Books I read and recommend in 2012

One of the reasons I love the Kindle app is because I can easily see what books I read and when. Looking at the themes this year, it was apparent I was heavily into WWII, Big Hollywood Entertainment, the World Economy, Mafia, and Spy stories (fiction and non-fiction).

All of them were pretty good books. I gave a little commentary if they were exceptional.

Trying to go from most recent by category:

Non-Fiction:

• Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and hope in a Mumbai slum – Katherine Boo
• Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World – Michael Lewis (Amazing explanation of what went wrong in Greece, Iceland, Ireland, and US municipalities.  A very easy read that sums up very complicated problems in a very simple way)
• Confidential: The Life and Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon – Joseph Gelman, Meir Doron (Crazy book about an ex-Mossad spy who was responsible for arming Israel with the nuclear bomb who turned out to be one of the biggest Hollywood movie producers)
• Disney War: James Stewart (This extremely long book reads like a fiction that you will not be able to put down.  If you like Hollywood, dealmakers, big deals, and the movie business – this is a must read)
• Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia – Hussain Zaidi
• The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA – Antonio Mendez (great story of a real CIA spy and how he was involved in things that have become popular stories and movies now)
• Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America’s Hidden Power Brokers – Gus Russo
• The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called Dreamworks – Nicole LaPorte (Another great, behind-the-scenes looks at some of Hollywood’s biggest figures and what really happens when egos, money, and pride get in the way)
• Seven Days from Sunday – M.H. Sargent
• Churchill – Paul Johnson (probably the best biography of Churchill)
• Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con – Matt Taibbi

Fiction (I am a huge fan of Ken Follet and Leon Uris, and love history based fiction, primarily in WWII, so didn’t give individual comments):

• The Tehran Initiative – Joel Rosenberg
• Berlin Noir – Phillip Kerr
• Morning Spy, Evening Spy – Colin Mackinnon
• The Last Supper (Paul Christopher) – Charles McCarry
• The Old Boys – Charles McCarry
• Tears of Autumn – Charles McCarry
• Lie Down with Lions – Ken Follet
• Jackdraws – Ken Follet
• Eye of the Needle – Ken Follet
• The Key to Rebecca – Ken Follet
• The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Jack Ryan) – Tom Clancy
• Triple – Ken Follet
• Red Storm Rising – Tom Clancy
• War and Remembrance – Herman Wouk
• Topaz – Leon Uris
• Mila 18 – Leon Uris
• Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin – Leon Uris

Business:

• Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands (great read if you are into big brands and the evolution of how a brand can go from a commodity to a lovemark)
• Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space – Chan Kim, Renee Maubornge (one of my favorite all-time business books, a must-read if you are an entrepreneur)
• The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership

Would love to hear if you picked up any of the books I recommend….