Karam tells about the last voyage of the 28-year-old Thresher class PLUNGER submarine assigned to spy on a Northern Pacific Soviet naval base in the closing days of the Cold War.
Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace’s “CREATIVITY INC: OVERCOMING THE UNSEEN FORCES THAT STAND IN THE WAY OF TRUE INSPIRATION”
This “management of creativity” is a fascinating topic since it touches on so many things. In Catmull’s own case the journey started with personal interests in animation, Disney, and engineering.
Tim Wu’s MASTER SWITCH: THE RISE AND FALL OF INFORMATION EMPIRES
The lessons of history (telephone, telegraph, FM radio, networks, cable TV, etc.) and how companies with the complicity of government try to shut off competition are incredibly important given current battles to save net neutrality.
Richard Foreman's SWORD OF EMPIRE: PRAETORIAN
SWORD OF EMPIRE: PRAETORIAN is a fast and entertaining read.
Alan de Queiroz' THE MONKEY's VOYAGE: HOW IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS SHAPED THE HISTORY OF LIFE
Ultimately science is about the data. Even the strongest “schools of thought” crumble at data’s doorstep.
Boris Chertok's “ROCKETS AND PEOPLE VOLUME 3: HOT DAYS OF THE COLD WAR”
I can’t help but wonder when reading about these exciting times what it might have been like had the U.S. and Soviet Union cooperated in space exploration earlier on. Would the combined resources have resulted in greater joint accomplishments like a moon base or a landing on Mars? Or was the competition and secrecy effective in pushing both sides ahead?
Richard P. Feynman's “SURELY YOU MUST BE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN!”
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
Shelby Foote’s “THE CIVIL WAR, A NARRATIVE: FORT SUMTER TO PERRYVILLE”
This book is the perfect antidote for anyone who seriously believes that politics back then was any different from today. Lincoln faced incredible dissension and disagreement within his own party and his own cabinet. This makes Gates’ recent revelations about his relationship with the Obama Administration pale by comparison.
Garry Wills' “LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG: THE WORDS THAT REMADE AMERICA”
I’m especially fond of history books that not only explain events but help the reader understand the people involved and how they and events were impacted by history, culture, personal relationships, and where appropriate, by technology
Martin Vaughn-James' THE CAGE
But mysteriously there’s enough recognizable and even semi-linear as narrative here to keep a halfway intelligent or imaginative person interested all the way through.
Sarah Vowell's ASSASSINATION VACATION
Sarah Vowell’s ASSASSINATION VACATION is an unusual book.
Jim Baggott: “THE FIRST WAR OF PHYSICS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ATOMIC BOMB, 1939-1949”
I’ve always been fascinated by “big science” projects and how they were managed. Often there’s a confluence of private and public sector, academia, and military; the nuclear arms race as presented here is certainly not an exception.
Robert F. Dorr's MISSION TO TOKYO: The American Airmen Who Took the War to the Heart of Japan
This book describes what it was like to bomb Japanese cities via B-29 raids conducted by the U.S. during 1944 and 1945. Most of the action is from the American perspective and takes place on the air-base islands off Japan from which most raids were launched (chiefly Tinian and Saipan), in the air while over water, or over Japan itself
Eugene Fluckey's THUNDER BELOW
I read a lot of history books where you get caught up in the sweep of big ideas, big movements, and larger-than-life historical figures. In THUNDER BELOW we have a captain, his crew, and the ship, doing their job while trying to stay alive. It’s a keeper.
Melvyn Bragg's THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH
If you’re interested in history and how languages evolve, this book is for you. Bragg treats English like an evolving organism that absorbs and transforms itself as it grows.
Benford & Brin's HEART OF THE COMET
The scale and scope of the operation are huge. Hundreds of crew are sent in deep sleep while a smaller “first shift” prepares the massive ball of ancient ice for human habitation. The authors think through the physics and the logistics of such a massive operation and make you believe — almost — that something like this might really work.
Craig Nelson's ROCKET MEN: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon
Having always been a fan of aerospace history this book is one of the first I’ve read that actually attempts to answer in some depth the question, “What was it like to be part of the Apollo program?” We hear from the different participants from astronaut on down. It’s highly educational and even surprising in parts.
Dennis R. Jenkins' X-15: EXTENDING THE FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT
You have to be interested in engineering and technology to appreciate this book and its detail. So many aircraft books emphasize operational or military applications while skimping on the details that allow an appreciation of the huge number of challenges involved in aircraft development. This one really delivers the goods.
C.S. Forester's THE SHIP
Forester’s message is pretty transparent, though: high class are low, educated or not, smalltown or urban, young or old — all have parts to play in the well oiled war machine that cares less about class than about performance.
Stephen Budiansky's “BLACKETT'S WAR: THE MEN WHO DEFEATED THE NAZI U-BOATS AND BROUGHT SCIENCE TO THE ART OF WARFARE”
Blackett’s War is an uneven but very interesting account of how basic science and engineering techniques, now called “operations research” or “operational research,” were applied to solving military problems during World War II.