Here’s what I’ve been reading for the past three months:
- The Buffett Essays Symposium — It’s an annotated transcript of a 1996 symposium held alongside the release of The Essays of Warren Buffett. Buffett was in attendance, of course, along with Charlie Munger and others to discuss issues on corporate governance, accounting, investing, M&A, and more. The book is a nice supplement to The Essays. (notes)
- How We Know What Isn’t So — Thomas Gilovich looks at human judgment and why we fall prey to mistaken beliefs and fallacies. He uses research and examples to show how cognitive biases, like the hot hand fallacy, the Barnum effect, and others, cause errors in decision-making. He closes the book with suggestions on how best to avoid erroneous beliefs. (notes)
- Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in His Own Words — The book is a curated collection of Steve Jobs’s emails, writing, speeches, and more from throughout his life. You get his thoughts on creativity, technology, and business, and how those views changed over time. Overall, the book is a history of his life. Copies are free at the Steve Jobs Archive. (notes)
- The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph — Tom Standage tells the story of the invention of the telegraph. From the first optical telegraph invented in France to the electric telegraph, the new invention cut communication time from days to minutes and changed the world. The book also offers some broader lessons on how the public views new inventions, first with skepticism then enthusiasm, and how early adopters drive the technology forward. Notes to come.