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► Essential Reading
From Rags to Riches, the Sassoons Conquer Global Trade
The Sassoons were to global trade what the Rothschilds were to global finance. They were also a lot more interesting. This marvelous narrative sprouts from previously untapped family archives. In the 19th century, David Sassoon, the founder of the dynasty, and his brood managed to connect London and Bombay, Calcutta and Shanghai in improbable ways.
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The Sassoons
The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire
Joseph Sassoon
They made a fortune in the cotton and opium trades, among other ventures. The rags-to-riches component of this story is less gripping, though, than the stories behind the unraveling of the family empire. We have a ringside seat here to the implosion of unrivaled wealth, provoked by back luck and poor decisions. One trip switch—among many—was the Sassoon’s alignment in China with the anticommunist Kuomintang. Their assets were nationalized after the communist takeover in 1949.
The author, Joseph Sassoon, is indeed a family descendant. Those who fear the book may be ancestral revisionism to re-calibrate the clan’s legacy can relax. This portal on world economic history is as lively, as it is critical.
► Due Diligence
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Bad Blood
Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
John Carreyrou
Bad Blood is a visceral read for venture-capital insiders. The archetypes who bring the story to life are well-known in business circles. There is the founder who wants to change the world; investors who have more money than they know what to do with; and lawyers who veer off-course in pursuit of their version of justice. Because this narrative relates to healthcare, you find regulators who are too underfunded to do their work correctly and in-house lab technicians who are undercut by startup management. In one of the book’s most poignant accounts, we learn that a chief scientist was driven to suicide. Those real-life characters are why this book is a must-read. Most professionals will know a handful of them. Meanwhile, the background on Elizabeth Holmes reduces her to a commercial curiosity, rather than an industry icon. Given the pain she inflicted on many in the pursuit of her gains, she deserves the harsh moniker, at minimum. The author argues that Holmes knew exactly what she was doing, rather than subject the reader to the indefensible notion that she was somehow victimized by circumstances.
► Emerging Markets
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The New Map
Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations
Daniel Yergin
The New Map would seem to be more about fossils fuels than emerging markets. Think again. The pursuit of oil wealth or the cost of energy resources are common threads across the developing world. Following in the wake of The Quest and the Pulitzer-winning The Prize, Yergin has assembled voluminous analysis in this book that clarifies the priorities of energy-hungry China and the future of oil-dominated Russia, juxtaposed against the shale revolution in the United States. Caught in the middle of those shifting geopolitics are the Gulf states and Iran, all of which are keenly aware of the dour outlook for their commodity-as-ATM economies. The key question for emerging markets everywhere is how they will respond to the knock-on effects of the diminishing oil economy? How will they embrace the ascent of electric vehicles and the impact of environmental priorities? At one time, the best starting point for emerging-markets studies was the Cold War. The new starting point may be fossil fuels.
► Greater Caribbean
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This Is Cuba
An American Journalist Under Castro’s Shadow
David Ariosto
This Is Cuba is the perfect introduction to modern-day Cuba. David Ariosto—who reported on-the-ground for CNN for a year-and-a-half and traveled to Cuba from the US for many more years—brings humanity to an island that is either shrouded in romance by nostalgists or cloaked in intrigue by political scientists. Readers should use the book as a launchpad to orient themselves to the rhythm of the island. Granted, local developments in Cuba (again) play second fiddle in the international headlines, given abrupt moves by the Trump administration, but percolating pressures underneath the surface suggest a mere lull to economic reform. This Is Cuba was published at the end of 2018 so the material is current on the about-face in Cuban policy under the Trump administration. In that context, Ariosto provides measured perspective on the debate between dialogueros and hardliners.
► Investment Strategy
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The Perfect Weapon
War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age
David E. Sanger
The challenge with all-things-cyber is that executives and politicians cannot keep pace with real-world momentum. In a sense, The Perfect Weapon is for their benefit; it frames an otherwise unwieldy topic. While the book may be primarily about state-to-state conflict, it touches on most issues related to cybersecurity, including privacy rights and commercial hacking. This work is among the best in the category, even with a 2018 publication date. The author guards against writing a trite, what-if dossier by grounding the work in the experience at hand. The case studies here, including the development of the Stuxnet virus that crippled Iran’s nuclear program and the hacking of Sony Pictures by North Korea, form the foundation for US government policies—both defense and offense—on cyber warfare. Rather than write a dramatic policy exposé, however, the author’s real intention may be to spotlight American hubris.
► Venture Development
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Crack the Funding Code
How Investors Think and What They Need to Hear to Fund Your Startup
Judy Robinett
Crack the Funding Code is the perfect companion for the startup founder looking to raise angel-sourced capital, as well as the serial entrepreneur needing to brush up on knowledge of the asset-capture business. The book is organized into three primary sections: how to find the right investors, what investors are looking for, and closing the deal. In referencing investors, the author smartly uses the adjective “right” because far too many founders waste their time playing in the wrong sandbox. Chances are that you may fail with the elite venture-capital firms if you are still fine-tuning your out-of-the-gate pitch deck. But you may succeed with the local angel investor club, given the potential for discussion and dialogue with at-hand professionals. Importantly, we learn that raising capital is a process that unfolds over many, many months. Following the measured approach here may compress the effort into a shorter time frame.
► Marketing and Sales
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The Lonely Century
How to Restore Human Connection in a World That’s Pulling Apart
Noreena Hertz
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► Novel Worldview
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Mostly Dead Things
A Novel
Kirsten Arnett
More novels are destined to sprout from Central Florida; it is a part of the state where baby boomers have created a cabinet of curiosities. In this work, the author writes about a woman who inherits her father’s taxidermy business after his suicide.
Mixed into the storyline is a mother who wrestles with repressed feelings by contorting stuffed animals into peculiar positions, while dressing them in odd costumes. That is just one aspect of what many will recognize as a dysfunctional family, albeit one that is cloaked in a mix of comedy and despair. The power of the metaphor overrides whatever flaws may seep in this author’s first novel.
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