I always find his book recommendations disappointing. I hope to see some obscure gem in there, but it mostly looks like the non-fiction display section being promoted right now at my local bookstore - pop science and history etc.. Nothing wrong with that, but I know Gates has a high intelligence, so I always hope for more.
HNers seem to find the best stuff. I subscribe to the weekly email one of our peers sends that gathers up links to books mentioned on HN. Every week there's at least 2 or 3 worth picking up.
Might be a little off-topic, but I dislike Walter Isaacson's style. His biography of Steve Jobs was in my opinion underwhelming. I remember some time ago I read Jeff Atwood's blog about this exact same thing. He mentioned how he would've loved to read something more akin to David Kushner's "Masters of Doom" about Jobs. And I wholeheartedly agree with him having read both. Can someone who has read "Leonardo da Vinci" share some info on whether it's the same style like in his Jobs biography?
The profound intimacy (not without its joy or laughter, but full of brutal honesty and shocking maturity) that comes from living with incurable cancer and bringing other people into it is truly something apart from the everyday. Though it probably shouldn't be.
She is really a scholar of the human condition (in addition to her profession of religious scholarship-- see her work on the prosperity gospel, really) and her insight is amazing. This is not a "typical" anything.
I just listen the two first episode of the podcast, and i just want to say thanks you.
Strangely, this is just what i needed.
This podcast is truly something.
