Books, Commonplace 2
David Parrott
Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at ...

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.

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed - Ben Rich
Books, Commonplace 2
David Parrott
Flying Lightness: Promises for Structural ...

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!

Flying Lightness: Promises for Structural Elegance - Adriaan Beukers & Ed Van Hinte
Books, Commonplace 2
David Parrott
Lightness: The Inevitable Renaissance of ...

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.

Lightness: The Inevitable Renaissance of Minimum Energy Structures - Adriaan Beukers & Ed Van Hinte &
Books, Commonplace 2
David Parrott
The Art of NASA: The Illustrations That Sold ...

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.

The Art of NASA: The Illustrations That Sold the Missions | Piers Bizony
Books, Commonplace 2
David Parrott
Flour Water Salt Yeast - Ken Forkish

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.

Flour Water Salt Yeast - Ken Forkish

Commonplace

Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck - Anthony K. Tjan

Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck - Anthony K. Tjan

Written by a group of venture capitalists, this book points out the 4 common traits that have been observed in successful business builders: heart, smarts, guts, and luck. Each individual will favor one trait over the others, and the authors help you decipher if you are heart-dominant, smarts-dominant, guts-dominant, or maybe you tend to be in the right place at the right time — luck-dominant. Knowing which trait drives you can help you make better decisions, and perhaps most importantly, help you build the right team. Click here to buy on Amazon.

The Art of War - Sun Tzu

The Art of War - Sun Tzu

Originally published in the 5th century BC, The Art of War served as the fundamental military strategy text in east Asia. The text is divided into 13 chapters, each devoted to a specific aspect of warfare. In recent history it has gained popularity with applications in business strategy, legal tactics, and beyond. The wisdom and verbiage of Sun Tzu may be ancient, but the applications are as timely as ever. Click here to buy on Amazon.

The Sailmaker's Apprentice - Emiliano Marino

The Sailmaker's Apprentice - Emiliano Marino

Good products teach their user how to use them. For books — traditional teaching tools — the bar for great teaching is higher. In addition to providing a fantastic written guide to making traditional and modern sails, including the fundamentals of sail design, broad-seaming, and sewing, this book guides the reader through a "Ditty Bag Apprenticeship" during which he/she completes a simple project that conveys many of the basic skills. Click to buy on Amazon.

The Laws of Simplicity - John Maeda

The Laws of Simplicity - John Maeda

This shiny little book provides ten easily digestible guidelines around Maeda's philosophy of simplicity in product design. It serves as a great reminder (and loaner) for those of us who sometimes find it difficult to describe to others the beauty and benefits of simplicity. I've lent this to students more than any other book. (That is, I've had several copies. You know who you are.) Click to buy your own copy on Amazon.

Simple Fly Fishing - Yvon Chouinard

Simple Fly Fishing - Yvon Chouinard

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 to buy on Amazon.

 
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