Reviews on Son of Sun Tzu blog

A book you shouldn't read - yet.

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 16:50:00 +0000

Smart Choices, by Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa

Context

I read this many months ago, I’m writing this based on dipping back into it, and some notes I made at the time.

Overall… it feels like a useful methodology, but - as is often the case with this kind of work - it feels like a pamphlet turned into a book, because this is the kind of size and format of book that customers, and publishers, want.

Podcast - The Wargame

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 19:30:00 +0100

The Wargame, by Sky News and Tortoise

A recent podcast made by Sky News, find it on your favourite player.

It details the players’ actions during a one day wargame, representing a Russian attack against the UK, and the British response.

Overall I liked the gentle introduction to the setting and the terms - that this is explicitly aimed at the general public as an introduction to the format and/or the situation, rather than to a set of wise elders nodding sagely at each other while they all tut about the same things in unison. As you’d expect from a journalist with her experience, Deborah Haynes gives clear and timely explanations from the start - and never long enough to distract a more experienced listener. I liked the scenario - as good as it could be when you’ve brought everyone together for a subject-specific wargame, so players know they’re probably reacting to intentional prompts rather than a misunderstanding of innocent events.

"Leading the Rebellion": not what I was expecting.

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:25:00 +0100

A review of the book "Leading the Rebellion" by Jason Kingsley.

I skipped half of this book, but you should definitely buy a copy.

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 23:20:00 +0100

A review of the book "Billion Dollar Lessons" by Carroll and Mui.

A good film, stuck inside a bad film...

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 22:20:00 +0000

Synchronic

I usually think, a lot… but for me the most enjoyable films are when that stops, and they just kind of sweep me out of that mental state. Then, as long as nothing too egregious happens, I’m OK with whatever options are avoided for the sake of the narrative while I wonder what will happen next. I’m lost in the progression of events or characterisation, or thinking what I would do in a particular character’s position.