It has been a hectic week that was only capped by the Twitter IPO news. I am actually surprised I found time to actually get some reading done. Anyway here are some stories that I think are worth reading this weekend.
- Freedom of information: A profile of The Guardian and its editor, Alan Rusbridger, in the New Yorker is worth reading. Amazing details, painstaking reporting and delightful writing by the master of media journalism, Ken Auletta.
- Lewis Lapham, Selling Death: There aren’t that many people on my bucket list of people I want to meet, but Lapham is at the very top. He talks about “death” and how it has influenced US society since September 11, 2001. It is a wonderful look at the world around us.
- Looking for Hemingway by Gay Talese from the 1963 issue of Esquire magazine is a trip down the memory lane. If you have not read Talese’s books, then get them now — great writing and great reporting.
- Return of the Lion: Former warlord prepares for Western Withdrawal from Afghanistan. Christian Reef reports on Ismail Khan and other warlords like him for Der Spiegel.
- Some obvious things about Internet reputation systems by Tom Slee is a good place to understand a lot of the debates around reputation on the Internet.
- How to say no and be scientific about it. Great piece full of lessons on Lifehacker.
- Making money is the easy part. A private banker tells his story and it is delightfully surprising.