Smart Investor – Q1 2025

Addendum – Shiuman’s List of Books read in 2024

 

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 discuss them with you. A few of them were gifts, but most on the list were recommended by friends or book reviews. There were also those that were recommended by staff in local bookstores such as Hager Books in Vancouver, and in various book stores on my visit to London in 2024.

 

Non-Fiction

1. Walter Issacson, “Elon Musk” — the author was given full access to follow his subject for months, spending days at a time with him. The best summary is from a quote of Bill Gates, “You can feel whatever you want about Elon’s behaviour, but there is no one in our time who has done more to push the bounds of science and innovation as he has.” Reading the book has given me insight to an obviously brilliant man, what drives him, and why he behaves the way he does. If you want a CEO who can create a rocket and have its booster return to earth to be reused, for a fraction of the cost by NASA, he’s your man. If you want an empathetic manager, not so much.

2. Bill Browder, “Freezing Order” — Red Notice was Browder’s book describing his ordeal with the Russian government which essentially confiscated his investment company and arrested his lawyer Sergei Magninsky who died in detention under suspicious circumstances. The Magninsky Act, which allows the U.S. to impose various sanctions on Russia was named after him. Freezing Order is a gripping account of the fallout from the Act, and how the Russian government continues to use all means to overturn it. He also describes his lawsuit to try to recover the assets seized by the Russian government.

3. Ben McIntyre, “Agent Zig Zag” — A true story of Eddie Chapman, ex-convict who turned out to be a natural spy. He became a double-agent for the British, which involved being convincing to the Germans that he was spying for them. Unlike most of his countrymen, Chapman had a knack for languages, mastering French and German. He even befriended his German master, and remained friends after the war. It’s a most unlikely tale, except it actually happened. A most remarkable fellow, some of whose exploits were quite funny.

4. Jing Tsu, “The Kingdom of Characters” — Today we can dictate to our smartphone which transcribes our voice into Chinese characters to be sent over the Internet. Imagine the challenges of sending messages by telegraph, the first electronic means of remote communication. In English and European languages there are 26 letters in the alphabet. But there are tens of thousands of Chinese characters. As late as the Qing dynasty the literacy rate in China was very low, as only the elite were educated. Two parallel developments, simplification of the text and the adoption of pinyin, accelerated literacy rate. Fascinating history.

5. Hisham Matar, “The Return". The author’s father was an opposition leader to the Qaddafi regime who was imprisoned. After the regime fell, the author goes on a search of what happened to his father, interviewing former political prisoners including members of his extended family for scraps of history or news. He takes the reader along to experience the landscape of Libya, the warmth of the people and horrors of prison life.

6. Walter Issacson, “Leonardo da Vinci" – the hardcopy with glossy paper weighed over 1.3 kilograms! The high quality printing showed off reproductions of the artist’s sketches and famous paintings. He was much more than an artist, but had a natural curiosity about human anatomy, engineering and even machines for war. What other artist would perform dissections in order to understand muscles or optics?

7. Rebecca Struthers, “Hands of Time, A Watchmaker’s History” – I was fascinated by the history of horology, the study of time keeping and clock or watchmaking. From water clocks and sun dials to mechanical movements and battery powered time pieces, the author enlightens the reader through storytelling. I learnt that London was once the centre of fine clock and watchmaking, and that the Swiss started off as mass producers. She also tells the origins of some of the most storied watchmakers.

 

Fiction

1. Harriet Crawley, “The Translator” — a British civil servant who is Russian scholar gets involved in an attempt to foil a Russian plot against infrastructure in the West. The writer is fluent in Russian so there are instance of dialogue in Russian that is given more nuance in its translation into English. I discovered this book in a London book store.

2. Jonathan Franzen, “Crossroads” — I had previously enjoyed his novels (Corrections, Purity, Freedom). He is brilliant in capturing the angst of his characters in usually dysfunctional families in Middle America. There are no villains or heroes, tragedies or triumphs, just what we may call the Human Condition. Crossroads is the name of a youth program in a church started by the associate pastor Russ. Russ means well, but he struggles to get the respect he feels he deserves, and fights to hold together his family.

3. C.C. Forester, “Lieutenant Hornblower” — Second in a series of historical novels about British naval officer Hornblower. This time he was tasked to take over a Spanish fort. He carries out his duties with enthusiasm and smarts. The author’s paints a vivid picture of the harsh conditions on a 19th century warship — cramped quarters, unrelenting heat and general discomfort.

4. Hisham Matar, “Anatomy of a Disappearance” – A well-to-do Egyptian man disappears during a trip. He’s referred to simply as “father”, a senior government minister. The son, and his stepmother try to look for answers. The boy is a lost soul, spends his life searching for meaning. Brooding and melancholic.

5. Ian McEwan, “Lessons” – The story traces the protagonist from childhood, as a dreamer who loved music and poetry, all the way to being grandfather. The course of his life is irreversibly altered through an encounter with his piano teacher (hence the title). The author weaves in contemporary history into the character’s life, including the Cuban missile crisis to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is brilliantly crafted.

6. Grace D. Li, “Portrait of a Thief” — It’s a tale of a group of students from top universities in the U.S. who were united by their identity as Chinese Americans, who go on a mission to steal priceless Chinese art from western museums. Backed by a secretive billionaire in their quest, they go about their task Ocean Eleven style. To them, they are simply recovering the art that was stolen from China, which brings up the moral quandary of museums displaying spoils of war or colonialism.