In *Gone Bamboo*, Anthony Bourdain crafts a humorous crime novel centered around Henry Denard, a CIA-trained assassin who retires to the Caribbean with his wife, Frances. Their tranquil life is disrupted when Donnie Wicks, a man Henry was hired to kill, is relocated to the same island as part of the Witness Protection Program. As Jimmy Pazz seeks revenge, Henry's paradise becomes increasingly complicated. The book is a blend of noir and action elements, reflecting Bourdain's signature style.
Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success delves into the unconventional strategies behind Southwest Airlines' success. The book highlights the airline's innovative approach to business, focusing on simplicity, efficiency, and a strong corporate culture. It provides insights into how Southwest's leadership style and employee empowerment have made it one of the most admired companies in the aviation industry.
In this book, Ben Horowitz shares his personal and often humbling experiences in the tech industry to offer essential advice and practical wisdom. He addresses various hard decisions and challenges that business leaders face, such as firing friends, managing company culture, handling layoffs, and making tough strategic decisions. Horowitz emphasizes the importance of honesty, resilience, and adaptability in leadership, drawing from his experiences with companies like Loudcloud and Andreessen Horowitz.
Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiography by Nelson Mandela that chronicles his early life, his education, and his 27 years spent in prison under the apartheid government. The book describes his role as a leader of the African National Congress and his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement. It also details his political ascension and his presidency of South Africa, as well as his efforts to rebuild the country after apartheid. The book is an epic of struggle, setback, renewed hope, and ultimate triumph, and it has been praised for its insight into Mandela's life and his fight for human rights and racial equality.
In this book, Edward O. Thorp recounts his remarkable career, from inventing card counting systems to beat blackjack dealers, to developing mathematical formulas that gave him an edge in the financial markets. Thorp's story includes his invention of the world's first wearable computer to predict roulette outcomes, his detection of the Bernie Madoff scheme, and his interactions with notable figures like Warren Buffett and Rudy Giuliani. The book offers practical wisdom on investing, asset allocation, and wealth management, making it an intellectual thrill ride for readers interested in finance and mathematics.
Kitchen Confidential is a memoir and industry commentary that offers a candid, often humorous look at the less glamorous aspects of high-end restaurant kitchens. Bourdain shares his personal experiences, including his struggles with drug addiction and his rise through the culinary ranks. The book is structured as a collection of anecdotes and includes practical advice on the cooking trade, as well as warnings to consumers about restaurant practices. It captures the intense, often chaotic world of professional kitchens and explains why people are drawn to this demanding profession despite its challenges.
This book provides an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look into the life of Anthony Bourdain through the stories and recollections of his closest friends, colleagues, and family members. It covers his childhood, early years in New York, the genesis of his memoir 'Kitchen Confidential', and his emergence as a writing and television personality. The narrative is built from interviews with people such as Eric Ripert, José Andrés, Nigella Lawson, W. Kamau Bell, and his brother and late mother, showcasing the many sides of Bourdain—his motivations, ambivalence, vulnerability, blind spots, and brilliance. The book also includes a treasure trove of photos from Bourdain's life and is a testament to his remarkable life and legacy.
In this landmark book, Danny Meyer recounts his experiences and the lessons he learned in developing his philosophy of Enlightened Hospitality. Meyer started Union Square Cafe at the age of 27 and has since built a restaurant empire. His philosophy, which emphasizes strong in-house relationships and customer satisfaction, is applicable to any business. The book covers various aspects of running a restaurant, including selecting real estate, hiring, training, and providing exceptional service. Meyer's approach to hospitality extends to guests, the community, suppliers, and investors, and he provides practical advice on how to maintain long-term success through these relationships.
Le Guide Culinaire, published in 1903, is a seminal work by Georges Auguste Escoffier that aimed to codify and streamline French restaurant cuisine. The book contains over 5,000 recipes and is designed for the education of young chefs. It has undergone several editions, with the fourth edition published in 1921. The book is known for its concise recipe descriptions and its emphasis on basic principles and techniques. It remains a core textbook in many culinary schools and is highly regarded for its influence on modern cooking practices.
What I learned from reading Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever.
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[28:32] All the energy he'd put into trying to destroy himself, he put that into building himself back up. All that negative energy became something else. He became so serious, and so driven and focused. He worked really hard. It takes a lot of determination to wake up early in the morning and write, and then go to a job in the kitchen, and come home at god knows what hour, and get up the next morning and do it again. He was a fiend. One time, he said about his disciplined writing regimen, "Such was my lust to see my name in print." He threw himself into his work in a manner that I found astonishing.
[41:17] He gave me really good advice: "Stay public. You gotta promote, promote, promote, or it all dies. You just gotta be out there all the time." Tony embraced that.
[56:17] He proceeded to tell everyone to ignore the network. He said, "Completely ignore everything they're saying about music, about story, about shots. Let me deal with it all. I'm gonna make the show I want to make, across all fronts.” I had already been editing for ten years, and this was the first time I'd heard anything like this. Everyone is always just trying to make the network happy.
[1:01:51] The line between Tony and the show was very thin, if it existed at all.
[1:07:07] This life isn't a greenroom for something else. He went for it.
[1:20:50] He demanded excellence, and he never settled for shit. He just wanted the show to be the greatest thing ever, all the time.
[1:22:48] It was his life's work, and he never slacked.
[1:34:56] Tony gorged himself on being alive.
[1:46:13] The world is not better off with him not here. It's just not.
[1:45:46] I liked him better when he was just kind of living his best life and looking in the rearview mirror like he stole something. This beautiful life that he had, something people would dream of, and no one else could do it but him. A "slit my wrist" love story is just the shittiest ending to it all.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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