Brooks Simpson

TLDR; An in-depth account of Grant’s life from childhood through the end of the Civil War.  Filled with quotes from letters and newspapers which makes it a slow read.  Great content.  Recommended.

Grant has been a favorite historical figure of mine since writing a report on him in sixth grade.  I wrote he was a brilliant general, a drunk and a respected president.  At least 2 of those assertions may be false.  In Ulysses S. Grant Triumph Over Adversity 1822-1865, Brooks Simpson follows the life and career of Grant though the end of the Civil War.  We get an in-depth treatment of his life, including his tough relationship with his father, wife, press, the military, etc.  I selected this book about Grant by recommendations from the Stoic community.  I consider Grant a Stoic figure for the way he overcame obstacles (multiple failures early in his military career and business ventures) and remained calm (facing enemy fire, dealing with the pressures of the press or military officials).  Simpson does a great job in presenting Grant’s challenges and his will to overcome them.  To show the obstacles, Simpson provides ample quotes from letters, and newspaper accounts. These quotes lengthen the text considerably and, most times, belabor the point.  Simpson also examines whether Grant was actually a drunk or if the press and jealous colleagues used it active propaganda against him.  We don’t find a definitive answer but we get a great look at Grant and his remarkable career.  3.5/5. 

Fumio Sasaki

TLDR; A quick and fun read about one man’s journey and experiences with minimalism.  Inspirational, tied to other ideas and philosophies.  Recommended.

goodbye, things starts as a journey from Sasaki’s cluttered, standard Japanese life to one of an impressive minimalist.  This isn’t a book about how to throw things out.  Sasaki deftly ties other larger ideas into the basic concepts of minimalism.  He first examines the laundry list of negatives associated with today’s consumerist (or as he calls it, maximalist) society; stress, cost, lack of focus, lack of time, unhappiness, etc.  Many of these symptoms have a direct correlation to the constant cycle of buying and owning 300,000+ items.  By eliminating these things, Sasaki contends that we don’t give up anything.  In fact, we gain time, space, happiness, cleanliness and focus.  His themes are very reminiscent of the common threads that run through two recent subjects of study, Stoicism and Essentialism.  Both Stoicism and minimalism refer to similar goals, such as being present in the moment, don’t possessions own you (nod to Tyler D), only focus on the important and that material goods can never truly be owned (they can be taken/lost/destroyed at any moment).  Essentialism and minimalism share some values, namely reducing the noise that overwhelms most people, focusing on what is important and going big on very little.  A quick read, broken into short chapters.  One of the few negatives is repetition from the direct usage of earlier material (parts of the book came from his website).  Inspirational, light with smart connections to larger themes.  4.5/5. 

I’ve been an avid reader all of my life.  The velocity of my reading has ebbed and flowed with time and circumstances. I didn’t read much for pleasure in college or while concentrating on a career pivot to programming in my mid-20’s.  I talk about books a lot and am often asked for recommendations.  Here is a list of books I’ve read, in no particular order or organization.  They skew toward books I’ve read recently although this exercise has inspired me to pick up some older books to reread and review.