Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069, by Neil Howe & William Strauss

Completed mid-April 2012.

The Magic of Reality, by Richard Dawkins

Illuminating & entertaining discussion of various myths & the facts that explain them rationally. Dawkins makes the point that the facts about various phenomena, are just as exciting & interesting as the myths that they have spawned, as he is typically concise, forthright & erudite about the magic of the former. Excellent scientific reading for a younger audience & superbly illustrated throughout. Completed end of April 2012. 4/5.

The Soccer War, by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Completed mid-March 2012.
Another from the famous journalist, & another fascinating read, this time about Africa & its emergence from colonialism. Notable for the author's numerous scrapes with impending execution it also details some of the characters who lead their countries from under colonial rule. It illuminates their personalities & often their tragic fate, with humour & pathos, however not quite as hard-hitting as Imperium. 3/5.

Imperium, by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Finished mid-March 2012.
Fascinating, compelling & often harrowing account of one man's experience of the former Soviet Union. From hellish personal WWII experiences through to survivors stories from the gulags & famines the horror of the former communist state is described through the people it affected & killed. The futility of its efforts at imposing ideologoy for the benefit of a few is tragically exposed through the disastrous consequences it had for the many. Its collapse could not come soon enough & hopefully we'll never see the likes of an empire like this again. 5/5.

Changes in the Land, by William Cronon

Finished end of Feb 2012.
Excellent read on a different than usual topic about the interactions between New England's colonists & the native people, fauna & flora. Also discusses the change Native Americans themselves made on the land & how the European settlers took advantage & made further changes. Some fascinating voices from that period are included as well as the author's non-judgemental arguments about the reasons & results of the transition from native to colonial. Consequently many of the descriptions were particularly vivid & have made me view the landscape in which I now live through newly updated eyes.
4/5.

Professional Team Foundation Server 2010, by Ed Blankenship, MartinWoodward, Grant Holliday, Brian Keller

Finished end of Feb 2012.
Thorough treatment of Microsoft's TFS & how to administer it for maximum benefit. It includes from how to install it down to creating customised work item templates. Although obviously 100% technical the book was structured in such a way it wasn't overly boring, & after completing it I was felt confident enough in the knowledge it had given me to consider taking the Microsoft administrators exam. 4/5.

Leadership Insights: 15 Unique Perspectives on Effective Leadership, by Various

Another Harvard Business Review article collection about leadership & management, with results of various studies over the years & tips on how to apply the theory to practical situations:

• The Manager's Job, by Henry Mintzberg Managers & Leaders: Are They Different?, by Abraham Zaleznik.
• What Leaders Really Do, by John P. Kotter What Makes a Leader?, by Daniel Goleman.
• Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?, by Rob Goffee & Gareth Jones.
• Narcissistic Leaders, by Michael Maccoby.
• Good Communication That Blocks Learning, by Chris Argyris.
• A Survival Guide For Leaders, by Ronald A. Heifetz & Mark Linsky.
• Where Leadership Starts, Robert A. Eckert.
• Leadership: Sad Facts & Silver Linings, by Thomas J. Peters.
• Leadership in a Combat Zone, by William G. Pagonis.
• The Hard Work of Being a Soft Manager, by William H. Peace.
• We Don't Need Another Hero, by Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr.
• The Job No CEO Should Delegate, by Laurence A. Bossidy.
• Are You Picking the Right Leaders, by Melvin Sorcher & James Brant

As with the previous compilation the articles could merge into each other, possibly due to some overlap in the research findings or maybe because there's not all that much to know about leadership & management. Certainly towards end I felt that using one's own instincts & experience were probably more valuable than any number of 'how to be a great manager' books would be. In which case the best advice from one of the articles was to 'be yourself, only better', which seemed fair to me!

Available from Google Books or WorldCat.
Finished mid November 2011.
3/5