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Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software<\/strong><\/a> This classic popular text from 2001\u00a0still holds up well as an introduction into the phenomena of emergence<\/a><\/strong> and the nature of self-organizing systems. Johnsaon uses a rich array of analogies and historical anecdotes to bring How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower<\/strong><\/a> Superb overview of the decline and fall of Rome with a rejection of the traditional assertions of causations for the end of the Roman empire ( Barbarians, Christianity etc.). Goldsworthy also sharply criticizes the popular idea among postmodern classicists today that the Roman Empire was “really”\u00a0as strong during the fourth and fifth The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles<\/strong><\/a> A rare, nonfiction book by novelist and blogger\u00a0Steven Pressfield<\/a><\/strong>. The War of Art<\/em><\/strong> is a book that I strongly recommend to aspiring writers ( which includes most bloggers) and other people pursuing\u00a0dreams, not because it Most of the readers of this blog are interested in military affairs to some extent so I will use this reference to explain why I read The War of Art<\/em><\/strong> from cover to cover. Pressfield captures the difference in what Col. John Boyd<\/strong> called the question of “To be or to do. Which way will you go?”<\/a>.\u00a0 By Boyd’s definition, Pressfield is a doer.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=zenpundit-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0684868768\")
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the reader to an understanding how bottom-up, “blind”, systems work and the principles behind them. Highly readable and next to no jargon. Probably due soon for an updated edition though, given the scientific advances in\u00a0research in network and complexity studies.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=zenpundit-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0300137192\")
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centuries as it was during the golden age of philosopher-warrior-emperor\u00a0Marcus Aurelius<\/strong>. Or that there was no fall of the empire at all, just a gentle “transformation” into something new. Goldsworthy discusses the likelihood of Late antquity \u00a0“paper legions” of Roman armies which, in any event, scarcely resembled in elan, tactics\u00a0or fighting strength the ones that Julius Caesar wielded in Gaul.\u00a0 A tour de force marred only\u00a0by a weird epilogue that ranges from pedestrian to ( in it’s last sentences) truly\u00a0awful – was it it tacked on as an afterthought? Did the editor of the rest of the book die before it was completed? Regardless, How Rome Fell<\/em><\/strong> is a worthy addition to an collection of popular ancient histories.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=zenpundit-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0446691437\")
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is brilliant but because it is profound. Utilizing select personal vignettes and other anecdotes, Pressfield distills in everyday language the essence of what creative people need to understand if they are to succeed – concepts of “resistance”, which seductively\u00a0undermine your efforts, \u00a0and being a “professional”, which is the\u00a0mindset that\u00a0will get you there.<\/p>\n