Fairly good but not really one of his best. Seems fairly clear that Grisham opposes limits on damage awards, though overall the book is fairly balanced.
5/2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Fortune's Formula by William Poundstone
A book about gambling and probability and investing. It features Claude Shannon, a mathematical genius, and a host of other mathematicians, economists, investors, and criminals. The "Kelly Criterion" is a theme running through the whole book. It is a theory about risk and how much of your bankroll to hazard on a bet or investment. The efficient market theory and random walk theory are featured as well.
The big question is whether one can beat the market. My impression is that there are perhaps some small areas of "inefficiency" in the market that a very smart mathematician can exploit, but that in practice most (but not all) of these plans fail due to hubris or lack of discipline or (and this is well shown in the book) someone cheating or changing the rules.
The takeaway message to me is diversify and don't try to time or predict the market (see Solin above).
5/2008
The big question is whether one can beat the market. My impression is that there are perhaps some small areas of "inefficiency" in the market that a very smart mathematician can exploit, but that in practice most (but not all) of these plans fail due to hubris or lack of discipline or (and this is well shown in the book) someone cheating or changing the rules.
The takeaway message to me is diversify and don't try to time or predict the market (see Solin above).
5/2008
Blind Eye by James B. Stewart
"A terrifying story of a doctor who got away with murder" (Front cover). Michael Swango went to med school at SIU, where I did my residency. He killed patients wherever he went but kept ahead of the authorities, even going to mission hospitals in Africa, where he continued his murderous ways.
4/2008
4/2008
Moses and Monotheism by Sigmund Freud
This was much more readable and interesting than I expected. Freud writes in an almost conversational style. True to his analytic roots, his approach is self-conscious but almost pleasingly so. The preface is in two parts reflecting the cataclysms of the time, the rising cloud of Nazism and the fall of Austria, Freud's home.
Moses, he posits, was an Egyptian noble and imposed a monotheistic religion espoused by a short-lived pharaoh. And during a period of anarchy in Egypt, he led the Hebrews into the wilderness. He was overthrown in a rebellion and a Midianite sheepherder took over. These legends were fused.
While I'm unconvinced by his thesis, it nonetheless is clear that to an outside onlooker Moses imposed a religion on a people, survived several attempts on his life and position, and responded ruthlessly. Moses is also shown as impulsive and rash yet described as the meekest of men.
Of course my own explanation is that the answer is in the action of a powerful God using a fallible human and making of him a great man. Thus imposition becomes advocacy, ruthlessness becomes zeal for God, and meekness is God's work in an impulsive and impatient man.
My opinion of Freud is much greater with more exposure. In this book he is analogizing neurosis to historical religious development. this is difficult and full of hazards, many of which he boldly addresses. It is an attempt of a genius.
He also discusses antisemitism, its causes and persistence, and does so in a touching way, given his own suffering. The psycho-historical search for the historical Moses identifies the important factors of a "one God" with no images allowed.
12/2007
Moses, he posits, was an Egyptian noble and imposed a monotheistic religion espoused by a short-lived pharaoh. And during a period of anarchy in Egypt, he led the Hebrews into the wilderness. He was overthrown in a rebellion and a Midianite sheepherder took over. These legends were fused.
While I'm unconvinced by his thesis, it nonetheless is clear that to an outside onlooker Moses imposed a religion on a people, survived several attempts on his life and position, and responded ruthlessly. Moses is also shown as impulsive and rash yet described as the meekest of men.
Of course my own explanation is that the answer is in the action of a powerful God using a fallible human and making of him a great man. Thus imposition becomes advocacy, ruthlessness becomes zeal for God, and meekness is God's work in an impulsive and impatient man.
My opinion of Freud is much greater with more exposure. In this book he is analogizing neurosis to historical religious development. this is difficult and full of hazards, many of which he boldly addresses. It is an attempt of a genius.
He also discusses antisemitism, its causes and persistence, and does so in a touching way, given his own suffering. The psycho-historical search for the historical Moses identifies the important factors of a "one God" with no images allowed.
12/2007
How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, M.D.
This doctor understands, of course, but he can communicate his understanding to those who aren't doctors. It is not that doctors don't recognize errors. Groopman shows the errors and the pain doctors suffer. For us ordinary doctors Groopman finds world-class doctors, the best of the best, who have made errors. Groopman gives examples of errors he suffered as a patient.
I find his discussion of medical errors far more useful, far more human, far more TRUE than the systems approach and protocol-driven solutions of the Institutes of Medicine and other groups. Groopman wants high standards and good communication. There are those who think they can measure quality. I remain unconvinced. I am not saying it is impossible. I am not saying they will fail. I am saying they can't do it now.
I find his discussion of medical errors far more useful, far more human, far more TRUE than the systems approach and protocol-driven solutions of the Institutes of Medicine and other groups. Groopman wants high standards and good communication. There are those who think they can measure quality. I remain unconvinced. I am not saying it is impossible. I am not saying they will fail. I am saying they can't do it now.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Crisis by Robin Cook
Somewhat engaging. About "boutique medicine" and malpractice and a murder mystery.
Summer for the Gods by Edward J. Larsen
This Pulitzer Prize winner in history is about the Scopes trial. It is extremely well done. It is interesting, even-handed, very well-documented, and unfailingly fair. It is scholarly but captures the reader's interest and attention. It lays to rest the myths about the trial. I think this is a prototype of what a book about a historical event should be. Unfortunately, perception can be its own reality, and the play and movie have changed the "reality" of the Scopes trial beyond repair. I think the truth can be found in this book.
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