing of books is more art than science and got an education with my own book. If I were doing it over again, I would have written the same book but there is much more that I would have done from a marketing point of view. No complaints — Net Attitude continues to attract new readers and I always appreciate hearing from them.
Some people read at least one book every day. Maybe some day I will find time to do that. The purpose of this blog entry is to share what I have read in the past few months. Hopefully, someone will find one of them of interest.
Negotiate Wisely by Mladen Kresic and Harvey Rosen
Mladen is a friend and attorney in Connecticut. He asked me to write the forward for his book, Negotiate Wisely, which I was happy to do. If you have any negotiating in your future — business or personal — and want to get a solid grounding in the art, then this book is a very worthwhile read. Mladen and Harvey are among the best of the best in the field.
Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson
Steven and I met on a flight from New York to Phoenix where we both attended PC Forum. Mind Wide Open is an incredibly well written book about how the human brain works. Steven was determined to learn what goes on inside the brain when “brainstorming” new ideas and subjected himself to a brain scan while doing so. He interviewed some of the world’s leading neuroscientists, learned about the brain’s chemistry, structure, and subroutines and then translated what he learned into everyday language that we all can understand. If you are curious about how your brain works, you will enjoy Steven’s book immensely.
Getting to Great : Principles of Health Care Organization Governance by Pointer and Orlikoff
If you are a hospital board like me, this is a must read. It is not a very exciting book, to put it mildly. Goverance is a really important topic though, both in the for profit, not for profit, in the public sector. Most of it is common sense but it is worthwhile reading about it in depth from the experts — in this case, experts in the health care field.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
This is truly a gripping novel. I have always enjoyed Tom Clancy’s books, and The Da Vinci Code is at least on par with them. The amount of detail and creativity Dan Brown displayed in this book is amazing. The intrigue and menace of the plot prevents you from putting down the book. I would say that Dan Brown in brilliant.
Deception Point by Dan
I did not think it possible, but Deception Point was even better than The Da Vinci Code. This one is full of technology, outer space, military operations and politics all nicely integrated into a fast paced thriller.
Business, The Universe & Everything : Conversations with the World’s Greatest Management Thinkers
by Stuart Crainer (Author), Des Dearlove (Author)
Stuart Crainer interviewed me in London in the late 1990’s and occasionally quotes me on something related to the Internet. In his new book, he includes interviews with two dozen people. Section 2, called “Selling the Future”, includes an interview with me which Stuart calls “John Patrick: The Attitude Thing”.
Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength by Bill Phillips
We all do it — read books about improving our lives. Bill Phillips’ book is one of the better ones. It offers very practical advice about diet, nutrition, and exercise. Many books of this type offer a lot of emotion and few specific and creditable ideas. Bill Phillip’s book is different. It offers simple, practical, actionable advice. It is still difficult to follow the discipline that is needed to achieve one’s maximum potential but this book offers a good road map.
Origins of the Crash: The Great Bubble and Its Undoing by Roger Lowenstein
This is a really interesting book but I won’t say more about it just yet. I am working on an essay for a management consulting publication where I will provide a review of this book. Stay tuned.
