Here is a complete final run down of all the books I read during the fourth quarter of 2022. You can find other lists by quarter here – First Quarter, Second Quarter, Third Quarter
Investing
- The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization by Peter Zeihan. This was absolutely excellent – Author and geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan maps out the next world: a world where countries or regions will have no choice but to make their own goods, grow their own food, secure their own energy, fight their own battles, and do it all with populations that are both shrinking and aging.
- E-Boys by Randall E. Stross – In eBOYS, Randall Stross takes us behind the scenes and inside the heads of the gutsy entrepreneurs who are financing the hottest businesses on the Web. The six tall men who started Benchmark, Silicon Valley’s most exciting venture capital firm, put themselves at the cutting edge of the new economy by backing billion dollar start-ups like eBay and Webvan.
- Red Notice by Bill Browder – This was my second book on the Russian economy this year. Harrowing tale
Management
- The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. In The Talent Code, award-winning journalist Daniel Coyle draws on cutting-edge research to reveal that, far from being some abstract mystical power fixed at birth, ability really can be created and nurtured.
- Practice Perfect by Doug Lemov This book puts practice on the front burner of all who seek to instill talent and achievement in others as well as in themselves. This is a journey to understand that practice, not games, makes champions.
- Little Bets by Peter Sims. Reporting on a fascinating range of research, from the psychology of creative blocks to the influential field of design thinking, Sims offers engaging and illuminating accounts of breakthrough innovators at work, and a whole new way of thinking about how to navigate uncertain situations and unleash our untapped creative powers.
- Wooden: A LIfetime of Observations by John Wooden. Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden presents the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden.
- Incognito – The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman. If the conscious mind—the part you consider to be you—is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest doing?
- Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin. A quarter of a century after her memoir, Thinking in Pictures, forever changed how the world understood autism, Temple Grandin—the “anthropologist on Mars,” as Oliver Sacks dubbed her—transforms our awareness of the different ways our brains are wired. Do you have a keen sense of direction, a love of puzzles, the ability to assemble furniture without crying? You are likely a visual thinker.
- Quit by Annie Duke. Business leaders, with millions of dollars down the drain, struggle to abandon a new app or product that just isn’t working. Governments, caught in a hopeless conflict, believe that the next tactic will finally be the one that wins the war. And in our own lives, we persist in relationships or careers that no longer serve us. Why? According to Annie Duke, in the face of tough decisions, we’re terrible quitters. And that is significantly holding us back.
Non-Fiction
- Live Long, Die Short by Roger Landry. Over a decade ago, a landmark ten-year study by the MacArthur Foundation shattered the stereotypes of aging as a process of slow, genetically determined decline. Researchers found that that 70 percent of physical aging, and about 50 percent of mental aging, is determined by lifestyle, the choices we make every day.
- Finding Ultra by Rich Roll. On the night before he was to turn forty, Rich Roll experienced a chilling glimpse of his future. Nearly fifty pounds overweight and unable to climb the stairs without stopping, he could see where his current sedentary life was taking him—and he woke up.
Philosophy / Theology
- Siddhartha by Herman Hesse – Really thoughtful and inspiring
- Status and Culture by W. David Marx. In Status and Culture, W. David Marx weaves together the wisdom from history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, cultural theory, literary theory, art history, media studies, and neuroscience to demonstrate exactly how individual status seeking creates our cultural ecosystem.
- Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley. Interesting but not great – Discover simple habits and easy-to-implement daily rhythms that will help you find meaning beyond the chaos of family life as you create a home where kids and parents alike practice how to love God and each other.
- Class – A guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell Based on careful research and told with grace and wit, Paul Fessell shows how everything people within American society do, say, and own reflects their social status.
Fiction
We watched the new Reacher series on Amazon, and I got down a rabbit hole reading a few of the Jack Reacher books…