Jim Longuski was my PhD advisor at Purdue University. ( )

This is a great book on practical innovation, and generally just getting things done. Although it takes the "Rocket Scientist" as the model (understandable, since Longuski is one), it largely avoids the trap of being elitist and sycophantic. It's just an honest and thoughtful analysis of how rocket scientists work, and presented almost like a pattern language for knowledge workers.
I wrote a reflection on the book called "Code like a Rocket Scientist" http://tardate.blogspot.com/2008/09/code-like-rocket-scientist_18.html
( )

This is a great book on practical innovation, and generally just getting things done. Although it takes the "Rocket Scientist" as the model (understandable, since Longuski is one), it largely avoids the trap of being elitist and sycophantic. It's just an honest and thoughtful analysis of how rocket scientists work, and presented almost like a pattern language for knowledge workers.
I wrote a reflection on the book called "Code like a Rocket Scientist" http://tardate.blogspot.com/2008/09/code-like-rocket-scientist_18.html
( )

This is a nice, easy to read book that looks at problem solving methods and thinking of rocket scientist and how to apply these methods of thinking to our everyday lives. The book is fun because it is peppered with anecdotes, personal stories and insights, and biographical sketches of famous scientists. ( )

This is primarily a business intelligence guide, along the lines of Who Moved My Cheese and other books in that genre. Longuski reminds us to simulate, to think big and to think small, to not be afraid to ask questions, to simplify systems (as far as possible, but no farther), to build up multiple modes of thinking, and to design in safety and redundancy. These are all fairly standard and generic pieces of advice.

What makes this volume fun is all of the examples he pulls from his personal experiences (including time at the Jet Propulsion Lab): the tinker-toy models, the game Risk modded to include nuclear warfare, the good and the bad of sci-fi movies, and an analysis of the game Twenty Questions that made it click in my head that you could use the same technique that OK Cupid uses to serve up the question that will best hone your profile.

The other thread running through the book is the claim that NASA is no longer run like "rocket science." There aren't the big dreams, the motivations, the layers of planning, etc. Based on Longuski's descriptions, one gets the sense that while NASA is still a very savvy place, they are no longer as elite as they once were--and they are defensive about it. He proposes a manned mission to Mars instead of the current somewhat-aimless space shuttle program. ( )