What I'm Reading / Have Read in last 3 months

One of the nice things about not playing nearly as much poker as I used to is that I'm doing more reading ... and none of it is poker-centric. So here are a few of things I've read or am reading and my thoughts on them:

Better : A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande : An excellent book! Easy read (I think I read it in about a week), short and to the point. No matter what you do, there are some good pointers in here for how to improve. Maybe not specific steps or tactics, but there are strategies and ideas that if you think about can really help you get better at what you do. In addition, the stories/case studies he cites are really interesting. Everything from how to better control the spread of disease in hospitals to how to better save lives on the battle fields of Iraq.
I HIGHLY recommend it. (Thanks to Mark Roh for the pointer on this one).

Working on the Edge: Surviving In the World's Most Dangerous Profession: King Crab Fishing on Alaska's HighSeas by Spike Walker : A Good book. If you've seen "Deadliest Catch" on Discovery then the stories in the book will have limited shock value. The details that Walker provides are really well done. His descriptions of the Alaskan wildlife and terrain are outstanding and vivid. His description of how he felt during trips (cabin fever, seasickness, fear, adrenaline surges) are really well written and help put you on the boat. I recommend it if you like fishing/nature/hunting/wild stories. If not, skip this one.

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green : I'm kinda "meh" on this one. Its basically how to get what you want in the world broken down into 48 ways to get it. The author is VERY clear up front that he believes that power has nothing to do with right and wrong, its power and we all want it - this is how you get it. The book is true to that. Its too amoral for my taste, but there are certainly some takeaways in it. I'm not all the way through it, and may never be. I would recommend it for anyone in sales of any kind (including lawyers who have to sell their clients case to judges/juries).

Execution : The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck. I just started this book. So far it looks very good. I had planned to read it over my holiday vacation, but spent more time with my kids and family instead of reading. I'll be getting back to it tomorrow and trying to read it for 30 or so minutes at lunch every day. I'll give a more in depth review later, but if you're leading an organization, I think it will be of value to you.

Also, on the web I read Bill Simmons as often as he writes. He's on ESPN.com Page 2 writers. Its sports and culture - basically, he does what I wish I could do and he's very good at it.