OK, not really. But the guy who plays him on Saturday Night Live totally digs the book! So that counts, right? Fred Armisen called the book “amazing,” and I did not even pay him to say that.
Thanks to Glynnis MacNicol for taking a survey of the few remaining famous people who read. And thanks to Fred for being so talented and smart. And handsome.
I am endlessly fascinated by the science of crowds. Why do some crowds remain orderly and safe, while other, equally large and rowdy crowds become deadly? The death of a security guard working at Wal-Mart on Black Friday was a reminder of the importance of physics—and fairness. Check out my latest Time.com story on how to prevent a crowd crush.
Thanks to Dr. G. Keith Still, my go-to guy on the science of crowds.
Amidst all the horror seeping out of Mumbai, I was struck by the behavior of the hotel employees—the stories of cooks, bell boys and waiters risking their lives and in some cases dying to help keep the guests safe. I have seen this same behavior in other disasters—most notably the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, which I wrote about in detail in the book. But each time, it strikes me as surprising all over again.
Here is an excerpt from a New York Times story about the…
Of all the jobs I wouldn’t want in the new administration, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is up near the top. An agency set up to fail, that did fail, and is now, um, trying not to fail anymore. Check out my brief introduction to Gov. Napolitano, the new Secretary, on Time.com.
For me, doing this TIME story on DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was a revelation. I knew our schools were troubled, but I hadn’t realized the compounded effects of all that mediocrity. I hadn’t known that a child who has three bad teachers for three years in a row really never recovers. I had not realized that the difference in test scores between white and minority kids goes away—totally vanishes—if they both have effective teachers for a few years.
Once I understood that, I started to feel the same urgency Rhee…
Exciting news! The Unthinkable has been chosen by Hudson Booksellers as one of the best books published in 2008.
Honestly, it is just a ridiculous thrill to be on any list with the 8 other nonfiction books Hudson selected. Check it: The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs, Hot, Flat & Crowded by Thomas Friedman, The Ayatollah Begs to Differ by Hooman Majd, Out of Mao’s Shadow by Philip P. Pan, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, Beautiful Boy by David Sheff, The Way of the World by…
Saturday’s Russian sub disaster, which killed 20 people, is mystifying. Russian officials said that the Nerpa’s automatic fire-suppression system accidentally went off, releasing Freon gas and suffocating the victims. But submarine crews are normally trained to put on oxygen masks whenever this happens (and it is not all that uncommon). So what happened?
This Newsweek interview with Mikhail Barabanov, editor-in-chief of Moscow Defense Brief, speculates that this was a case of too many people onboard with too little training. Once again, the…
I spent some time yesterday watching images of the country’s response to Obama’s victory. I thought I’d share some of the best videos here.
Generally speaking, Americans don’t tend to take to the streets in joy. Except for Tuesday night. What a night…
Check out the scene… in Brooklyn
In Washington, DC, on U Street, birthplace of Duke Ellington, destroyed in the 1968 riots and brought back to life just the past few years:
Korea’s Quest to Stop Studying
The World’s Schoolmaster
Government Workers: How Large are They Living Really?
School Rankings: America vs. the World
New School Hollywood: Can a Movie Change Everything?
When Schools Bribe Kids
What Makes a Great Teacher?
Brilliance in a Box: The Best Classrooms in the World
In Case of Emergency
Michelle Rhee