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Latest read: What the Dog Saw

I have been a fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s writing.  Joining The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and Outliers: The Story of Success comes his latest work What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures which is a collection of his writings with the New Yorker.  I have enjoyed all of his books and this new release is no exception.

And to prove life again is all about timing the NYTimes has it’s book review hitting tomorrow’s Sunday paper.  The book’s title is from his writing about Cesar Millan, the noted animal trainer with the hit cable show The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.

Gladwell breaks the book into three parts: Minor Geniuses, Theories – or ways of organizing experience and Predictions we make about people.  From these points Gladwell shares those articles that have stuck with him long after the New Yorker articles were published.

I was pretty amused in reading What the Dog Saw right after finishing SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

To say the data and stories by Gladwell and Dubner & Levitt may overlap, it was nevertheless a lesson in looking beyond the regular story to take the opportunity to learn hidden lessons.

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Education Reading

Latest read: Freakonomics

Well I’m not sure what took so long to read Steven Levitt‘s Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. It was enjoyable, fun and interesting to read the hidden side of everything.
So I finally pushed it to the front of my pile of books after crossing an article on the NYTimes and found the book is now part of their blogs. When was the last time the NYTimes took over a book’s blog? Yea, its that good!

I was very impressed with Chapter 3 “Why do drug dealers still live with their Mothers?” since I was working in Chicago for Apple and know the area where his research occurred: the Robert Taylor Homes.

I remember getting advice from fellow engineers at the downtown loop office to literally drive through red lights, stop signs and anything else if I ever found myself anywhere around Cabrini-Green or the Robert Taylor Homes.

Sure enough I recall driving at night in the loop lost and finding myself looking at a sign similar to the one in this photo…drove without stopping until I was north east of the area. Nice welcome to the city…

So I was living in Chicago and still remember the violent deaths reported at that time during the gang wars. Wow Levit does not display the details of the violent incidents that occurred during this crack war.

And the research actually proves gangs organized by a business model very close to McDonalds. What is most amazing was his ability to access the financial records of the gangs. While gang foot soldiers were making $3.00/hour the research showed that if you survived long enough to be on the “board of directors” of a gang you could earn $400,000/year.

But with a 25% chance of being killed working as a foot solider, its no wonder drug dealers still live with their mothers. And that is just one chapter of his amazing book. If you have passed on this book you should really pick it up and give it a read. Its easy and will amaze you.

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