12 Books for Christmas
Reading and collecting books has been a life-long passion for me. At this point, my house is now crammed with more than 3,000 books. Many of them are first editions or author-signed, sitting on the shelves of a large, beautiful library my wonderful wife designed when we built our home.
I came to books as a teenager as a means of escape. I was a terrible student who struggled through high school and college but somehow found the solitude of reading books a relief, a peaceful place to go for adventure, fun, and peace. In all the years I’ve spent talking to clients around the world, I’m frequently asked what books I’m reading these days (is there any way to make a new friend faster than talking books with someone?).
With this in mind and knowing many of you are struggling to find good Christmas gifts for friends and loved ones - I am sharing twelve books I found particularly good in 2022. I hope you find a few of them as good as I did:
The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire by Joseph Sasson
A fascinating history of the Jewish-Bagdadi Sassoon family who, amid the Ottoman Empire, built a global empire trading cotton and opium while running a massive worldwide shipping and banking empire. They became leaders in British politics and the arts.
“The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire” by William Dalrymple
The East India Company was a massive endeavor that forever changed the size and reach of the British Empire. But what exactly did the Company do, and how did it get so large? Dalrymple wrote a fantastic history of the first joint-stock company in history, one so big and bloated that it almost bankrupted Great Britain - more than once. It was immeasurably violent and corrupt and made some in England stupendously wealthy while taking greater India for all it was worth. You won’t be able to put this one down.
“Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy” by Martin Indyk
The Middle East has always perplexed and frustrated the US. It has been 20 years since the US last brokered a peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians, which did not last. How did it all begin? Indyk, who was “present at the creation” and has done extraordinary research for this book, explains all. He is a gifted writer who gives the reader a seat at the table, explaining Kissinger’s talents and weaknesses as he pulled every trick out of his magic bag seeking peace in the region. If you want to understand what is happening in the Middle East now, you must read this book.
“Inside Money: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power” by Zachary Karabell
Having worked on Wall Street for nearly 30 years, I've always been fascinated by the history of the most significant firms. For the last 200 years, Brown Brothers Harriman has stood out as one of the US's most potent and impactful investment banks. Karabell writes an incisive history of the old firm and how its partnership culture steered it successfully through tough times and away from scandals - often at the cost of a lot of money in fees. Brown Brothers are not what it once was in terms of power, but because of its ethos of prudence and serving the client, it remains arguably the most pristine of financial firms in the US today.
“America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy” by Robert Zoellick
Bob Zoellick is one of the US' most distinguished diplomats. He played a critical role in negotiating the unification of Germany a later helped hammer out an extraordinary coalition of nations that jointly liberated Kuwait following Saddam Hussein's invasion and occupation. Bob has now written a great history of American diplomacy, beginning with Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin up to the current day. He identifies five traditions that have emerged from America's encounters with the world: the importance of North America; the unique roles trading, transnational, and technological relations play in defining ties with others; changing attitudes toward alliances and ways of ordering connections among states; the need for public support, especially through Congress; and the belief that American policy should serve a larger purpose. This is a great book chock full of fantastic (and little-known) facts and stories illuminating the story of the United States in the world.
A Pipeline Runs Through It: The Story of Oil From Ancient Times to the First World War by Ken Fisher
We think of petroleum as a relatively new invention, but the truth is has been used since the age of the Neanderthals. Fisher takes an in-depth history of the use of oil over the generations, detailing how the fight for its control changed the world long before we became dependent on it for travel, heating, and all the other modern uses for it today.
The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink by William Inboden
The peaceful end of the Cold War seems to be fading from history these days, especially as we see another form of Russian totalitarianism wreaking havoc in Ukraine now. But Inboden takes us back to the days when the Soviet Union seemed strong and virtually invincible - and how Ronald Reagan turned it all on its head, determined to throw Soviet Communism “on the ash heap of history.” As an old Reagan White House staffer who was around when the Berlin Wall fell and the Iron Curtain imploded, this was a marvelous and inspiring read of what one man could do to change the world for the better.
Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate by M.E. Sarotte
It was then-Secretary of State James Baker who proposed to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev a bargain following the fall of the Berlin Wall: If you let Germany go, we will not move NATO one inch eastward. That, of course, did not hold and, in many ways, helped contribute to Russia’s grotesque invasion of Ukraine today.
The End of the World is Just Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization by Peter Zeihan
Zeihan, who previously authored the best-selling “The Accidental Superpower” in 2014, argues we have been living in an artificial world where the rules of geography, demographics, and the US’s eroding commitment to free trade - among several other factors - are leading the world (but not the US) to a disaster-in-waiting. It is not a cheery book, but Zeihan has done a lot of excellent research and presents some chilling scenarios we all must consider in the coming years.
Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress’ Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump by Rachel Bade and Karoun Demirjian
Love him or hate him, the Trump years in Washington were intense and often bewildering. One aspect of those years which left me particularly shocked and asking a lot of questions was how Congress could bring impeachment proceedings against President Trump twice and fail to convict him. In their book, Bade and Demirjian (both Politico reporters) detail in gruesome detail the political hackery and incompetence on both sides of the aisle. A depressing but deeply researched and sourced book.
The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War by Nicholas Mulder
This one is a bit wonky and academic but still very worthy of reading, especially in today’s geopolitical realm, where sanctions seem to be applied everywhere. Mulder takes us back to World War I, where we see how blockades were put into effect - and the innumerable times since then sanctions have been used and their economic impact and effectiveness (or lack thereof).
China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower by Frank Dikökker
Dikötter is an extraordinary historian of modern China, a scholar and professor in Hong Kong who has written about the Communist Revolution and the development of the Chinese Communist Party. In his latest book, he details how China rose from the disaster of the Cultural Revolution to become an economic and political powerhouse - along the way laying traps for itself, which the current leadership is struggling to deal with.
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Bonus Round: These books I’ve just recommended are - for the most part - a bit heavy academic reads. But I do love a good novel - especially those dealing with the interwar years in Europe. No one does that better than Alan Furst. He has written twelve stories set in Eastern Europe, Russia, Turkey, Berlin, and Paris. Characters from one book occasionally appear in later books, adding a twist of memories and experiences to the tale you are reading. Love, war, espionage - Furst somehow captures the interwar years' emotions and events, placing you there as a witness. I hope he writes more.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!