A few books that I’ve been enjoying recently…
Lyonesse (US) (UK) by Jack Vance – I recently re-read this in preparation for a forthcoming discussion on the Fictoplasm podcast. It really is magnificent – the finest fantasy trilogy out there. Vance is witty, he’s inventive, and joyful. His bad guys are truly wicked, his heroes and heroines are compelling, and his fairies are utterly mysterious. The dialogue is as distinctive and enjoyable as anything in Tarantino.
The Undoing Project (US) (UK) by Michael Lewis. I have a review coming soon of this book in the Financial Times. It’s a biography of the great psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, and it’s nearly perfect – an odd and unnecessary opening chapter, but just start at chapter two and you’ll love it. Kahneman and Tversky are fascinating characters; Kahneman won a Nobel memorial prize and wrote the excellent Thinking Fast and Slow (US) (UK). I thought I knew a fair bit about their collaboration but Lewis’s story is full of surprises and no small degree of tragedy.
Newly crossed my desk, Jonathan Portes’s 50 Ideas You Really Need To Know About Capitalism (US) (UK) is presented, as you might expect, in bite-sized chunks. No spellbinding narrative here but that was not the aim. Portes is knowledgeable and the chapters are sharp and clear and full of interesting nuggets.
And, I’ve mentioned it before but Steven Johnson’s Wonderland (US) (UK) is on form – a playful and surprising guide to how play, puzzles and delight have shaped innovation.
Einstein’s Greatest Mistake (US) (UK) by David Bodanis is a great short biography with some super storytelling.
And finally, it would be perverse of me to omit my own book, Messy. Happy reading!