Pastoralia54 reviews George Saunders Riverhead Trade, 2001 Failing into Grace + Author is a must read + NEEDS SOMETHING + Great Tales + more pleasure from mr. saunders.             The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work6 reviews Peter Block Jossey-Bass, 1991 Required reading for any person in a leadership position + Lucid directions on how to rule + The Fundamental Text on Empowerment + This is a "must-have" for anyone in a leadership role.             The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution180 reviews Richard Dawkins Mariner Books, 2005 The perfect gift/get! + Is it Wrong? + Not without its flaws, but a must-read for anyone interested in the subject + A great introduction to the science of Evolution + Evolutionary Biology             Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, ...47 reviews Julian Rubinstein Back Bay Books, 2005 Fantastic, Hilarious...and a Bit Chilling! + A highly entertaining tale + ballad of the whiskey bandit + Brilliant!             Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors81 reviews Nicholas Wade Penguin, 2007 Simply the Best Survey of Human Prehistory for the Layman + Very Interesting Read. + Great Book + Ammo for conservatives + Engrossing             The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (P.S.)99 reviews Jared M. Diamond Harper Perennial, 2006 Diamond is Brilliant + As Chimpy as You Wanna Be + This book is a Great Leap Forward A good read for anyone who's interested in anthropology or evolution. One of Diamond's main points in this book is that humans are not so different from our biological cousins, the apes. In fact, he says, we are more genetically close to chimpanzees than some species of orangutans are to other ...             Gilead: A Novel303 reviews Marilynne Robinson Picador, 2006 This is a nearly perfect book + A Hill of Testimony + beautifully written novel of reflection Gilead is a nearly perfect book. It is quiet, multi-layered, and deeply spiritual. Composed in the form of a letter from the elderly protagonist, John Ames, to his young son, the work is a meditative near-monologue about faith, anger, love, and forgiveness; emotional patrimony, isolation, and ...             The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good53 reviews William Easterly Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007 How Global Aid became a Cash Laden Cow instead of a Thoroughbred Racehorse (or Bureaucracies eat oats too, don't they?) + Review of White Man's Burden + Want to understand the World? + Despite the title, a little to PC to be effective             Orientalism70 reviews Edward W. Said Vintage, 1979 Intelligent and Poignant + A masterpiece about the origins of "knowledge"! This book is a great overview and as noted by many others, a true work of literary genius. Colonial subjects, such as Said himself, have a hard time placing themselves in the mess of Colonialism and the supposed Post-Colonial era we live in and this book aids in that coming to terms process. Said ...             Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't705 reviews Jim Collins Collins Business, 2001 For hiring managers, and those looking for leaders + "Good to Great" an exceptional leadership reference + A good look at what companies can do to manage talent + Good to Great + Good to Great review             Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies149 reviews Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras Collins Business, 2004 The "Core Values" of Corporate Business of the Yesterday and Today + Amazing Book!! + Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant + Built to Last + A Must Read Together With Good To Great             Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media85 reviews Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky Pantheon, 2002 Your life could depend on reading this book. + Eye Opener + Eye Opening + One of Chomsky's best (and still applicable today) + Chomsky's pinnacle             King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa188 reviews Adam Hochschild Mariner Books, 1999 The facts of Western Civilization + The Friendly Belgians + Be careful who you sit down to tea with + Leopold: Evil Genius + Amazingly eyeopening             Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays48 reviews David Foster Wallace Back Bay Books, 2007 Smart, eclectic, and hilariously funny. + for DFW disciples Full disclosure: I have a major intellectual crush on David Foster Wallace. Yes, yes, I know about his weaknesses - the digressions, the rampant footnote abuse, the flaunting of his amazing erudition, the mess that is 'Infinite Jest'. I know all this, and I don't care. Because when he is in top ...             Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies1075 reviews Jared Diamond W. W. Norton, 2005 A profound and lasting classic + History; It's What's for Dinner + Fascinating! + Great subject and treatment - shakey science             A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)641 reviews Howard Zinn Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005 History of the U.S. book + History falls somwhere in the middle, and this is an important side of it + Everyone should read this book. A must for high school, jr. high/middle school students who want a good, solid summary understanding of U.S. history!             Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit869 reviews Daniel Quinn Bantam, 1995 Thank you Ishmael + Life Changing Novel + Original, Thought-Provoking and Intriguing + Step out of the box!             Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty77 reviews Muhammad Yunus PublicAffairs, 2008 A book about poverty and Triumph + Great Way to give a Hand Up + banker to the poor + Banker to the Poor + Wonderful and Inspiring!             Breakfast of Champions253 reviews Kurt Vonnegut Dial Press Trade Paperback, 1999 Breakfast Of Champions + Vonnegut is the Best!!! + Love the story, but the Kindle version's editing was HORRIBLE + You must read this             Mediated: How the Media Shapes Our World and the Way We Live in It29 reviews Thomas de Zengotita Bloomsbury USA, 2006 A clear-eyed book + Excellent book, but (ironically) a little "blobbish" I'm probably like most people who read this book: I'm reading it a second time in order to pull together all the sense-making pieces, and trying to re-think my experiences growing up in America in the period de Zengotita describes. He hits many nails on the head. My only disappointment with this ...