Book Reviews (Page 2)

The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

Partnoy helps us untangle Kreuger's intricate international web of hidden bank accounts, secret deals, bond issues, and government monopolies to understand how Kreuger pulled off one of the greatest swindles in history.

5-stars

In the Distance

A strange, achingly beautiful book that richly deserved its Pulitzer nomination. Following the lonely Hawk as he spends nearly his entire life in profound isolation, Díaz exposes the desolation, violence, and greed of the American West.

4-stars

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Carreyrou goes beyond gossip by making us take a hard look at the "fake it 'til you make it" mentality of the Bay Area. While Holmes may have been at the extreme end of the pathological ambition spectrum, her attitude and tactics were not unusual.

3-stars

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

I don't get what all the fuss is about. Peterson's book is a ultimately just a grab-bag of old-school self-help advice. He tries to do too much and in too short of a book, but his ideas are not particularly radical.

5-stars

The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics

Through the lens of selectorate theory, the authors explore corruption in resource-rich African states, International Olympic Committee and Fifa scandals, and how foreign aid often perpetuates problems rather than solving them.

4-stars

The Power

With high-voltage satire, Alderman turns the world on its head - forcing us to recognize the violence and indignity suffered by women in our modern world as we watch the men of hers fall prey to the same dynamics.

2-stars

The Fall of the House of Fifa: The Multimillion-Dollar Corruption at the Heart of Global Soccer

When a leader is only dependent on a small number of easily bribable and interchangeable cronies, conditions are perfect for corruption and payoffs. Sepp Blatter played this nearly perfectly and was able to maintain plausible deniability for decades by relying on secret deals and oral agreements.

5-stars

Circe

Beautifully written in sort of modern/mythic hybrid style, Miller's feminist retelling of The Odyssey surprised me. Miller expertly walks a fine line, adding substantive feminist themes while still respecting the underlying mythology.

4-stars

A Burglar's Guide to the City

Manaugh plays with the subversive idea that "burglars are... drunk Jedis of architectural space." He walks us through some of the most famous heists in history and how creative uses of the built environment played a role in their success.

5-stars

Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel

Treating the global narcotics industry "as if it were a business like any other," Wainwright delves into how drug dealers have to deal with supply chains, HR issues, and digital disruption just like everyone else.

5-stars

The Looting Machine: Warlords, Oligarchs, Corporations, Smugglers, and the Theft of Africa's Wealth

Financial Times reporter Tom Burgis traces the illicit flows of tens of billions of dollars of African natural resource wealth to local dictators, Western corporations and financial elites, and - more recently - massive Chinese enterprises.

3-stars

Big Little Lies

I don't always read chick-lit, but when I do... someone usually dies. Liane Moriarty's "Big Little Lies" did not disappoint in that regard. In fact, it was one of the more creative murder mystery plot structures I've seen in a long time.

3-stars

To Have and Have Not

Hemingway bounces wildly between a bunch of different perspectives and somehow covers an enormous number of ideas in just 180 pages. Race relations, socialism, rebellion, crime, sex, greed, wealth, laziness, family life, gender roles, violence, nature, work, power, etc.

3-stars

Jane Lathrop Stanford, Mother of a University

The founder of Stanford University was murdered?? And the case was never solved?! And the first president of Stanford may have been part of the murder conspiracy... how had I never heard about this before?

5-stars

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson

Albom has created a masterpiece of the "sad-book-about-dying" genre (way better than the more recent "When Breath Becomes Air") and this short book is certainly worth a read for anyone thinking about the big picture.

4-stars

The Billionaire's Apprentice: The Rise of The Indian-American Elite and The Fall of The Galleon Hedge Fund

Details the Galleon Group insider trading scandal of 2009 and the central role that the Indian American immigrants played on both sides of the case. The "twice-blessed" wave of Indian immigrants hustled their way to positions of wealth and power, sometimes cutting corners along the way.

4-stars

Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue

How does one conduct a successful conspiracy? "Conspiracy" is a beach read for the grand strategy set. Written like a political thriller, it traces the origin and execution of Peter Thiel's secret crusade to take down Gawker.

4-stars

Red Sparrow series

The "Red Sparrow" spy thriller trilogy falls squarely into the "guilty pleasure" category for me... and I got a lot of guilty pleasure out of it!

4-stars

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life

Taleb strikes again with "Skin in the Game". This incendiary book is the source of his notorious "Intellectual Yet Idiot" essay, as well as several other fiery gems, such as "How to Legally Own Another Person."

5-stars

Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens

Reveals the mechanisms that are systematically shifting economic burdens from the wealthy to the poor and how this cheating destroys accountability between governing elites and the population at large, especially in developing nations.

2-stars

Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil

Mueller's argument is essentially that 1) the olive oil we eat now is crap and 2) this is because major players in the food business are systematically adulterating "extra virgin" olive oil in ways undetected and unpunished by the authorities.

3-stars

Against Nature

A book with no plot, just a deeply unsympathetic main character whose defining feature is his overwhelming malaise. In some ways it felt like an aristocratic, erudite precursor to "The Catcher in the Rye"

2-stars

The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer

"The Ice Man" has the distinction of being the second most disturbing book I have ever read (I doubt anyone will be displacing Bret Easton Ellis's "American Psycho" any time soon).

2-stars

How to Beat The Police Interrogation: Learn Their Dirty Tricks & Tools

Never confess, don't talk more than you are legally obligated to. Besides its brevity, this book's only redeeming feature is a profane sense of humor (including frequent references to the "Graybar Hotel" a.k.a jail). Several of the tactics, including the "shark card" gambit, were also noteworthy.

4-stars

I, Claudius

Graves transports us back to an Ancient Rome whirling with intrigue, grandeur, and violence. As we delve into the depraved lifestyles of the Roman elite, Claudius narrates the book in a delightful tone, full of witty observations, backhanded compliments, and snide quips throughout.