Notes and summaries from Books I've Read

Humans are endurance running machines. McDougall takes us on a trip to the Sierra Madre of the Tarahumara to uncover the secrets and science of running.

Haruki Murakami's memoir is an ode to running and writing

A concise and practical guide to marketing.

This is a book about tools and mental models for better thinking. Inspired by the wisdom of Charles Munger and Warren Buffett, the books is a very good attempt at condensing timeless wisdom in a readable, and actionable manner. It changed my life.

This book condenses the philosophy of leadership that Bill Walsh—one of the most successful head coaches in NFLs history—developed and applied throughout his career. It is a philosophy rooted in excellence and sacrifice. It shows that there are really no short-cuts to being and doing great. Put in the work and "the score will take care of itself"

Idea Makers is a wonderful collection of essays in which Wolfram explores the lives of people that have influenced his life and work. It contains stories of historical figures like Ada Lovelace and Liebniz and also stories about modern figures with whom he interacted (Richard Feynman, Steve Jobs). I enjoyed this book very much. The personal and curious style really captivated me

Jack of all trades, master of none seems to be a great skill after all. Experts tend to be limited by their knowledge. Explore like Roger and don't burn out like Tiger.

Bold ideas about human progress and where technology is going. You will see progress and society with a new lens after you read it

Aphorisms. Lots of them. It is good to read only one page a day.

This book is one of the best books I've read this year. The book is a lesson on political organization but can be seen as a lesson for life. Power, for example is not about what you have but about what your opponent thinks you have

Insightful ideas about why great companies become great. It is more about the team than the individual. Less ego, more curiosity and open communications. Many of the ideas exposed here can be used in your own life as well.

I read it while struggling with a lot of projects and ideas. The solution: say no more often than you say yes. Think deeply about what you want to achieve. First remove the unnecessary things. Then execute

This book will change your life.

This is the best introduction to Stoicism. Holiday makes a fantastic job in distilling timless stoic ideas from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, and other ancient stoic philosophers.

This little book is a transcription of a series of lectures Feynman gave at the University of Washington in Seattle. It is a nice and quick read in it's entirety.

Antifragility is the property of things and systems that gain from disorder. This book is wonderful. It changed the way I see the world.

A timeless compilation of Plutarch's essays on Leadership

Notes on some Russell's essays about Education, Politics, Writing, Religion, and Sex

Peter Seibel interviews some of the most successful and prolific programmers of our time

When we invest money we try to be rational and think in terms of yield and ROIs. But when it comes to donating money we are mostly driven by emotion. This book tries to change that. The more rational and thoughtful we are about how and where we can make and impact, the more effective it can be

Neither Leonardo nor Isaacson need introductions. This book is a wonderful biography. Go read it. Stay curious.

Great working environments are possible. Not everything needs to be a meeting. Simplify and focus on what works

I am not a manager but I am convinced that this is the single most important book in the history of management

The science behind habit formation. You'll understand how the mechanisms work. It is helpful to get replace bad habits with good ones.

Everything about this book, from the pages, to the smell, to the content gave me a big sense of peace and detachement. It makes for a very nice and meditative read.

This is very easy to read and actionable book on Stoicism. I recommend it as an introductory book on the subject.

Newport introduces the idea of "deep work", long uninterrupted chunks of time in which we can work and develop our ideas. This is bold idea in an age were online communication and busyness are the norm

All sticky ideas have common traits, they follow patterns which have been applied successfully time and time again.

Epictetus talks about freedom

Life happens at the edge of chaos. Simple mathematical and physical rules are enough to explain how, by chance, we got here

All philosophies have a word and a practice for stillness, to some degree. Holiday shows why and how stillness is important. The teachings and wisdom he shares are relevant to us and important if we wish to be a good and fulfilling life

Learning and remembering things is always hard. In school we are taught a very rigid way of taking and organizing notes, mainly by topic and date. This book describes Niklas Luhman's Zettelkasten, a relational approach based on links between concepts and ideas. This is related to the notecard system used by Ryan Holiday and other authors

Rockerfeller lead an impressive life. I had this idea of him being a despicable man that would do anything for money. The book paints a more complete and compelling picture. He did indeed amass the biggest fortune of his time but was also a very big philanthropist

A refreshing view on how introverts can succeed in a world where being an extrovert is considered an advantage.

Kasparov is perhaps the greatest chess grandmaster of our time. In this book he recounts his life as a grandmaster and tries to describe what he thinks the machine-driven future holds for us.

Mastery is about loving the plateu, about keeping a beginner's mind.

A nice little book that tries to explain in very simple terms most things that science can now explain.

A descriptive and entertaining collection of essays about humanity's constant battle against Nature. McPhee tells us about the Americans' efforts to control the flow of the Mississipi and the debris flow of the Los Angeles Mountains and the battle between the Icelanders and volcanoes

Leadership principles from the battlefield. Willink and Babin fought in Iraq. They share their hard-tested lessons from the war and how they can be applied to business

A short self-help book from the early 1900s. Some ideas and human challenges are timeless. "History doesn't repeat itsefl, but it rhymes".

A timeless book on the art and science of making software in big teams. This book destroys the myth of the "man-hour", the idea that adding more human power to a project will make it better and quicker

Every software engineer should understand the difference between Tactical and Strategic programming

Algorithms have biases, the biases of their implementors. These are magnified with "big data".

This book just opens your eyes to the ocean world, to the deep that lies beneath us, to that immense blue that humbles me every time I swim in it.

A thorough study of why and how companies should create their own markets and escape from the competitive “red oceans”

Giovanni Drogo is sent on assignment to the border of the Kingdom. There, life is monotonous, time passes unnoticed and the soldiers get used to it. Drogo dies waiting for an enemy that will never arrive. I found this book melancholic and a sort of wake-up call. Time advances relentlessly. If we don't act now, if we don't get busy living there won't anything left for us but the past

Tips and tricks to do learn more in an effective way. A lot of learning techniques are compressed in this book. Highly reccommended if you are learning new things.

This as a historical overview of coffee, from its origins all the way to Starbucks and third wave coffee.

A holistic biography of Seneca. Wilson doesn't does an excellent job in describing the controversies in Seneca's life. On one hand we see him writing letters to his friends arguing in favor of the Stoic ideals. On the other he advises Nero, the Roman emperor and tyrant of his time

This book follows the same trend of Newport's two previous books (So Good They Can't Ignore you and Deep Work). Newport tries to argue for a more focused and intentional life and to do this, he argues, one needs to use tools (digital tools in this case) mindfully.

Tips about money and investing distilled. Very clear to read. A lot of useful information.

Goodman and Soni are some of my favorite biographers. Here they recount the life of Cato. It does a good job in depicting the man and the morals and also Rome at that time

A self-help book. Compelling ideas of how to accelerate time, and attempt to 10x your results.

Engaging inside view of Uribe's time as president of Colombia. Regardless of what you think of him, he was a key figure in setting Colombia on a path to success.

This is an informal introduction to core Economics principles. It took me a while to read it. I didn't enjoy the style. There are some useful ideas though

An amazing novel set up in the period between the two wars.

The authors propose a framework of five elements for better thinking and decision-making process: understand deeply, make mistakes, raise questions, follow ideas, change

This book makes us ask questions that, although simple and obvious in appearance, open avenues of self-exploration and criticism that we would not have found in any other way.