Category: Books

I keep track of the books that I read on this site. However, I rarely make an individual post. I should.

Focused on the development of air warfare, specifically bombers, this one tickled my love of history. I was fascinated by how the development of bombers was predicated on how things were “going to be” and not how they were.

Mr. Gladwell bases the story on two generals, Gen. Hansell & Gen. LeMay. General Hansell was a believer in precision bombing with the idea of saving civilians’ lives while quickly and effectively winning a war. General LeMay was a pragmatist who ends up using Napalm on 67 cities in Japan (with devastating results).

There are no easy answers here. What is “right” when it comes to war?

I end up comparing things to education and did so again with this. Is Technology just not quite ready yet? Will technology in education eventually become highly targeted in the future? And will that bring additional challenges?

This was designed as an audiobook first and then converted to a convention book. Get the audiobook on this one.”

Among the highest praise that I can give a book is when I don’t want the book to end. When I can see that I’m getting close to the end and feel an internal dread that I will be done with the book, I realize that this is book that I like. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Townes is one of those books. I felt a certain sadness realizing that the book was coming to a close. 

This is the story of Count Alexander Rostov. The story relates so much about life, being a good person, a gentleman, a family member, friend and the history of Russia. The story begins in 1922 and continues through the 1950’s. Count Rostov is imprisoned in a Hotel within Moscow. Through this lens, we learn much about the Count, Russia, and many others who pass through the story. 

The story is exceptionally well written. There is much joy, discovery and unraveling throughout the tale. The reader will truly feel as though the characters are real. There is plenty of opportunity to discover sage advice and reflect on decisions that one has made. As the Count says “if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them”. The Count does indeed master his circumstances (with much aplomb), even if those circumstances are entirely unforeseen. 

While the story touches on the history of Russia, these events are referenced but not the focus of the story. The story is really all about the Count and other characters. Instead of being over written, it is refreshing smart. 

I can heartily recommend this book. 

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman is a classic. The book is focused on, not surprisingly, the design process. I read the revised and expanded version.

There is a good reason that this one is a classic. It is very thoughtful about how things are designed. I viewed this as someone who designs learning opportunities. Several times Mr. Norman points out that when we can’t do something easily, it is usually not our fault. It is the fault of bad design.

Websites and programs are pretty famous for bad design. Those who make them frequently call out the errors of the user. If the user had only followed this path, things would’ve worked out. I’ve been on both sides of this. I’ve used many websites that made total sense once I understood more about what was needed and what was happening. However, getting to that understanding was frequently hard fought and only possible because of other knowledge that I possess. “Regular” users don’t stand much of a chance.

I’ve also been on the other side. I’ve developed things that make perfect sense, but have frustrated others. Reading The Design of Everyday Things helped remind me to be extra cautious about designing opportunities for all users. I believe that I have to work hard at designing learning opportunities that are easily discoverable by all learners.

If you do any kind of design work (i.e. you create anything), this is a good book. It can be a bit repetitious so don’t feel bad about skipping around.