Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, Ranulph Fiennes

A present from my lovely wife (big props on finding this one for me), Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know is Ranulph Fiennes’ (not Ralph, that’s his cousin) autobiography; he’s one of his generation’s preeminent polar explorers, he set a number of solo and team records for treks to both poles as well as his famous trans-global trek around the planet’s circumference in one calendar year.  It also chronicles his various other expeditions, such as Everest attempts and climbs up the North Face of the Eiger, he really has lead an amazing life.  Some of his exploits were enthralling, but what was really eye-popping was some of the pain and endurance stories he weaves into his travels; at one point he has to chop off frost-bitten fingertips with a hack saw to alleviate the pain.  There’s one point where he and his teammate are crossing the Antarctic, slowly starving to death because their bodies are burning in excess of 11,000 calories a day while they can only physically consume around 8,000 calories of food.  When it comes to adventure, this book doesn’t leave the reader wanting…

Before the Dawn, Nicholas Wade

Art kindly shipped his second copy of this book to me from Seattle, a very enlightening and interesting read.  Given, it’s not the kind of book you’re not going to be able to put down, but Wade does a commendable job of weaving what could be a sleeper into almost story-like prose.  He touches topics ranging from the travels of the first humans out of Africa, the evolutionary paths of the ancestral human population into the three upright-walking hominid species, the development of language throughout human history, and the role of genetics when it comes to disease. 

I learned a lot of things about our species, some very interesting stuff in here.  Did you know that 100% of Danes are lactose tolerant, 99% of Swedes, while 75% of some African groups are lactose intolerant?  How about the fact that our genome shows that our entire human race’s ancestry can be traced back to a single pair of ancestral humans, a veritable Adam and Eve?  Want more, have a read…

Packer’s Lunch, Neil Chenoweth

Mum gave me Packer’s Lunch as a Christmas present last year, what an eye-opener!  Although I’m sure it exists here as well, the “old school tie” network endemic to Australian business isn’t nearly as visible in the States; Chenoweth weaves his story naming a who’s who of high-profile Australian business from the late 80s to the present.  Great to read about all the wheeling and dealing from the last couple of decade’s newspapers collapsed into a single, coherent volume. 

While the title suggests the book concentrates on the Packer family exclusively, it’s really a discussion of the Sydney business network as a whole: the favours, tax dodges, stodgy deals and all the investigations to follow.  And, of course, most Australians know the suicidal conclusion to the story of one of the foci of the book, Rene Rivkin…  Rene’s story was especially interesting, as his involves the most drama, deception, tax evasion and, ultimately, the taking of his own life.  Quite a fun read, although a non-Australian reader might get a little lost without any knowledge of the background of all the characters Chenoweth discusses.

Marching Powder, Rusty Young

I didn’t just read this, I read it years ago when a friend of mine put me onto it.  But, I wanted to add it to the books category here because it’s hands down, without a doubt, my favorite book of all time.  Fortunately I started reading it when I had a bit of time to spare, because I almost couldn’t put it down, ended up finishing it in two sittings. 

Marching Powder tells the story of a British drug dealer’s nearly five years inside Bolivia’s San Pedro prison.  After being caught with cocaine in his suitcase en route to London, Thomas McFadden discovers the markedly different way in which Bolivian prosions operate: he’s forced to pay for his accommodations, buy his food and earn a living inside the prison, where he reports that the majority of Bolivia’s export cocaine is manufactured.  McFadden ends up earning his keep by running tours of the prison for foreign tourists, an operation that eventually saw him receive a mention in the Bolivian Lonely Planet guide book!

Scar Tissue,  Anthony Kiedis

I don’t think this would be the type of book I’d usually pick up in the book store, but I must say I really did enjoy it, the shock and awe made it almost impossible to put it down.  I was amazed by the accounts of drug use in James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces; turns out Frey fabricated a lot of his book.  But Kiedis amazes with his true-life accounts of drug abuse and womanizing, unbelievable the chemicals this guy’s forced into his bloodstream over the years, I’m surprised he’s still alive.  Like he says in the book time and time again, I just can’t comprehend his kind of addiction without experiencing it myself (no thanks!).  Amazing that Kiedis has headed up one of the most successful bands of my generation, he spent a good portion of his early years as a broke drug addict on the streets of LA.  Big-ups to the Blythe Street Massiv for donating this book my collection.

Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Just finished this one, pretty good read, reminded me a lot of my Behavioral Finance class at Cal.  If I’d never learned anything about the way the mind deals with probabilities and the role randomness playes in life in general, this would have been a real eye-opener.  Nassim Taleb uses the book as a channel for his rants and pet peeves now and then; his hatred of journalists and despite for the lack of accountability of economists is pretty amusing.  Well worth a look…