Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Complete Guide to Microsoft Agent Framework: Build, Test & Manage AI Agents that Integrate Seamlessly with Azure, M365 & Business APIs

By Scott J. Pearson | December 17, 2025December 17, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

This book seeks to teach readers how to write Python or .NET code to perform certain tasks as Agents within Microsoft’s AI platform. Unfortunately, it’s heavy on code and light on concepts. I wish it’d teach more about how to integrate with Azure’s web interface instead of the command line alone. It does succeed at showing many examples of how to code agents, but it lacks a deep conceptual explanation of how agents integrate with…

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) & Vector Databases: A Practical Guide for AI Developers

By Scott J. Pearson | December 17, 2025December 17, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is how artificial intelligence prioritizes facts in a given domain over and above all the information the basic, foundational model offers. It allows businesses, scientists, and others to prioritize their custom knowledge instead of making up answers. It’s an extremely powerful tool that most AI users don’t understand. This book tries to explain the basics of a RAG system in Python code. Unfortunately, despite a grasp on the basics of RAG, it…

Healthcare Research-Education

The National Institutes of Health: 1991-2008

By Scott J. Pearson | December 14, 2025December 14, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

To those interested in healthcare research in America, understanding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) represents a formidable challenge. Few books address the topic well, and most investigators follow the NIH’s trends with deep interest. Even though this book represents history from decades ago – 15 years is a long time in American politics and in research – this book remains relevant to understand the historical trends still operative in this great institution. Reading this…

Poetry Science

The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder through Science & Poetry

By Scott J. Pearson | December 13, 2025December 13, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Poetry and science are often placed opposite each other because they describe different things. One describes the human soul; the other describes nature. That’s unfortunate because they can complement each other vividly. The natural world and the vast universe are sources of unending wonder. It’s a shame that too many people are put off by science as intimidating. In truth, it’s awe-inducing and humbling. Maria Popova brings these lessons to life with 15 poems by…

Artificial Intelligence

Prompt Engineering for Generative AI: Future-Proof Inputs for Reliable AI Outputs

By Scott J. Pearson | December 13, 2025December 13, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Prompt engineering is the art and science of finding the right words to generate the right responses from artificial intelligence (AI). It’s becoming a skill in-demand in today’s workplaces. It’s also becoming an essential skill for life. To understand prompt engineering, you must understand how AI tools understand their inputs. This book explains that to you in many forms. It covers prompting as it intersects all the major AI disciplines, like general prompts (as in…

Indie Program Management Software-Technology

The Technical Program Manager Guide: Navigating the Path to Success

By Scott J. Pearson | December 6, 2025December 6, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Traditional program management consists of guiding a suite of programs for business success. As IT has recently become ascendant in the marketplace, that paradigm has applied to software in a role called the technical program manager. Leading tech companies, like Meta, Apple, and Amazon, have made ample use of this position in their business strategy. The problem is that there is no set career progression into this role. Arpit Agrawal tries to demystify this role…

Fiction-Stories

When the Cranes Fly South: A Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | December 6, 2025December 6, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Some people adore books that leave them with a warm feeling, but I adore books that leave me with tears streaming on my face. This book is one of the latter. Originally a bestseller in Sweden, it’s now translated into English (and other languages) for the world to contemplate. In the story, Bo is facing aging as his own body is breaking down. His wife is in long-term care with dementia, unable to recognize even…

Artificial Intelligence Software-Technology

Developing Apps with GPT-4 and ChatGPT: Build Intelligent Chatbots, Content Generators & More

By Scott J. Pearson | December 3, 2025December 3, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Everyone today seems to want to do something with artificial intelligence (AI), but few seem to know how to do it well. We’ve started to see how AI bots can induce horrors, and business leaders plead to avoid those risks. ChatGPT, packaged from OpenAI, remains the dominant, most trusted AI tool even though many other versions exist. It’d be nice if we software folks could stop and get a masters degree in AI, but life…

Biography-Memoir History Society

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell

By Scott J. Pearson | November 28, 2025November 28, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

The Spanish Civil War was a historical precursor to World War II. Franco’s fascism for a time united disparate opposing groups like anarchists and communists. The opposition attracted volunteers from across Europe. However, these groups began infighting among each other, and the opposition ultimately failed. As with most failures, the blame game ran deep among groups. The great English writer George Orwell’s first-hand account provides as much light as can be shown upon the whole…

Healthcare Society

The Political Determinants of Health

By Scott J. Pearson | November 23, 2025November 23, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

In scientific circles, the “social determinants of health” is a common phrase used to describe how one’s zip code can have more impact on health outcomes than one’s personal health. This book plays off that title by describing how America’s political situation – whether one is part of a favored class or note – can influence health outcomes. It takes particular aim at health inequities in American history. Daniel Dawes describes attempts in American history…