Thursday, May 31, 2018

Shadow Divers

There are a group of hobbyists who put their lives on the line every time they perform: deep water divers. They dive to such extremes that they often lose the ability to be rational, resulting in a great number of fatalities. Shadow Divers is about the guys who found a U-Boat in American waters and their quest in finding out how it got there.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

City of Thieves

Russian citizens seemed to be struggling against two enemies in World War II. Most obviously, the Nazis. But also their own government. City of Thieves: A Novel is a fantastic book that puts the reader in the shoes of those who (barely) lived through it.

Monday, May 14, 2018

Skin In The Game

I always look forward to Taleb's books, and Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life was no different. I generally agree with the major themes of his books, and have found reading his books to be revelations of thoughts I feel like I already had even though I likely didn't.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Cooper Tire

Cooper Tire (CTB) makes tires for vehicles. The industry is going through a difficult period, with recent sales below expectations, causing promotional pricing that further compounds the problem. Because it is a high fixed-cost industry (manufacturing), revenue shortfalls like those experienced right now cause big changes on the bottom line. For example, this year's headline Q1 profit was down 54% from last year's on just a 6.5% decline in sales.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Ordinary Men

There are a lot of Holocaust books written from the point of the view of the victims. But what about the ordinary people that turned into killers? How does this transition occur? How do they justify their actions? What do they feel as they go through these steps? In Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Christopher Browning documents the story of a particular group of Germans who went from ordinary citizens to cold-blooded killers.