Tag: Amazon.co.uk

The Internet (now in handy book form!)

David McCandless has been doing bits and pieces for Poke as long as Poke’s been around. In fact he’s written lots of the funnier words on the funnier projects that we’ve done. So it’s nice that someone gave him a book deal.

And if he can put the internet in a book. I can put his book with the internet in it into a video…

As you can probably see the book is packed full of stuff. Thankfully it’s funny stuff. Well it certainly made me laugh out loud in places.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea. You’ll get a taste of the content by looking at the site: http://www.theinternetnowinhandybookform.com/ – but to be honest I think the book is funnier, but that might just be me.

Even if it’s not your bag. I’m pretty sure it is a perfect Xmas gift for the nerdy web geek who has absolutely everything. It’ll save them dropping their laptop in the bath. And they can look at ‘the internet’ without fear late at night in shady places. After all no one ever got jacked for a book (as far as I know).

If I had to describe the book in a sentence its like Viz did a hostile takeover of Web User Magazine.

I’m not getting any kind of kickback for plugging this. Apart from a free copy. Which I hope I’d have got anyway. If you’d like one you can buy it from Amazon.co.uk here: The Internet (now in handy book form!)

A Whole New Mind – Brilliant Book

A whole new mind

I read a book yesterday in one sitting. Well a couple of sittings if you include changes in mode of transport from bus to train. It’s very rare that I do that. It’s also very rare that I find a ‘business’ book that grips me like this one did.

Amazon.co.uk: A Whole New Mind – By Daniel H. Pink

It’s got a brilliant mix of theory and analysis, mixed with case studies and stuff that you can actually do if you’re interested in improving some of the Right-Brainy kind of skills that he’s talking about. Personally I think it nails the balance of micro vs macro absolutely perfectly.

I won’t do a very good job of summarising the book, so I’ve nicked this from Amazon’s synopsis:

Uses the two sides of the human brain as a metaphor for understanding how the information age came about throughout the course of the past generation, counseling readers on how to survive and find a place in a society that is marked by rising affluence, job outsourcing, and computer technology at the expense of inventiveness, empathy, and meaning.

Which almost does the job of describing it.

I know it’s probably one of those books that neatly reinforces my world view, but we all like to have our world views reinforced now and again don’t we? But more than just doing a nice job of making me feel better about myself it’s also inspired me to do a few new things… (Details to follow)

The author, Dan Pink, also blogs here: http://www.danpink.com/