Recent Reads

Recently I have been enjoying some great books from the San Francisco Public Library. Even with great weather, plenty of work, and new people to meet I still enjoy finding time to read a good book. Here are a couple of my favorites that I have recently finished.

Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

A great book about high frequency trading and the heart breaking story of Sergey Aleynikov a programmer for Goldman Sachs that was arrested for stealing code. The controversial trial was supposedly over open source improvements made by Aleynikov. It was also great to read about the technology used by small trading startups and large banks. How the startup firms could create code that was always faster and better than the large banks.

How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson

An interesting read on six critical inventions shaped the world. One of Steven's thesis was the fact that no one invention is solely created by one person. He describes this as the Hummingbird Effect- how one invention is really built from previous advances over time. Many of the inventions we take for granted in this modern time such as light, cold (air conditioning, ice), and cleanliness were all huge inventions that shaped the world we see today.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The only fiction I have read in awhile came from recommendation by quite a few people. The story takes place during World War II following a Air Force Bombardier named Yossarian. Yossarian does anything in his power to stay alive and most people in his unit seem to think that makes him crazy. The entire book has a very dark sense of humor that makes the book a great read.

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson

My latest read is another book about inventions changing our world. This book is filled with innovators and hackers that have created much of our digital world. Without these innovators I would not have had my job, without these innovators I don't know what my hobbies would include because without these inventors we wouldn't have the computer or smart phones.