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Ilya Grigorik's Profile
Customer Reviews: 221
New Reviewer Rank: 3,137
Classic Reviewer Rank: 9,106
Helpful Votes:
338
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Reviews Written by
Ilya Grigorik (Toronto, ON, Canada)
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Entertaining, but shallow, November 7, 2009
Maybe the novelty of Freakonomics wore off, but the format and stories from SuperFreakonomics falls flat -- perhaps the cover should have served as a warning. The book consists of a series of seemingly random subjects, from hookers and terrorists to a somewhat bizarre chapter on climate change. All in all, this is the kind of book you'll want to read if you need some unusual stories for an entertaining chat at a party, but I would be extremely careful of treating it any more serious than that.
For a much better introduction to the psychology and behavioral economics research, take a look at Dan Ariely's "Predictably Irrational", or Ori Brafman's "Sway".
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Amusing, disturbing, and worrysome, November 7, 2009
This is not a typical startup tale. As I started every new chapter of the book I debated whether it'll be worth the time - I still can't figure out if it was. Mike Daisey documents his adventures at Amazon as a customer support representative, and later a "Bus. Dev" manager. Filled with a mix of interesting stories about being on the front lines of a hot startup, juvenile humor, and general, what seems to be, rants of incompetence at his job, this is a tough one to qualify.
Having said that, it captures the spirit of the times, and for that, it's an interesting read. Even more so, Amazon has turned out to be quiet a successful company, irrespective of all the irrational exuberance - makes you wonder what changed in the company, or perhaps, maybe all the Mike's left in the meantime?
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Gangs, Drugs & Power Brokers, October 24, 2009
As far as social research projects go, this has to be one of the most interesting ones I have read to date, even if the ethics and the methods of the author often leave you uncomfortable. Sudhir Venkatesh documents his experience in the gang subculture of Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago. Naïve and eager to learn he stumbles into the building, is held hostage, and subsequently returns to spend nearly five years in the community, learning about the economics, the people, and the powerbrokers.
For most of us, this book is a fascinating and one of a kind voyeuristic view into the life of a poor neighborhood dominated by local power brokers, drugs, and gangs - you couldn't invent better characters in a science fiction novel. Except, of course, it is all real. Captivating read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Electrification and Cloud Computing, October 24, 2009
The comparison between the rise of electricity as a utility and the recent explosion of cloud computing (SaaS, IaaS, etc) is a fascinating read. The parallels between everyone generating their own electricity, the consolidation of the industry, the delivery (aka, API's), and the economics behind the shift seem almost eerie. Even if you don't plan to read the entire book, make sure to scan the first five chapters -- well worth your time.
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150% returns in 45 days!, October 18, 2009
A captivating story of an Italian immigrant, financier (or swindler, whichever you prefer) whose name has entered the English language due to his meteoric rise and fall in the 1920's. If you have ever wondered about the meaning of "Ponzi scheme", this is the book. Mitchell Zuckoff does a great job of revealing the character, as well as documenting the entire fraudulent investment operation Ponzi setup and operated (150% returns in 45 days, by paying returns to investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than any actual profits). A real page-turner and an educational read.
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Humorous & insightful read, October 17, 2009
Have never been an O'Reilly fan (not having a TV does not help), but very much enjoyed reading this book. Bill O'Reilly offers a great autobiography, sprinkled with dozens of anecdotes and stories that will make you laugh, all the while maintaining a serious theme and delivering a number of insights into how he and his entire generation was shaped by the cultural and political forces of the mid to late 20th century.
Even if you are not an O'Reilly fan, it is a great and enjoyable read. And if you enjoy this book also take a look at "My Remarkable Journey" by Larry King.
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MIT blackjack, October 17, 2009
Vegas is an alternate reality. Reading this book it is sometimes hard to believe that the events described by Ben Mezrich occurred in real life - captivating read and a fascinating story of a MIT blackjack team on the run to outdo the casinos. The book reveals the three different strategies that the team employed to beat the casinos and their burly adventures and run-ins with the casinos themselves. It is a thriller.
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Entertaining, but highly speculative, September 27, 2009
From a dorm room in Harvard to over $100M valuation in less than 14 months - every entrepreneurs dream and one heck of a rocket ride. As you would expect, the story of Facebook is a fascinating one. From how it got started, and whether or not Mark "borrowed" the IP from a couple of Harvard students who got them to work on their site, to the courtship dance with the venture capital community, and to forcefully diluting one of the founders, there is enough drama in the story to make an entertaining read. However, for the most part that's all it is.
Facebook and Mark have remained highly secretive about everything that goes on within its walls (rightfully so), and the author is forced to fill in the blanks. The book reads as a narrative, and very little emphasis or analysis is placed on the predecessors such as Orkut and Friendster. It's a fun read, but don't expect any revelations about the social networking space, or what goes on behind the close walls at Facebook.
If you're interested in social networks, the money and the mechanics, "Stealing Myspace" by Julia Angwin is a much better choice.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
New thinking about children, September 26, 2009
Don't have any children, nor see any on the horizon, but psychology and the perpetual nurture vs nature arugment are both topics that intrigue me - this book did not disappoint. Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman do not create any new theories or frameworks, instead they surface a series of studies that challenge the existing cultural norms and assumptions: praise, sleep, sibling rivalries, conversations about race, and education.
Each topic is examined from the point of view of current assumptions and the recent findings by psychologists and scientists from around the world. Who knew that praise may not be the best motivator, or that lack of sleep has much different effect on children, or that conversations about race can, in fact, be a good thing. A fun and an educational read. Recommend it.
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Technical introduction to digital low light photography, September 19, 2009
A very technical introduction to DSLR low light photography, but don't let that discourage you. This book is less about the effects and more about the nuts and bolts of how your sensor behaves in poorly lit situations: where does the ISO noise come from, how do you recover those details in shadows, what is the premise behind HDR, etc.
The author also spends a lot of time on the post-processing steps of your digital photos - from importing photos to evaluating noise reduction plugins to Photoshop. Having skipped the film photography step and gone directly to digital, this book made me appreciate all the tools and possibilities that are now available to every amateur.
Highly recommended, especially if you really want to understand how your camera works from the inside.
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(Toronto, ON, Canada)
