New non-fiction titles

Here are several non-fiction books which will shortly appear on our shelves:

I am personally most intrigued by REINVENTING CAPITALISM IN THE AGE OF BIG DATA by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger. I have had several students this year who read his earlier work on Big Data and others who are writing Junior Themes that deal with neo-liberalism and the economy. No doubt, they would all be interested in the predictions that Oxford professor Mayer-Schonberger and his co-author, Thomas Ramge of the Economist, make regarding the potential scenario where cash, banks, and big companies become obsolete.  As noted in its description, this book highlights “small groups and individual actors who make markets instead of making things: think Uber instead of Ford, or Airbnb instead of Hyatt.”   They argue that the impact on the labor market will be as disruptive as the industrial revolution, resulting in an on-going need for significant re-training of workers, increased dependence on artificial intelligence, and exploration of policies such as universal basic income. Thought-provoking and a bit scary. 

 

Another business-related title, HOW TO TURN DOWN A BILLION DOLLARS: THE SNAPCHAT STORY by Billy Gallagher, begins with stories of frat life at Stanford (not unlike the fictionalized Frat Girl by fellow Stanford alum, Kelly Roache). Livin’ hard, playin’ hard and taking risks seems a theme for Gallagher and his friends, Snapchat founders Reggie Brown, Bobby Murphy and current CEO Evan Spiegel.  The attitude of privilege, arrogance, and entitlement is pervasive. This book would likely give our students some insights into the seeds of a rather toxic Silicon Valley culture about which they have frequently heard. Booklist says, “Gallagher spends as much time on the excesses, lawsuits, and high employee turnover at Snapchat as he does on the technology.” In fact, parent company Snap has just this week confirmed layoffs for 120 engineers after a significant redesign – that aspect may appeal to some of our entrepreneurial students who often look for examples of overcoming adversity and beginning anew. They, too, may even ultimately agree with the recent New York Times article, “Silicon Valley is Over, Says Silicon Valley” which extols the opportunities and benefits on investing in the Midwest.

Even though she, too, graduated from a prestigious institution (Cambridge University), a far different start in life was had by Tara Westover as described in her new memoir titled EDUCATED. This book was a February Library Reads selection where it is described as follows: “Westover recounts her childhood growing up in a strict Mormon family, ruled by an erratic father, and living off the grid in Idaho. Westover compellingly sketches her years growing up, her relationships with siblings, encounters in the town nearby, and the events that eventually drove her to leave and pursue formal education” first at Brigham Young and later at Cambridge.  EDUCATED is a difficult read in parts, especially due to her family circumstances with a paranoid, mentally ill father, a mother who suffers a traumatic brain injury in a car accident and a violent, abusive older brother.  Additional reviews can be found in The Economist (“a riveting memoir of a brutal upbringing”) and The Wall Street Journal (where Susan Wise Bauer asks, “why some learners latch onto knowledge thirstily while others don't”). Westover’s EDUCATED has been compared to The Glass Castle so do look for this new memoir if you liked Jeannette Wall’s work.