The Tree of Knowledge, Humberto R. Maturana & Francisco J. Varela, Shambhala, 1992.

These books represent two very different approaches to understanding the nature of intelligence.

Simon comes from (or perhaps better to say "defined" or "helped create") the "AI as logic" school. His book brings in a wide range of areas to help elucidate thinking: simulations, economic systems, and systems thinking.

Maturana and Varela come from the "AI as biology" school. They use biological models to explore behavior, cognition, and culture. They explore how non-representational models can generate behavior.

Both books are deep, sometimes deeper than I could properly follow. I was left with the sense that Maturana and Varela are closer to answers but the answers they have will be more complex and less satisfying.

(Reviewed Apr., '09) Related books in Interesting.

Voice Lessons to Go: Volume 2 - Do Re Mi Ear and Pitch Training
By Ariella Vaccarino.

These CDs are designed to help improve your singing voice. For me, an untrained singer, they are just right. Each track is a minute or two of practice on things like scales, breathing, identifying higher or lower, and so on. Some of the tracks are challenging enough that I laughed aloud when I first heard them, and I still struggle on them after several times, but I'm getting there. Very enjoyable, and I'll pick up the other volumes after I've developed on these. (Reviewed April, '09) Related items in Interesting.

Bob Martin tackles the challenges of making code sparkling clean. He provides numerous guidelines, and demonstrates their utility in action. I particularly appreciated some of the longer examples where he really works them over. You'll especially find this book compelling if you're interested in craftsmanship, refactoring, and/or concrete design. (Reviewed Feb., '09) Related books in Software.

Getting the Right Things Done. Pascal Dennis. LEI, 2006. A lean thinking book about "strategy deployment" - planning and execution. It's in the form of a story mixed with explanation. Touches on a variety of tools: "True North," PDCA, catchball, A3s and more. It gives a good introduction, but I wouldn't try to implement this approach with this as my only resource. (Reviewed Feb., '09) Related books in Lean.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Stephen R. Covey. Fireside, 1989. I avoided this book for a long time, just assuming it was a rehash of personal-affirmation type platitudes. Instead, I found the habits and the book to be worthwhile and I recommend it to others. (Reviewed Feb., '09) Related books in Interesting.

In parallel with "structured programming," (which often focused on code structure), there was more esoteric work done on "structured data." A lot of this found fruition in things like container libraries. (Few people write their own hash tables any more.) But there was a deeper side of this that explores formal methods for data structures. This out-of-print collection of articles explores many aspects of the algebra of data structures. (Reviewed Dec., '07) Related books in Classics.

Chris spoke at the Agile a couple years ago, and I really enjoyed his talk. He explores many themes: teamwork, feedback, commitment, collaboration, trust. His perspective is that individual skills make these possible. Almost every section has personal and team challenges that give you areas to work on. Highly recommended. (Reviewed June, '07) Related books in Coaching.