Read Like Zuckerberg
You may not have the resources that Mark Zuckerberg has, but now you can read like he does.
As a new year’s resolution, he has set himself a goal of reading a book every two weeks and has created a Facebook page, A Year of Books, that invites others to join in.
He says he will choose books that “emphasize learning about new cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies.”
We’re not sure how the first title fits that definition. By the former editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy, Moises Naim, it is The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used To Be, (Perseus/Basic Books, 2013).
The author, exuberantly interviewed on CNN (the host marvels that Zuckerberg will have to read 24 pages a day! to meet his goal), says the book may have special meaning for Zuckerberg, a member of the new power elite that disrupted the old, but at a time when power itself offers diminishing returns (see the Washington Post review for more on his Naim’s thesis). Zuckerberg says he’s interested in it because it “explores how the world is shifting to give individual people more power that was traditionally only held by large governments, militaries and other organizations. The trend towards giving people more power is one I believe in deeply.”
The End of Power sold out on Amazon within hours of the announcement, but the publisher was able to quickly resupply it. Good thing. The window for this is short. Zuckerberg is scheduled to announce his next book on January 16.
Libraries we checked are showing holds that outstrip modest inventories.