What I Read in 2023
It's hard to imagine that we're at the close of another year. Looking back, there have been a lot of good reads across a variety of genres. Surprisingly, I've encountered 23 of them! Here is the recap.
Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
By: Marcus Aurelius
Meditations is former U.S. President Bill Clinton's favorite book. This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 AD, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.
The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness
By: Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga
The Courage to Be Disliked, already an enormous best seller in Asia with more than 3.5 million copies sold, demonstrates how to unlock the power within yourself to be the person you truly want to be.
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX
By: Eric Berger
The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX - and Elon Musk - from a shaky startup into the world's leading-edge rocket company.
Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within
By: David Goggins
This is not a self-help book. It’s a wake-up call.
Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon
By: William D. Cohan
The dramatic rise—and unimaginable fall—of America's most iconic corporation by New York Times bestselling author and pre-eminent financial journalist William D. Cohan.
When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm
By: Walt Bogdanich, Michael Forsythe
An explosive, deeply reported exposé of McKinsey & Company, the international consulting firm that advises corporations and governments, that highlights the often drastic impact of its work on employees and citizens around the world.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
By: Tom Standage
Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst.
The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win
By: Jocko Willink, Leif Babin
Every leader must be ready and willing to take charge, to make hard, crucial calls for the good of the team and the mission. Something much more difficult to understand is that in order to be a good leader, one must also be a good follower.
Only the Dead: A Thriller (Terminal List, Book 6)
By: Jack Carr
Navy SEAL James Reece faces a devastating global conspiracy in this high-adrenaline thriller that is ripped from the headlines—from the #1 New York Times best-selling author Jack Carr.
Investments Unlimited: A Novel About DevOps, Security, Audit Compliance, and Thriving in the Digital Age
By: Helen Beal, Bill Bensing, Jason Cox, Michael Edenzon, Topo Pal, Caleb Queern, John Rzezotarski, Andres Vega, John Willis
In the vein of bestselling titles The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project, Investments Unlimited helps organizations radically rethink how they handle audit, compliance, and security for their software systems.
For nearly 130 years, Black's Law Dictionary has been the gold standard for the language of the law.
Profit is your key to survival.
by Darren Wilmshurst, Lindy Quick
Written by experienced Agile coaches, SPCTs, and a SAFe® Fellow, this guide is packed with real-world examples, use cases, and anecdotes, and offers valuable guidance to help you avoid common pitfalls and successfully implement SAFe®
SAFe® for DevOps Practitioners: Implement robust, secure, and scaled Agile solutions with the Continuous Delivery Pipeline
by Robert Wen (Author), Harry Koehnemann (Foreword)
Discover how the DevOps approach with Scaled Agile Framework helps you develop and deliver high-quality, secured solutions with a reduced risk of production failures with this step-by-step guide.
BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company
By: Jim Collins, William Lazier
BE 2.0 is a new and improved version of the book that Jim Collins and Bill Lazier wrote years ago. In BE 2.0, Jim Collins honors his mentor, Bill Lazier, who passed away in 2005, and reexamines the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship with his 2020 perspective.
Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America
By: David McCormick
Discover a groundbreaking vision for how to unlock America’s full potential for greatness from one of the country’s foremost conservative leaders: David McCormick, the former CEO of Bridgewater Associates.
The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health
The Real Anthony Fauci details how Fauci, Gates, and their cohorts use their control of media outlets, scientific journals, key government agencies, global intelligence agencies, and influential scientists and physicians to flood the public with fearful propaganda about COVID-19.
By: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
Originally published anonymously, The Federalist Papers first appeared in 1787 as a series of letters to New York newspapers exhorting voters to ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States.
Stephen M.R. Covey has made it his life’s work to understand trust in leadership and organizations. In Trust and Inspire, he offers a simple yet bold solution: to shift from this “command and control” model to a leadership style of “trust and inspire.”
Boston Bound: A 7-Year Journey to Overcome Mental Barriers and Qualify for the Boston Marathon
By: Elizabeth Clor
For anyone seeking to realize their full potential, physically or otherwise, this story provides specific tools and a useful framework to identify and remove mental roadblocks.
Prepared: A Manual for Surviving Worst-Case Scenarios
By: Mike Glover, Jack Carr - foreword
A former Green Beret’s indispensable course in preparedness, Prepared teaches the keys to building a resilient, fearless life.
Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
By: Tony Fadell
Build is full of personal stories, practical advice and fascinating insights into some of the most impactful products and people of the 20th century.
Wiring the Winning Organization By: Gene Kim, Steve Spear
This groundbreaking theory of organizational advantage details three components: simplification, slowification, and amplification. These create coherence across large, complex organizations, empowering them to architect enviable success in the market.