I somehow managed to read 2 books in September! My first book was The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo. The subtitle was what interested me- Why the new world disorder constantly surprises us and what we can do about it. I do a little bit of mathematical modeling for my job & was especially interested in the chaos (sandpile) theory of life. We can predict and anticipate extremely complex systems, but at a certain point, critical mass, all sorts of unpredictable and seemingly random things being to happen. Remember- we thought we know how the financial markets would react, how to prepare for Katrina, how to successfully execute a war & rebuild a country. With the speed of life (more importantly information and communication) increasing at exponential rates, the ability to make a bigger and worse mistake happens at lightening speed. My big take away from the book was that we can’t prepare or prefect everything (war, financial crisis, terrorism, natural disasters), but what we can do is be resiliant and flexible enough to prosper in the after shocks of such a major shock to our life.
Editor’s Review:
Today the very ideas that made America great imperil its future. Our plans go awry and policies fail. History’s grandest war against terrorism creates more terrorists. Global capitalism, intended to improve lives, increases the gap between rich and poor. Decisions made to stem a financial crisis guarantee its worsening. Environmental strategies to protect species lead to their extinction.
The traditional physics of power has been replaced by something radically different. In The Age of the Unthinkable, Joshua Cooper Ramo puts forth a revelatory new model for understanding our dangerously unpredictable world. Drawing upon history, economics, complexity theory, psychology, immunology, and the science of networks, he describes a new landscape of inherent unpredictability–and remarkable, wonderful possibility.
My second read was How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative by Allen Raymond. An interesting, quick read on history & politics about one campaign director who quickly rose up through the Republican ranks. It’s not so much a historical narrative about fraud or unethical activities on a large-scale, but it is his personal auto-biography of how he got caught up in winning and eventually went to jail for his actions. The internal dynamics of the Republican party was the most fascinating part
- the powerhouses in the South, Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America, the New England Republicans all vying for control and power.
OCTOBER’S READ: Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (hopefully can finish it this weekend!)
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: First night at home with hubby at week- going out for sushi!
