Brad Feld Recommended Books

At the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research and now revised to reflect the growing danger of the avian flu, The Great Influenza is ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, which provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon. John M. Barry has written a new afterword for this edition that brings us up to speed on the terrible threat of the avian flu and suggest ways in which we might head off another flu pandemic.

Robert M. Pirsig's Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an examination of how we live, a meditation on how to live better set around the narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father & his young son.

What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life . . . and others.

Why did the stock market crash more than 500 points on a single Monday in 1987? Why do ancient species often remain stable in the fossil record for millions of years and then suddenly disappear? In a world where nice guys often finish last, why do humans value trust and cooperation? At first glance these questions don't appear to have anything in common, but in fact every one of these statements refers to a complex system. The science of complexity studies how single elements, such as a species or a stock, spontaneously organize into complicated structures like ecosystems and economies; stars become galaxies, and snowflakes avalanches almost as if these systems were obeying a hidden yearning for order.Drawing from diverse fields, scientific luminaries such as Nobel Laureates Murray Gell-Mann and Kenneth Arrow are studying complexity at a think tank called The Santa Fe Institute. The revolutionary new discoveries researchers have made there could change the face of every science from biology to cosmology to economics. M. Mitchell Waldrop's groundbreaking bestseller takes readers into the hearts and minds of these scientists to tell the story behind this scientific revolution as it unfolds.

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous… you'll recognize it immediately.

What are the links between environment and world view? Topophilia, the affective bond between people and place, is the primary theme of this book that examines environmental perceptions and values at different levels: the species, the group, and the individual.Yi-Fu Tuan holds culture and environment and topophilia and environment as distinct in order to show how they mutually contribute to the formation of values. Topophilia examines the search for environment in the city, suburb, countryside, and wilderness from a dialectical perspective, distinguishes different types of environmental experience, and describes their character.

Librarian note: Alternative covers for this ISBN can be found here and here."This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world - and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators? Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world's motor - and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story." "Tremendous in its scope, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life - from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy - to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction - to the philosopher who becomes a pirate - to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph - to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad - to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels." This is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man's body, but about the murder - and rebirth - of man's spirit.

50th Anniversary Edition, with a new introduction by David Mitchell and a new afterword by Charlie Jane AndersUrsula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

Case was the sharpest data thief in the matrix--until he crossed the wrong people and they crippled his nervous system, banishing him from cyberspace. Now a mysterious new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run at an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, a mirror-eyed street samurai, to watch his back, Case is ready for the adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction.Neuromancer was the first fully realized glimpse of humankind's digital future--a shocking vision that has challenged our assumptions about technology and ourselves, reinvented the way we speak and think, and forever altered the landscape of our imaginations.

Frank Herbert’s classic masterpiece—a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time.Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides—who would become known as Muad’Dib—and of a great family’s ambition to bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

This exciting new edition of The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) demonstrates how techniques and concepts from Socratic philosophy, especially Stoicism, can be integrated into the practise of CBT and other forms of psychotherapy. What can we learn about psychological therapy from ancient philosophers? Psychotherapy and philosophy were not always separate disciplines. Here, Donald Robertson explores the relationship between ancient Greek philosophy and modern cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy.The founders of CBT described Stoicism as providing the "philosophical origins" of their approach and many parallels can be found between Stoicism and CBT, in terms of both theory and practise. Starting with hypnotism and early twentieth century rational psychotherapy and continuing through early behaviour therapy, rational-emotive behaviour therapy (REBT), and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), the links between Stoic philosophy and modern psychotherapy are identified and explained. This book is the first detailed account of the influence of Stoic philosophy upon modern psychotherapy. It provides a fascinating insight into the revival of interest in ancient Western philosophy as a guide to modern living. It includes many concepts and techniques, which can be readily applied in modern psychotherapy or self-help.This new edition, covering the growth in third-wave CBT, including mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies, will appeal to any mental health practitioner working in this area, as well as students and scholars of these fields.

How to create a thriving startup ecosystem in a location near you--a practical guideWe are in the midst of a global startup revolution. The proliferation of digital technologies, a rising middle-class, and the quest for sustained economic growth have put entrepreneurship on the map for talent, governments, universities, and corporations everywhere. Along with the widely-recognized opportunity presented by entrepreneurship has come a realization that the success of today's startups is determined to a large degree by the complex global and uniquely local environments in which they operate. It is the nature of these external factors--and more importantly, the quality of their linkages with each other--that explains why some places are consistently able to produce high-impact entrepreneurship while many other places are not.No one tells this story better than acclaimed author and investor Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway, an entrepreneurship expert and startup advisor. The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem--the much-anticipated sequel to Feld's bestselling book Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City--explores what makes startup communities thrive and how to improve collaboration in rapidly-changing environments.The Startup Community Way is a governing philosophy for startup communities, rooted in the theory of complex systems and the practice of community-building in many contexts. This book establishes a robust framework and shares lessons from around the globe that illustrate how to create a flourishing startup ecosystem anywhere. Each of the crucial aspects of community-building, such as the organizing principles of community, the attributes of leadership, the goals and values of a startup community, the application of systems thinking, and methods for changing behavior and mindset are discussed in detail. Advancing the practice of building startup communities, this book:Offers practical, real-world advice for entrepreneurs, community builders, and other stakeholders who want to harness the power of startups in their city Advances a new framework for effective startup community building grounded in complex adaptive systems and systems thinking Discusses the role of key institutions--such as governments, corporations, and universities--in supporting startup communities Explores the value of key stakeholders and why leaders are crucial for bringing communities together Includes contributions from leading entrepreneurial voices in the field The Startup Community Way is a must-have resource for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, C-suite executives, business and community leaders, and anyone wishing to understand how startup communities work anywhere in the world.

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.(Back flap)

Ken Liu has quickly become one of the most original and thought-provoking story writers of his generation. Deftly riffing off the power of narrative, this collection is as heartbreaking as it is charming.In “Simulacrum”, the daughter of the revered inventor of augmented reality is irrevocably divided from her father by the technology that is meant to help her be closer to him. In the title story, “The Paper Menagerie”, a child loses touch with the magical paper menagerie built for him by his mother, a mail-order bride in suburban Connecticut, but then discovers as an adult that love knows no bounds. A young man struggling to preserve his culture in the face of utter annihilation finds peace in the transcendence of fleeting memory in “Mono No Aware”. As a couple explores one of the hidden atrocities of the Second World War, they try to speak for those who no longer can in “The Man Who Ended History”. And in “An Advanced Reader’s Picture Book of Comparative Cognitiony”, a mother and father who are separated by vast distances must invoke, for their children, a thousand ways love may take formThese fifteen evocative short stories and novellas tour the poignant history that always haunts immigrants, survivors of war and our consistent technological advances as they are explored through love, race, and politics. An award-winning author, Liu and his stories invoke the magical within the mundane in profound and moving ways.Contents: - Preface- The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species (2012)- State Change (2004) - The Perfect Match (2012) - Good Hunting (2012) - The Literomancer (2010)- Simulacrum (2011) - The Regular (2014)- The Paper Menagerie (2011) - An Advanced Readers' Picture Book of Comparative Cognition (2016)- The Waves (2012)- Mono no Aware (2012)- All the Flavors (2012)- A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel (2013)- The Litigation Master and the Monkey King (2013)- The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary (2011)Cover art by Quentin Trollip

New York Times bestselling author Daniel Suarez delivers an exhilarating sci-fi thriller exploring a potential future where CRISPR genetic editing allows the human species to control evolution itself. On a crowded train platform, Interpol agent Kenneth Durand feels the sting of a needle--and his transformation begins...In 2045 Kenneth Durand leads Interpol's most effective team against genetic crime, hunting down black market labs that perform "vanity edits" on human embryos for a price. These illegal procedures augment embryos in ways that are rapidly accelerating human evolution--preying on human-trafficking victims to experiment and advance their technology.With the worlds of genetic crime and human trafficking converging, Durand and his fellow Interpol agents discover that one figure looms behind it all: Marcus Demang Wyckes, leader of a powerful and sophisticated cartel known as the Huli jing.But the Huli jing have identified Durand, too. After being forcibly dosed with a radical new change agent, Durand wakes from a coma weeks later to find he's been genetically transformed into someone else--his most wanted suspect: Wyckes.Now a fugitive, pursued through the genetic underworld by his former colleagues and the police, Durand is determined to restore his original DNA by locating the source of the mysterious--and highly valuable--change agent. But Durand hasn't anticipated just how difficult locating his enemy will be. With the technology to genetically edit the living, Wyckes and his Huli jing could be anyone and everyone--and they have plans to undermine identity itself.From the Hardcover edition.

A rallying cry for working mothers everywhere that demolishes the "distracted, emotional, weak" stereotype and definitively shows that these professionals are more focused, decisive, and stronger than any other force.Working mothers aren’t a liability. They are assets you—and every manager and executive—want in your company, in your investment portfolio, and in your corner.There is copious academic research showing the benefits of working mothers on families and the benefits to companies who give women longer and more flexible parental leave. There are even findings that demonstrate women with multiple children actually perform better at work than those with none or one.Yet despite this concrete proof that working mothers are a lucrative asset, they still face the "Maternal Wall"—widespread unconscious bias about their abilities, contributions, and commitment. Nearly eighty percent of women are less likely to be hired if they have children—and are half as likely to be promoted. Mothers earn an average $11,000 less in salary and are held to higher punctuality and performance standards. Forty percent of Silicon Valley women said they felt the need to speak less about their family to be taken more seriously. Many have been told that having a second child would cost them a promotion.Fortunately, this prejudice is slowly giving way to new attitudes, thanks to more women starting their own businesses, and companies like Netflix, Facebook, Apple, and Google implementing more parent-friendly policies. But the most important barrier to change isn’t about men. Women must rethink the way they see themselves after giving birth. As entrepreneur Sarah Lacy makes clear in this cogent, persuasive analysis and clarion cry, the strongest, most lucrative, and most ambitious time of a woman’s career may easily be after she sees a plus sign on a pregnancy test.

What if you were only known for the worst thing you've ever done?A Second Chance is about new starts, forgiveness, shame, and the power of possibility. Don't you deserve a second chance? Don't we all? Catherine Hoke founded Defy Ventures, a revolutionary organization that transforms the lives of people with criminal histories. It heals families, strengthens communities, creates jobs, and incubates small businesses. But mostly, Defy helps us find our humanity, regardless of whether we've been to prison or not.This is the book that everyone is talking about, and for good reason. You might have heard Cat talking with Tim Ferriss on his podcast, or read about her work on Seth Godin's blog."This is the bravest book I've read in years." - Bill Hybels, Willow CreekBy sharing her personal story of a second chance, and then introducing us to the people she serves, Cat takes us on a life-changing journey. She helps us understand the methods that are used by the Defy team and how they persevere in the face of daunting odds. A Second Chance is a book about the change that Defy creates, yes, but also about changing your own life."This inspiring book shows how it's possible for people who have been cast aside in society to turn their lives around and start giving back to that society." - Adam Grant, bestselling authorA Second Chance is about one woman's vision and her relentless effort to make it real but it's also about building a community that makes a difference. Defy is based on a unique inside/outside partnership. It only works because of the generous work of everyone in Defy's volunteer community, and this book teaches us what it means to lead from within."I've never seen anything like Defy, and I've been in corrections for 31 years." - Warden Ducart, Pelican Bay State Prison"If you care about our society, you have to read this book." - Joe Moglia, Chairman, TD Ameritrade

Three-time Hugo Award winner N. K. Jemisin's first collection of short fiction challenges and enchants with breathtaking stories of destruction, rebirth, and redemption.N. K. Jemisin is one of the most powerful and acclaimed speculative fiction authors of our time. In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.Contents:The Ones Who Stay and Fight (2018)The City Born Great [The Great Cities] (2016)Red Dirt Witch (2016)L'Alchimista (2004)The Effluent Engine (2011)Cloud Dragon Skies (2005)The Trojan Girl [The Trojan Girl • 1] (2011)Valedictorian [The Trojan Girl • 2] (2012)The Storyteller's Replacement (2018)On the Banks of the River Lex (2010)The Brides of Heaven (2007)The Evaluators (2017)Walking Awake (2014)The Elevator Dancer (2018)Cuisine des Mémoires (2018)Stone Hunger [The Broken Earth] (2014)The Narcomancer [The Dreamblood] (2007)Henosis (2017)Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows (2004)The You Train (2007)Non-Zero Probabilities (2009)Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City beneath the Still Waters (2010)

From an award-winning science fiction writer (whose short story "The Story of Your Life" was the basis for the Academy Award-nominated movie Arrival), the long-awaited new collection of stunningly original, humane, and already celebrated short storiesThis much-anticipated second collection of stories is signature Ted Chiang, full of revelatory ideas and deeply sympathetic characters. In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and the temptation of second chances. In the epistolary "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people, but for all of reality. And in "The Lifecycle of Software Objects," a woman cares for an artificial intelligence over twenty years, elevating a faddish digital pet into what might be a true living being. Also included are two brand-new stories: "Omphalos" and "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom."In this fantastical and elegant collection, Ted Chiang wrestles with the oldest questions on earth--What is the nature of the universe? What does it mean to be human?--and ones that no one else has even imagined. And, each in its own way, the stories prove that complex and thoughtful science fiction can rise to new heights of beauty, meaning, and compassion.

One of the start-up world’s most in-demand executive coaches—hailed as the “CEO Whisperer” (Gimlet Media)—reveals why radical self-inquiry is critical to professional success and healthy relationships in all realms of life.Jerry Colonna helps start-up CEOs make peace with their demons, the psychological habits and behavioral patterns that have helped them to succeed—molding them into highly accomplished individuals—yet have been detrimental to their relationships and ultimate well-being. Now, this venture capitalist turned executive coach shares his unusual yet highly effective blend of Buddhism, Jungian therapy, and entrepreneurial straight talk to help leaders overcome their own psychological traumas. Reboot is a journey of radical self-inquiry, helping you to reset your life by sorting through the emotional baggage that is holding you back professionally, and even more important, in your relationships. Jerry has taught CEOs and their top teams to realize their potential by using the raw material of their lives to find meaning, to build healthy interpersonal bonds, and to become more compassionate and bold leaders. In Reboot , he inspires everyone to hold themselves responsible for their choices and for the possibility of truly achieving their dreams. Work does not have to destroy us. Work can be the way in which we achieve our fullest self, Jerry firmly believes. What we need, sometimes, is a chance to reset our goals and to reconnect with our deepest selves and with each other. Reboot moves and empowers us to begin this journey.

Doing well with money isn't necessarily about what you know. It's about how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people. Money--investing, personal finance, and business decisions--is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don't make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life's most important topics.

Ben Horowitz, a leading venture capitalist, modern management expert, and New York Times bestselling author, combines lessons both from history and from modern organizational practice with practical and often surprising advice to help executives build cultures that can weather both good and bad times. Ben Horowitz has long been fascinated by history, and particularly by how people behave differently than you’d expect. The time and circumstances in which they were raised often shapes them—yet a few leaders have managed to shape their times. In What You Do Is Who You Are, he turns his attention to a question crucial to every organization: how do you create and sustain the culture you want?To Horowitz, culture is how a company makes decisions. It is the set of assumptions employees use to resolve everyday problems: should I stay at the Red Roof Inn, or the Four Seasons? Should we discuss the color of this product for five minutes or thirty hours? If culture is not purposeful, it will be an accident or a mistake.What You Do Is Who You Are explains how to make your culture purposeful by spotlighting four models of leadership and culture-building—the leader of the only successful slave revolt, Haiti’s Toussaint Louverture; the Samurai, who ruled Japan for seven hundred years and shaped modern Japanese culture; Genghis Khan, who built the world’s largest empire; and Shaka Senghor, a man convicted of murder who ran the most formidable prison gang in the yard and ultimately transformed prison culture.Horowitz connects these leadership examples to modern case-studies, including how Louverture’s cultural techniques were applied (or should have been) by Reed Hastings at Netflix, Travis Kalanick at Uber, and Hillary Clinton, and how Genghis Khan’s vision of cultural inclusiveness has parallels in the work of Don Thompson, the first African-American CEO of McDonalds, and of Maggie Wilderotter, the CEO who led Frontier Communications. Horowitz then offers guidance to help any company understand its own strategy and build a successful culture.What You Do Is Who You Are is a journey through culture, from ancient to modern. Along the way, it answers a question fundamental to any organization: who are we? How do people talk about us when we’re not around? How do we treat our customers? Are we there for people in a pinch? Can we be trusted?Who you are is not the values you list on the wall. It’s not what you say in company-wide meeting. It’s not your marketing campaign. It’s not even what you believe. Who you are is what you do. This book aims to help you do the things you need to become the kind of leader you want to be—and others want to follow.

In this medical thriller Dr. Henry Parsons, an unlikely but appealing hero, races to find the origins and cure of a mysterious new killer virus as it brings the world to its knees.At an internment camp in Indonesia, forty-seven people are pronounced dead with acute hemorrhagic fever. When Henry Parsons--microbiologist, epidemiologist--travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization to investigate, what he finds will soon have staggering repercussions across the globe: an infected man is on his way to join the millions of worshippers in the annual Hajj to Mecca. Now, Henry joins forces with a Saudi prince and doctor in an attempt to quarantine the entire host of pilgrims in the holy city... A Russian émigré, a woman who has risen to deputy director of U.S. Homeland Security, scrambles to mount a response to what may be an act of biowarfare... already-fraying global relations begin to snap, one by one, in the face of a pandemic... Henry's wife Jill and their children face diminishing odds of survival in Atlanta... and the disease slashes across the United States, dismantling institutions--scientific, religious, governmental--and decimating the population.

When her mother dies in a heat wave that kills twenty million, Zia León abandons a promising diplomatic career to lead humanitarian aid missions to regions ravaged by drought, wildfires, and sea level rise.What Zia doesn't know is that clandestine forces are gathering around her in pursuit of a colossal secret: someone has hijacked the climate, and the future of human civilization is at stake.To avoid a world war that appears more inevitable every day, Zia must build a coalition of the powerless and attempt the impossible. But success depends on facing the grief that has come to define her life, and rediscovering friendship, family, and what it means to be true to yourself while everything falls apart.