This book opened my eyes to what a small team can do in a short time if they are dedicated to the mission and masters of their craft. It’s an inspiring read for anyone who’s interested in the history of technical innovation in aerospace or in learning more about the Skunkworks philosophy.
Sister book to Lightness, this is also an inspiring consolidation of ideas on structural optimization, but this one focuses solely on transportation. If you also share a passion for sustainable transportation, this is the book for you. You’ll likely only be able to find this book used, but it’s absolutely worth the effort!
An inspiring consolidation of ideas and technologies around the subject of structural optimization in many fields — primarily architecture. Though difficult to find and somewhat challenging to read (you’ve never seen captions like these!), this book will be an absolute inspiration for anyone interested in the pursuit of structural purity and performance.
With our singular focus on NPD, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the same tools we use to develop new products, packages and medical devices have been used by the most innovative organizations on the planet to inspire some of the greatest achievements of humanity. The Art of NASA is a powerful and inspiring reminder of how powerful are the tools of design.
If you’re interested in a brilliant coffee table book with rich visuals and a tangible reminder of design’s power to inspire intellectual and scientific greatness, click here to buy this title on Amazon.
It’s no overstatement to say that this book is life-changing. I had been screwing around with bread baking for years with almost zero success. When this book was recommended by Allez Bakery owner Thomas McKenna, I had essentially given up on ever being able to bake an airy, crusty, delicious loaf of bread. This book taught me to think of bread-making as a fermentation process. (And as someone who regularly makes 3 - 5 gallon batches of homemade kimchi and home-brewed beer, this revelation was mind-blowing!)
Perhaps equally important — and unlike other cookbooks I’ve read — Flour Water Salt Yeast is written to truly educate its reader rather than provide rote instructions. For just one example, ingredients are listed in such a way as to allow the reader to compare recipes at a glance and to develop an understanding of how the proportions of each recipe — combined with temperature, humidity and time — can be adjusted to achieve different results. (it sort of reminds me of how tables of offsets are used to describe boat hulls.)
If you’ve always wanted to make amazing bread, pick this book up immediately. Click here to buy on Amazon.
Sister book to Lightness, this is also an inspiring consolidation of ideas on structural optimization, but this one focuses solely on transportation. If you also share a passion for sustainable transportation, this is the book for you. You’ll likely only be able to find this book used, but it’s absolutely worth the effort!
An inspiring consolidation of ideas and technologies around the subject of structural optimization in many fields — primarily architecture. Though difficult to find and somewhat challenging to read (you’ve never seen captions like these!), this book will be an absolute inspiration for anyone interested in the pursuit of structural purity and performance.
With our singular focus on NPD, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the same tools we use to develop new products, packages and medical devices have been used by the most innovative organizations on the planet to inspire some of the greatest achievements of humanity. The Art of NASA is a powerful and inspiring reminder of how powerful are the tools of design.
If you’re interested in a brilliant coffee table book with rich visuals and a tangible reminder of design’s power to inspire intellectual and scientific greatness, click here to buy this title on Amazon.
It’s no overstatement to say that this book is life-changing. I had been screwing around with bread baking for years with almost zero success. When this book was recommended by Allez Bakery owner Thomas McKenna, I had essentially given up on ever being able to bake an airy, crusty, delicious loaf of bread. This book taught me to think of bread-making as a fermentation process. (And as someone who regularly makes 3 - 5 gallon batches of homemade kimchi and home-brewed beer, this revelation was mind-blowing!)
Perhaps equally important — and unlike other cookbooks I’ve read — Flour Water Salt Yeast is written to truly educate its reader rather than provide rote instructions. For just one example, ingredients are listed in such a way as to allow the reader to compare recipes at a glance and to develop an understanding of how the proportions of each recipe — combined with temperature, humidity and time — can be adjusted to achieve different results. (it sort of reminds me of how tables of offsets are used to describe boat hulls.)
If you’ve always wanted to make amazing bread, pick this book up immediately. Click here to buy on Amazon.
I refer a lot of new inventors to this book. It’s been on and off my shelf for a decade (the old edition, anyway), and I’ve lent and lost more than a few copies to students and clients. This book is an essential resource for entrepreneurs assembling their pitch decks. It includes a handful of useful tools for new and experienced entrepreneurs, including an outstanding set of pitch deck templates. And that’s just the 1.0 edition! The new version has been updated with all kinds of new content, including a section on crowdfunding! This book is an essential resource for all new product entrepreneurs. Click here to buy on Amazon.
How entrepreneurship and a midwestern work ethic changed the course of human history. Click here to buy on Amazon.
A comprehensive and accessible book on the subject of Tenkara fly fishing. Like the philosophy that underpins many of the books in this list, Tenkara celebrates the idea that "the more you know, the less you need." In this short text, Yvon Chouinard unpacks this simple fishing technique and the tools and techniques that make it beautiful. Click here to buy on Amazon.
This is currently my favorite book of 2019 and for good reason: It is decidedly contrary to pretty much every piece of modern advice about working in a creative field, and defends its position succinctly. While not quite demanding we become luddite hermits, it does encourage those of us that are in creative jobs to “go into airplane mode” more often, get fresh air, change your mind, and seek the long view. That last piece of advice has stuck with me every day since reading it. We are submerged in a culture of “overnight” successes and daily encouragement to share our newest work for the sake of “posting for our personal brand.” Kleon, in this brief book lays out why we might make better work (and communities) if we slow down a bit, and aim for creating in a time frame much larger than today’s Instagram story feed. Click here to buy on Amazon.
Some see creativity as a fickle muse, one that comes and goes on a whim, without any control or reason. Twyla Tharp, in this aptly subtitled “Practical Guide,” sets out to prove that wrong. Creativity is a habit that is practiced and nurtured through repetition and environment, not by an amorphous notion of “inspiration.” Tharp’s combination of solid advice and exercises along with her delightful personal stories as a legendary choreographer make this an easy read. And since I discovered this book in college, I’ve turned back to it whenever I’m in a rut, and it consistently breaks my brain wide open and gets me back into practice. Click here to buy on Amazon.
I love poring over this book and dreaming up building my own thru-hiking setup. The approach Ray Jardine takes to lightweight backpacking, “The Ray Way” as it’s known, at first seems a little extreme and dangerous — eschewing weight at all costs means going without some extra REI bells and whistles. But the gain is also extremely appealing: speed and enjoyment. By leveraging knowledge, planning, and an adaptable set of choice equipment, one can enjoy natural trails without the feeling of lugging heavy boots and bags every inch of the way. I’ve not built my own “ray way” backpack yet, but I’ve definitely lightened up my hiking gear and it’s made all the difference. Click here to buy on Amazon.
We’re not suggesting that everyone should spend $100 on a hammer, but Stiletto hammers epitomize the idea of buying quality once. This 14oz titanium head hits as hard as its 24oz steel counterpart and is sure to last a life time. In the event that you have $100 and need to set a nail, look no further. Click here to buy on Amazon.
