Q2 2021 Reading Review

Another quarter - another reading review. I hope everyone out there has a happy, healthy 4th of July holiday weekend and gets to spend it face to face with their favorite humans. If not - here are some new reads you may want to grab while you chill by the pool. Enjoy.

Miracles on the Hardwood: The Hope and a Prayer Story of a Winning Tradition in Catholic College Basketball - A truly exhaustive history of the Catholic universities that helped shape college hoops from the games inception. In particular, the Jesuits are discussed in great deal in terms of having an outsized impact on the game given their relatively small footprint inside the broader catholic college system. For the big hoops fan in your family - it's a historically deep analysis of the game and takes you from Naismith to the present stars in the college game via programs like Villanova and Jay Wright.

The Walls Within: The Politics of Immigration in Modern America - A shout out to former colleague Nick Barnard for seeing his wife in print here! This is a deep exploration of our internal policies toward immigration dating back to California's highly publicized attack on Asian immigration via the Chinese Exclusion Act forward to modern times. Well written and well researched. It helps the reader see that the modern legal/social scuffles on the subject are a lot of "what is old is new again" debating.

Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country

A book that took over a decade to write. It follows the story of a woman (Lisa Yellow Bird) who is equal parts mother, ex-junkie, detective and former felon. The story follows her unlikely path to unwind the murder of a white man on an oil camp inside tribal territory in North Dakota. The book is well written but slow. It's a unique story with a truly unique character. More than the murder - it felt like a meditation on what it means to be a good person, a good parent and how we can all seek and find redemption from past mistakes. It is unlike anything I have read before.

Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Near the end of the book the authors admit the title is a bad one. They state the book isn't about extremism - it's actually about balance. I wished they would change the title as I believe the book has a ton of great leadership concepts in it. However, in the current form, I think it will turn off anyone who assumes it's full or combat jargon and jarhead military stories - it's not. There are a ton of simple yet specific lessons about leadership in the truest sense. Seals are required to lead missions where failure results in death. Situations where death is a consequence of your leadership if it is clouded and weak requires humility and introspection. Worth the read - DON'T get turned off by the title or the military orientation if you're not "into that sort of thing" - A few words of wisdom on what a good leader looks like from the SEAL perspective:

Balance is the key.?

Calm but not a robot.?

Confident but not cocky.?

Brave but not a hero/fool.?

Competitive but gracious.?

Detail oriented but not obsessed with them.?

Strong with endurance.?

Humble but never passive.?

I think we can all agree - we would like to work and be around people that have these characteristics.

The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton

If you are into the spy community this is a must read. Here a few tidbits on Angleton from the book. After working for the OSS in WW2 he is tapped to run fascists out of Italy. During WW2 he also was involved with the ULTRA code breaking project the British ran against the Nazi's. In Italy he becomes deeply connected with the Vatican and also befriends Montini who would go on to be the Pope. In the CIA he gets involved in running MKULTRA which is focused on dosing people with LSD to see if they can use it as truth serum. He runs operation BLUEBIRD which doses enemy combatants as well. Once back in the US he leads project VENOMA to root out KGB agents inside the US spy community. He becomes head of the CIA counter intelligence group in 1954. He shows up in countless FBI memos as a source for intelligence but never by name. He runs COINTELPRO that is a joint CIA/FBI operation to spy on groups deemed dangerous inside the US. He was the only person to control a file on Lee Harvey Oswald. He runs the ZR RIFLE program which was designed to find criminals to perform political hits for the CIA. He also runs project CHAOS to track any US citizens deemed a political threat. He opens files on more than 7,000 citizens. They don't make spooks like this guy anymore -- or maybe they do...

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story

I normally love everything Michael Lewis writes and while this was interesting I just didn't love it. Maybe we're still too close to the whole thing - I am not sure. One point he makes throughout the book - there were many people that could see an event like this would come. The first in government to bring money and focus to the issue was George W. Bush - Obama continued the effort and focus. Yet, despite that cross-aisle political agreement -- all of that good work was burnt to the ground during the Trump administration. An abomination of the highest order.

Leadership & Self Deception

We have all either been around people or have actually been THE person caught in negative loop at one point in their life. Sometimes a situation will trigger the loop - many times the loop is triggered by working or being around another negative person. This book is an examination of thought process more than leadership. The author talks a lot about the idea of a "box" - In the box you undermine the effectiveness of all things that you do. You invite more of what you complain about. What you want most is to feel justified in your anger or contempt. The box feeds off this.

The idea of self betrayal is described as:

1. An act contrary to what you feel

2. When you do this you see the world that justifies your betrayal?

3. Your view distorts?

4. You enter the box?

5. The box becomes your character.?

6. You provoke others to be in their box.?

7. We invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in the negative feedback loops.?

The book goes on to explore this simple yet important concept - it was actually a book recommended by the authors in the SEAL story (above) as a critical read for anyone in a leadership position. I liked it and while it's written in a somewhat pedestrian way - the concepts are important enough to give it a spin.

Derby Innovator: The Making of Animal Kingdom - The story of Barry Irwin's life. Irwin runs Team Valor. A horse racing syndicate that operates both here and in Europe. If you are into the race game this is a good look behind the scenes at the characters and cons that populate the sport. To Irwin's credit - beyond winning the Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom - he has been one of the loudest industry voices speaking out against cheats like Bob Baffert. He has called these cheats out loud and by their name and that takes backbone. Irwin is one of the guys trying to leave the sport better than when he entered it - I'm for it.

Escaping the Build Trap - Probably the most interesting book I have read on product design (software) and how teams succeed and fail. A recommendation from Nate Stewart who is the CPO at Cockroach Labs. At the heart of the book the author stresses that good product must be focused on outcomes not outputs. Too many teams are designed to ship enhancements to code, ship features or on occasion, fully formed new products - but seldom are those teams measured on client outcomes & success. Rather they are driven toward "getting the thing out the door" not on how the thing performs in the wild once out the door. There are some important pages on what a good vs great CPO looks like that are worth spending time on too. Lastly - through her consulting work the author makes some observations late in the book on people and product that essentially boil down to -- People will get in the way of good product every time. Even if it’s the best idea for the company. If it doesn’t meet the personal agenda of the leaders it will get tanked.

(Sounds like being in the "box" right?)

Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six Shooter that Changed America - This was hands down my favorite read of the last quarter. An exhaustive look at the larger than life experiences of Sam Colt - the infamous inventor of the Colt Revolver. One could argue Colt has done more to grow and destroy the United States than nearly any man before or since. From being placed on a boat at the age of sixteen to sail to Calcutta India, to peddling nitrous oxide to fund the original design of the gun - Colt wanders earth as both visionary and carnival barker. He lives many of his short 47 years of life in poverty - only to eventually see dynastic wealth before his death in 1862. A fascinating study on one of the most important and seldom discussed inventors in US history -- it's long, and it's deep in detail, but it's a great read. 5 stars.