How to Rule the World

How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University by Theo Baker

A memoir about a first semester of attending Stanford and a look at the rarefied world of that institution. The author did not intend to be a journalist but volunteered at the campus paper and in the process uncovered a scandal that ending up having the president of the university resigning.

Trash!

Trash!: A Garbageman's Story by Simon Pare-Poupart, Pablo Strauss

This is a memoir of a trash man from Montreal. A short book but very entertaining, the daily grind of the trash man, and lots o implications about our throw away society. Not just throwing away stuff but also people. The author is a well educated person who has used his job as trash man to pay for his education, not the norm in the trash business.

The Hardest, Longest Race

The Hardest, Longest Race: Henry Ford and the Cross-Country Contest That Changed America by Eric Moskowitz

In 1908 there was a car race from NY to Seattle, 6 cars started the race and 3 finsihed it. Of course this was long before there was cross country freeways and even paved roads betweens cities. Most cars didn't make it because the road conditions were so bad that the cars just fell apart. Ford had two Model Ts in the race, both made it to Seattle. This was huge publicity stunt for Ford, when it was a relatively small company with lots of competitors. There was lots of alligations of cheating and the boook provides a good snap shot of the country at that time.