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Ask HN: What book should I read next?
Just finished re-reading The Martian, now I fancy some nonfiction. Any recommendations?
- kkaranth 7y ago* Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich: A great pop-sci book about how animals adapt to extreme winter biomes * Deep by James Nestor: A look at the extreme sport of freediving, where contestants train to submerge to depths much greater than 400ft without any oxygen and pressure equalizing equipment * The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by John Gertner: A great book about the history of Bell Labs, the scientists and engineers that brought great innovations to society including phones * Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla by Marc Seifer: A biography of Nikola Tesla. Its quite astounding how much one person can achieve in their lifetime
- eitland 7y agoI very much enjoyed reading "The Mythical Man-Month" (as well as listening to the Phoenix project, but that doesn't strictly qualify as non-fiction I guess.) The Mythical Man-Month was interesting to me becauset the situationsiit describes are totally different and yet eerily similar.
- thorin 7y ago7 years in Tibet
- mindcrime 7y agoThe Soul of a New Machine - Tracy Kidder. A classic that inspired many people (myself included) to become interested in the computing field. Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier - Katie Haffner & John Markoff - there is some dispute about the factual accuracy of some of the book, but it's wildly entertaining nonetheless. The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage - Cliff Stoll Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - Steven Levy Charles Proteus Steinmetz: The Electrical Wizard of Schenectady - Robert W. Bly Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe - Lee Smolin The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next - Lee Smolin The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real - William Irwin
- idoescompooters 7y agoPermanent Record - Edward Snoden
- durmonski 7y agoCan’t Hurt Me by David Goggins Here's a summary if you don't want to read the whole thing: https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/cant-hurt-me/ https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/cant-hurt-me/
- sharma_pradeep 7y agoFarming
- MattLeBlanc001 7y agoBad Blood by John Carreyrou
- 13415 7y agoThe Knowledge - Lewis Dartnell It changed my perspective on modern civilization and the necessity of global shipping & trading.
- RaceWon 7y agoIf you're in the space of being an Entrepreneur, you should understand sales, and ultimately negotiation. Sales comes down to building desire, different people can desire the same product for different reasons. Understand this fact and you will be head and shoulders above 80% of all Entrepreneurs. Negotiating come down to two things, the first one is Sales related: you do NOT negotiate with someone who does NOT desire what you have. The second is being willing to walk away. Loathe or Love--Trump he owns this. If you are not willing to walk even when it hurts--you are Not negotiating you are capitulating. Zig Ziglar explains sales well. And "Never Split The Difference" by Voss is the best negotiating book I've ever read, and not to brag; but my name is on plaques in more than one company as the Top Performer where they hold sales meetings. Side note; Voss does advocate for splitting the difference--at times. And so do I, because it is one tool of many that works.
- neuroticfish 7y agoI don't have a specific suggestion, but maybe find a good book about Mars? Seems like a logical follow-up to reading The Martian.