The May Reading List

 The May Reading List - With something of a revolutionary theme 

I’d like to apologise in advance for the heavy history content of this month’s reading list (to an even greater degree than usual). I promise the next reading list is going to be more diverse and even include some fiction. 

Nonetheless, this month takes on a little bit of a revolutionary theme, looking at the French Revolution, American Civil War, the Israel-Palestine history and even a little bit of a financial revolution namely for gold. Hunter Biden’s book doesn’t really match the category but there we are :) 

So, I present to you the May Reading List. I continue to be staggered by the amount of interest these lists are creating amongst a range of my older and newer friends and acquaintances, and the recommendations I’ve been receiving are now starting to be incorporated into this reading list and upcoming lists. 

As always, please do reach out with questions, suggestions or if you just want to have a chat. I’m always looking for new books to add to the future lists (although the current number of books I’ve been recommended is 26 - so it may take me a while to get around to them) so please do keep your readings coming. 

The New Case for Gold: James Rickards 

Here is the finance book of the month, and I have to say it did prove for some thought-provoking reading. I have already been a big gold bull for a while, so in many respects, the book was preaching to the converted. Nonetheless, it did raise some additional valid arguments which I had not previously considered. Take, for example, the reason why gold has been used as a currency for so many aeons. It is not because it is a special shiny rock, but rather because it is one of the very few elements in the world which is suitable for such a purpose. To explain why have a watch of this video. 

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/11/10/142209900/video-why-gold?t=1620647423873

While it was, no doubt, an interesting book. I did find some of the arguments made for the “new case” a little bit of a stretch. For example, Rickards looks at cyberwarfare and states that because gold is a physical asset, it cannot be hacked. I’ve always found this type of argument incredibly weak, simply because my physical gold could still be stolen from my house! Even in the event where we allow security to be a value-add, it will only be a very trivial one. If, as in many of Rickards’ doomsday scenarios, gold becomes the only means of acceptable payment again, it seems just as likely my physical supplies are going to be looted anyway. 

Nonetheless, despite some of these criticisms about stretches of fantasy in the book, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in finance. It presents some different angles and certainly gives strong counter-arguments to many of the gold critics standard points. A prime example of which is “gold has no yield”, well… neither does cash. Gold is not an investment where you expect a “yield”. I’d also recommend this book to the gold critics who think the yellow metal is just a “pet rock”, it may shift your thinking slightly! 

The French Revolution: Christopher Hibbert

I picked up this book on my first trip back into Waterstones following reopening in April. It caught my eye since I’ve been looking for some kind of history of the French Revolution for a while since it’s a subject I previously knew woefully little about.

Fortunately, thanks to this relatively concise and popular history of the French Revolution, I now know a little more. The book starts at the very beginning with the ascension of Louis XVI to the throne and then takes us on a tour of the principal characters of the revolution. Given my relative lack of familiarity with the subject matter, it was fortunate that the book is furnished with several tables of appendices, outlining all of the key terms (and often non-translated terms), key figures and key events, which made it very easy to follow through the main storyline. 

For a popular history of the French Revolution, this book was a great place to start, and I was surprised to find just how much I enjoyed reading through in great detail the histories of some of the key events such as the Fall of the Bastille, and the King’s Flight to Varennes. Likewise, perhaps showing my lack of knowledge on the subject, I hadn’t quite appreciated just how early in the story of the revolution Louis XVI was executed (in 1793), and how long the “Terrors” to determine what would happen next continued. 

Battle Cry of Freedom: The American Civil War - James M. McPherson 

I bought this book several months ago now (and astute readers will notice it has appeared in the “Books for (insert month here)” section for a while now). However, I must confess I had not worked up the willpower to launch into this massive 892-page tome (albeit, unlike most modern academic works, references are at the bottom of the page rather than in an appendix at the back - I much prefer them at the bottom of the page, but alas my opinion here counts for very little :) ). Nonetheless, I quickly ploughed through this mighty work in less than a week, and it has been my favourite book of the month, and one of the most exciting and captivating histories of anything I have ever read. Once again, the American Civil War was something I knew relatively little about (albeit, I knew far more about it than the French Revolution), sure I knew the names of a few major battles which Americans always refer to, and that it ended with the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, but other than that, basically nothing. 

McPherson’s writing style is not purely chronological and the chapters alternate between intense detail over specific battles (most notably the critical ones (at least for morale) such as Antietam, Gettysburg, Appomattox and Vicksburg), and the themes which drove sentiment in both the North and South. I was almost certain when I started reading this book that it would be filled with a northern focus which might in turn gloss over some of the military achievements of the South. However, McPherson manages to maintain relative unbiasedness and reports purely on the factual and historical evidence which is available, commenting on when Union victories have traditionally been overstated and when Confederate losses overstated too. 

Something which surprised me throughout the book was just how compelling the individual battles could be (I tend to focus more on the “big picture” stories rather than the individual, much like in economics where I prefer the macro to the micro). The maps which McPherson includes detailing the movements of the Union and Confederate positions throughout the various battles were indeed very interesting, and I often spent 5 minutes or so studying these almost in a lesson of military strategy, picturing myself as a general repositioning my troops around the proverbial chessboard. 

Now, I’m not going to write here that every person should immediately develop an avid interest in the American Civil War (and I’m well aware this reading list is very specific and unlikely to appeal to wider audiences - for that, I’m sorry… next month, I promise, will be more wide-ranging), but for historians and anyone with an interest in learning more about the development of the events leading up to the Civil War and the Civil War itself I recommend this book without reservations. The most interesting character from the book, in my opinion, was General Ulysses Grant, and I’m looking forward to picking up the almighty thousand-page biography by Chernow on him in the July reading list. 

A Line in the Sand: James Baar

First off, apologies to those who were looking for Chang and Halliday’s, Mao: The Unknown Story. Given the development of events in Israel and Palestine over the past month, however, I felt it was far more important to try and educate myself on this timely and topical issue. Mao will feature in the next edition of the reading list. Thanks very much to Imran Qureshi for this particular recommendation

As somebody who had relatively little knowledge on the history of the region, this book proved to be an insightful introduction, and carefully drew the story which stemmed from the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 in which the UK and France defined their spheres of influence by, quite literally, drawing a line on a map of the Middle East. From here, the story is told of Britain and France who seemingly seek to undermine each other at every turn, and with constantly shifting policies from pro-Zionism to Pan-Arabism. 

The book, in my opinion, is a little tricky to keep up with for a novice, the subject, and the characters involved are constantly changing and the political landscape adjusting to what seems from the outset like minor victories. Nonetheless, by reading with a closely-tuned eye you can construct a decent narrative of the events which led up to the formation of the modern Israel and Palestine, and the broader narrative of the conflict is omnipresent throughout. 

Beautiful Things - Hunter Biden: 

Thanks to Tom Wookey for this recommendation. I found it a deeply moving autobiographical account about the struggles which Hunter had faced throughout his life. This read differs fairly significantly from the others on the reading list this month in that it isn’t similar to my usual historical themes. Nonetheless, this was one of my favourites of the month and I found it instantly compelling and difficult to put down (quite literally, I read through at least the last 150 pages in one sitting). 

It’s an incredibly brave move by Hunter to outline his life story and troubles with addictions in such great detail, and it makes for troubling and very moving reading. The tragedy’s faced throughout his life (from the childhood crash which took his mother to his brother’s brain cancer) clearly show how many pressures have been placed on his mental health. Remarkably, he has shown such resilience to form successful businesses on international projects under the circumstances. 

I’d recommend this book to anyone, it is hard to describe aptly and succinctly, all I can say it is a deeply moving tale of misfortune, addiction and recovery. The level of detail makes it instantly readable and Hunter shows how it can be so easy to fall into addictive habits, but more importantly that with the right support it is possible to recover.

Books for June: 

As promised, I am moving away slightly from the major history theme and including a little bit more fiction in June’s edition. I’m also making sure to include a few more of the “classic” literary works, starting with the Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 

1. The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 
2. Hidden Hand - Clive Hamilton & Mareike Ohlberg
3. Mao: The Unknown Story - Jung Chang & Jon Halliday 
4. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds - Charles Mackay 
5. A Man for All Markets - Beating the Odds from Las Vegas to Wall Street