Book Review: One Second After

One Second After by William R. Forstchen


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
As my friend Mathew Koeneker wrote in August, I was a little surprised to be finding myself reading a book with a foreword by Newt Gingrich. I was even more surprised that I actually read the foreword, which, perhaps to my shame, I tend to ignore in most books that are not of particular import to me.

That's where Mat and I's outlooks diverge.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

I didn't find One Second After to be particularly worthwhile. It failed to rise to the level of interesting until page 161 or so, where a half-hearted patriotic quote is to be found.

It did not raise my awareness of EMP, nor my alarm level. In this day and age there are so many threats, and we have no idea what our government is or is not doing to protect us. Perhaps the politician and Navy officer responsible for, respectively, the foreword and afterword, know something Joe Plumber does not? Or could it be that perhaps this disgraced and fined politician and mere Navy captain are not as well-informed as they'd like to be these days, and are simply trumpeting an issue for the sake of selling a book? That is what this book leaves me asking, not, "Are we doing enough to protect ourselves from EMP?" (Then again, I think the planet could use a good die-off ...)

Sure, I teared up a tiny bit at the death of the dog, and then the daughter, but to be frank, the plot and pace of this work was pretty awful.

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EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: The Post-American World

I came across this book through Fred Wilson's blog, and it's one of the most influential works I've read in quite some time.


The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.

Really, everyone, period, should read this book, but most especially, all fearful, reactionary, protectionist sorts that America is rich with today.

The world is changing -- that's a simple fact. Globalization is inevitable, and as Thomas Friedman reminds us, the world is flat.

America isn't necessarily "in decline" -- it's more a matter of "the rise of the rest." America, and Americans, need to recognize this, and learn to play nicely with rest of the globe if we're going to remain in any sort of enviable position. But the best lesson I took from this book is the fact that this sort of evolution is ENTIRELY POSSIBLE, and not just a pipe dream. America has strengths, we need to continue to use them, and not resort to protectionist fantasies of economies gone by.

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Book Review: Now is Gone

Now is Gone, by Geoff Livingston, with Brian Solis



This book is precisely what it claims to be: a practical primer for new media. Moving right to the heart of every topic it covers, Now is Gone is straightforward and on the mark, with a succinct recap of salient points at the end of every chapter.

This is not a tome of theory -- nor should it be. This book is more of a field guide: how to get involved with new media, social media, social networking, how to do it right, how to hopefully avoid certain pitfalls along the way, and to be ready, willing and able to admit culpability in the case of a misstep. Every executive, entrepreneur AND student ought to read this work, because moving forward, the activities and philosophies covered are going to be heart and core of nearly every company out there. New media, especially as covered by this work, is as much, or more, about customer relationship management than it is about PR or marketing; perhaps I should rephrase. PR and marketing, maturing to meet social media as described in this book, are the future of CRM.

Now is Gone returns again and again to the concepts of community, conversation and transparency. Without a doubt these values and practices are becoming, must become, predominant in the culture of any company hoping to succeed and thrive in the evolving, globalizing, always-on business world and consumer community. The people formerly known as the audience are smart, in touch and growing more and more used to getting the "inside story" on the products and services they consume, to having their voices heard, to having their opinions matter. It makes nothing but the best of sense to work with these powerful forces, rather than against them, and Now is Gone offers valuable insights and real world examples relevant to these critical matters without wasting the reader's time with ivory tower nonsense.

Learn more at NowIsGone.com