My Less Uninformed But Still Ignorant Take on the 20 Most Consequential Books of the Past 20ish Years

I hardly ever listen to music, enjoy movies, or watch TV, but that didn't stop me from attempting some hot takes on the most consequential music, movies, and TV of the past 30 years.  It was a fun thought exercise, even and perhaps especially because I didn't have much to go on. 

So it's strange to me that, given that I read way more than I consume music/movies/TV, the task of listing the most consequential books of recent history seemed harder to me, in that, worse than music/movies/TV, I felt way less qualified, having read so little relative to so many good books that are out there.  

Nevertheless, of course, I won't let my ignorance keep me from venturing an attempt.  As always, I welcome your reactions and suggestions.  (You might see through this as just a desperate attempt to solicit book recommendations, and you wouldn't be totally wrong.)

Defensive Stance

It was a news story that gripped our attention for weeks on end.  No matter where you were on Brett Kavanaugh - is he a decent man who saw his name sullied by false accusations, or a privileged prep schooler who got away with sexual assault? - it was proxy for something larger and more troubling.  I'm not here to litigate what really happened, but to use it as a jumping off point for something I've been musing over ever since, which is how we respond when we are called out for bad behavior.

Fortunately for us, when our past deed or present wrongdoing is confronted, it is usually not with the hot lights of national media glare on us, nor is our reputation and future livelihood on the line.  And yet how often do we react as many interpret Justice Kavanaugh's reaction, with categorical denial, dismissal of another's interpretation of our behavior, and/or offense at the insinuation that we have offended.

Too Short for a Blog Post, Too Long for a Tweet 172

Here's an excerpt from an online interview I recently read of former Olympic rower Annie Vernon in the Guardian:

“In my first iteration of the book, gender was a whole chapter because it’s really interesting. In rowing, the men and women train alongside each other so you get to see from the outside how female and male crews do things differently.”  She suggests that, generally, “women derive confidence from good personal performances and the process; men derive confidence from winning and the outcome – men seemed only to need the coach to set the training programme and do a good job”.

“I asked every coach I interviewed: ‘Do you coach men and women differently?’ They’d say: ‘Duh, of course.’ Toni Minichiello [who coached Jessica Ennis-Hill] was quite vocal about women being so much easier to coach. He said they don’t make excuses.”Vernon adds: “Women need emotional support. Of course some men and women don’t fit that mould. But I heard a great interviewthat Danny Kerry [the GB women’s hockey coach] did. He coached the men before the women and he spoke about team-building. He said: ‘Men build their team around a task. What do we do? How do we do it? Women build their task around the team. They need a really strong bond first and then they’ll say: What is the task? How will we do it? It’s more of a connection. They want to get to know each other first – before becoming the best in the world.’"

Redefining Manhood

We've made a lot of progress in our society in terms of our social mores.  We still have a long way to go, in things like racism and domestic abuse and economic equity and basic decency.  But when I think of how far we've come in these and other areas, I am simultaneously encouraged and challenged.

But with these evolutions can come some gnashing of teeth.  We believe we are going in the right direction, but we are uncertain of what these changes mean for our place in society, our definitions of success, and our very sense of identity.  We may not have liked how things were before, but at least we understood them.  In a dysfunctional way, we may have even derived comfort from the brokenness, which I realize sounds crazy but how many times (unless you are really in touch with yourself and have gotten some very good therapy) have you been afraid to change a bad situation in your life because you preferred the familiarity of the devil you knew over the scariness of letting go of that devil. 

Life Lessons

For some reason I feel compelled to get down some thoughts I wish I could go back in time and tell the younger version of me.  Not that I have yet mastered all these lessons.  But at least I see the wisdom in them.  (You will note, and if you know me you will not be surprised, that these life lessons are in pairs, with each set offering a somewhat contradictory but actually balancing perspective.)

1.       Unlike the Olympics, life doesn’t have an adjustment for “degree of difficulty.”  Your clients won’t care if you’re not at 100% for the big presentation because you were up all night with a sick kid.  Your kids won’t care if you missed their big soccer tournament because you’ve been pulling all-nighters for a work deadline.  Your neighbors won’t give you a pass for not cleaning up your front yard because you were away on business.  Your friends won’t give you a pass for not going out with them because you’re trying to get yourself more sleep.  Whether you have a legitimate excuse or any other extenuating circumstances, you’ll be judged on how you do, not how you do relative to those circumstances.

2.       Because of this, self-care becomes all the more important.  After rolling your eyes all these years, you may now rue that Mom isn’t around to harangue you to eat right and tell you you’re wonderful.  So now you need to be your own mom, that steady soft voice that tells you you’re the best, to not be afraid to do your best, and to not get down on yourself if something doesn’t go well.  You will need that unrelenting self-encouragement in the face of all life throws at you.

Lazy Linking, 215th in an Occasional Series

Stuff I liked lately on the Internets:


215.1 Why New Yorkers walk so fast and are rude...oh wait, they don't and they aren't bit.ly/2TRcZrI @gothamist

215.2 Over-exposed, hotheads, and high-maintenance...but because they're insanely talented and work really hard, OBJ + Antonio Brown are actually undervalued bit.ly/2Hp4CxF @theringer

215.3 A modern, grittier fan fic version of Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Make this happen youtu.be/WAfJpyBgcgA @sunsquaredmedia

215.4 Whoa...Chernobyl might've actually caused 150K deaths and has been covered up? bit.ly/2FfuoSR @forbes

215.5 Not sure what this new structure at Hudson Yards is called or what it's for, but can't wait to climb/photograph it bit.ly/2T5Hi9O @thisiscolossal

Urban Runs, Updated

Many years ago I wrote about urban runs I’ve done (the link is here).  I have far less opportunity to steal away for such runs – for many of my business trips, I’m there and back, with not even an hour to spare for a quick jog – but I still do like to explore a city on foot when I can.  Here’s an updated list of cities I’ve run in.  And here’s hoping work and life allow for more such jogs, as I do enjoy them.

Too Short for a Blog Post, Too Long for a Tweet 171

Here are a few excerpts from a book I recently read, "The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine," by Lindsey Fitzharris.

The living, in the form of diseased patients, were also taking a toll on those on the front line of medicine. Mortality rates among medical students and young doctors were high. Between 1843 and 1859, forty-one young men died after contracting fatal infections at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, before ever qualifying as doctors. Those who succumbed in this manner were often eulogized as martyrs who had made the ultimate sacrifice in order to advance anatomical knowledge. Even those who survived often suffered some sort of illness during their hospital residencies. Indeed, the challenges were so great for those entering the profession that the surgeon John Abernethy frequently concluded his lectures by uttering bleakly, “God help you all. What will become of you?”

Lazy Linking, 214th in an Occasional Series

Stuff I liked lately on the Internets:

214.1 Say it ain't so: in fact you can't catch up on sleep over the weekend bit.ly/2SJWR6E @mnt

214.2 A compelling grand unified theory of status-seeking in the age of social media bit.ly/2tHPdjq @eugenewei

214.3 The 1st book in the Bible doubles as an instructive/cautionary tale of the role of technology in advancing societies bloom.bg/2SRO4jt @business

214.4 The psychology and physiology of why going for a walk helps us think bit.ly/2TnTyYk @newyorker

214.5 Super touching responses to "what 1 thing would you want to be able to communicate to your pet" reminds me I can actually say these things to people I love bit.ly/2C9rqgK @moments

What Am I Working On

As has become my custom every three months, here's what I'm working on now at work. I won't repeat anything from last time that I happen to still be working on, and for confidentiality's sake I have to blur some of the details for some of these studies.



* Economic impact studies of varying lengths for a handful of new higher education clients throughout the country.

* Return on investment analysis of a state program that incentivizes the provision of affordable housing and related support services.

* Contribution to a region's economy and its equitable access to cultural resources of a proposed new museum.

* Strategic plan for a regional tourism promotion agency.

* Local economic impact of a multi-tenant research park.

* Attending high-level briefings with state elected officials on behalf of a business advocacy group.

Lazy Linking, 213th in an Occasional Series

Stuff I liked lately on the Internets:

213.1 The history, etymology, & taxonomy of vegetables bit.ly/2EhCY1C @popula

213.2 BosNYWash (which PHL is a part of) is the world's largest mega-region, w/$3.65 trillion in annual economic output bit.ly/2tL4ZtS @citylab

213.3 Products used by all but designed by men put women in peril; examples incl. crash test dummies, face masks, & carcinogenic chemicals bit.ly/2twVa2s @guardian

213.4 "If it looks & sounds like Amy Winehouse, is it still her?" is a question we ask now that holographic concert tours are a thing bit.ly/2HbiYAP @gqmagazine

213.5 This is what you get when you mix aerial photography w/graphic design bit.ly/2TlLyGd @thisiscolossal