Recent & recommended

I can never seem to limit myself to a few specialties and my reading reflects my schizophrenic interests. Jack of all trades, master of none. So, perhaps a few "recent & recommended" books might spur someone to read some things I found very interesting.

Self Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back Again - Norah Vincent
From a man's perspective what she discovered is not surprising, but what woman don't understand about men is very surprising. I enjoyed her concise writing style and some of her observations are right on, but unusual and thought provoking. For those with an interest in gender issues.
ABC news
Norah's website
Amazon's reviews

Why Gender Matters:What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences- Leonard Sax MD, PHD
This is a must read for parents - even if you have only boys. I expect this is one book that might start a revolution
Amazon's reviews
(all of Amazon's pages have reviews, links, etc...)

...and while I'm on boys, here is another must read for parents of boys

The Wonder of Boys - Michael Gurian
Amazon's site with post by Michael Gurian and links to boysproject.net

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything- Steven Levitt
This is one of those books that is pure pleasure. If you love counter thinking this is for you. Here's something Steven Levitt said:"I think of economics as a worldview, not a set of topics. This worldview has a few different pieces. First, incentives are paramount. If you understand someone's incentives, you can do a pretty good job of predicting their behavior. Second, the appropriate data, analyzed the right way are key to understanding a problem. Finally, political correctness is irrelevant. Whatever the answer happens to be, whether you think it will be popular or not, that is the answer you put forth".
The book's web site
Amazon

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies - Jared M. Diamond
Here's another Gem of radical thinking. He won a Nobel Prize for it too! For those with a interest in anthropology.
Amazon

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell Blink - Malcom Gladwell
It is hard to pin these books down. Even after reading them twice I am not sure I can define a "subject" - business, advertising maybe. Just read them - a pleasure and something to get you thinking.
Amazon


The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century - Thomas L. Friedman
Here's one about gobalization. This one forces a world view we may not be ready to accept. Interestingly, after reading about India's workforce I received an answer to a help wanted on Monster.com from Bangalore. The world is truly flat.
Amazon
Mr. Friedman's web site

Healing the Soul in the Age of the Brain: Becoming Conscious in an Unconscious World - Elio Frattaroli
The world of psychiatry doesn't agree on much. This book exposes some of the rawness and really opened my eyes to the therapeutic process, drugs, and Freudian theory. Upon reading this and discussing it with my shrink I found he knew that man and agreed with his theories - small world. For those interested in psychology and therapy.
Amazon

The Gecko's Foot: Bio-inspiration: Engineering New Materials from Nature - Peter Forbes
Really great stuff about bio-engineering, materials engineering, and the new science of bio-inspiration. For example, a spoon, based upon the lotas plant, upon which honey will not stick - rolls off and leaves the spoon clean!
Amazon