In the last year or so, I've stumbled into an unusual streak of 5 really good biographical books.
1. Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight. Standing in an airport bookstore with a few minutes to kill, I saw this book and picked it up. I remembered an article I read years ago in Wired about Nike's early days. For some reason I remember the phrase "halcyon days" being used. Such an interesting word. Halcyon. But I digress. Anyway I opened the book and read the first few sentences and it was surprisingly good. So I decided to buy it and was not disappointed. It's well written, and focuses on the interesting early years rather than then better known recent history. Does a great job of showing exactly how a tiny humble importer of Japanese sneakers born out of old school business hustle and a passion for running, grows into a manufacturing and branding icon.
2. So much things to say, by Roger Steffens. An "oral history" of Bob Marley. It's a collection of transcripts of people who were close to him talking about their memories of the singer. Bob means a lot to me, I grew up with his music, I know the lyrics to even the most obscure unreleased songs, his biography in great detail etc. Still this book was enlightening and very deeply touching. I happened to read it a unique time -- was it high tide or low tide? think of that song here -- in the late fall 2018 -- Bob was born in 1945, just like my mother. Possibly one of my favorite books of all time.
3. Lenin, by Victor Sebestyen. Really thorough book on the life of the revolutionary Soviet leader. In our new world order, many old isms and schisms are coming back. Nationalism, mercantlism, Marxism. People see them and argue about them. Leninism is different. It's meta. It's about the processes of ideology and power. And it is more relevant than ever. Osama bin Laden and Steve Bannon are Leninists. While this book is about none of that, simply reading the life and thought process of this man is worth it as, in a way, we still live in his world.
4. The First Tycoon, by TJ Stiles. A very solid biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, well researched. Great window into US history. Through this one person’s life you learn a lot about (among other topics): steamboats in the early 19th century; railroads in the mid centurye; east-westtravel, the panama canal; and filibusters! woah. US-Nicaragua relations: this was perhaps the most surprising part, it gives really really interesting context to the US-Nicaragua problems of the last 30 years or so; the evolution of the modern corporation; the early stages of the stock market. Great read. My only criticism is that the author is a little too sympathetic to the subject. I prefer when a biographer is a bit more neutral, still this book is really a fountain of information.
5. Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell. Excellent in every way. One of the best writers in the english language: very precise, efficient, elegant, unpretentious style. Very interesting story, important history and super relevant to what’s happening int he world today.
