This is the first in my series of book reviews. A little background: I'm an reader. I read. Lots. My wife, Audrey, reads much much more than I do, and I'm sometimes called competitive, so this is me trying to keep up with her, if nothing else. I read the Journal every morning (the Metra train is my friend here). I read about two dozen different blogs as often as they update. I look at several on-line news sources every morning when I get to the office. I read a couple of monthly magazines, my favorites being This Old House, F1 Racing and Inc. And I try to knock off a book or three a month, when time permits. Time doesn't frequently oblige.
When I do read, in order that I might become well rounded, I try to rotate the genre. I read, generally in this order, a History, a Fiction, a Philosophy and then a Business book. And around the bend again. Once in a while, someone will suggest another book to me, and I'll slip it in, so feel free to suggest. FYI, I don't usually go for romances, thillers, spy novels (other than Ian Fleming, but I own originals of and have read them all) and the like.
The book of the past week or so is The San Francisco Earthquake by Thomas and Morgan Witts (1971). A History, in case that isn't clear. It's a remarkable story, of course. But what I found most compelling was the (likely unintentional) contrast among three of the key figures in the response to the earthquake and subsequent fire. They are Brigadier General Frederick Funston, who took decisive, immediate action which was likely wrong; Mayor Eugene Schmitz, who took no real action until it was likely too late; and A. P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy, who took decisive, immediate action which lead to his tiny upstart bank eventually becoming the behemoth Bank of America. Surely lessons in leadership and judgment may be derived.
