Books I finished reading in March 2024.
With prepping Corinne’s birthday adventure and being sick I didn’t get nearly as much reading done in March as I did in February.
The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker
I bought this way back in 2016, but only just got around to reading it.
It describes the 14 principles that embody the “Toyota Way” of doing manufacturing–much of which has come to be known, in part, as “lean.”
I think perhaps the most distinct aspect from traditional American approaches is the requirement that systems be viewed holistically. Demanding that each individual process get faster/cheaper/better may get you worse results than are otherwise possible.
Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Griffin
I’m not really sure how this ended up on my list as its description didn’t pique my interest, but it was and it was on sale for $2 so I grabbed it. It’s kind of a modern adaptation of the Frankenstein theme.
Some interesting ideas, probably could have used another 100 pages to give it more depth.
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner
This was my most recent pick for the tech-books book group I meet with at work.
Bell Labs was a ridiculously influential organization of the 20th century: the transistor, undersea telephone cables, microwave data relays, satellite telecommunications, cell phones, fiber optics, Unix, the C programming language–just to name a few. All that, so much more, and the foundation of Information Theory.
It’s kind of crazy how much of the modern world was influenced by that organization.