Overview:

Have you ever wondered who are the people behind famous car brands such as Mercedes Benz, Ferdinand Porsche, or BMW designer Chris Bangle? For those of us car lovers, read on! The life of the automobile covers the history and social impact of the global automobile industry from its invention in the late 1800s, to today’s electric cars.

Here Is What The Book Was About:

Steven Parissien writes essentially about world history from the perspectives of the people behind the world’s cars, telling the interesting stories of great brands, and personalities, the troubles they faced, and how they survived, or died. The Life of the Automobile is a book about auto industry that is will capture the imagination of car enthusiasts, history buffs, as well as those interested in business.

Rating: (1 to 5)

Comprehensive history, great information, and enjoyable; however only earned a score of 3.5 out of 5 due to it being somewhat of a hard book to finish.    

Other Thoughts on The Book:

While reading this book, you may find yourself imagining how a car looks; and if this is the case it may be better to watch a documentary rather than reading a book about cars.

Link to Book

Overview:

Today’s most successful tech companies design, develop, and deploy great products that are used by billions of people around the world. Is it because they are focused on the customer? Marty Cagan’s book teaches you about discovering and delivering technology products that customers love―and that work for your business.

Here Is What The Book Was About:

While many books talk about software development approaches, i.e. agile or scrum, Inspired is a how-to guide for product teams on how to think about their roles, focusing on delivering value to customers. Focus is on the product manager, rather than other roles. Product managers have a very difficult role, and this can be used as a guide for those new to the role, as well as seasoned product managers who want to up their game and build great products.

Rating: (1 to 5)

Ranked 4.5 out of 5 based on the practical lessons, and direct way of communicating the author has. Many of the lessons can be applied on your teams immediately.  

Other Thoughts on The Book:

Marty Cagan is a thought leader, well respected in the industry, and guide to leaders at the worlds greatest tech companies. In order to really make traction at your organization by using the lessons of this book you need leadership alignment. Teams should be missionaries rather than mercenaries, and great products should be valuable, viable, & feasible.

Link to Book