The Fifth Risk. Michael Lewis. 2018. ISBN 9781324002642. From the highly acclaimed author of books such Moneyball comes a revealing discussion of how and where the Trump administration is creating huge risks inside the US Federal Government. The fifth risk is project management and in department after department the no nothing attitudes of political appointments is weakening those institutions that guard the safety of Americans every day.  The book starts by showing how little the Trump administration was interested in finding out how each department ran, what it was responsible for and its impact.  You learn about how the Department of Energy oversees the vast volumes of nuclear waste in the US and how much the safety of residents depends on this work.  A really big part of the Department of Commerce manages the US weather service and how it has now been put under the thumb of commercial companies vs public safety.  The list goes on and on.  This is a problem of the administrations own creation and it only gets worse. Problems do not go away if you chose to ignore and not learn about them.  As ever the author writes a very readable book that makes sense and draws you right through it.  I was astonished to find that the bulk of Americans really know so little about the hard work that these departments do.

the four. The hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google. Scott Galloway. 2017. ISBN 9780735213661. The author has been around the tech block ,  building and selling companies ( with some failures too), consulting and teaching  This is one of the clearer analysis of what is driving the growth of these four companies, where it is going ( has gone) and what might the future bring, not always good.  The book will bring no joy to the fanboys of these particular companies ( Or will they, when facing ideas/facts that dispute their beliefs cause them to double down?). However if you wish to be enlightened/learn about the major “winners” in the tech world, you should read this book   Concise, well written and organized ( well until the very end when the author goes into ideas of what you could/might do) I stuck with the book in about two sittings.

Fear. Trump in the White House. Bob Woodward. 2018.  After all the interviews and TV news about this book , I was pleasantly surprised to still find a lot of info that was not made into sound bite fodder. As a journalist the author writes a clear and concise story that pulls you through to the end.   I have always had respect for Woodward’s work, his credentials and impact. Nothing has dissuaded me that that this book is not speaking the truth.  Trump comes off exactly as he is in public, an egotistic lying sociopath,  perfect for today’s politician and in many ways his own worst enemy.  As watchers in Canada we were always concerned from  Day 1 that this administration was not prepared for the job that was taken on and  Trump was way out of his depth. The book does not dissuade you from this.  This book will not bring you peace or comfort, but I still suggest one needs to read it.

Dewey Andreas Series. Ben Coes.  Current thriller/espionage series ( 8 in all) in the style of Michael Flynn and others.  Power  Down sets the stage and the backstory and the series adds on from there. America is under attack and each book covers a different key actor who is driving it. From Muslim , Iran, China , Russia , North Korea, and even some internal US players pretty well everyone gets into the act.  And always in the end, All American Seal, Delta Dewey Andreas saves the day  while getting in and out of serious death defying situations. There seems an unending appetite for these rah rah America home and builder of the tough warrior novels where the weapons are described in agonizing detail as are  the planes, helios and what have you.  The yarns move  quickly and just stretch beyond credibility. But the stories will hold your attention and are an escape from business books.  Be warned that the point of view of all the books is that there are bad actors including jihadists around every corner that need to be terminated with bullets, knives and explosives.