A couple of book reviews

I blogged last week about kite surfing and Grit and promised more. So here it is. My reading list in Cape Verde was a mixture of financial, historical, behavioral and fiction. In the latter category, I read Swing Time by Zadie Smith (excellent), Fatherland by Robert Harris (pacy thriller but somewhat predictable) and Lincoln in the Bardo (very odd). But I want to focus on a couple of excellent books from the first two categories both of which I would be happy to endorse.

I chose Churchill, The Power of Words by Martin Gilbert because it was recommended in the FT's books to read in the summer holidays. The book covers Churchill's life from his teenage reflections to 1955, when he was over 80 years old and, naturally, spent a good deal of time focusing on World War Two. It is a great book of his writings and speeches and the voice of this extraordinary man rings loud and clear (and I haven't seen Darkest Hour yet). I do have the privilege of presenting to clients on a regular basis and I intend to remember the brilliance of his oratory next time I am preparing for a talk.

The second is by Edward O. Thorp called A Man for all Markets. Once again a strong positive recommendation. This is an individual who not only developed a system to beat the casinos at blackjack and roulette and developed an option pricing calculation before Fisher Black and Myron Scholes published their ground-breaking paper, he was one of the original hedge fund managers and an early investor into Berkshire Hathaway. Yet it is his humility, curiosity and integrity that stands out. Moreover his prose is neither technical or mathematical. It is a compelling read.

In total I read seven books over eight days. I recognize that I have the very good fortune to be given the opportunity to spend time on my own where I can immerse myself in literature. I came back far from satiated; I am eager to read and to learn more.