
If you haven’t already picked up on it, I’m a pretty big space geek. I love reading about it and have dreamed of going up into space. This book was right up my alley.

This book throws some cold water on humanity’s dream of truly settling space, at least in the near term. Kelly and Zach do a fantastic job of going through the different challenges, technologic, scientific and legal of us as a species venturing into space. They touch on a lot of things that we often don’t think about when talking about sending humans into space.

The book is fascinating and is written in such a way to be realistic about things, but also with the hope for the future and the caveats that there is much we don’t know and don’t have data for.

I’m a fan of Zach’s [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal](https://www.smbc-comics.com) comics and this book has the same humor that he’s known for. If you enjoy space and science, I’d highly recommend this book.

Bookshop.org

Official Site

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?


> Nothing in this book is known to be true. It's a reflection on what I've noticed. Not facts so much as thoughts.

> Some ideas may resonate, others may not. A few may awaken an inner knowing you forgot you had. Use what's helpful. Let go of the rest.

That’s Rick Rubin’s introduction to the book. From my perspective, it was a good way to go into the book.

Recently I’ve been trying to branch into my creative side and have been writing a lot more. I even started what started out as a short story and has since only been growing into something more like a novella.

> Notice yourself feeling the weight of self-criticism or the pressure to live up to expectations. And remember that commercial success is completely out of your control. All that matters is that you are making something you love, to the best of your ability, here and now.

I enjoyed this book as it gave me a lot of helpful thoughts to get over my concerns that what I’m working on isn’t good. (I mean it might not be good, but it certainly won’t be any good if I just give up.) If I’m enjoying it, which I am, then that’s what matters.

> One of the greatest rewards of making art is our ability to share it. Even if there is no audience to receive it, we build the muscle of making something and putting it out into the world. Finishing our work is a good habit to develop. It boosts confidence. Despite our insecurities, the more times we can bring ourselves to release our work, the less weight insecurity has.

> Avoid overthinking. When you're happy with the work and you're moved to share it with a friend, it might be time to share it with the world as well.

Again, I have no idea if anything I write will ever be really consumed. I’m not expecting or even targeting commercial success or anything, I’m just trying something new, doing something I’m enjoying. This book helped by pointing that out.

The book also provided some good tips on breaking through various blockers artists, musicians and writers often face. Some of them would also help with my software development work as well.

If you’re interested in any kind of creative work, I’d recommend this book.

Penguin Random House

The Creative ACT: A Way of Being


> From the beginning, I thought that crypto was pretty dumb. And it turned out to be even dumber than I imagined. Never before has so much wealth been generated with such flimsy schemes. But what shocked me was not the vapidity of the crypto bros. It was how their heedlessness had devastating consequences for people across the world. By the end, I’d find myself in Cambodia, investigating how crypto fueled a vast human-trafficking scheme run by Chinese gangsters.

I had heard about this book on an [episode of Make Me Smart](https://www.marketplace.org/shows/make-me-smart/crypto-goes-to-court/) and added it to my list. I have been a [skeptic of crypto](https://kpwags.com/posts/2022/11/18/on-ftx-and-crypto-in-general) and this book only cemented my feeling that I made the right call skipping over the whole Crypto and NFT craze.

> I realized I had walked in on a presentation for a timeshare that I would pay money not to join.

Zeke did a good job going over some of the many crazes, cons, and schemes so many different companies and people have done over the last decade-plus related to cryptocurrency, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and NFTs.

> Celsius, it turned out, had $18 billion in assets. I couldn’t believe it. Somehow Celsius had accumulated as much money as a large hedge fund with a business plan that wouldn’t even work for a kid’s lemonade stand.

He presented it with clear language, a good sense of humor, and humility especially after dealing with Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX.

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall


I’ve read several of Kashmir’s articles in the New York Times, so I knew she knows her stuff when it comes to privacy and technology. It’s the primary reason I bought the book. I had heard and read about Clearview because of her reporting.

This book does a good job going into the history of facial recognition, its failures, weaknesses and potential for a very scary future where privacy as we currently know it might not exist.

She does mention Illinois’ biometrics privacy laws as a good example of how to find a balance of privacy vs. accepting new technology, but it’s still kind of eerie that this kind of technology exists. And since it’s owned by a private company, it can make it harder to deal with.

I’d highly recommend this book if for no other reason than to understand the scope of what we’re dealing with in terms of facial recognition. You’ll learn some history of the technology too.

Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest to End Privacy as We Know It

This was a really fascinating look at Lincoln's rise to the presidency. and how he ran the Union during America's darkest hours.

The book starts out by describing how both Lincoln and the three other presidential hopefuls in the 1860 Republican Primary race got to be on the ballot in 1860. Doris Kearns Goodwin does a fantastic job of describing the backgrounds of Abraham Lincoln, William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates and how each one of them got to where they were, their history in politics, and what their political viewpoints were.

It was interesting to read how Lincoln wound up garnering enough support to win both the primary and then the presidency itself. While there were certain key events that ended up being strokes of luck, the book does a good job of describing Lincoln's natural ability to find political angles to get the followers and support he needed.

From a historical perspective, it's interesting to read about how the former Whig party dissolved into the Republican Party in the 10 years prior to Lincoln's inauguration. I had never realized how new the Republican party was when Lincoln became the first Republican president.

It was interesting to read about how Lincoln built his cabinet. He nominated his rivals to his cabinet to get multiple different perspectives on the many tough decisions he had to deal with as President. In truth, many of his cabinet members didn't get along and it was amazing to read how Lincoln was able to help keep Washington and the federal government together as the Civil War got started and then continued to be fought.

The book also talks about how Lincoln was able to corral his cabinet and prepare the country for his Emancipation Proclamation, and then later get the votes together for passage of the 13th amendment ending slavery permanently.

I really appreciated Doris' writing, It gave me a much better understanding of the kind of person Lincoln was and why he made such a great president aside from him keeping the country together and ending slavery.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

This book was an interesting read looking at one of the biggest victims of unrestricted submarine warfare. It was also the start of the events that would bring the US into World War I two years later.

The book Bounces between passenger and crew stories from the *Lusitania*, the path of *U-20* and Captain Lieutenant Walther Schwieger, who would sink the *Lusitania*.

While talking about Schwieger and the German U-Boat fleet, this line stood out to me:

> Unlike large surface craft, a U-boat came to reflect the character and personality of its commander, as though the boat were a suit of steel tailored just for him. This arose from the fact that while on distant patrol the captain received no orders from superiors and had more direct control over his own men than would, say, an admiral aboard a flagship, with a fleet of ships and thousands of men under his command. There were cruel boats and chivalrous boats, lazy boats and energetic boats. Some captains made no attempt to save the lives of merchant seamen; others went so far as to tow lifeboats toward land. One U-boat commander sent the captain of a torpedoed ship three bottles of wine to ease the long row ashore.

Could you imagine being a captain of a ship just sunk by a submarine, and the sub captain pops up and offers you wine?

The book also talks about how British Intelligence had broken German codes and were tracking *U-20* and were generally aware of where it was and what it was doing, but had neglected to alert the *Lusitania* or send any of their warships to help escort it to Liverpool or an alternate port.

A naval historian, Patrick Beesley later even pointed this out.

> "As an Englishman and a lover of the Royal Navy," he said, "I would prefer to attribute this failure to negligence, even gross negligence, rather than to a conspiracy deliberately to endanger the ship." But, he said, "on the basis of the considerable volume of information which is now available, I am reluctantly compelled to state that on balance, the most likely explanation is that there was indeed a plot, however imperfect, to endanger the *Lusitania* in order to involve the United States in the war." So much was done for the Orion and other warships, he wrote, but nothing for the *Lusitania*. He struggled with this. No matter how he arranged the evidence, he came back to conspiracy."

It caps off what was an absolute tragedy costing the lives of almost 1,200 civilians. Carrying munitions bound for the frontlines on a passenger ship is questionable at best, but the lack of escort, or even actionable warnings being sent to the *Lusitania* after being specifically threatened by Germany should be criminal.

Morals aside, it was a compelling read. It was interesting to hear all the different stories from some of the passengers on board.

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Book Notes

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?

Kelly and Zach Weinersmith

The Creative ACT: A Way of Being

Rick Rubin

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall

Zeke Faux

Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest to End Privacy as We Know It

Kashmir Hill

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

Erik Larson