I was lucky enough to have had some remarkable reading in 2019 and I wanted to share. hope you will enjoy them too.
The Three Keys to Success, Lord Beaverbrook
Lord Beaverbrook (Max Aitken), grew in a lower-middle class Canadian family. He achieved incredible success in business, publishing and politics. In this short book he shares his timeless advice for the benefit of any aspiring person. With only 1 Amazon review, I don't believe the book is getting the readership it ought to.
Engines that Move Markets, Alisdair Nairn
The book details the historical impact of transformative technologies. It describes how, time after time, incumbent technology owners had a continued disbelief in the ability of the new technology until it is too late. It also details how the excitement of the new technology made investors forget about fundamentals business principles (such as the demand for profit and a proper return on investment).
While the book's first edition was released 20 years ago during the dot com bubble, I believe it is just as relevant today.
Am I Being Too Subtle? Straight Talk From a Business Rebel, Sam Zell
The story of Sam Zell, a poor Jewish immigrant that traveled across Russia to escape WWII. After three years he and his family finally arrived to the US, where he grew up and then built a business empire.
In the book, Zell details his business principles, as they relate to real estate, management and anything else he'd been involved in (Which is quite a lot). I especially liked his focus on downside.
Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration, Bert Hölldobler, Edward O. Wilson
One of the most interesting books I ever read. The ants are just amazing creatures, who had been cooperating, communicating, fighting and intelligently storing food for 200 million years. In fact, they are so successful, that they have the same biomass as us humans!
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War, Robert Coram
John Boyd was a fighter pilot who impacted a wide range of modern warfare. Being a gifted engineer and an experienced pilot, Boyd was in a unique position to come up with design frameworks that brought to the world some of the best modern planes (F15 and F16 are just two examples). Later, he developed the OODA Loop, a way for an army to weaken the enemy while increase their own strength. His method was successfully used on the Desert Storm campaign and had gained popularity in business circles as well. He had followers that for many years continued impacting the various military branches.