Buddha's Little Finger11 reviews Victor Pelevin Penguin (Non-Classics), 2001 With books like this, who needs drugs? + Life is but a dream + Russian Magic Realism with a Buddhist slant For Russian speakers: Definitely read this book (in Russian, obviously) if you liked Kafka. Read it if you ever felt curious about drugs. (This book should be classified as a "Schedule A" substance. :) Stay away from it if you like books that make sense. For English speakers: It's a great book, ...             The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable352 reviews Nassim Nicholas Taleb Random House, 2007 Beautiful! + Little white lies + A delicious surprise that has changed my approach to risk One of those books that can change the way you see the world and (as usual for such books) it does so with humor, clear unpretentious language and examples. As another reviewer already said, the point of the book could have been stated in a couple of lines, but then we'd miss the great writing and ...             The Misbehavior of Markets: A Fractal View of Risk, Ruin & Reward54 reviews Benoit Mandelbrot, Richard L. Hudson Basic Books, 2006 Outstanding explanation of math and markets + Exposing the Cracks in the Facade - But Not Filling Them In To begin, I am not a mathematician or investor, however, this book opened the world of those topics to me in an understandable way. The author is an out-of-thebox thinker who clearly explained the topic well, causing me to investigate the ideas more.             The Fountainhead967 reviews Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff Signet, 1996 More traditionally novelistic, tells the backstory of Atlas Shrugged + Fountainhead + Why Was This Book Written? + Fairy Tale             Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)311 reviews Neal Stephenson Harper Perennial, 2004 Nearly Perfect Reading! + A fun way to learn some history + Just what I was looking for... + Part 1 of a lengthy epic             Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values528 reviews Robert M. Pirsig HarperTorch, 2006 Couldn't put it down. + Neat + About this book + A book about overcoming intellectualism and becoming whole             History of Western Philosophy (Routledge Classics)82 reviews Bertrand Russell Routledge, 2004 One of the 20 Best Books Ever Written + One of the all-time greats + Absolutely Loved It + A brief comment             The Alchemy of Finance (Wiley Investment Classics)22 reviews George Soros Wiley, 2003 hard to follow + Soros's uncertainty principle is a vague form of Keynesian Uncertainty,not Heisenberg uncertainty Honestly this book was hard to follow and I'm still not sure how Soros does it. He is an excellent thinker but I think this book was over the top for me.             Foucault's Pendulum395 reviews Umberto Eco Harvest Books, 2007 I can add little to the other wonderful reviews + Loved it! (The second time around.) Okay, this WAS a hard book to read. So much going on and so many references to cults and phenomina. Reading this book is more of an education than an entertainment. But what fun! Eco is a true literary genius, in the same class as his italian brethren of musical fame. Baudolino is perhaps ...             Martin Eden (Penguin American Library)46 reviews Jack London Penguin Classics, 1994 London highlights ridiculous "celebrity" worship + Martin Eden: A struggling author;s rise from Edenic innocence to the tragedy of death as a jaded skeptic + A study of youthful naivete, aspiration, and utter disillusionment..... + Inspiration for the struggling author... + A Neglected Classic             Snow Crash (Bantam Spectra Book)545 reviews Neal Stephenson Spectra, 2000 SNOW CRASH by Neal Stephenson + A Really Fun Cyberpunk Novel + I think I enjoyed it Snow Crash is a cyberpunk science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson, originally published in 1992. It involves virtual reality and computer science, religion (particularly ancient Mesopotamian religions, Sumerian in particular), linguistics, and philosophy. Stephenson writes in the present tense, ...             The Idiot24 reviews Fyodor Dostoevsky Vintage, 2003 is it ironic, or pragmatic? + Good + Was prince Myshkin really a positively beautiful individual????? + Personal Favorite Dostoevsky             Foucault's Pendulum395 reviews Umberto Eco Harvest Books, 2007 I can add little to the other wonderful reviews + Loved it! (The second time around.) Okay, this WAS a hard book to read. So much going on and so many references to cults and phenomina. Reading this book is more of an education than an entertainment. But what fun! Eco is a true literary genius, in the same class as his italian brethren of musical fame. Baudolino is perhaps ...             The Fountainhead967 reviews Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff Signet, 1996 More traditionally novelistic, tells the backstory of Atlas Shrugged + Fountainhead + Why Was This Book Written? + Fairy Tale             Buddha's Little Finger11 reviews Victor Pelevin Penguin (Non-Classics), 2001 With books like this, who needs drugs? + Life is but a dream + Russian Magic Realism with a Buddhist slant For Russian speakers: Definitely read this book (in Russian, obviously) if you liked Kafka. Read it if you ever felt curious about drugs. (This book should be classified as a "Schedule A" substance. :) Stay away from it if you like books that make sense. For English speakers: It's a great book, ...             The Alchemy of Finance (Wiley Investment Classics)22 reviews George Soros Wiley, 2003 hard to follow + Soros's uncertainty principle is a vague form of Keynesian Uncertainty,not Heisenberg uncertainty Honestly this book was hard to follow and I'm still not sure how Soros does it. He is an excellent thinker but I think this book was over the top for me.             Martin Eden (Penguin American Library)46 reviews Jack London Penguin Classics, 1994 London highlights ridiculous "celebrity" worship + Martin Eden: A struggling author;s rise from Edenic innocence to the tragedy of death as a jaded skeptic + A study of youthful naivete, aspiration, and utter disillusionment..... + Inspiration for the struggling author... + A Neglected Classic             History of Western Philosophy (Routledge Classics)82 reviews Bertrand Russell Routledge, 2004 One of the 20 Best Books Ever Written + One of the all-time greats + Absolutely Loved It + A brief comment             The Idiot24 reviews Fyodor Dostoevsky Vintage, 2003 is it ironic, or pragmatic? + Good + Was prince Myshkin really a positively beautiful individual????? + Personal Favorite Dostoevsky             Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)311 reviews Neal Stephenson Harper Perennial, 2004 Nearly Perfect Reading! + A fun way to learn some history + Just what I was looking for... + Part 1 of a lengthy epic