Consider a book-Books worth reading

This book is Friedman's seminal work.  A Nobel prize-winning economist lays out the classical-liberal principles of negative rights and the supremacy of freedom of choice and then embarks on an epic venture of connecting the principles of freedom to government policy and social well being. He explores monetary and fiscal policy, state-sponsored education, social discrimination, healthcare, and licensure. He also addresses counter-arguments with stunning thoroughness including monopoly and monopsony, social responsibility, and welfare. My reactions are overwhelmingly positive. The arguments are extraordinarily well reasoned and many of them resonate deeply. I don't agree with all of his points. I think licensure and corporate responsibility both require a more nuanced view for effective management, but I can appreciate an excellent argument. More importantly, this book ought to be the bible for economic conservatives today. Many of the modern nuanced ideas about free markets

This has probably been my least favorite Clancy book the details, the personalities, even the tactics are really good. As knowledgeable as he is in many areas Clancy has a tenuous grasp of macroeconomics and politics. On the bright side, the details of biological warfare are interesting, and as far as I can tell after consulting with my medical family members, accurate. There is plenty of material worth thinking about, but the lack of external integrity in the areas of politics is a bit of a letdown from his earlier books. I definitely wouldn't start the series with this book. see my  general Clancy  post for a broader take on the series Verdict Lukewarm

The Alchemist  I’m not sure much needs to be said about this. Most have already read it. It was basically a collection of motivational quotes threaded together into a story. I really liked how it combined the virtues of hard work and individual agency with the inevitability of destiny. I wasn’t so much of a fan of the crystal gazing theology. Thanks Kasen. Verdict Lukwarm

Without Remorse: Lukewarm The detail and human approach are classic Clancy but this is by far the darkest one he’s written. Prostitution, brutal rape and murder, etc. Think Vietnam. I won’t reread this, but it weaves a worthwhile deontological and utilitarian case for the application of surgical violence. Verdict Lukewarm see my general Clancy post for a broader take on the series

Atomic Habits: The page summaries at the end of each chapter are worth reading. I’m not convinced the whole book is. My biggest takeaways are habit stacking (I have a habit of going to class every day at 8am if I want a habit of working out, I’ll just say every time I go to class I’ll work out.) building in rewards for good habits (I’ll listen to an exciting novel only while I work out) and creating an easy environment aka the Ulysses approach, (Get rid of triggers, the box of cereal, the tv in your room etc.) Thanks for the recommendation, Brandon Leyva! Verdict: Lukewarm

The checklist manifesto  I’ve been a Gawande fan for a while now. Mortality is one of my favorite books. Gawande is more famous for this book but I find it less relevant to the lay consumer. It’s geared towards MDs. Basically, it talks about the power of using checklists to breakdown complex tasks into small bites. Those tasks can be as slow-moving as a massive construction project or as fast as an airplane emergency or a high stakes surgery. The type of situation calls for various types of checklists and the chaos element of the situation necessitates various contingency lists. Highly valuable for project managers and productivity junkies. Worth a reread!  Thanks, Gary Guthhart! Verdict  Recommend