FORSAN ET HAEC OLIM MEMINISSE IUVABIT

难得一个浏览网页的中午，看见一份令人“贪欲”丛生的书单和一句话“FORSAN ET HAEC OLIM MEMINISSE IUVABIT"。 网上总是有eager beaver为大家做贡献，据说此句出自维吉尔的《埃涅阿斯纪》，意为“也许有一天，这一切给你带来帮助”。而书单，是出自麻省理工人类智能事业（HIE)的推荐。我虽然不是学科带头人，但对于书籍和智慧的热爱并不逊色。于是，记录如下，希望有时间一一找来读一读。

Twelve Classics for Every Aspiring Leader’s Bookshelf

Writing instruction

You cannot lead if you cannot communicate. A corollary is that you should hone your writing skills for the rest of your life.

The Elements of Style, William Strunk

Just after I distributed a draft of my first textbook, a student lobbed the dreaded question at me. “Have you read Strunk and White?” she said. I was betrayed because I had not deployed active verbs. 

BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose, Lyn Dupre 

Once Strunk and White is in your blood, read Dupre. She is a developmental editor; that is, she not only performs the lessor, comma-correcting function of a copy editor, she also comments on clarity and structure. After I wrote a few books, I thought I had learned what ordinary copy editors have to teach, so I asked my publisher to find an editor who could make me cry. The found Dupre. She did. 

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Edward R. Tufte 

Because we think with our eyes as well as our mouth, illustrations should properly stimulate your reader’s visual problem solving apparatus. In this domain, Tufte book reigns supreme. Look at the illustrations and discover what he has to say about them. Note, however, that you are likely to be disappointed by the writing style at the sentence and paragraph level. 

Writing Models 

We mimic what we read, so before you write, read something you admire. 

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, James M. McPherson 

If I don’t feel like Shakespeare, I read McPherson, who does Strunk and White great honor in the way he uses verbs. The Battle Cry of Freedom is the best one-volume treatment of the American Civil War and takes you beyond high-school simplifications toward an understanding of the complex economic and political roots of a horrible war. 

Molecular Biology of the Gene, James D. Watson

Before you write a textbook or documentation, study Watson’s first edition if you can find it (the Sixth is now available, but multiply authored, so I expect it is less well done). Do not study the biology, study the way Watson explains the biology. 

How science works

The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next, Lee Smolin 

In the final chapters of The Trouble with Physics, Smolin explains that tenure decisions focus on maximizing short term reputation of the tenuring university. Accordingly, paradigm shifting geniuses often end up as false negatives because they do not necessarily develop the expected portfolio of papers in refereed journals while they are thinking their deep thoughts. My experiences in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science run amazingly parallel. 

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, James D. Watson 

If Watson were to tire of molecular biology, he could become a great mystery writer, on the level of Arthur Conan Doyle. His account of the discovery of the structure of DNA exposes a level of competition, politics, deception, and sexism, and mystery that you would expect to find in a board room, not in a scientific community. 

Management and leadership 

Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming 

McArthur brought Deming to Japan after World War Two. He transformed Japan from a maker a junk into the industrial envy of the world. The Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers have awarded The Deming prize annually for the past 60 years or so in his honor. In his book, he emphasizes that a good leader makes it clear to each person in his/her organization that that person is valued, that his/her work is valued, and his/her work makes a difference. Annual reviews are not for grading, they are for identifying what is done well and where improvement would have the most impact. 

Deportment 

A Message to Garcia, Elbert Hubbard 

 Lieutenant Rowan got the message to Garcia. You should too. 

Lord Chesterfield’s Letters, Lord Chesterfield 

Chesterfield wrote his letters in the first half of the eighteenth century, but much of his advice remains valuable. My grandfather gave me a copy in 1963, with particular parts underlined for my benefit. 

Speaking 

You cannot actually put these on a bookshelf, but they are useful nevertheless. 

How to Speak, Patrick Henry Winston 

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, Patrick Henry 

If you are thinking of starting a revolution, read Henry’s speech and adapt it to your purpose.