In the last message of the year, we take a break from life insurance (and Covid) and I summarize some of the better books I read over the past year. Why? Well, Earl Nightingale said that, functionally, a person who doesn’t read is no better than a person who cannot read.
The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, about the 1918 pandemic, was obviously very timely. While not a particularly well written book, it does provide a history of the havoc it wreaked and our response to it. Interestingly, President Wilson never acknowledged it in any of his speeches.
I also read several books about Vietnam, including Stanley Karnow’s Vietnam, General McMasters’ Dereliction of Duty (about the men who prosecuted the war), and Max Boot’s The Road Not Taken. Although hindsight is 20-20, it now seems unbelievable that we got snookered into such a debacle.
As usual, I read several biographies, including Win Forever (Pete Carroll), They Call Me Coach (John Wooden), The Mamba Mentality (Kobe Bryant), Playing for Keeps (Michael Jordan), The Man Who Solved the Market (Jim Simons), and Me, the Mob, and Music (Tommy James). All of the were good. but the best one was American Caesar, William Manchester’s take on Douglas MacArthur. While maybe not quite rising to the level of hagiography, it did seem to gloss over his warts while extolling his virtues. Don’t get me wrong, he was a great general and a great leader, but he also had some significant shortcomings.
Other interesting reads were Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe by Cornell Professor Steven Strogatz; Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, which posits that environmental factors such as climate and geography were more responsible for western civilization than racial characteristics; Stamped From the Beginning; the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi. He raised some good points, but overall. I found it to be dry and pedantic. The Biggest Bluff by psychologist Maria Konnikova is a fascinating account of her foray into the world of professional poker; and The End Is Always Near, by my favorite podcaster, Dan Carlin. If you haven’t sampled his Hardcore History podcast, you don’t know what you’re missing (Be forewarned: the episodes are looooong!).
Only read two fiction books this year, a collection of short stories by Alice Munro called Too Much Happiness, and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Having seen Downton Abbey probably added to my enjoyment, as I pictured the protagonist, an English butler, as Bates.
Sources of reading material abound. The CEO Library has good business book recommendations, while The Best Biographies of All Time has, you guessed it, great bios. Bill Gates posts suggestions several times a year, and here is a list of celebrity recommendations. And for the true bibliophile, there’s always Strand Bookstore at Broadway and 12th.
There will be no emails the next two weeks, but they will resume January 5th. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season and thanks for reading.