At Appliscale, we often talk about the “how” of technology – how to scale a database, how to automate a pipeline, or how to optimize a cloud environment. But for our COO and Co-founder, Eain Jones, the “why” and the “where” are just as critical.
As a leader who has spent the last 15 years bridging the gap between Irish management and Polish engineering talent, Eain’s perspective is shaped by a deep curiosity about systems—not just technical ones, but geopolitical, cultural, and historical systems that dictate how the world (and the tech industry) actually functions.
His reading list is a reflection of a career spent managing global teams and large-scale infrastructure. It’s a mix of hard-hitting business strategy, historical analysis, and a look at the physical hardware that makes the digital world possible.
Here is the essential reading list from Eain Jones:
1. The Nvidia Way by Tae Kim
“Relentless” is the word that comes to mind when you look at Jensen Huang and Nvidia’s journey from near-bankruptcy to global domination. This book shows you how a company becomes a monopoly through paranoid execution and zero tolerance for mediocrity.
In the world of AI, this is the actual playbook currently running the future. For those of us in high-performance computing and AdTech, it’s a fascinating insight into a culture of continuous improvement. It’s a reminder that excellence isn’t a state you reach; it’s a standard you maintain through constant, healthy paranoia about your own position.
2. The Everything Blueprint: The Microchip Design that Changed the World by James Ashton
This is the geopolitical answer to the question, “How did we get here?” We often treat the cloud as something abstract, but Ashton reminds us that it is built on very physical, very vulnerable foundations.
This book explains why microchips and the factories that produce them are the most important geopolitical assets on earth. It details how Taiwan accidentally became the linchpin of global power. For anyone working in tech, understanding the hardware supply chain is essential—it’s the “documentation” for the modern world’s power balance.
3. Nobody Leaves: Impressions of Poland by Ryszard Kapuściński
Having worked closely with Poles for over a decade and a half, I am always fascinated by the parallels and stark differences between the Irish and Polish cultures. This book is the cultural answer to “how did we get here.”
Kapuściński helps draw back the veil ever so slightly on the Polish psyche. At Appliscale, our strength lies in our cross-border collaboration between Dublin and Krakow. Understanding the history and the “impressions” of the people you work with is a core part of building a truly empathetic and high-functioning global team.
4. Imperium by Ryszard Kapuściński
While Kapuściński is known to take some poetic license, his analysis of how empires actually collapse from the inside is uncomfortably relevant. He identifies the “rot”—the moment when bureaucratic fear takes over and nobody believes the propaganda anymore.
In an organizational context, this is a masterclass in identifying technical and cultural debt. When a system (or a company) becomes too large and disconnected from reality, it begins to fail from within. It’s a cautionary tale for any leader about the importance of transparency and staying grounded in facts rather than “internal propaganda.”
5. Your Life is Manufactured by Carl Cederstrom
This book cuts through the illusion that our choices are entirely our own. Cederstrom shows how incentive structures—from social media algorithms to healthcare systems—are meticulously designed to extract value from us.
As engineers and business leaders, we are often the ones building these systems. It’s a vital read for understanding the “unseen hand” of modern incentives. It forces you to look at the products we build and the lives we lead through a more critical lens: what choices are we making, and what choices are being made for us?
6. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia
Recommended to me by a world-class coach and client, I’m currently working my way through this. What I like about Attia’s approach is that it is entirely systems-based. He outlines cause and effect in a way that resonates with the engineering mind.
As I’ve become more interested in maintaining my own “hardware”—staying fit and healthy in my own garage—this book has provided a roadmap. It’s about accepting that you can’t predict every health outcome, but you can build a robust enough system to handle the uncertainty of aging.
7. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
Stephenson traces how modern finance, science, and statecraft were all essentially invented at the same time in the 1600s. It’s a reminder that our “new” problems in tech and economics are really just modern iterations of the same ancient power games.
I’ll warn you: it’s a dense read. It’s chaotic, hard to follow at times, and requires multiple trips to the dictionary. But the delight of the wordplay and the sheer depth of Stephenson’s research make it worth the effort. It’s the ultimate “deep dive” for anyone who loves understanding the origins of complex systems.
