The Escape Artist. The man who broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world. Jonathan Freedland. 2022. ISBN 9781529369076. The story of Rudolf Vrba ( Walter Rosenberg) who along with his partner Fred Wetzler were successful at escaping Auschwitz and found their way to the Jewish underground in Slovakia to get the story out. The description of life, and death, at Auschwitz is thorough, detailed and enough to make your blood boil. Then you have Vrbo’s life after he escaped and tried to get the story out as they had found out that The Nazi’s were preparing to exterminate all the Jews in Hungary. He was shaped by his years in the camps and afterward. Really gripping book.

Madam Secretary. Madeleine Albright. 2013. ISBN 9780062265470. What a testament to a ground breaking woman. First woman US ambassador to the UN ( Clinton), first woman US Secretary of State (Clinton). Albright has been through it all. It’s a full autobiography that reads well, and spares no details. She came from a war wrought in Europe and settled in the US at a young age. My takeaway is her descriptions of diplomacy and how the UN can effect change in countries through assistance as well as sanctions. And it takes a long long time. Eg Milosevich in Serbia. So, there is room for optimism but a requirement for patience. Worthwhile reading as you learn a lot about Europe, the Middle East and the US.

The Undoing Project. A friendship that changed our minds. Michael Lewis. 2017. ISBN 978039324594. A story by the author of Moneyball. The story of the work by Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky. These two genius psychologists have affected so much of our daily decisions by relating psychology to economics and dealing with real situations. For example, they discovered that our fear of loss is so much larger than then the appreciation of gain. Something used by every successful sales person and politician. The work (and there is a lot of it) now permeates so much of our perceptions of the world and how items are framed to us. Man is fallible and not purely rational and these two found numerous insights into our fallibility. Prior to these two, economists were stuck in believing in the rational man. Making this shift took a long time. After Tversky passed away, Kahneman went on to so any plaudits ( Nobel Prize) and recognition. Lewis does a great job of showing us their humanness and their powerful synergy with the work they did together. Every sales manager needs to read this one.

The Great Influenza. The epic story of the deadliest plague in History. John M.Barry. 2004. ISBN 1101200979. This is one of the most frightening books i have ever read as well as one of the most fascinating. A history of the growth in us medical care in the early 1900’s in the leadup to the 1917 influenza outbreaks all through the states. The improvements in medical schools were not a government push but one through private benefactors (such as Rockefeller). Govt officials and many medical. / public health officials were ignorant, incompetent and/or corrupt at the time. As there was WWI on there a push to keep morale up – by downplaying the seriousness of the situation. Once the flu hit the overcrowded and often unsanitary huge army and navy yards through the country it ran rampant. killing thousands. Add to that incompetent city officials who ignored the advice of the medical minds, which led to thousands of unnecessary civilian deaths.

The stories of the tireless medical minds who attacked these and other infectious diseases is also fascinating. The author is very skilled in this. Would that more folks read this before the Covid outbreaks and we may have even been speedier in responding. A delight – but frightening as I said.

How the World Really Works. The science behind how we got here and where we are going. Vaclav Smil. 2022. ISBN 9780593297070.

This could be one of the top books of the year for me. Perhaps it’s my increasing age in conjunction with cynicism but I was ready for this book. The author is recognized as top 100 global Thinker. In some way a Rennaissance man, Vaclav brings a realistic view to the what is going on today. I always distrust politicians and public figures who preach a simplistic view of how we can “fix’ the world’s problems. (Perhaps that is due to the public regularly electing some of the truly stupid to public office. ) All countries, like Canada are deeply inter related internally and with other countries in politics, supply chains, resources and the lists go on. To improve the situation means that one must be realistic about ‘how the world works’. As an engineer I have been suspicious of politicians and think tanks pushing such things as a zero-carbon economy in 10-20 years. The author does a realistic analysis of this and shows that if we require cement, steel, ammonia (for fertilizer/food production) and electricity to build this future – that requires huge energy investments – well beyond what the alternatives to fossil fuels can and will provide for many years. A simple analysis of the energy required to “push” a jet passenger plane through the air shows that only fossil fuels provide the power to weight ration needed.

The author does not say do not address global warning, on the contrary he says we must. But he points out just how long this is going to take. (Decades and decades or more), if the World even really addresses it.

He asks are we willing to deny the African nations the chance to develop their economies like China has done? If so, they will need huge amounts of energy (fossil fuels) which will release emissions (CO2) into the atmosphere.

India and China still process and burn huge amounts of coal and will continue to do so as well as buying Russian oil regardless of world opinions.

Do the Western and EU nations wish to restrict their own “consumption” in order to reduce emissions? (They are already well ahead of the developing world in this).

He posits several changes to codes etc. that will assist us in reducing some energy consumption (Ie triple paned windows for all buildings, reducing food waste, more nuclear energy, producing and supporting local).

All in all, a very insightful book that brings rational thought to these arguments.

Freezing Order. A true story of money laundering, murder, and surviving Vladimir Putin’s wrath. Bill Browder. 2022 ISBN 97819821533335. A truly frightening book. The author was a hedge fund manager working Russia when like so many others, Putin wrenched his investments and funds away through illegal means. The author documents all this and more thefts by Putin and his allies in Russia. He also shows the trail of murders of those who defied Putin that followed. The author further documents the trail of Putin and crony assets all over the world. Browder further got to Putin through helping facilitate asset seizure legislation in most of the free world that threatens many Putin and oligarchs’ assets. Putin reacts with characteristic disinformation and bogus “crimes’ by Browder at every opportunity – going beyond harassment, character assignation and then physical threats. Browder does a reasonable dive into the links between Putin and Trump, which is further evidence of joint malfeasance. You come away with the realization that Russia is controlled by thieves on a massive scale. I gained sympathy for the those resisting Putin and the average Russian.

The House of Kennedy. James Patterson.  2020. ISBN 9780316494885.  The prolific fiction writer, Patterson, takes a rare foray into non-fiction.  He strips away the deep layers of PR that have been used for covering up since the time of Joe Kennedy Sr. (  Gangster allied, ruthless businessman, racist, fascist millionaire)  all through the subsequent years.  Family skeletons are exposed and it is not a pretty sight.  Every Kennedy in the public eye (Ie all of the males)  has made its share of errors and even crimes (Jacks’s infidelities included).  I was raised through the Kennedy Camelot years where Jack and Robert were considered American royalty, heavily buttressed with PR and lawyer protection. It’s an insight into the “entitled”, filthy rich American lifestyle that goes on.  The escapades of the Trump bunch are just the logical extension of folks who live in a rich bubble and can get away with murder.  Well written and fast-paced, this is a useful, albeit cynical supporting, exposure of what can and did go wrong.    And maybe some insight into who did it and why Jack and Bobbie were publically executed by the powers that be (legal and criminal).

Churchill’s Shadow. An astonishing life and a dangerous legacy. Geoffrey Wheatcroft. 2021. ISBN 9781324002765. From the first to the last page, I was riveted by the authors take on Churchill.  Very well researched, annotated and with a plethora of authors notes this looks to be a definitive review of what turns out to be a very flawed man.  His impact on world affairs is shown to run through many events well subsequent to his death and not to the wisest decisions.  He also comes across as quite a disagreeable racist even for his times.  His stance in 1940-41 when Britain was in its depths is shown to be his sole redeeming part to play.  Before that and after his major decisions had serious flaws which cost too any lives.   I had always held up his serious writing proclivity as a mark of greatness, now I learn that he only wrote his own speeches while hiring hordes of ghost writers to write his books. as well he was the richest author of his time, dodging taxes and what not to gather in the spoils.  I had had not realized the thrall that the US politicians held him in (and still do). Roosevelt disliked him and most things British, which meant he held off getting into WWII until the Japanese forced their hand.  Thus, the dangerous legacy holds true.   As well the author holds that Churchill directed his writers to rewrite/record history as to how he thought it should be not how it was.  A lengthy but useful book for political scientists and historians

Red Roulette. An insider’s story of wealth, power, corruption, and vengeance in today’s China. Desmond Shum. 2021. ISBN 9781982156176.  This is a telling book. Much of what we have seen China do to its own people, Hong Kong and recently expats falls into place.  The regime exists to protect the well-being of those in power, their relatives and no one else.  The author believed in their system, followed all the “hidden” rules, grew wealth but ultimately lost everything, and his own wife’s life to the regime. Your eyes will be opened to what really goes on in China and how things get done. It is a very readable book that would make any business person think long and hard about doing business in China.  One can only think that Hong Kong is in for an inexorable take over in all things to benefit the mainland regime.  I would also support ensuing that China does not grab Taiwan in some way.  Canada and the US can no longer pussy foot around this.

Value(s). Building a better world for all. Mark Carney. 2021. 978-1-5417-6871-0. I have been impressed with Carney’s career ((from Ft Smith, NWT to Governor of Bank of England and now his Un posting wrto Climate Change. The book is thorough, deeply researched and timely.  His chapters on Climate change and Covid are worthwhile reading for all of us.  His explanations on how we got here to present and different definitions of value are prescient.  It should be required reading for all politicians and bureaucrats. He is a straight shooter and you can see how he could guide Canada through the financial crisis and the UK to be prepared for Brexit. He is a thinker and a planner.  He would be a stellar PM for Canada but I doubt he would take on the job.  The book is engaging, and not trivial.