The Summer Reading List

Off to Central America for a break - - what is in the book page for the summer:

• Fat, Drunk, and Stupid: The Inside Story Behind the Making of Animal House by Matty Simmons.  Simmons is the creative genius behind the movie Animal House.
• The Lifeboat by Reagan Arthur.  In honor of the 100th anniversary of Titanic.
• Breakout Nations by Ruchir Sharma.  The winners and losers in the coming years.  From 2003 - 2007, growth in the emerging markets averaged 7.2%, double the rate over the previous decades.  The words "double" and "winner" have high correlation in the context of globalization.
• Creating Innovators: The making of Young People Who Will Change the World by Tony Wagner.  Turning the 3 Ps - play, passion, and purpose - - the foundation of creative minds, into a force for innovation.
• Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent by Edward Luce.  A Brit that writes for the Financial Times - - not a feel good read.
• Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith.  Portrait of a leader - - from war to peace.
• The Passage of Power by Robert Caro.  Over the years, Caro has taught us LBJ's rages, his ruthlessness, his lies, his bribes, his insecurities, his wheeling, his groveling, his bluster, his sycophancy, his charm, his kindness, his streak of compassion, his friends, his enemies, his girlfriends, his gofers, his bagmen, his table manners, his drinking habits, and even the nickname for his penis.
• Innovation: Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble.  Reversing the flow of innovation - - from the developing world to the developed word.
• Water Reuse: Potential for Expanding the Nation's Water Supply Through Reuse of Municipal Wastewater (Prepublication Copy) by the National Research Council.  The science behind a water resources future that may end and start with your toilet.
• The Reckoning: Debt, Democracy, and the Future of American Power by Michael Moran.  The debt is projected to reach 109% of GDP by 2021 - - the point we all move underwater.
• Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair With Trash by Edward Humes.  Must reading for a country that throws away 40 billion plastic knives, forks, and spoons along with the food (28 billion pounds).
• Countering Design Exclusion: An Introduction to Inclusive Design by Simeon Keates and John Clarkson.  The planet is not getting any younger and many people experience unnecessary difficulties when using common, everyday products and services.
• The Next Catastrophe by Charles Perrow.  From the author of Normal Accidents - - his latest looks at reducing our vulnerabilities to natural, industrial, and terrorist disasters.
• CE 180 Engineering Systems Class Notes Part 1 and 2.  Class taught by Professor Robert Bea, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.
• Headhunters by Jo Nesbo.  The movie was currently released - - watch the trailer.  Nesbo is one of the best Scandinavian crime writers.
• Art of the Sale: Learning from the Masters About the Business of Life by Philip Delves Broughton.  I finished it in two days.  In the running for my best business book of 2012.  A must read!!  The profile of the Boeing engineer as uber-salesman is very good.
• American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman.  Inside a company with an engineer as CEO - - how things get done and why they are done that way from the mind of an engineer.
• Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel  The follow-up to Wolf Hall and the saga of Thomas Cromwell.  Look for the Cromwell Guide to Management in the future - - "Once you have exhausted the process of negotiation and compromise, once you have fixed on the destruction of an enemy, that destruction must be swift and it must be perfect.  Before you even glance in his direction, you should have his name on a warrant, the ports blocked, his wife and friends bought, his heir under your protection, his money in you strong room and his dog running to your whistle.  Before he wakes in the morning, you should have the ax in your hand."
• Infrastructure Sustainability and Design edited by Pollalis, Georgoulias, Ramos, Schodek.  Twenty-two chapters on the full spectrum of sustainability in the context of public infrastructure.  Sustainability along four axes - - allocation of resources, impact on the natural world, climate change, and quality of life.
• Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power by Steve Coll.  A balanced view of an organization marked by superior operating discipline and long-term outstanding financial performance.  Plus, you learn ex-CEOs Raymond's favorite drink - - a glass of milk with popcorn in it.