In the midst of global political events like the French election, American politics, and the new UK government, the upcoming holiday season is the most significant event to one writer. As he prepared to recommend books to his neighbor, the writer focused on finance and economics in his selections, specifically highlighting books on American politics, power dynamics in Washington, and international affairs.
The writer recommended books such as ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ by JD Vance to provide insight into American politics, as well as ‘The GateKeepers’ by Chris Whipple and ‘Locked in the Cabinet’ by Robert Reich for a better understanding of power dynamics in Washington. Other recommendations included ‘When the Clock Broke’ by John Ganz and ‘An American Dreamer’ by David Finkel, based on the judgment of trusted friends.
Moving on to more in-depth political literature, the writer suggested delving into Robert Caro’s books on Lyndon Johnson and Ron Chernow’s ‘Hamilton’ for a thorough understanding of American history. He also recommended more gossipy reads such as Chip Channon’s ‘Diaries’ and Alan Clark’s ‘Diaries’, as well as modern political literature like Rory Stewart’s ‘Politics on the Edge’.
In the realm of finance literature, the writer acknowledged a lack of focus on the subject but highlighted a few exceptions including William Cohan, Michael Lewis, Amor Towles, and Aifric Campbell. He commended Campbell’s ‘The Lovemakers’ for its insight into the interaction between AI-driven robots and humans in the financial world.
Addressing books on deal-making in corporate finance and private equity, the writer mentioned classics like ‘Barbarians at the Gate’ and ‘King of Capital’ by David Carey and John Morris. He also touched on the captivating world of art economics in Don Thompson’s ‘The $12 Million Stuffed Shark – The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art’.
The writer rounded out his book recommendations with titles that link the economy to societal changes and notable recent releases like ‘Finance and the Good Society’ by Robert Shiller and ‘Ultra-Processed People’ by Chris van Tulleken. As he prepared for the holidays, the writer mentioned stashing away books like ‘Memoirs of a Polar Bear’ by Yoko Tawada and ‘Le Barman du Ritz’ by Philippe Colin, as well as pre-ordering ‘The Tech Coup’ by Marietje Schaake and planning to revisit some Agatha Christie novels.
