economics of bootstrapping

>
> Yes, a very good book. So too is Machiavelli's "Discourses", usually
> bundled with "The Prince."

I strongly second the recommendation of Machiavelli's "Discourses" - it
contains everything that is in "The Prince," but is more complete,
deeper, and more subtle. "Discourses" is his real magnum opus. Everyone
reads "The Prince" because it's shorter, which leads to Machiavelli
getting an undeservedly bad rap, as well as depriving the reader of his
vast depth of knowledge.

Another excellent work is the "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius (yes,
him - the Emperor who dies at the beginning of the movie "Gladiator")
He was also a keen observer of human nature. Between Sun Tzu,
Machiavelli, and Marcus Aurelius, you have the beginnings of a real
in-depth study of human nature and effective action, based on
independent observations by thoughtful observers separated by thousands
of years and thousands of miles.

> Have you ever read Galileo's "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief
> World Systems." I'd say that this book has to be one of the greatest
> intellectual leaps in history. I read it as a young man and found it
> hard to believe that they way we think today is directly
> attributable to Galileo and that the world thought so differently in
> the past.

Another good recommendation. It's easy to see why he got in trouble
with the church, though. Naming the advocate for the church's position
"Simplicio" was *not* a diplomatic move :-)

more later,
......Andrew