Q. What are you reading?

A. I just finished Bob Woodward's "The War Within," the fourth of his series about the Bush White House and the Iraq War. ... It's remarkable — you really feel like you're a fly on the wall in the White House watching this whole disaster unfold. Now I'm reading "The Shadow Factory" by James Bamford, the third in his long-running series on the National Security Agency. It's amazingly detailed about the technology used to monitor every conversation, e-mail, or even IM that runs anyplace in the world, how they do it and where the facilities are. ... And to offset that, I'm re-reading "The House at Pooh Corner" for a little philosophy.

Q. Neither present a pretty scenario, but what do you like about them?

A. I'm a pretty optimistic person; if you're going to be an entrepreneur, you have to be. I think these are very current, written almost in real time, and if you believe that government has an impact on what our lives are made up of and has anything to do with the economic condition and the way our country is perceived in the world, then these are important documents to understand. I believe the war and the economy and everything is interlinked.

Q. Do Woodward's and Bamford's insights help you identify new opportunities or ways to positively impact broader society?

A. It's all interconnected. Certainly issues like values and transparency and openness come to mind. I think we'd all like to see more of that in our government and in business. ... This administration hasn't done this. As an entrepreneur, when you start out, you have to take that kind of humble path and incorporate all the lessons and learning as you try to put something together, whether a tech start-up or something like a ferry company.