A few recent recommendations – and old favourites.
CityAM asked me to recommend an economics book – any economics book. So I went for “Thinking Strategically” (UK) (US), which is an all-time favourite of mine.
I wrote, “It’s the book that first attracted me to economics and one that I find myself recommending over and over again. Thinking Strategically is a guide to using game theory to succeed in business and in life. And what is game theory? Game theory was devised by the economist Oskar Morgenstern and John von Neumann, one of the great mathematical geniuses of the twentieth century. It’s a way of thinking through problems where you are competing or cooperating with others: how should Andy Murray decide whether to serve to the backhand or forehand? Where should you try to rendezvous in New York if you’ve lost your friend and your phone is out of battery? When faced with a competitor, should you raise your prices or lower them? Dixit and Nalebuff produced a fun and fascinating guide to a fun and fascinating topic.”
If you want to know more about Von Neumann and the history of game theory, you could do much worse than William Poundstone’s excellent book, “Prisoner’s Dilemma” (UK) (US). (Poundstone has a new book out, “Head in the Cloud” (UK) (US).)
I enjoyed Manu Saadia’s “Trekonomics”, but would have enjoyed it more if I was really into Star Trek. It’s smart but I think it’s best suited to real Trekkies who want to learn new economics, rather than economists who want to learn about Star Trek. (UK) (US)
I read a lot of books about improvisation while researching my new book “Messy“. There’s Keith Johnstone’s classic, “Impro” (UK) (US) but the book I enjoyed the most was Patricia Ryan Madison’s short, simple and wise “Improv Wisdom” (UK) (US). If you’ve any interest at all, try them both.
Finally, a boardgame recommendation: “Thunderbirds” (UK) (US). Great cooperative game, by the designer of and inspired by Pandemic. But of course it’s better, because it has Thunderbird Two in it.
Or if you fancy reading one of my books, try The Logic of Life.