Business & Leadership

Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism and the Golden Age of Fraud

BY BEN MCKENZIE

In “Easy Money,” TV star Ben McKenzie (“The O.C.,” “Gotham”) enlists the help of journalist Jacob Silverman for an exposé of the final days of cryptocurrency now upon us. Weaving together stories of traders and victims, crypto “visionaries,” Hollywood’s true believers, anti-crypto whistleblowers, and government agents searching for solutions at the precipice of a major crash, “Easy Money” is a look at a perfect storm.

These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs – and Wrecks – America

BY GRETCHEN MORGENSON

Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling journalist Gretchen Morgenson and financial analyst Joshua Rosner investigate the world of private equity, revealing how it leeches profits from everyday Americans. The book lucidly traces the 30-year history of corporate takeovers in America, investigating the biggest names in private equity, exposing how they buy companies, load them with debt, and then bleed them.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being

BY RICK RUBIN

From a legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us. “The Creative Act” is a beautiful and generous course of study by a nine-time GRAMMY winning producer that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience.

The Wisdom of The Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy)

BY ADMIRAL WILLIAM H. MCRAVEN

The title “Bullfrog” is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the longest on active duty. Admiral McRaven received this honor in 2011 when he took charge of the US Special Operations Command. When McRaven retired in 2014, he had 37 years as a Navy SEAL under his belt. The book draws on the experiences from his incredible life, including crisis situations, management debates, organizational transitions, and ethical dilemmas.

Poverty, by America

BY MATTHEW DESMOND

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why?

Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds an original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity.

The Earth Transformed: An Untold History

BY PETER FRANKOPAN

Global warming is one of the greatest dangers mankind faces. Even as temperatures increase, sea levels rise, and natural disasters escalate, our environmental crisis feels difficult to predict and understand. Again and again, Frankopan shows that when past empires have failed to act sustainably, they have met with catastrophe. Blending brilliant historical writing and scientific research, “The Earth Transformed” will reframe the way we look at our future.

Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything

BY MICHIO KAKU

The runaway success of the microchip processor may be reaching its end. Running up against the physical constraints of shrinking sizes, silicon chips are not likely to prove useful in solving humanity’s greatest challenges, from global starvation to incurable diseases. But the quantum computer, which harnesses the power of the atomic realm, promises to be as revolutionary as the transistor and microchip once were.

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock

BY JENNY ODELL

In her first book, “How to Do Nothing,” Jenny Odell wrote about the importance of disconnecting from the “attention economy” to spend time in quiet contemplation. But what if you don’t have time to spend? To answer this seemingly simple question, Odell took a deep dive into the fundamental structure of our society and found that the clock we live by was built for profit, not people. Here is her solution.