Another month has sped by, and we, therefore, have another reading list. I have to confess, it was a bit of a struggle to get to the end of this month’s, and I almost bit off more than I could chew. But "Don't Panic" my loyal readers, I pulled off the impossible and went on a reading marathon over my weekend isolation to finish in time. This month, we have a lot more diversity in the reading list, with a bit of fiction, history, economics and more. You’ll be pleased to hear we have no American history this month, but we do have quite a lot on China.
As always, please do keep those recommendations coming in, my pile of books continues to climb higher but I promise I will prioritise the books which my loyal readers recommend.
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds - Charles Mackay
The book is divided up into three sections (as Mackay came back to write a few editions of the book), and the first is primarily devoted to financial panics. My favourite of the detailed stories was probably the South Sea Crisis bubble and the pure gambling speculative mania that drove prices higher. All of the speculative manias reminded me of many of the current stock favourites... *cough* GME, AMC *cough*.
What caught me a bit by surprise in this book, however, was some of the other “manias” which weren’t financial. I particularly liked the story of The Old Price Riots which rocked the West End in 1809. For a brief overview, have a look at this Wikipedia article. Being contemporary to the author though, it is covered in great detail and is particularly amusing. Less amusing, was the 100 pages of the book devoted to the pure madness of the Crusades, but again this helped me learn a lot about a period of history I knew nothing about, and something related to the Crusades will feature in a later reading list this year.
The caption on the particular edition I have pictured left is very appropriate, if you read no more of this book than the first 100 pages - on money mania - it will be worth many times its purchase. For my finance friends (and those of you who have no idea about finance but have engaged in the latest run of stock market speculation), I cannot stress this point enough - it's well worth a read.
This book essentially walks us through the genius of Thorp by the man himself. Many criticised him at the time he decided to stop card counting stating he was missing out on massive winnings as a professional gambler, but with a net worth of $800 million, he’s clearly done very well for himself in the investing world.
This is a great book for those interested in finance and reducing risk, as Thorp also takes us through the errors of other investors (as well as the strengths of those such as Buffett), and also spells out the power of compounding in a more clear way than what I’ve seen elsewhere. For a man who is a genius, the book is laid out easily, and nothing is assumed. Thorp is a man for all markets and someone from who everyone can learn something.
Mao: The Unknown Story - Jung Chang and Jon Halliday
One of the best examples of this comes from the Battle of Luding Bridge - perhaps one of the most memorable parts of the Long March, but it turns out nearly everything about it is mythological. There may have been a small force defending the bridge against Mao’s thousands, but it was nowhere near the scuffle conventional wisdom makes it out to be. Of course, it was in Mao’s interest to spread this rumour, but the truth of it is far worse.
What becomes clear from the book is that Mao was interested in one thing only: Mao. He was not this great benefactor for the peasants as many contemporaries tried to paint him, and was solely responsible for the tens of millions of deaths caused by famine during The Great Leap Forward.
In reading the book, we must be mindful of the authorship of Jung Chang, who also wrote Wild Swans, a book that detailed life under Mao and is banned in China. Therefore some of the harshest criticism should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt, but the book is well researched and loaded with references and interviews. Perhaps the most surprising aspect for me was that as Mao approached the end of his life, both the USSR and the US turned against Mao, and there was even a partial Soviet invasion in 1969. Washington and Moscow even discussed very briefly the possibility of a joint nuclear attack on China, but these plans were quickly shelved.
One thing which is clear is Mao’s Machiavellian level of conniving. Throughout, he is deceitful, treacherous, and murderous. There is no question for me now that the Mao regime was brutal and horrendous. As a result of Mao’s regime, Chang and Halliday estimate 70 million deaths of the Chinese people, drastically exceeding casualties of any other leader. Mao was ultimately interested in one thing, and one thing only, power. The myth of Mao is that he set up China for success, in reality, it was the liberalisation of Deng Xiaoping which unleashed the might of China.
Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World - Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg
The picture painted by the authors throughout is one that suggests China is becoming more confident in its international manipulations and agitations. The growing influence of business interests in Washington DC lobbies is also giving additional backing to Chinese groups.
Perhaps most concerning, is that the West has always assumed that as China develops, it would become more liberal in its outlook, but this is not what has occurred as China retains total information control throughout the nation. Thus, the “old” money politicians are behind the curve, with many such as Biden still believing in this notion that incorporating China into the world ecosystem will lead to its natural tendency toward democratic principles. From some of the other books I have read previously (Kissinger on World Order springs to mind), this belief that Western principles are some kind of equilibrium is clearly not materialising, and therefore the West needs to take a more active role in order to preserve its values in the international order and prevent the initiative from China like the Belt and Road project from aligning too many countries toward China.
Adams’ writing style is incredibly unique and even though it's a relatively “childish” book, I found myself smiling quite often, even when the Vogons came to destroy our planet Earth as part of an international galactic highway project.
For anyone who hasn’t read it, just go and buy it, you won’t regret it. It’s fun, lighthearted, and will take your mind off the endless news cycles we have to put up with, and perhaps give some perspective, in case the earth is suddenly destroyed by some far-off alien race.
Just remember, Don't Panic.
That's all folks
So here endeth the reading list. Please do reach out with your suggestions, comments, thoughts, etc. And do let me know if you've picked up any of the items on this or previous reading lists and enjoyed (or not enjoyed) them yourselves.
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Next month, we have another exciting reading list coming up, chokka with a broad range of readings again from a wide range of viewpoints. We'll be moving away from China for a month, and looking more at Russia. There will also be some good fiction, both classic (Bradbury) and more modern (Alam).
Next Month:
The Premonition - Michael Lewis
Putin's People - Catherine Belton
Leave the World Behind - Rumaan Alam
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
12 Rules for Life - Jordan B. Peterson
