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.
