The Starfish and the Spider, by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom

If you cut off a spider’s head it dies, but if you cut off the leg of a starfish, it grows a new one. This biological truth has been reflected many times in our society: the French underground during WWII, terrorist cells today, open source software, and the Boy Scouts of America to name a few. These examples have led the authors to an interesting conclusion: decentralization is the key to unstoppable organizations. Interestingly, the most successful groups tend to be a combination of spider and starfish: Alcoholics Anonymous is made up of many small circles capable of operating and growing independently of each other (very starfish-like), yet Alcoholics Anonymous World Services is the parent organization that controls copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property (clearly a spider).

Sony Records, IBM, and the U.S. government are clearly not starfish (although I suppose you could argue that the original intent of the Constitution was to allow a much higher degree of state autonomy than we currently possess which in turn would dramatically decrease the spider-like top-down authority our federal government wields) and yet are obviously highly successful; given this, how can anyone claim that decentralization is superior? The answer is that a spider-like organization doesn’t imply failure any more than a starfish structure guarantees success, but the latter arrangement of small independent groups make it very difficult for a rival force to control or defeat them. Take a look at the competitors of the earlier mentioned august institutions: Sony (and most of the recording industry) has been crippled by file sharing (Napster, Kazaa, eMule); IBM while still powerful hasn’t been considered an innovator for years, ceding that label to upstart Internet companies; the government has largely failed in the war on drugs and the war on terror. This is beginning to change, however, largely due to the established companies adopting starfish principles. The armed forces and government intelligence agencies have many small, autonomous units that operate with very loose oversight; this has enabled many successes against terrorism at home and abroad. IBM has become a champion for open source software, especially Linux and Eclipse. The recording industry on the other hand has tried to defend it’s market by becoming even more spider-like, foisting DRM on the public and prosecuting individuals for file sharing which in turn is causing a growing backlash of negative public opinion—clearly not a successful strategy.

Obviously I found this book very interesting. The discussions of when decentralization is a positive thing (free speech, the open flow of ideas, privacy—nobody likes the idea of Big Brother) and when it is negative (security, accountability, safety—when on an airplane, would you want the guy in “seat 28J to decide that right about now is a good time to land?”) were spot on. The discussion behind how a starfish confederation is formed was presented in a simple yet compelling fashion: a catalyst helps like-minded people connect and then gets out of the way, his place taken by a champion that relentlessly promotes the idea. This book gives an excellent analysis of a time-proven organizational technique that anyone interested in innovation or corporate evolution should read.

First Sentence:

Don Verrilli might as well have uncorked the champagne bottle right then and there on the marble steps of the Supreme Court—the case he was about to argue was a slam-dunk.

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

The movie The Princess Bride came out when I was in high school and quickly came to rival The Blues Brothers for the top spot in my repertoire of quotable lines. “Inconceivable!” “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” “I know something you don’t know. I am not left handed.” “I spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocane powder.” “Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist.” “Have fun stormin’ the castle!” “As you wish.” “Anybody want a peanut?” “Mawwage.” “Boo, boo! Your true love lives, but you marry another!” And of course, “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Truly a classic. When I came across the original novel on a sale table, I snatched it.

Much like the movie, the book tells two stories in one. The film and the book both tell the tale of Buttercup and Wesley, but where the film has a sick boy being read a story by his grandfather, the novel has the story of the author trying to edit the (fictional) lost text of S. Morgenstern into a manageable form and convince his son to read it. Enough about the movie, though; why was the book so good? In short, it has all the wit and charm with which we are familiar from the silver screen, plus a heavy dose of flippancy and sarcasm.

One of my favorite running gags was when a character would make an anachronistic comment, and the author in an aside would try and explain it away. “‘All aboard,’ the Sicilian said. (This was before trains, but the expression originally comes from carpenters loading lumber, and this was well after carpenters.)” Goldman at one point ends up in an extended aside where he recaps the battle he had with his editor over these. “The copy editor at Harcourt kept filling the margins of the galley proofs with questions: ‘How can it be before Europe but after Paris?’ And ‘How is it possible this happens before glamour when glamour is an ancient concept?’ ... All I can suggest to you is, if the parentheses bug you, don’t read them.” Smart humor like this added a whole other layer to a story I already loved. As I’ve said before I like witty books, and this one certainly qualifies.

First Sentence:

This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.

The Arabian Nights

I was familiar with the famous story of the king that took a different bride every night, killing her in the morning. A beautiful girl named Scheherazade is chosen one evening, and to save herself begins spinning fantastic yarns that can’t be finished in a single session and so she is allowed to live another day. When actually reading this, however, I was amazed at how little I really knew. The back story of why the king was killing women was interesting; apparently he was jilted by his first queen and resolved to never be hurt again. And the heroine wasn’t simply unlucky to be picked and survived with her wits, she volunteered to save the lives of the women of her kingdom. This nobility and courage is reflected in many of the stories told, and eventually heals the king’s irrational distrust of women.

Another surprising tidbit was that two of the most famous tales—Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves—aren’t actually part of the original Arabian Nights. Because the tales developed out of an oral tradition, there isn’t any single reference version of the book. Over the years, various authors, translators, and storytellers have added chapters to expand the scope of the adventure, and apparently Aladdin and Ali Baba (included as an afterward) are two of these added later. The Seven Voyages of Sinbad are considered by some experts to be another set of “orphan” tales, but this edition includes them in the main text. Regardless of the dubious authenticity, I loved this book. Almost 700 pages, but I read it all in nearly one sitting while flying to Singapore.

First Sentence:

Sir, there was formerly a merchant who had a great estate in lands, goods, and money.

The Club Dumas, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Dumas is one of my favorite classic authors; when I saw this novel about an investigator trying to authenticate some handwritten pages from the original manuscript of The Three Musketeers I couldn’t resist. And I was very glad I didn’t—this was a fantastic read! During the course of the book the investigator found himself not only chasing Dumas, but also a hidden book of the occult; in addition to being chased, our hero also found himself pursued by a man that strongly resembles Rochefort, a villain from The Three Musketeers. It isn’t often that I find an historical fiction novel I can’t put down!

The twisty plot was both exciting and intelligent. I love books that don’t talk down to the reader, and this one doesn’t stop to explain much. My favorite example of this was a mysterious ingenue who gave her name as Irene Adler; a throwaway comment that she was the woman that out thought Sherlock Holmes is the only explanation given. Many chapters later, her home address is recorded as 223B Baker Street which causes the protagonist to guffaw. Why he laughs isn’t explained, but bibliophiles will recognize this address as being next door to Homes himself. Another section finds us in a discussion of seventeenth century writers, where the author’s preferences are made very clear. “Verne’s cold, soulless heroes had no place in a discussion of passionate tales of cloak and dagger.” Clearly, Dumas was chosen not only as a plot device, but because he is a favorite of Pérez-Reverte.

One of the most interesting statements was that d’Artagnan is the only French character familiar to the world at large even without most people having reading the book. I’m not sure I agree with this sentiment, as both the Phantom of the Opera and Jean Valjean have made appearances on Broadway and Quasimodo was immortalized by Disney. Plus, an informal survey shows that while the Musketeers are very well known, the names of the famous troupe (or the fact that there are actually four of them) are not. Regardless, this kind of highbrow discussion I found thought-provoking. This is an excellent novel that I recommend to anyone that truly loves books.

First Sentence:

My name is Boris Balkan and I once translated The Charterhouse of Parma.

Strip Poker, by Lisa Lawrence

I hadn’t read an erotic novel since I was in junior high and there was one being passed around the school. When I saw this in a bargain bin, I thought I’d see if the same naughty thrill exists twenty-five years later. While it was less exciting, less forbidden this time, I still found this an enthralling book. As one character says, “The most underrated sexual organ is the imagination.” This book certainly stimulates... the imagination.

There is plenty of sex here; one or two scenes in each chapter. The episodes are both steamy and widely varied, like separate letters to Penthouse Forum. Stitching together the scenes is a fairly silly plot: a private investigator looking into threats made against members of an underground strip poker game. The rules of the game are vague; instead of money the participants use sexual favors as the stake, but the relative worth isn’t explained which makes the betting hard to follow—especially when players can check after a bet has been placed. Clearly though, an entertaining card game is not the focus of the book, the sex is! This is the first of a series, with the main character set up to apparently be some sort of sexual detective. Sherlock Holmes this isn’t, but I might give the next chapter a shot!

First Sentence:

Stretch limos don’t normally impress me.

Johnny U, by Tom Callahan

“Big hands and feet. Long arms and legs. As bowlegged as a ranch hand. Somewhat sunken chest. Slightly rounded shoulders.” Not what you would expect for a description of one of the best quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen! Johnny Unitas was known as the Golden Arm and holds the greatest record in the leagues history: 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. (For comparison, only Brett Favre has come close to this mark and he was stopped at 36.) He is also famous for claiming only to be a Baltimore Colt; when Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis in 1984 Unitas led the way in boycotting the team, going as far as requesting that his statistics be removed from the Indy books.

Written by a sports columnist, this could have easily devolved into a list of facts and records, but instead was much more interesting. Included are interviews with many of U’s teammates and contemporaries, recaps of big games, and because of the nature of the subject, the story of the NFL itself. Callahan has a good sense of humor, too—especially if you are a football fan. “Compared to [Steelers coach in the 1950’s Walter] Kiesling, Woody Hayes at Ohio State had a devout and sentimental attachment to the forward pass.” My kind of wisecrack! While the writing at times is a bit choppy, rapidly jumping between players and anecdotes, overall this was a great biography and a fun read.

First Sentence:

“My father’s name was Leonard Unitas,” states the autobiography of Johnny Unitas, Pro Quarterback, published in 1965 by Grosset and Dunlap.

The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin

Utopia is anarchy. Or at least that is what we are led to believe at the outset of Le Guin’s tale. A terraformed moon houses an isolationist anarchy, while the planet it orbits has a two-class male dominated government. At first I thought this was going to be a thinly disguised treatise on the merits of Libertarianism, but as the story progresses we find that both communities have their problems. What the message actually is tells us that any society needs constant challenge to remain healthy. We see a class riot on one world, and a near lynching on the other; both instigated by one scientist that is trying to break down barriers that have kept these two apart. In tone it is closer to Atlas Shrugged than 2001; a fascinating read, but not hard science-fiction either.

First Sentence:

There was a wall.