Time Machine Leadership.  How to lead from the future for sustainable success.  Scott Cochrane. 2011.  The author has been a successful business coach in the UK and Europe and brings a newer view on future planning  The book is written as a business fable and is very readable and believable.   Working from the future vision  back to the present is powerful  as it helps you decide on the big jumps without getting mired in the yes buts!  You will not be able to execute on this program just by reading the book. For that it will take a coach such as the author to guide you.

Think Like a Freak: The authors of Freakonomics offer to retrain your brain. Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner. 2014. ISBN 9780062218339. I have recently been listening to the Freakonomics podcast and the authors have been using snippets from this book to dwell on thinking like a freak. It seemed interesting and the book was also very interesting. I enjoy their questions and points of view as they seem to take just a small enough chunk so I find it easy to digest.  Especially interesting were their comments on the right and wrong way to have a conversation about things that may be controversial. With my science background I respect data more than anecdotes and they show you how to talk about real data in order to deal with natural biases.  Very useful book for anyone who speaks or writes to an audience.

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The Fort (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Waterloo. The history of four days, three armies Bernard Cornwell. 2014. ISBN 9780007539383.  If you have ever wondered about these “great ” battles  then this book is one to read.  There is no glory in war and Cornwell shows great tenacity in writing compelling text that takes you back to what is may have been like.  Using many firsthand accounts on all sides, the author painstakingly takes you there and offers the reader various options in making up their own mind.  A good clear read, it’s not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

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