Tech is as much a lifestyle choice these days as it is a career. The geeks and nerds have risen to rule the world. Don’t believe me? Ask Bill Gates and Elon Musk! Sometimes it is good to step back and take a wide look at how technology has changed the world we live in – for better and worse.
To see my list from last year visit – My Tech Books 2022
My selections below, both fiction and non fiction, I have found to be enjoyable and thought provoking in many different ways and I recommend them to everyone who is interested in tech.
Mentions from 2022
The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything – Matthew L. Ball
After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul – Tripp Mickle
Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World – Mo Gawdat
You can follow all the books, tech, business, non-fiction, etc that I read over at Goodreads. You can view my activity here:
https://www.goodreads.com/director_cia
1. Daemon – Daniel Suarez [Fiction]
A glimpse into the future of where drones and augmented reality may take us. That may not necessarily be a good place either.
2. Freedom TM – Daniel Suarez [Fiction]
A follow up to Daemon. What happens when technology dominates the world? Who benefits?
3. Ready Player One – Ernest Cline [Fiction]
Much like the Matrix. What is life like if you live inside the machine? You can be just about anyone you choose. I also love this book for all the retro technology that was part of my life. TRS-80 anyone? This book has become so popular that there is now a movie. Believe me, the book is better.
4. Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers – Andy Greenberg [Non-Fiction]
This is a great book if you are interested in IT security. It is also a very current book which makes it even more engrossing. It is easy to read and quite comprehensive in its approach, not only dealing with the technology of security attack but also the geopolitical reasons and consequences.
It reveals that shadow world of nation state cyber attacks and illustrates how they are happening today and likely to increase in the future. The connected world of the Internet has brought us many benefits but it is now increasing risks as our dependencies increase to the point that there are few manual backups that don’t depend on technology.
I think this book is a real glimpse into the future and what we may be in store for in the even of rising global conflicts. If you like tech, you’ll love this!
5. Future Crimes: Inside the Digital Underground and the Battle for our Connected World – Marc Goodman [Non-fiction]
Technology will ultimately doom us all I believe because we are building our world on stuff that unfortunately places a low regard for security and privacy. This book will show you why that is a road to ruination.
6. Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon – Kim Zetter [Non-Fiction]
If you don’t believe cyber warfare is real then read this book to understand how software is now a weapon as potentially devastating as any nuclear device.
7. Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World – Bruce Schneier [Non-Fiction]
Security is important but it is important in context. We need to be rational when we consider our security not emotional. A great level headed approach to how we need to be secure.
8. American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt or the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road – Nick Bilton [Non-Fiction]
An amazingly detailed book on the rise and fall of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road web site. In here are asked to think about whether technology plays something more than a neutral role in today’s world.
9. The Cuckoos Egg – Clifford Stoll [Non-Fiction]
Before the Internet was in the public sphere it existed in the world of academia. This is the story of how one man’s search for the source of an accounting error uncovered something are more sinister.
10. This how they tell me the world ends: The cyberweapons arms race – Nicole Perlroth [Non-Fiction]
Highlights the challenges that society has created, mainly from its’ own doing and questions of how we go about fixing this so we don’t end causing infinite harm to both intended targets and unintended victims.