The ISIS Apocalpyse

I've gone from trying to understand one group of extremists to another, in The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State. But this group is just as hard to understand.

Gone With The Wind

I've known nothing about "America's second favourite book" Gone with the Wind for most of my life, other than that it was some sort of chick lit. Now having read the book, I can attest that it is indeed chick lit, but it's also so much more.

Hibbett Sports

Hibbett Sports (HIBB) sells footwear, sports equipment and apparel, among other things. The entire industry has gotten crushed lately - there is blood in the streets. HIBB is down almost 70% in the last year alone. Competitors like Dicks and Foot Locker are also getting crushed.

Disrupted

Tech unicorns that can't turn a profit are everywhere you look, getting substantial valuations by both market and venture capital investors. Dan Lyons is a fifty-something laid-off reporter that went to work at one of these wonder-companies in the hopes of cashing in like so many have done. Things did not go as planned. In Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble, he tells the tale.

When The Moon Is Low

A typical Afghan family lives a typical Afghan life, until the Taliban rise to power. Immediately, life changes. Girls must be pulled out of schools, women must be accompanied on the street, and everyone must watch what they say...or else. When the Moon Is Low: A Novel is the story of one devastated family's quest for a better life, which takes them through various countries so that they may reach England and request asylum.

ERA Group Pitching a Good Game

Asset prices in the US are pretty high at the moment, except for those related to oil and gas, which is one of the few depressed sectors. ERA Group (ERA) owns and operates helicopters that transport personnel to offshore oil platforms. That description is enough to turn off any mainstream investor who has read a newspaper in the last three years, which is what attracts me to the situation.

Matchmakers

If you're looking for a date, you've come to the wrong site. But if you're looking for a book about network effects, Matchmakers may be for you.