Tag Archives: nonfiction

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Great Webinars by Cynthia Clay – A Book Review

When I saw the 2012 publication date in the small print of Great Webinars, I frankly thought it may be outdated. I could not have been more wrong. During the last year and a half, I’ve attending more online calls, e-conferences, and virtual trainings then ever before in my life, and let me tell you, this book proved prophetic. It still very much applies to today’s world.

Cynthia Clay takes a pragmatic approach with Great Webinars. She first addresses everything that can go wrong with online facilitation. She then provides solutions to those mishaps. She delves into audience, objectives, and interactions as well. She also lends advice concerning PowerPoints, discusses learning transfer, and offers ways to overcome technology trauma. Does any of this sound applicable to your current state?

Honestly, I didn’t even know this level of online training occurred in 2012. If you play any role at all in any method of online education, you will not be disappointed with Great Webinars.

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Business Made Simple by Donald Miller – A Book Review

A good friend recommended Business Made Simple in order to bolster my business acumen as I continue navigating the corporate waters. There are several elements I appreciated about the book.

First of all, it’s very well organized. Miller broke the book down day-by-day, and even provided supplemental material if you’d like to take it a step further. The sections are short, clearly stated, and easy to comprehend.

Furthermore, Business Made Simple is quickly paced. Miller wasted no time, which is consistent with his theme throughout the book. Miller recognized that busy people often struggle finding the time to read, so he made Business Made Simple as appealing as possible–he made it easy to pick it up when there’s a few extra minutes to spare. And once started, it’s hard to stop.

The first half of the book contained solid information and potent reminders, but Business Made Simple truly shined in the latter half. I particularly found the chapters dealing with negotiations, management, and execution incredibly insightful.

Though new to the corporate world, I believe Business Made Simple will prove beneficial to even the most savvy of business people. I highly recommend you give it a read.

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Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – A Book Review

I recently heard about Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard during a WorkLife With Adam Grant podcast. It immediately grabbed my attention because, during the podcast, they addressed that major changes often have to start off with very small, focused steps. I wanted to know more.

I put the book on hold at my favorite library, Normal Public Library, and dug in the minute it arrived.

Nonfiction can always be a little laborious for me. In the past, I’ve found that many nonfiction books tend to deliver the crux of the topic upfront and then provide anecdote after anecdote after anecdote illustrating that main argument without really saying anything new.

Switch is not the typical nonfiction book. It breaks the main topic into three key components evenly distributed throughout the book, and each component builds upon the previous. This creates a pleasant pace that entices the audience to keep reading. Furthermore, while the book is full of illustrative examples, they are all radically different from one another. The Heath brothers deliver stories concerning changes needed in big government, small villages in Vietnam, hospitals, St. Lucia wildlife, department stores, rural American towns, breast cancer centers, a railroad company in Brazil, and much, much more. Best of all? Each change succeeded, and they explain how.

In fact, the Heaths provide three overarching steps required to enact any kind of change, no matter how big or small. What are those steps? You’ll have to read the book.

Quite honestly, out of all the nonfiction I’ve read, this is among my favorites. It’s well written, superbly paced, captivating, and actually applicable to all avenues of life. If you’re seeking change, I highly recommend you read Switch.

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All Of the Marvels by Douglas Wolk – A Book Review

As I strolled through the Normal Public Library, the above cover caught my eye primarily because of the little box in the corner depicting two heroic people, just like the comic books I enjoyed as a kid.

I picked it up, read the inside jacket, and–yep!–this book was written specifically for me.

With All Of the Marvels, Douglas Wolk, the author, took it upon himself to read every super hero comic book published by Marvel Comics. Every. Last. One.

We won’t get into the semantics as to how he did this, just accept the fact that he did. From there, Wolk breaks the book into categories dealing with prevalent themes. Some chapter titles include: “The Junction To Everywhere,” “The Mutant Metaphor,” and “The Iron Patriot Acts.” He also provides interesting interludes between chapters like “Diamonds Made of Sound,” “March, 1965,” and “Linda Carter.” Finally, the book finishes with an appendix zipping through Marvel’s overarching eras.

The truth is, the book gets off to a slow start because Wolk spends a lot of time setting the table, so to speak. About three chapters, if I’m not mistaken. However, once he actually dives into the comics and characters, the book flies. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Does Wolk address every single character and event that ever took place in Marvel Comics? No, that would be impossible to do in a work that you actually want people to read. But he finds captivating through lines, amazing coincidences, unintentional connections, and life-imitates-art moments. He also delves into the creators themselves with names such as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chris Claremont, and Walter Simonson.

In a book around 350 pages, Wolk successfully provides a substantive, thorough, analytical overview of Marvel Comics history, and he does so in an engaging, informal way. For die-hard Marvel fans, this is a must-read. For those casually interested in Marvel, the comics medium, or expansive storytelling, you will also be greatly rewarded for your time. Needless to say, I highly recommend All Of the Marvels by Douglas Wolk.

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Grit by Angela Duckworth – A Book Review

I first discovered research psychologist Angela Duckworth on a podcast called No Stupid Questions. During this podcast, Duckworth’s book, Grit, is often mentioned. I happen to thoroughly enjoy Duckworth’s personality and expertise, and so I finally got the book through my local library.

Grit explores, as the subtitle would suggest, the power of passion and perseverance. It dives into why some people simply have no quit in them. It spends time defining the quality, advising how to grow it from the inside out, and describing how some people grew it from the outside in.

It relies heavily on anecdotes with example after example after example. Like a lot of similar nonfiction, it perhaps overindulges in these narratives. For me, there always comes a point with these kinds of books where I say, “All right, already–I get it!” Of course, quitting a book called Grit would be embarrassing.

The best moments, as one would expect, arrive when Duckworth refers to research, data, and other psychologists. Furthermore, Duckworth also reveals quite a bit about her own story and the story of her family in relation to grit. I knew much of it already from the podcast, but I nonetheless found her candor refreshing. If anything, this aspect set her apart from other authors.

I absolutely found Grit inspiring. I also found it insightful in how to instill grit in one’s own children. While the page count was a bit too robust, the core of it proved fascinating. If this is a topic you find interesting, I highly recommend you give it a try.

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Range by David Epstein – A Book Review

While discussing our range of interests with friends, one of them recommended a book with that very name — Range by David Epstein. You may remember this author from his other, very popular book entitled The Sports Gene.

Subtitled Why Generalists Triumph In a Specialized World, Range offers many examples as to why it’s totally okay to find your path later in life and that specializing too early may actually prove to be an ultimate detriment. Epstein provides case after case of athletes, musicians, artists, scientists, and even inventors who benefitted from flitting from one interest to the next and how synthesizing all of those experiences proved a great advantage to them.

Epstein also discusses that when we become too specialized, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. A tight focus adhering to policy and routine can actually sometimes blind specialists to both potential problems and obvious solutions. Of course, Epstein celebrates those who are both specialists and generalists, but that’s not an easy feat for most people to accomplish due to time constraints.

As a parent, Range offered me quite a bit of solace. Epstein advocated for choice and play, especially among young people. He claims that driving children into a specialization, such as golf, can sometimes create the next Tiger Woods, but evidence suggest it is unlikely. For many different reasons, those kids become very good, but usually not exceptional.

I enjoyed some aspects of Range more than others. Like with similar books, the examples can sometimes feel overdone to me. However, I learned a lot from this book and I’m very glad that I read it. If you are interested in psychology, achievement, or specialization, I highly recommend you give it a look.

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The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell

I didn’t know exactly what to expect from The Bomber Mafia. The title is a little misleading if you’re not an air warfare aficionado. However, I generally enjoy everything Malcolm Gladwell writes, so I thought it was worth trying out.

The Bomber Mafia proved a quick, informative, engaging read that not only entertained me, but also taught me quite a bit about precision bombing, napalm, aerial combat strategy, the end of WWII, and the history of bombers. I won’t spoil much, but The Bomber Mafia claims to delve into those men who wanted to make precision bombing the norm–to eradicate random bombing–in order to quicken wars and to spare innocent lives. Ironically enough, they were known as The Bomber Mafia.

Of course, the title is a bit misleading. The majority of the book focuses on the US deciding to use firebombs in Japan rather than precision bombing, and it dives deeply into those men who made that pivotal decision.

As a result, The Bomber Mafia feels a little erratic at times, perhaps even disjoined. Nonetheless, the book does not suffer as a result. Gladwell is such a fine, fluid writer and the substance of the book is so fascinating that all of the detours and side trips end up working well enough together to create a vastly captivating read.

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Think Again by Adam Grant – A Book Review

I chose to read Adam Grant’s Think Again after hearing Angela Duckworth mention it on No Stupid Questions.

In Think Again, Grant challenges the reader to reconsider the thinking process. He provides ample evidence to reinforce the idea that thinking should not be a fixed exercise. The ability to change an opinion, the willingness to alter standard practices, and the power to admit being wrong can not only improve our lives, according to Grant, but even, in some cases, save our lives.

The format of the book reminded me a bit of Freakonomics or Outliers in that it introduces an idea and then offers several anecdotes in support of that idea. This structure makes for a fast pace and a quick read. As with those other books mentioned, I did find myself tiring of the stories by book’s end.

However, the main concept of the book certainly struck a chord with me both at a personal and professional level. I absolutely agree with many points Grant makes in the book regarding the importance of thinking again and hope to apply many of his strategies in my own life.

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A Promised Land by Barack Obama – A Book Review

Though this 701 page book took me a very long time to read, I appreciated every minute of it. A Promised Land confirmed everything I already knew I admired about President Barack Obama–he’s intelligent, thoughtful, honest, studious, and devoted to his wife, his children, the American people, and democracy in general.

A Promised Land offers ample access into the grueling day-to-day affairs of a campaign trail, the difficulties in achieving even the smallest of things in government, and the highlights of President Obama’s first four years in office. After reading this book, I will never look at politics or the office of the president the same.

However, the most fascinating aspect of the book is the simple insight into Barack Obama as a human being. He reveals himself not just as the President Of the United States, but also as a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a neighbor, a friend, and a man. He doesn’t claim to be perfect, nor does he pretend to be. Though he certainly spent time discussing his victories, he also admitted his defeats and the mistakes that led to them.

This kind of authenticity really spoke to me. Granted, I understand Barack Obama wrote this very book about Barack Obama, so there is obviously the potential for cherry picking and sugar coating. But it didn’t strike me as either. To me, A Promised Land felt very candid.

As you know, A Promised Land initially intended to be a single volume. However, because President Obama is articulate, verbose, and a talented writer, he needed to split his two terms as president into two volumes.

This first volume obviously tackles his first four years in office–both how he got there and what he did during that time. However, it also subtly acknowledges those moments that, now in hindsight, led to Donald Trump’s presidency, the division within the Republican Party, and the schism attempting to rip America apart.

I won’t lie to you–this is not an easy read. It goes into great detail concerning the complexities of politics, the nuances of the presidency, and the intricacies of the geopolitical landscape. However, it’s a very informative read, and a rather rewarding one at that.

Regardless of your feelings about President Obama, if nothing else, I recommend A Promised Land simply to offer insight into what it means to be president.

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The Singing Wilderness by Sigurd F. Olson – A Book Review

A friend recommended this book to me. We have a mutual admiration of Stephen King, and he knows I’m a writer, so I think he believed I’d appreciate Olson’s writing technique. My friend was most definitely correct!

The Singing Wilderness is a series of essays depicting the various seasons in northern Minnesota. Olson somehow finds a way to describe local animal life, lakes, forests, rivers, and insects in a dynamic, captivating, and unique way throughout the length of an entire book.

And while Olson’s style is brilliant, The Singing Wilderness spoke to me on a far deeper level than simply craft. Even though it debuted in 1956, his words and style transcend time. Reading this book isn’t like stepping into a time machine, though–it’s more like passing through a portal into the wilderness.

As Olson says, there is something in us that loves nature, that needs nature, that wants to coexist with nature. Until relatively recently, we didn’t just visit nature, we actually lived in it. The Singing Wilderness somehow captures that dynamic and makes our heart yearn for the sights and sounds that our ancestors experienced.

I’m no outdoorsman, but The Singing Wilderness inspired me to get outside. Not just my backyard, but local state parks and nature preserves. I’ve already developed a plan to visit several this summer with my wife and young daughters.  I feel confident the book will equally encourage you.

If you love nature or masterfully written sensory language, I highly recommend The Singing Wilderness. You can find a copy at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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