Portman Wills

www.portmanwills.com

This is a (very, very infrequent) blog.
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2014 ▪ 2013 ▪ 2012 ▪ 2011

Most Thought-Provoking Books of 2014

  1. How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
    by Steven Johnson published September 30, 2014
    Printing press leads to farsightedness which leads to lenses which leads to telescopes and microscopes. And 5 other unexpected "Hummingbird Effects".
  2. Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt
    3. by Michael Lewis published March 31, 2014
    Infuriating expose of how high-frequency trading (HFT) is corrupting US financial markets, and the insane lengths traders will go to in search of microsecond advantages.
  3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
    by Ben Horowitz published March 4, 2014
    Honest, self-critical description of successes and screw-ups from Horowitz's distinguished career as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
  4. How Google Works
    by Eric Schmidt published September 23, 2014
    You would expect self-serving congratulatory fluff, but it's actually a surprisingly honest review of what's worked (and failed) during Google's rapid ascent.
  5. The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger
    by Marc Levinson published June 29, 2010 (I'm late!)
    Convincingly argues that globalization, the rise of China, and the modern consumerist society can be traced to the 1956 invention of the 40-foot shipping container.

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