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Kara Swisher

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Kara Swisher is an American technology business journalist and co-founder of Recode. She became a contributing writer to The New York Times Opinion Section in 2018. Previously she wrote for The Wall Street Journal, serving as co-executive editor of All Things Digital.
18 books on the list
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How to Change Your Mind book cover
How to Change Your Mind
What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
Michael Pollan - 2018-05-17
Goodreads Rating
Explore the use of psychedelic drugs for treating conditions like depression, addiction, and anxiety in this brilliant and brave investigation. Join Michael Pollan on a personal journey into altered states of consciousness and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Discover the truth about these mysterious drugs and their potential to transform our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. A unique blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, this book is a triumph of participatory journalism and a gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier.
Kara Swisher
2022-07-18T19:30:17.000Z
A terrific doc version of his wonderful book. More kudos for @michaelpollan much deserved.      source
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends book cover
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
The Cyberweapons Arms Race
Nicole Perlroth - 2021-02-09
Goodreads Rating
Discover the untold story of the cyberweapons market in this chilling exposé by a leading cybersecurity reporter. Follow the journey of zero day, a coveted tool in the spy's arsenal with the power to dismantle safety controls, alter elections, and create chaos. Delve into the United States government's dominant hoarder of zero days and how they lost control, placing this powerful tool in the hands of hostile nations and mercenaries who will stop at nothing. Written like a thrilling reference, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is a cautionary tale that we all must heed to bring the global cyber arms race to heel.
Kara Swisher
2021-01-23T20:43:21.000Z
This is my Saturday because I am a workaholic loser. Then again, given how good these books by @nicoleperlroth abd @AdamMGrant are, I am also a winner.      source
Think Again book cover
Think Again
The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
Adam Grant - 2021-02-02
Goodreads Rating
Discover the power of rethinking your beliefs with this thought-provoking book. Learn why mental laziness and old routines can hold you back, and how embracing the unknown and being wrong can actually benefit you. The author offers evidence-based insights into how rethinking can be taught as a mindset and a skillset. Sections on individual and group rethinking, and the shortcomings of schools, businesses, and governments, provide practical advice for success in a rapidly changing world. Don't miss out on developing the secret skill of the future: the ability to constantly rethink your perspective.
Kara Swisher
2021-01-23T20:43:21.000Z
This is my Saturday because I am a workaholic loser. Then again, given how good these books by @nicoleperlroth abd @AdamMGrant are, I am also a winner.      source
The Araboolies of Liberty Street book cover
The Araboolies of Liberty Street
Sam Swope - 2001-04-09 (first published in 1989)
Goodreads Rating
This engaging and thought-provoking book follows the story of a family who overcome neighborhood prejudice. When the Araboolies move into Liberty Street, the neighborhood's strict conformity is shattered by the newcomers' joyous and eccentric behavior. The General tries to reestablish order, but is met with resistance from the children and Liberty Street. It's a vivid and entertaining tale of fair play, poetic justice, and the importance of diversity. Featuring full-color paintings that are energetic and enthusiastic, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for a heartwarming and inspiring story.
Kara Swisher
2020-08-05T01:25:38.000Z
Highly recommend this children’s book about colorful people and those who try to call out the army against them.      source
Trick Mirror book cover
Trick Mirror
Jia Tolentino - 2019-08-06
Goodreads Rating
This collection of essays by a New Yorker writer explores the era of the self, malleable truth, feminism, and politics. From the rise of the internet to the writer's own experiences with ecstasy and engagement with our culture's drive towards self-optimization, the essays are a fierce, clear, and humorous look at our current landscape. With a rare gift for elucidating nuance and complexity, this debut collection announces the author as an important voice for many years to come.
Kara Swisher
2020-06-30T05:41:10.000Z
I read Trick Mirror last year, but just listened to ⁦this superb book of essays by ⁦@jiatolentino⁩ as a contemplate my own and hearing her deliver these blue-flame insights, one after another, that are so exactly right on the internet landscape, inspires. Highly recommend.      source
Uncanny Valley book cover
Uncanny Valley
Anna Wiener - 2020-01-14
Goodreads Rating
This memoir offers a first-hand glimpse into the high-flying and reckless startup culture of Silicon Valley during a time of unchecked ambition, unregulated surveillance, wild fortune, and political power. The author, Anna Wiener, left a job in book publishing for the promise of the new digital economy in San Francisco. She landed at a big-data startup in the heart of the Silicon Valley bubble, where she witnessed a new Silicon Valley emerge; one that enriched itself at the expense of the idyllic future it claimed to be building. A coming-of-age-story and a portrait of a bygone era, Uncanny Valley is a rare and personal narrative that charts the tech industry's shift from world savior to democracy-endangering liability.
Kara Swisher
2020-01-06T16:54:49.000Z
@AmyAlex63 @GuardianUS Agreed but it is a great book and very sly      source
Permanent Record book cover
Permanent Record
Edward Snowden - 2019-09-17
Goodreads Rating
Discover the story of a man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance in this extraordinary memoir. See how Edward Snowden helped to build the system and what motivated him to bring it down. From his childhood to his adult years as a CIA and NSA spy, and finally as a whistleblower in exile, this memoir gives a firsthand account of a digital age hero. Written with passion, wit, and an unflinching candor, this is a book that is destined to be a classic.
Kara Swisher
2019-10-30T15:42:26.000Z
Btw @Snowden new book “Permanent Record” is quite good and surprisingly a love letter to the Internet as it was.      source
Antisocial book cover
Antisocial
Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation
Andrew Marantz - 2019-10-08
Goodreads Rating
"Antisocial" is a riveting exploration of the twisted world of social media and how it has been weaponized by extremist groups. Andrew Marantz, a New Yorker staff writer, offers an insightful and deeply immersive chronicle of how Silicon Valley's optimistic entrepreneurs set out to create a democratic internet, only to have their efforts exploited by cynical propagandists. This engaging read ranges broadly from the first mass-printed books to the trending hashtags of today and offers a keen narrative detailing how online radicalization leads young people down a dangerous path. Combining the sweep of George Packer's "The Unwinding" with the raw intensity of Bill Buford's "Among the Thugs," "Antisocial" is a must-read for anyone looking to understand how the boundaries between technology, media, and politics have been erased, leading to a dangerously broken informational landscape.
Kara Swisher
2019-10-10T21:27:17.000Z
Me in my first ⁦⁦@nytimesbooks review on ⁦@andrewmarantz⁩ book “Antisocial” — love the book, even if it covers a trend I hate: Trolls Are Everywhere. Now What Are We Supposed to Do?      source
She Said book cover
She Said
Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
Jodi Kantor - 2019-09-10
Goodreads Rating
This compelling work from Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey details their investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Harvey Weinstein. Through months of confidential interviews and breakthrough reporting, Kantor and Twohey were able to expose a web of onerous secret payouts and nondisclosure agreements used to hide sexual misconduct. The publication of their initial story in October 2017 opened up a Pandora's box of sexual harassment and abuse allegations, leading to hundreds of men being outed over the next year. She Said tells the thrilling story of their investigation and the consequences for the #MeToo movement, as well as the inspiring journeys of the women who spoke up.
Kara Swisher
2019-09-12T18:19:27.000Z
I love my job making content on the Recode Decode podcast, but it is a particular pleasure when I get to talk to two of the best reporters who truly are impacting the world: @mega2e and @jodikantor of the @nytimes whose book on Weinstein “She Said” is now out. Buy it, I command.      source
Super Pumped by Mike Isaac
Disrupted by Dan Lyons
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
The White Album by Joan Didion
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Markings by Dag Hammarskjold
A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories by Ray Bradbury
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.