 City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas
By Roger Crowley Published in January 2012 473 Pages Thibault’s Score: 2/5 My low score might be simply because I’m tired of reading about medieval Venice. I recently finished two other great books about the Serene Republic, and by comparison this one fell flat. The information was identical, but somehow I found that the writing was too flowery. Instead of focusing on clarity, the author focused on semi-poetic descriptions. I made it past the end of the fourth crusade, which was described prosaically in all of its horrible detail. Afterwards, the chapters describing Venice’s domination of the Agean are also pretty interesting. This book probably doesn’t deserve a 2/5; and I’d be open to revisiting Crowley’s other books. But for now, it might just be a question of exhaustion. Compared to all of the other great books I’ve read lately, it falls flat.
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 Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder
By Nassim Nicholas Taleb Published in November 2012 519 Pages Thibault’s Score: 5/5 Antifragile is more than the name of this book. It is a word that describes a new and necessary concept, and since reading the book, I cannot help but find ways to use it in day to day conversation. Antifragile describes a system that gains from chaos. It is distinct from fragile - a system that breaks when in contact with chaos as well as robust - a system that persists through chaos. Imagine that you are shipping whiskey. There are three ways you could do it. First, you could ship it in glass bottles. Glass breaks easily. Using glass would be fragile. Alternatively, you could use metal flasks. The metal will resist shocks, and the condition of the whiskey in the end will be the same. Using metal flasks would be robust. But if you are really smart, you ship the whiskey in wooden barrels. The shaking and stirring causes the whiskey to actually improve in flavor. This method of shipping would be antifragile. Many systems in nature are antifragile: the human body when exercising; decentralized political systems; the Italian mafia; the tinkers building new machines in their basement; etc… Many others are fragile: corporate pill based medicine; empires; accounting firms; directed scientific research, etc… Understanding the concept of antifragility is critical to build any durable human system. Whether you are designing a policy, building a business, or planning antifragile, mastering the concept is a must. To me, many of the ideas were not new. In many ways, the book gave me words I can use to describe my pre-existing worldview. I have been thinking of antifragile systems for years now, and I now finally have good language to express my ideas. I strongly recommend this book. To everyone. Trying to do anything.  The Venetians
By Paul Strathern Published in December 2013 368 Pages Thibault’s Score: 4/5 This book is a very vivid history of the lives of key citizens of Venice throughout the city state’s history. It covers the lives of diverse Venetians such as the explorer Marco Polo, the neurotic womanizer Casanova, the mass production musician Vivaldi, or the devious politician Enrico Dandolo. Each biography is short, to the point, and as action passes as possible. The book is never dreary, always highlighting the fantastic adventures of Venetians throughout history. You get to see the city evolve along with its most prominent figures. As far as history books go, this is a very fun and fast paced read. I would caution, however, that some parts might be hard to follow without pre-existing historical knowledge. For those who want to go deep into Venetian history, I recommend this as a possible follow up for Thomas Madden’s new history of Venice. Some of the topics will be repeated, but they complement each other well. |
Thibault SerletMost of my articles are book reviews, but I also write about many other topics. Archives
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