The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley

I was drawn to this book because Charlie Munger, of Berkshire Hathaway fame, had recommended an earlier work of his, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapter, and I had enjoyed the subject and his writing.

His current work discusses the evolution of civilization from the prospective that cultural evolution and innovation is brought about by trading amongst ourselves. This book discusses how different humans are in relation to other animals in the beginning and discusses what he think is the key difference (besides language), that we trade amongst ourselves outside of the family unit.

I will quote his discussion of China here to give you a flavor for what the author is trying to teach us:

"China went from a state of economic and technological exuberance in around AD 1000 to one of dense population, agrarian backwardness and desperate poverty in 1950. According to Angus Maddison's estimates, it was the only region in the world with a lower GDP per capita in 1950 than in 1000. The blame for this lies squarely with China's governments.

Pause, first, to admire the exuberance. China's best moments, came when it was fragmented, not united. [A common theme of the author in this work] ..When the Tang empire came to an end in 907, and the 'Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms' fought each other incessantly, China experienced its most spectacular burst of invention and prosperity yet.... The burst of economic activity in China after 1978 was driven by 'township and village enterprises', agencies of the government given local freedom to start companies."

It is a very interesting book full of a rational discourse from the beginning of man on up the historical ladder to prove his main thesis. I found it thought provoking to say the least and I hope you do as well.

P.S. I just had to also include this additional quote:

"The message from history is so blatantly obvious - that free trade causes mutual prosperity while protectionism causes poverty - that it seems incredible that anybody ever thinks otherwise. There is not a single example of a country opening up its borders to trade and ending up poorer (coerced trade in slaves or drugs may be a different matter)."

Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds, Christina Olds, and Ed Rasimus

I picked up this book having never heard of General Olds before and despite being a military history buff. I also had no developed any particular interest in air combat. That being said I found the book at a local library last weekend and on a whim I picked it up and brought it home. As soon as I finished the first few pages I knew I was in trouble, i.e. I had a difficult time putting it down.

I have started a letter to my six year old daughter in which I will try and pass along a few words of wisdom that I have gained and other bits of hopefully useful lessons that I find in the books that I read. I found two really important life lessons in this book that I have included in that letter.

The first is on page 135, and details advice General Olds received from General Spaatz. His comments on people I thought were spot on and helpful to anyone that finds themselves working in large organizations. The other section that I added to the letter started on page 260 of the book and covered effective leadership. The book was terrific but those two sections alone were outstanding and well worth the price of the book.