Archive for the 'Books' Category

As if on cue… (Checklists, round 2)

February 14th, 2010

Yesterday, I wrote about an absolute must-read book: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
It has been shown in an extensive world-wide study that a simple checklist used in surgery cuts infection rates, cuts death rates, and saves costs. It does all of these by substantial margins, everywhere they’ve been implemented. But [...]


The Checklist Manifesto – A hugely important book

February 13th, 2010

Back in 2007 I read a fascinating article called “The Checklist” written by Dr. Atul Gawande in the New Yorker. Atul Gawande is a practicing surgeon, MacArthur Fellow, Rhodes Scholar and professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. The article described how a doctor convinced a group of hospitals [...]


Hacking the GMAT

December 3rd, 2008

I was thinking recently that it was only about a year or so ago that I finally decided to apply for business school. Registering (and paying!) for the GMAT was a first big step into making it real.
For those people that are reading this and have yet to take the GMAT, I have just [...]


Meditations – the start of a series

July 27th, 2008

I picked up a book recently that’s been both a fascinating and inspirational read: “Meditations,” by Marcus Aurelius. (This book is the translation I actually own, which is a bit newer and has an unnecessarily pompous title.)
I’ve found it a great little book to keep with my bag as I ride the Tube into [...]


A couple of recent reads

March 31st, 2008

I wanted to write about two books that I’ve read recently. The Nine, by Jeffrey Toobin, and Imperial Life in the Emerald City, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
I bought “The Nine” a number of months ago as I browsed in a Washington DC bookshop. I’m fascinated [...]


Incredible bookstore!

November 8th, 2007

A while ago I read about this absolutely INCREDIBLE new bookstore in the Netherlands. (H/T to John at Brand Autopsy.) An old (essentially unused) church in the heart of this city was turned into the most incredible bookstore you’ll likely ever see.
The building hadn’t been used as a church for years. In [...]