Person
Every book John Collison recommended on podcasts
John Collison’s most recommended books
- Red Plenty by Francis Spufford
- The Origins of Efficiency by Brian Potter
- 12 Angry Men by Unknown
- Boyd by Robert Coram
- Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner
- Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
- Design Patterns by Erich Gamma
- Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
- Fragile by Design by Charles W. Calomiris
- Rise of the Machines by Thomas Rid
John Collison discussed and recommended several books during episodes of Cheeky Pint. Alongside podcast guests and hosts, he touched on Francis Spufford's Red Plenty, a fictionalized account of Soviet industrialization and economic performance, and Brian Potter's Stripe Press publication The Origins of Efficiency, which breaks down the mechanics of industrial progress. Collison also brought up Robert Coram's biography Boyd to discuss John Boyd's influence on military procurement and moving beyond pure technical specifications, and mentioned Erich Gamma's Design Patterns to illustrate a career dedicated to software craftsmanship and programming text editors. In conversations regarding banking systems, Collison and Tobi Lütke discussed Charles W. Calomiris and Stephen Haber's Fragile by Design, specifically praising its chapter on Canada. Other works brought up during the podcast episodes included Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert, which details water management in the American West, Roger Lowenstein's When Genius Failed, focusing on Long-Term Capital Management and the 1998 financial crisis, and the dramatic film 12 Angry Men, which was used to illustrate the necessity of context in reaching moral conclusions.
Books recommended by John Collison
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Red Plenty
Red Plenty by Francis Spufford is a celebrated novel that offers a fictionalized account of Soviet economic history and industrial planning during the Khrushchev era.
Recommended“There's a fabulous book called "Red Plenty" by Francis Spufford that is kind of a fictionalized account of this.”
Where to get it
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The Origins of Efficiency
The Origins of Efficiency by Brian Potter is an insightful industrial history book published by Stripe Press that investigates the evolution of manufacturing, construction, and technological progress.
Recommended“In Stripe Press's newest book, "The Origins of Efficiency", author Brian Potter breaks down precisely how that progress happens.”
Where to get it
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12 Angry Men
12 Angry Men by Unknown is a classic work that examines jury selection, deliberation processes, and the gravity of legal proceedings.
Discussed“What was the name of the movie? "12 Angry Men," I think it was where, as you're watching the film, you get some level of detail and someone seems very guilty. It's a dead shut case. And as more evidence emerges, you realize actually, this may be different. And you need more context in order to arrive at maybe a”
Where to get it
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Boyd
Boyd by Robert Coram is a biography of Air Force Colonel John Boyd, a prominent military strategist whose ideas profoundly influenced fighter design, maneuver warfare, and organizational reform.
Discussed“the Boyd book by Robert Coram, which I only read recently, but it's like one of those kind of Silicon Valley, and everyone talks about it, and everyone talks about him in the context of his OODA Loop.”
Where to get it
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Cadillac Desert
Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner is a classic environmental history book that traces the aggressive transformation of the American West through massive water management projects and dam-building initiatives by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Discussed“If you've read "Cadillac Desert", it goes into some detail here. That's a great book.”
Where to get it
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Consider Phlebas
Consider Phlebas by Iain M.
Discussed“Have you read ever, Iain M. Banks, the science fiction author? The Culture Suits.”
Where to get it
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Design Patterns
Discussed“VS Code is Erich Gamma's fourth editor, right? It's like he spent his entire life making these things. That's craftsmanship. Yeah, it's like he wrote the "Design Patterns" book that many of us read at some point literally about programming text editors, right?”
Where to get it
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson is a comprehensive biography that explores the life, mind, and tumultuous career of the controversial billionaire entrepreneur.
Discussed“And, by the way, I thought the Walter Isaacson book, it got a mixed reception, but I thought if you want to study the Elon method a bit, it was actually pretty useful for that, the recent biography.”
Where to get it
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Fragile by Design
Discussed“Did we recommend the Calomiris book to you? "Fragile by Design," which is a history of various countries' banking systems. I'm literally just reading it. Oh, you are? That's so— And the Canada chapter is particularly good.”
Where to get it
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Rise of the Machines
Rise of the Machines by Thomas Rid is a historical examination of the origins of cybernetics and artificial intelligence.
Discussed“There's a book called "Rise of the Machines" that has the prehistory of AI, and, I believe I remember correctly, there were actually debates about this in the 1930s.”
Where to get it
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The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers
Discussed“One of my favorite books about accounting is "The End of Accounting," which talks about how GAAP is basically poorly suited to this day and age. And one of the things it points out is that accounting is trying to do many jobs, right?”
Where to get it
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When Genius Failed
When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein is an acclaimed work of narrative non-fiction that chronicles the spectacular rise and fall of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management and the systemic financial crisis sparked by its collapse in 1998.
Discussed“I read that book recently. It was really good. It's a fantastic book.”
Where to get it
Appearances
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“It's a bit like Michael Burry with The Big Short.”