Michael Lewis was shadowing SBF well before the FTX implosion, and clearly meant to write a book about crypto and why it had grown so much. And he didMichael Lewis was shadowing SBF well before the FTX implosion, and clearly meant to write a book about crypto and why it had grown so much. And he did a great job at that. He was also perfectly situated to explain FTX's downfall, which has been well covered in the press but if you didn't follow that it was a good overview.
However, this book got a LOT of flak in the press and here on GR because on the BIG QUESTION of whether Sam was a crook or just an ignorant idiot who couldn't keep good records and over levered himself, he doesn't take a strong stance, and pretty much leads one to believe the latter. He never found a smoking gun saying Sam explicitly decided to invest customer funds. And yet he did, to the tune of $8B, half the deposits. And the end of the book he even states that the money was actually all there, just spread out in many different illiquid investments. Obviously just investing customer funds in all kinds of risky investments was itself fraud. But he more portrays Sam not as a person caught in a trap and making the decision to cross some moral line, but rather just such a weird, odd person that didn't pay attention to details as he was making so much money. This is the crazy thing - FTX was a highly profitable business - he didn't need to steal funds. It wasn't a pyramid scheme or anything like that. This left me with a unsatisfied feeling wanting to know more of his motivation. But his conclusion was kind of just: Sam is so odd, nobody can read him.
I have a new appreciation of what high frequency traders like Jane Street do in traditional markets, and why their algorithms applied to crypto were so profitable in the boom, because there were so many tokens and opportunities to find inefficiencies in the markets.
Sam was a weird dude, and really it's amazing so many people were so impressed by him. The fact that he would for instance play video games while on zoom calls with important people, is just disrespectful. Sam was clearly a person who had zero empathy for others.
It was interesting to learn that Alameda got its start with some loans that had 50% rates. And then once they were off the ground, they switched to borrowing money from crypto networks like Celsius, which promised people insanely high interest rates. This was a big piece of the house of cards.
One of the most interesting things I didn't know before this book was that FTX was founded by and backed by Effective Altruists (EA's). I guess if you are going to go into the business of making money in Wall Street or crypto and want to feel mission driven, this is what you do: you pledge to give a lot of it away to charity and thus the more you make the more impactful you are on saving the world. Thus, permission to go chase money. I'm knocking it a bit, I'm sure there are many legit EA's. But on the other hand, imagine what could have been invented if these smart kids had put their minds elsewhere.
"The smartest minds of our generation are either buying or selling stocks or predicting if you’ll click on an ad,” he said. “This is the tragedy of our generation."...more
Walter Isaacson is a true storyteller, and this book yet another compelling, fast to read, educational, biography. He goes deep into the fascinating aWalter Isaacson is a true storyteller, and this book yet another compelling, fast to read, educational, biography. He goes deep into the fascinating and burgeoning world of CRISPR to explain it and its origins. And it's clear that CRISPR is changing the world, and will be something we are all familiar with in the decades to come.
The moral dilemmas CRISPR brings are large, and the book appropriately spends a lot of time on them. So far, most scientists and governments have approached it from the perspective that horrible genetic diseases (eg sickle cell) should be cured, but we shouldn't use it it for other purposes. So, Gattaca and designer babies are possible, but nobody is working on it. However, as the rogue scientist in China showed when he successfully birthed human babies after removing their HIV susceptible genes, it's only a matter of time before other rogue scientists show up. Eg, who knows what's happening in Russia right now...
I really enjoyed the story of how CRISPR was discovered. Isaacson puts a lot of onus on the trait of curiosity across all his biologies (Steve Jobs, Leonardo Da Vinci, etc). And Jennifer Doudna was only a pioneer and discoverer of CRISPR's uses because she was being curious and exploring the bounds of science.
Very interesting too to learn that lots of animal breeders, cattle farmers, etc are using CRISPR and see lot's of opportunities to use it more.
The drama between scientists discovering CRISPR and the patent wars was an interesting peek inside a world I knew little about. It added to the story, but maybe could have been condensed slightly. OTOH, I get it, he was covering a space not just a person, and needed to tread carefully, which I think he did....more
Amazing book, and even more amazing that it's a historical nonfiction and all TRUE! And I couldn't put it down it was so compelling and well written. Amazing book, and even more amazing that it's a historical nonfiction and all TRUE! And I couldn't put it down it was so compelling and well written. I'm a huge fan of the spy genre in general, and I think this is one of the best I've read. You certainly get a very real sense of what it is like to be a spy and what Gordievsky's life must have been like. ...more
Fascinating book about the French resistance and WWII and how hard they struggled, constantly getting caught and then rebooting the network. Marie-MadFascinating book about the French resistance and WWII and how hard they struggled, constantly getting caught and then rebooting the network. Marie-Madeleine was an impressive woman - the number of times she had to show grit to keep the network alive when it seemed dead, not seeing her kids much at all for 4 years, losing her lover to the gestapo. Sounded hard for the Germans to control a country where almost everyone is willing to be a spy.
I got a real sense for the "two Frances" - the Vichy/Petain one, and the DeGaulle/resistance one. I liked this quote:
An enthralling tale of WWII told through journals of Churchill, his inner circle, and even some of Hitler and Goebbells and some of their circle. I'llAn enthralling tale of WWII told through journals of Churchill, his inner circle, and even some of Hitler and Goebbells and some of their circle. I'll read anything Erik Larson writes - history or historical fiction, as he tells a story really well.
My main takeaway was how strong a case there was for Churchill being "the right man" to be PM during the war. Indeed, he was only PM during the war. But he was a true master of messaging and speeches, and inspiring the British public to not lose faith despite being bombed like crazy during the Blitz for a period of over a year! This was critical, and I think almost entirely due to Churchill and his radio sessions and speeches.
But that poster could easily have been rewritten "Keep calm and wait for the United States" because another impressive bit that shone through in the book is that Churchill knew that England couldn't win otherwise, but that didn't stop him from trying. A tough line to balance as he couldn't appear desperate to his people or to Roosevelt, but he also must have felt desperate at times. Very smart of him to invite Roosevelts man Harriman over and give him so much access.
Highly recommended and it reads nice and fast - my only criticism is that it really skipped through the end of the war (after the US declared) - perhaps another volume is coming?...more
Inspiring book about one of the greatest ironman races, by two of its greatest champions. I found this very helpful to better understand the sport, anInspiring book about one of the greatest ironman races, by two of its greatest champions. I found this very helpful to better understand the sport, and the mindsets of some of its champions.
And to get it out of the way, yes I knew that Dave Scott and Mark Allen had jointly posted a letter objecting that the book was inaccurate, and shouldn't be published. While this is not uncommon in publishing, it did make me read some of the characterizations of them with an open mind. For instance, he strongly painted Dave as being manic depressive. However their objections don't seem based on the book getting anything major wrong, so I think it's still a good telling of an amazing story, and recommended.
One of my biggest takeaways is that Ironman is a crazy hard distance. Well duh! But massive respect to those who can train enough to finish let alone race such distances. Dave and Mark and top athletes had to make this their job, working out 30-40 hours per week - which is an insane time commitment.
But it was interesting to read about some of the approaches to training and endurance racing that the book describes. For instance, Allen using Phil Maffetone's go slower to go faster low heartrate focus on aerobic workouts, was very interesting, and I have more to learn about that. There were also some good tidbits like this, that I've read bits about before but were interesting to see:
Reading about how they both pushed themselves hard and through the pain that endurance training and racing brings was very interesting, especially how much of it is mental. This makes sense when I think about it, because I feel just as tired at the end of a 3 mile run as at the end of a 7 mile run, and the difference is likely just my brain wanting to be done. And if you are The Man (Dave Scott) - you push through that mental pain:
A beautifully written and poetic book. It captures the heart of a slice of Africa in the 1920's and 30's. Worth reading for the prose alone, and to geA beautifully written and poetic book. It captures the heart of a slice of Africa in the 1920's and 30's. Worth reading for the prose alone, and to get a sense of what Africa was like. It was horse racing, old cars, old airplane adventures, and hunting. This quote was a good summary:
I read this while in Kenya, and it really brought it to life. There is a bit of ancientness in Africa that is innate, inside us, that can be brought out even now. Such as when we heard lions roar, it does something to your insides that makes you uneasy in a way you can't explain.
My grandfather and father were both hunters, and I think there is something romantic about what hunting in Africa must have been like. But also the amount of risk (health-wise) and cost it must have taken to be an elephant hunter (let alone what we now know it did to the population) seems crazy.
Magical descriptions and prose of the authors life in Provence, France. Full of humor, and tantalizing descriptions of French food, and French life. WMagical descriptions and prose of the authors life in Provence, France. Full of humor, and tantalizing descriptions of French food, and French life. Written in the 90's but still likely relevant (I'd be curious how much Provence has changed, but I'd bet this book still applies). Biggest takeaway was that the national sport of the Provencals, at least according to the book, is food.
A captivating memoir, well written, easy to tear through, and kind of heartbreaking. It was positioned by some as a way to understand what is happeninA captivating memoir, well written, easy to tear through, and kind of heartbreaking. It was positioned by some as a way to understand what is happening in America, and you certainly got to see a family that is off the grid and very poor. But I think it was much more a story about abuse. Emotional and physical, Tara's story is most impressive that not only did she break out and get an education, but she escaped the abuse from her father and brother that kept all the rest of her family in check. Her father in particular sounds like he has mental illness, and the consequences of his not getting care for that - because he was intentionally off the grid and doesn't trust doctors - was severe on his family.
Book 3 is more of the same: hilarious and wonderful stories about the Durrell's live in Greece. I think this one was even funnier than the last two. IBook 3 is more of the same: hilarious and wonderful stories about the Durrell's live in Greece. I think this one was even funnier than the last two. If there were more of these I'd read them! Most of the funny bits have to do with Gerry and his animals doing crazy things - for instance:
I got hooked on the show which was amazing, and was recommended to read the book, which I'm glad I did because it's equally amazing yet different. TheI got hooked on the show which was amazing, and was recommended to read the book, which I'm glad I did because it's equally amazing yet different. The Durrell's story is an escape from ordinary life in a way that I can't articulate but I kind of love. It's also hilarious - what a family! I really feel like I got to know Larry, Leslie, Margo, Mother, Spiro, even Lugaretzia.
Fascinating portrait of da Vinci. I learned a ton from this, but my biggest takeaway was how insanely curious about EVERYTHING Leonardo was. He was a Fascinating portrait of da Vinci. I learned a ton from this, but my biggest takeaway was how insanely curious about EVERYTHING Leonardo was. He was a painter, but also viewed himself as a scientist and engineer. In his pursuits to understand human proportions he dissected hundreds of animals and humans, to learn about muscles and eyes and how everything works. He understood how the eye sees in the 3D hundreds of years before anyone else. But the craziest part - is he published none of it. He wasn't looking for fame or respect from peers. He put a lot of it in his notebooks, which Isaacson based this book off of - but he would literally go on year long tangents (eg to understand perpetual motion) - just because he was curious. To me, this speaks a lot about the power of curiosity.
I had no idea that there are only 15 completed paintings attributable to him. He had a ton of unfinished projects, but this is also because he was a perfectionist and also a scientist. We all the know Mona Lisa - but I didn't know that he was commissioned to paint it, and spent 20 years trying to perfect it, up until his death, never delivering it to the person who had ordered it!
Isaacson talks at one point about how he is fascinated with the intersection of unrelated disciplines, and that's what drew him to Steve Jobs and Apple, as he famously merged technology and design. Intersections can help you think differently, and Leonardo was impressive at this.
Amazing book, must read for anyone who has to make decisions in life - that means everyone - but I think the more impact your decisions have the more Amazing book, must read for anyone who has to make decisions in life - that means everyone - but I think the more impact your decisions have the more useful his frameworks are. I'm giving it 5 stars for the big ideas and uniqueness of them - though I will warn you that the book is very long and highly repetitive - there is probably a way to read only parts of it and still get all the big ideas. Also (as I do for most books these days) I read it with a combo of Kindle ebook and Audible, and Ray reads the first half of the book himself, and given that part is more backstory/bio, It's much more powerful to hear it in his voice.
Dalio was successful because he timed it perfectly - he was one of the first to apply computers to investing. He also along the way invented what we call a "hedge fund", which is only possible to do well if you highly leverage computers. He leveraged computers heavily, turning all investment decision making he could into algorithms. He found this worked so well, that he attempted to turn ALL decision making into algorithms - this book goes into personal (life) and management (work) algorithms (aka principles). This is one of the more interesting ways Ray approaches life - he is trying to turn all his life into algorithms:
In order to do this, Ray believes strongly in having "radical transparency" and being "radically open minded". I think these sections are worth reading if you don't read the whole book (worth re-reading too). A transparent culture means everything is shared: metrics and data (how the company, or teams are doing), what is said in meetings (all meetings are recorded at Bridgewater and anyone can access the recordings later), strategic issues (like if they are considering a merger of one group), and even what people are like.
Bridgewater has opened sourced a big piece of people management - what people's strengths and growth areas are. They use personality tests as well as input from others in the company to assess this, and then put it on "baseball cards" for each person, which anyone in the company can see. He describes how useful these tools are when creating a new project team, to make sure you have a balance of the right skillsets and types of people on it, and how without this many people are just naturally likely to pick people like themselves. This way of operating is so interesting and different that many notable phycologists (Eg Adam Grant) have gone to study the Bridgewater culture.
Once you know who is good at what, it becomes a way to de-risk decision making in a meritocratic way. People who score high at things (aka are more "believable") get more weight in their opinions on things in that area. Most of us do this intuitively (ask and listen to those who know about something), but having a system to enforce that will catch a lot of cases where it isn't happening. Thinking about where this might go if expanded more broadly is a bit interesting - feels like it could really turn into gamified decision making.
One of the best sports biographies I've read. I was a huge Agassi fan growing up, not because of his flair or haircut, but because of his amazing topsOne of the best sports biographies I've read. I was a huge Agassi fan growing up, not because of his flair or haircut, but because of his amazing topspin and his tenacity. So to get the inside story on where he got both of those, was fascinating.
The first thing to realize about Agassi, is that like many tennis players, he got good, then bad, then really bad, then good, then bad, then good, etc. In other words, he loses. A lot. But the fascinating part of his story is what motivates him to keep going. Because, as he says, he hates tennis. Full disclosure, I don't fully believe him when he says that, I think at a level he likes the game and winning. But his motivation switches over the years - from wanting to please his dad, to wanting to get to the top, to needing to find new motivation in his team, and ultimately, with his charitable work. I love how in the end his comeback is motivated by wanting to win for his center, to be able to give more to the kids - that's fascinating, cool, and admirable.
Another interesting aspect of Andre is how loyal he is to his team - to Gil, to his coach, his wife, etc. He needs them for confidence, and for strength - more for emotional strength than physical - in a way that was striking. He makes a lot of statements like:
The romance of his decade long chase of Steffi Graff was fascinating to read about, and in the end, incredibly romantic as well. The notion that he had such a crush on her from the beginning, and chased her for that long, was - well, sweet. And then there was this gem of prose, describing their first rally together:
This is a book that is powerful because its engrossing, fast paced, entertaining, humorous at times, and yet totally gives you a new perspective on SoThis is a book that is powerful because its engrossing, fast paced, entertaining, humorous at times, and yet totally gives you a new perspective on South Africa. Also, you have to listen to it on audio as Trevor narrates it himself and does everyone in South African accents that makes it so much more real.
South Africa is not a place I know much about, but I feel like I know it better now. Growing up in Apartheid as a coloured person (half white was apparently its own race) sounded extremely tough. As did surviving in the hood as a hustler, getting thrown in jail for "stealing" your father in laws car, and so many of the amazing adventures he described.
But what I most appreciated was how he really attributed so much to his mother, who was a tough, independent women who didn't let him believe that his destiny wasn't in his own hands. That seemed like the major thing that set him apart, and I loved reading all the build-up to that. Highly recommended! ...more
I haven't read a non-fiction book this engaging in some time. This was an amazingly well written autobiography. It read like a fast paced novel througI haven't read a non-fiction book this engaging in some time. This was an amazingly well written autobiography. It read like a fast paced novel through much of it. Many autobiographies are too long - this one if anything is too short! Like many startup companies, the story of Nike (or Blue Ribbon Shoes as it was initially called) is one of trials, tribulations, and lots of passion and grit. I ate it up, and highly recommend it.
The most defining moment of the story is Knights ballsy move while backpacking through Japan at the age of 24, to walk into a Japanese shoe manufacturer and say he has a shoe distribution company, and get a exclusive deal for the western US. Gutsy. He "just did it" (sorry, but apt). I love learning examples of this kind of "Do things that don't scale" start to successful companies (eg Zappos, Amazon, many more). From there the story is one of doubling sales each year, and never quite having enough money on the balance sheet to make it anything but very risky. It was interesting - no fascinating - that Phil had an accounting background, and was well versed that the reason most startups fail is a lack of cash reserves, and yet he had so much faith in his growth and sales that he kept plowing all cash into growth. I loved reading the stories of how they barely made it from one order to the next, how twice they had to switch banks after being cut off.
One of the key strategies of Nike's success today is athlete endorsement, and it was interesting to see how that strategy was formed in the early years. How they would offer large sums of money to athletes to wear their shoes - often to athletes already wearing their shoes - double down on people who already like your product. It was doubly interesting that Phil didn't initially believe in the power of advertising - I'd be very curious to hear how his opinion on that changed over time.
The story of Prefontaine was a touching one, and one that stayed with me. I wasn't as familiar of the story of Pre, but had heard of him. But I didn't know the role that Nike sponsored him, and even employed him. Reading Phil talk about him, you got a sense of the passion his has for the sport of running. You got a sense that the story of Pre - his passion and drive - is a metaphor for how Nike was built. This quote says it better:
The book is a fascinating telling of the founding and early history of Nike. But it stops at the IPO, and then gives a chapter postlude. This is my only complaint. It was so well written - keep going! Tell us the story of Just Do It, Air Jordans, and so many more. I could read 4 more volumes of this, as it feels like there is so much more to they story of Nike to learn....more
Best book of the series, and best book about American history that I think I've read. Now we are getting to the drama and corruption at an interestingBest book of the series, and best book about American history that I think I've read. Now we are getting to the drama and corruption at an interesting scale - the US Senate. And the portrait we have of Johnson is fascinating.
Lyndon Johnson was just simply power hungry. He had no principles of note, no things he was on a mission to do - except to hold as much power as he could. But he was brilliant at reading people, knowing what they wanted, and finding ways to horse-trade in his huge and growing network - and help them get it. A genius at being a politician. But lacking principles - I hope there are politicians that can do both.
But this is not just a book about LBJ and his time in the senate - it is a history of the senate, and of 1960's America. I didn't appreciate the power the Senate has in US politics - small numbers of senators can block legislation for a long time. The book hints that WWII can be blamed on the senate - because the president wanted to act against Hitler much earlier but the senate didn't let him - a crazy allegation if true. And the filibusters! I didn't appreciate what those really were and how powerful they were. It was also very impressive reading how quickly LBJ took over leadership of the Senate - most senators had to wait until they were old to have the seniority to do much - LBJ within two years of being a senator had become elected leader and then did away with the seniority rule - both unprecedented changes.
And of course, much of the book is about the fact that the southern senators collaborated to prevent any civil rights legislation for 100 years. It was well into the 20th century before African Americans got the right to vote, and we removed segregation - and this delay is all due to the senate.
LBJ is known for being the president who passed civil rights - but the story of how he was a "southern senator" (from Texas) who had the southern senators as his base, but had to pass civil rights bills through the senate in order to make the liberals believe he was on their side so he could have a presidential bid - was fascinating. He did it not caring a single bit about the actual cause - it was simply the only path to be president, as the country had hit a point where the northerners were no longer going to let segregation go on, and the southerners were only going to give it up over their dead bodies. LBJ worked both sides, found compromises, made each side believe he was really on their side, and got the first ever civil rights bill of the 1900's passed to give African Americans the right to vote. ...more
A fascinating look at the early part of LBJ’s life and career. This is the first of a four book series covering LBJ’s life. At least 3 extremely smartA fascinating look at the early part of LBJ’s life and career. This is the first of a four book series covering LBJ’s life. At least 3 extremely smart people that I respect told me that this series was one of the best books they’ve ever read. I was also interested in reading about politics and corrupt politicians to get some grounding given the current political climate, and even in volume 1, this didn’t disappoint.
Many biographies spend way too much time on details that are not very relevant, especially in the early life, and this book was no exception - although I found the writing good and story compelling that I finished it rather quickly (also thanks to whispersync with Audible). The book covers Johnsons childhood up through age 32 when he as a congressman lost the race for senate to Pappy O’Daniel. Pappy O’Daniel by the way, sounds like fun character - totally unqualified to be governor or senator but elected b/c everyone knew him from his radio show. In terms of Johnsons childhood, it was oddly interesting to learn about the “Hill Country” of Texas and why those who have lived there have had such rough lives.
I love biographies, as it’s always fascinating to see what motivates successful people - where their drive comes from. With LBJ, Caro paints his motivation as initially coming from not wanting to grow up poor and in debt like his father. But then his motivation shifts to become more “a hunger for power in its most naked form, for power not to improve the lives of others, but to manipulate and dominate them, to bend them to his will.”
Johnson’s raw hunger for power, his desire to be someone, led him to work extremely hard. And not only himself, but also the people who worked for him. It was impressive how hard he worked himself and his small team when he was working as a congressional aide. And all driven by a lust for power. Interestingly to me, he picked exclusively people who were “loyal” to him - meaning he could work them to the bone - over people who were intelligent or experienced in what needed to be done. He was able to pull this off as in the post great depression era, a lot of people had no other way to get a job, or get ahead, and so LBJ had leverage. But LBJ did have a gift in picking and reading men, which was I think key to understanding his success.
And he was not only a reader of men - he could also remember everything about the people he met - he could impressively remember details about a persons son 10 years after meeting them. Great skill for a politician to have! He also had an uncanny ability to make older men look at him like a son - a skill he used with Speaker of the house Sam Rayburn, which greatly helped his career.
Johnson also had no qualms cheating to steal elections - with both his election to school president in college, and the little congress, he cheated.
A fascinating piece of LBJ was that he worked very hard to not commit to a public position on almost anything. He basically told people what he thought they wanted to hear - perhaps a hallmark of a corrupt politician. This gave him a lot of freedom to play both sides. Liberals literally thought he was liberal and conversatives thought he was conservative. Not the most moral of stances, but in that pre-internet age, more possible to pull off and even smart tactically.
“Once, a congressional aide, who had just heard him “talking conservative” with Martin Dies, came across him, “not an hour later,” “talking liberal” with Patman— espousing a point of view diametrically opposite to the one he had been espousing sixty minutes before.”
A hallmark of the New Deal was helping people who needed it, and Johnson did help the poor farmers of Texas. I thought this quote was a powerful representation of the impact he had and why he kept getting elected:
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