Books
I've been fortunate to read some very, very good books lately. If you're looking for a good read or just some ideas for Christmas gifts, read on.--Space Race, by Deborah Cadbury
This is a sensational piece of writing and a detailed, remarkable look at the race between the United States and the Soviet Union, all the way from the early days of the Cold War to the moon landing. What distinguishes this book is the level of detail on the Soviet space program, particularly lead designer Sergei Korolev, and Cadbury's writing style is extraordinarily skilled. It's a riveting story, told by a riveting writer, and, as you would expect, it makes for a fantastic read.
--Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero, by William Kalush and Larry Sloman
This book has quite a bit of buzz because the authors claim that Houdini worked as a spy during his career. That's interesting, and they make a persuasive case, but what makes this book such an engrossing read is the amount of detail (both professional and personal) they accumulated on Houdini's life. The level of detail is far beyond anything ever written about him before, and it's all written so well that the book is almost impossible to put down. If you have a Houdini fascination (don't we all?), you'll want to read this.
--Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, by Tony Judt
It's a long read (almost a thousand pages), but it's a big story. There are enough details and consequences on each page to make you think about the implications for days, and when I say every page, I'm not kidding. And while it's huge, and it's dense, it's not dry. It's a masterful piece of writing, and if you know any history buffs, this would make an excellent gift.
--My Life as a Quant, by Emanuel Derman
Derman was born in South Africa, earned a PhD in theoretical physics from Columbia University, and wound up doing quantitative finance on Wall Street. How it all happened makes for a fascinating story, and Derman is a very entertaining writer who comes off as surprisingly human. He also wrote one of the funniest things I've ever read (I'm probably paraphrasing here): "It was then that I realized not all Nobel Prizes are created equal." Talk about rarified air.
--The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (Rolling Stone)
I know--the "greatest of all time" thing is a cliche. So are coffee table books. So is Rolling Stone. And this is all three--but it's still fun. They have every album cover and a description of why the music was good and why it mattered. Lots of interesting details, nicely presented, and you're going to find albums you meant to listen to but never did. It's very fun to just flip through the pages, or if you're crazy like I am, you methodically go through and make a list of all the albums you want to hear. Not that I did that or anything.
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