TREAT YOUR SHELVES
How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future
Vaclav Smil
“An excellent, fact-based grounding on the importance of energy to our way of life.”
Titan
Ron Chernow
“This book was a very well-written biography of John D. Rockefeller Sr. It covers the history of early American capitalism, philanthropy, and the origins of the energy industry through the story of a very complex and interesting historical figure.”
The Forger's Spell
Edward Dolnick
“The momentum created by flashy messaging and authoritative voices has the power to deceive even the most renowned experts. An ‘emperor has no clothes’ phenomenon clouds their judgment and chips away at their confidence, despite the availability of objective data clearly signaling the presence of obvious forgeries. It is a lesson that has many business applications, including distinguishing between real emissions reduction or sustainability-driven efforts and greenwashing. “
The Founders
Jimmy Soni
“It provides an in-depth look at Silicon Valley through the lens of PayPal, and the amazing personalities that were involved, like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Marc Andreeson, and other big names. What a thrill ride of challenges to starting and making a company successful.”
Build
Tony Fadell
“A great set of stories that are educational for any technical leader.”
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order / The End of the World Is Just the Beginning
Ray Dalio / Peter Zeihan
"This year's recommendation is reading two books back to back. Both books provide analysis of current economic, social, and geopolitical instability and make predictions for the near future of the global economy and world order. However each starts from a different primary vantage point: Dalio starting with economics and Zeihan focusing on geopolitics."
Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success
Leah Boustan
“The authors use new datasets and techniques to quantify how and how quickly immigrants have assimilated in the United States, and how this hasn't changed much over a 200-year time horizon.”
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Daniel James Brown
“A feel-good story about coming from nothing to competing in the biggest sporting event in the world. It is a story full of the history of America during the Great Depression leading to World War II.”
The Three-Body Problem
Liu Cixin
“It was the first science fiction novel I have read that was written this century. It deserved its Hugo Award.”
Blindsight
Peter Watts
“Well researched sci-fi that asks the question: Is consciousness an evolutionary feature or a bug?”