Smart Investor – Q1 2024

Addendum – Shiuman’s List of Books read in 2023

 

This is not a list of recommendations, but simply a list of books I read last year. If you are interested in any of them, I would be happy to talk about them. I generally alternated between non-fiction and fiction.

 

Non-Fiction

1. Danielle DiMartino Booth, “Fed Up – An Insider’s Take on Why the Federal Reserve is bad for America.” A Wall Street banker turned journalist who fought against being viewed by all the PhDs as a “lightweight” at the Fed, providing fly-on-the-wall commentary on its inner workings.

2. Peter Robison, “Flying Blind – the 737 Max Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing.” The author traced the failure all the way back to a change from a culture of engineering excellence to profit maximization after the company bought Douglas. By the end of the book I felt injustice on behalf of all those passengers who had perished in the two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

3. Patrick Radden Keefe, “Empire of Pain – The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty.” It started with the patriarch Arthur Sackler who was a medical doctor as were his two brothers. They bought Perdue, a small U.K. pharmaceutical company that had a drug which is what we know as Oxycontin. It is hard to read this and not feel a sense of the unfairness of the legal system for those seeking justice and restitution.

4. Bianca Bosker, “Cork Dork”. Technology journalist decides to take wine seriously and signs up for sommelier course. The book is about her experiences (often funny) at tastings and working in high-end restaurants, revealing some secrets of the wine trade.

5. Walter Issacson, “The Code Breaker.” I had never heard of Jennifer Doudna who won the Nobel prize for chemistry in 2020. The author chronicles Doudna’s life from budding science student to discovering the genome editing technology that uses enzymes to neutralize dangerous viruses, which was the foundation to vaccines for SARS-Cov2.

6. Fiona Hill, “There is Nothing Here for You.” I became intrigued about Hill during her congressional testimony in 2019. Hers was an improbably story about a poor working class girl from northeast England, who against all odds, went to a prestigious university (St. Andrew’s), landed at Harvard and became an adviser to presidents on Russia. Apart from politics, her commentary on issues of class and race was sobering and insightful.

7. Desmond Shum, “Red Roulette”. A rags-to-riches story of the author who became wildly successful in building a business in China after its move to a market economy. He described the importance of building relationships through lavish gifts and entertaining of key decision-makers. Since he named names in the book (banned in his native China), he now lives overseas. Eye-opening.

8. Jody Rosen, “Two Wheels Good – the history and mystery of the bicycle.” A keen cyclist, the author covers the invention and evolution of the bicycle, from a mechanical, social, transportation and athletic perspective. From the rickshaw riders in Bangladesh to bike couriers in New York City.

 

Fiction

9. Robert Harris, “Act of Oblivion”. Set in the 1660s, it was an account of two men who had signed the death warrant for Charles I being pursued by the late king’s successor Charles II, all the way to America. Letters often took months to arrive.

10. Mikhail Bulgakov, “The Master & Margarita.” I admit this was a hard read. The story is full of bizarre characters and fantastical imageries. My friend, a Russian scholar explained that the imagery was the author’s way of commenting on Soviet society without attracting attention of the censors. At least I learnt something.

11. Gerald Seymour, “Jericho’s War.” Spy in hostile territory on a daring rescue mission in Yemen, where this loner with a seemingly ordinary life in London turns out to be an effective operative in the desert where a drone and herd of camels intersect.

12. Mick Herron, “Bad Actors”. If you have watched the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses or read any of the novels of the same name, you will be familiar with the main characters like Lamb and Taverner. Another clever plot and enjoyable read.

13. Anne Marie MacDonald, “Fayne”. At 736 pages, it was the longest book I read all year. The central characters were a protective father and his intelligent daughter in an aristocratic family on the border of Scotland and England set in the Victorian era. The daughter grew up and slowly discovered the family secret that literally changes her life. It was like watching Downton Abbey, but less glamourous. A delightful read.

14. John Banville “April in Spain.” As the title suggests, most of the action is set in Spain (San Sebastian to be exact). This crime fiction is an intriguing case of how a British doctor on holiday in Spain becomes convinced he saw his daughter’s best friend there. The only trouble was that the friend had died years earlier.

15. C.S. Forester, “Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.” A historical fiction set in the Napoleonic Wars whose protagonist is naval officer Horatio Hornblower. In this first outing (chronologically) in the series he was a lowly Midshipman whose derring-do earns him a promotion.

16. Ian Hamilton, “The General of Tianamen Square.” A movie about the infamous event in 1989 wins awards and accolades, but Beijing blocks its release. This political thriller follows those involved in this project from Cannes to Toronto, Los Angeles and Bangkok led by the starring actress’ trouble-shooting friend Ava Lee. The plot felt linear and predictable.

17. Charlotte Philby, “Edith and Kim.” Anyone interested in Cold War espionage will be familiar with senior officer in the British secret intelligence service (and Soviet spy) Kim Philby. This was a story about his working relationship, and friendship with an Austrian Jew – Edith Tudor-Hart – with communist leanings. Based on actual historic events. The kicker was that the author is the granddaughter of Kim Philby. A good find, by chance.