IBM Press. Yep, that pretty much sums up this book. While there is a wealth of information in this book it is so boring, even for an IT nerd like [...]]]>
Decision Management Systems: A Practical Guide to Using Business Rules and Predictive Analytics by James Taylor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

IBM Press. Yep, that pretty much sums up this book. While there is a wealth of information in this book it is so boring, even for an IT nerd like me, it made it tough to get through the material and I probably would have quit had the book not been required reading for an MBA class. Yes, a book on decision management systems is not necessarily going to be the most fun book to get through and this one is certainly not fun. However, it does make you appreciate books like “Competing on Analytics” that have at leas a bit of flavor all that much more.

On the upside, it was fun through to discover the whole open source world of Drools which is built on top of the JBOSS family of products. While I only have a cursory understanding of this field, it was interesting to know there is a whole industry developed around the science of decision making and selling a decision making platform. I had previously assumed this would be proprietary information to every company, but it looks like you can jump right into a fully developed decision management system with a rules workflow and event processing if you were so inclined.

In the end pick this book up only if you are really into decision work flows, otherwise there are many more exciting technology/business books out there. Ideally they should have packaged this in textbook format to scare away only the most dedicated of readers.



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Disappointed. Michael Lewis finally let me down. After putting out such awesome books like Moneyball, Liar’s Poker, The Blind Side, The Big Short, and the New New Thing (often overlooked), I’ve finally hit a dud. I [...]]]>
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Disappointed. Michael Lewis finally let me down. After putting out such awesome books like Moneyball, Liar’s Poker, The Blind Side, The Big Short, and the New New Thing (often overlooked), I’ve finally hit a dud. I felt like this book was just the B-Sides of the Big Short. My assumption is his publisher threw a lot of money at him to turn around a book in short order for the holiday season of 2011, and he took it.

Boomerang picks up where The Big Short left off looking at the wreckage of the world Economy after the financial disaster of 2008. While the Big Short was mostly U.S. based, this book is largely about places outside oft he U.S. My favorite chapter was about Iceland. I learned a great deal about the small country and really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t enough to make a book out of the small amount of material presented here. The entire thing feels like a bunch of magazine articles pieced together to form a book.

In the end, this was an ok read, but because it was from Lewis, I expected so much more. I guess you can’t hit a home run ever time up to bat. I’m still waiting for him to come out with a Hockey or Basketball themed book, I guess time will tell.



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There is a considerable amount of good information contained within these pages. However, there also is a fair deal of fluff. I normally try to review books as soon as I read, them but this [...]]]>
Free Prize Inside: The Next Big Marketing Idea by Seth Godin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There is a considerable amount of good information contained within these pages. However, there also is a fair deal of fluff. I normally try to review books as soon as I read, them but this one I completed about a month ago. Sorry to say not much stuck with me, which is never a good sign. Looking back through my dog-eared pages, I did like Godin’s thoughts on Edgecraft vs. Brainstorming. Based on his notes in the book, it turns out that people are less productive at coming up with ideas in groups because they hold back, so brainstorming by yourself is actually a better idea than with other people.

This quick read boils down to finding “that thing”, that will turn your product from commodity to brand name. What that is, for each product is hard to determine so, Seth suggests you get cracking and start thinking about ways to differentiate other wise you end up as a commodity just like everyone else. I’m still looking for the ATM that spits out a $100 instead of a $20 but, once I find it I’ll know it was the product of someone reading this book.

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Being from Pittsburgh, I don’t really have a huge interest in Redsox vs. Yankees. However, being a baseball fan and a stats junkie, I just can’t get enough of the 2004 ALCS where [...]]]>
Idiot: Beating “The Curse” and Enjoying the Game of Life by Johnny Damon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Being from Pittsburgh, I don’t really have a huge interest in Redsox vs. Yankees. However, being a baseball fan and a stats junkie, I just can’t get enough of the 2004 ALCS where the Red Sox came from three games down to beat the Yankees. Just like the 1980 USA Hockey, the story is told about a great rivalry where a team overcame what looked like insurmountable odds and the championship is often an after thought.

Damon does a fantastic job of educating the reader on what it is like to be a lead off hitter and the importance of taking pitches to wear down the opposing pitcher, often to his own Batting Average’s detriment. I didn’t realize how much emphasis the players put on becoming an all star, and hearing Damon’s frustrations about not getting selected as often as he though he was deserving was interesting. Also getting the back story on Pedro, Shilling, and Manny was always enjoyable to read. Reading Damon’s thoughts on living in a hotel and life on the road, especially as a single guy was funny too. I don’t want to spoil it but his story of getting propositioned by two girls is funny, but his reaction is priceless. I came into this book expecting something average, and I was pleasantly surprised, kudos to Johnny.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was how hypocritical it made Damon look knowing full well he would eventually go play for the Yankees. But granted the book was written before he jumped ship to the tune of $52 Million over 4 years in 2006. Damon seems like a level headed guy, and hearing how he treats the game like a business seems very practical. It was awesome getting his first hand account of the 2004 ALCS, and he did a good job keeping his rise to stardom entertaining but saved enough for the bulk of the book to be about those 4 fateful days in October.



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Do not waste your time with this book. This is just a rehash of so many other books on investing and real estate. Buying a used car instead of a new one, and explaining how [...]]]>
How Come That Idiot’s Rich and I’m Not? by Robert Shemin

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Do not waste your time with this book. This is just a rehash of so many other books on investing and real estate. Buying a used car instead of a new one, and explaining how real estate is a good investment over the long run has been explained more interestingly by much better writers elsewhere. The one unique thought here was to become a travel agent using some multi-level marketing site so you could get free or discounted travel. While not a bad idea I must admit, it just did not seem practical and would end up costing you money up front and the ROI seemed like a lot of work over a long time before it paid off.

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