What to read as the summer holidays approach

In a tumultuous world marked by highly dramatic political events such as the recent French election, upheaval in American politics and the promise of a new UK government, not to mention the spectacle of the Olympics, only one event really matters – the start of the festive season.

My next door neighbor, as she was packing, asked for some book recommendations, which I had started to give via text, but since it was too long, I wrote them here instead (apologies for the focus on finance and Economics).

Regular readers will know that in last week’s note I covered American politics, specifically JD Vance, and I would recommend his book ‘Hillbily Elegy’ as a text to help us better understand him and America.

As mentioned, if I were to suggest two books to him – as he ambitiously considers the vice presidency, I would single out Chris Whipple’s “The GateKeepers” which explains how seventeen chiefs of staff to US presidents have cornered their leaders, as well as Robert The “Locked in the Cabinet” by Reich which is a wonderful, humorous study of how power in Washington really works. I’ve been recommended two other books on American politics, and trusting the judgment of friends who recommended them, I want to pass on John Ganz’s When the Clock Broke and David Finkel’s An American Dreamer.

Staying on politics, there are a couple of “volumes” worth noting for really serious fans of Robert Caro’s Lyndon Johnson books that could take a long time to read, and Ron Chernow’s Hamilton, which I consider that should be read. Crossing the Atlantic, in a more silly sense, I often recommend Chip Channon’s Diaries, and Alan Clarke’s Diaries is a more tedious sequel. In a more modern setting, Rory Stewart’s ‘Politics on the Edge’ is decent.

In my experience, the world of finance has been badly neglected by writers – fiction and non-fiction, and perhaps too few literary-minded people are enticed by finance, and certainly fewer bankers who can write well. There are a few exceptions – William Cohan (I liked his book on Lazard, ‘The Last Tycoons’)), Michael Lewis (eg Liar’s Poker), Amor Towles – who spent most of his career in investment management, but proved sensible enough to produce the exquisite Gentleman in Moscow, Rules of Politeness and his latest book, Table for Two. which I also bought a squirrel for later in August.

Another writer in this rarefied group is the Irish writer Aifric Campbell, who worked in a very senior role in the City, and has produced a series of books – of which ‘The Lovemakers’ is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how artificial intelligence driven robots will interact with humans.

Some of the most interesting books in finance relate to corporate finance and private equity deals – Barbarians at the Gate was probably the first blockbuster here and my friends in private equity have also pointed out King of Capital (David Carey and John Morris) which outlines the rise of Blackstone and the private equity industry.

Another asset class that captivates is art, and this is where Don Thompson – The $12 Million Stuffed Shark – The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art is entertaining.

There is a useful set of books linking economics to changes in society, and vice versa and notable recent books here are Robert Shiller’s Economics and the Good Society and Chris van Tulleken’s Ultra-Processed People. In this area, James Scott, a high-ranking social scientist, died last week, and of his books that I have read, “Seeing Like a State” is a very good illustration of the clash of state institutions with social complexity. A not unrelated and more entertaining take on this is William Newman’s Things Are So Bad They Can’t Get Worse, the story of Venezuela’s institutional collapse.

Finally, I’m stashing a few books away for the holidays, Yoko Tawada’s ‘Memoirs of a Polar Bear’, Philippe Colin’s ‘Le Barman du Ritz’, I’ve pre-ordered Marietje Schaake’s ‘The Tech Coup’ and for oldies sake some Agatha Christie novels. Furthermore, my wife tells me that Francois Mauriac recommends the biography of Leon Trotsky, which the Marxist society has helped put online here.

Have a nice week,

Microphone