Who are my favorite authors? When it comes to non-fiction. I'm a fan of authors like Bill Bryson, Robert Caro, and Walter Issaacson. I am constantly reading books on a variety of different topics. Some of these books are bad, others extraordinary, and, too often, forgettable. Here are some books I have recently read that I'd recommend:
I have a long-time interest in the politics of standardization. Two books are recent favorites. One, by James Vincent, is a delightful read about the history of measurement.
The second book about the politics of standardization is by JoAnne Yates and Craig Murphy; it is a tad more dense but a wonderful historical summary.
What was Hillary Clinton going to say had she won the election? Why and how did John Lewis change the speech he gave in 1963 during the March on Washington? What if D-Day had failed? What would Eisenhower have said? Jeff Nussbaum wrote a fascinating book on speeches that were written but never delivered.
Chicago had a major problem in 1850. It needed sewers. Did they dig down? Nope. Instead, Chicago raised every building in the city and placed sewer pipes underneath them. Amazing! I learned this in Steven Johnson’s book. Johnson is one of my favorite writers on the history of all sorts of fascinating things, like disease, science and technology.
Franklin is one of my heroes. While most think of him in terms of his service to founding the nation, he was, actually, first and foremost, a scientist. There are many wonderful books about Franklin but Walter Isaacson’s book remains a personal favorite. It is filled with little nuggets about Franklin, the person, the scientist, and the statesman.
Pfeffer teaches a very popular class at Stanford on power in work settings. This is a brief but very well done book offering specific research-based advice about what you can do, everyday, to have more influence in your workplace.
I generally avoid autobiographies of recent or current leaders. But this book, by the past, and now current, CEO of Disney is simply a fun read filled with some very practical advice for people who want to work well with others.
I spent a day at Greenwich last summer and finally grasped the wonder of standard time and, especially, how longitude was finally measured—and why it mattered so much. I read this book years ago but went back to it after my visit.
When flying to Asia you often fly parallel to the Inside Passage (Vancouver to Juneau). It’s beautiful. My bucket list has me exploring the islands along that passage. Jonathan Raban passed last year but this book remains a favorite. It describes his travels by sailboat along the Passage. It’s a deeply thoughtful book.
And, finally, for “fun” novels, I’ve recently enjoyed books by Don Winslow, Barbara Kingsolver, Joe Mungo Reed, Louise Penny, Michael Connelly, Ann Patchett, David Baldacci, Harlan Coben, P.T. Deutermann, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Robert Dugoni, and a lovely very short story by my grandson, Ben Wilson.