Planet Money’s Summer Books

The Planet Money staff offers some book recommendations.

View this email online Summer Reads by Greg Rosalsky Summer is almost here. Hopefully you’re vaccinated and able to live life somewhat normally again. You know, hop on a plane or take a drive to a public place. Maybe a beach, where you can open up a good book. But what should you open up? There are so many good books out there! We asked the Planet Money staff to recommend some. Enjoy!   Pixabay   One of the cool things about working at Planet Money is all the amazing people who work here. A few people on our team are authors. And not only are they authors, but they’re actually good authors!  Planet Money co-host Mary Childs has a forthcoming book called The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All. It’s a deeply investigated story about investing legend Bill Gross and how he transformed the bond market from a sleepy backwater to the high-stakes arena of the contemporary investing world. It’s a must-read.  Mary isn’t the only one on our team with a forthcoming book: Stacey Vanek Smith has one coming out called Machiavelli for Women: Defend Your Worth, Grow Your Ambition, and Win the Workplace. It applies the principles of Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli to the continued struggles of women in the workplace, offering lessons to finally shatter the glass ceiling. Another must-read!  Planet Money co-host Jacob Goldstein just wrote an awesome new book called Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing. It’s an intriguing, accessible, and really fun look at the history of money. There are tons of cool stories in there, from the escapades of John Law, a convicted murderer who got France to experiment with paper money in the 18th century, all the way up to the radical dream of digital cash.  And then there’s Paddy Hirsch, who used to edit The Indicator and now edits this newsletter. Paddy is a prolific author himself. One of my favorites is called Man vs. Markets: Economics Explained. It’s an entertaining primer on financial markets that will help you become fluent in economic jargon and concepts. He’s also got some riveting novels, including his most recent, Hudson’s Kill, a thriller that takes place during the crucial days of the 19th-century development of New York City.  Here are some other recommendations of books. They’re by authors who are not Planet Money staffers, but don’t hold that against them. The Premonition by Michael Lewis — Mary Childs recommends this new book by Michael Lewis: “No, I know. It's Michael Lewis, it's obvious. And also I know you're probably over thinking about the pandemic. I thought I was, too. AND YET I loved this book — because Michael Lewis is such a great writer, and the characters were so compelling. This book puts the whole fiasco into perspective: scientists and public health officials had been warning about the risk of a pandemic for years — and we (obviously) completely failed to prepare for or respond to it. Despite how depressing that is, this book manages to be inspiring. Michael Lewis strikes again." Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips —  Emma Peaslee loves this novel: “If you're reading this newsletter you probably like podcasts... if you like podcasts, you probably know that, as a society, we’re pretty much good on content about missing girls. It's been covered... WELL, what if I told you there's one more story out there, and it won't make you feel gross? Julia Phillip's novel Disappearing Earth starts with the abduction of two girls in a remote city in Russia. While that's loosely the thread that ties that whole story together, the book progresses month by month through a different female narrator in the community. Each character is as engaging as the central mystery that pulls the book forward.” The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt — Nick Fountain has a lot to say about this book: “This is one of the most bizarre books I’ve ever read. It’s part novel, part business management book. It follows a manager at a failing factory as he meets a cigar-smoking business consultant (clearly based on the author), who slowly teaches him about concepts like bottlenecks, throughput, and the ‘Theory of Constraints.’ The dialogue and drama of the book are not the greatest, but in a way that weirdly makes it a page turner.” How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid —  Jacob Goldstein recommends this novel by Mohsin Hamid: “This is a great read. It’s also, sort of incidentally, an amazing book about economic development. Here’s an example. It’s the protagonist’s first trip from his rural village to a big city, and he’s riding on the roof of a bus: ‘Buildings go from mud to brick to concrete, then shoot up to an unimaginable four stories, even five. At each subsequent wonder you think you have arrived, that surely nothing could belong more to your destination than this, and each time you are proven wrong until you cease thinking and simply surrender to the layers of marvels and visions washing over you like the walls of rain that follow one another seemingly endlessly in the monsoon, endlessly that is until they end, without warning, and then the bus shudders to a stop and you are finally, irrevocably there.’” Age of Ambition by Evan Osnos — Alex Goldmark likes this book by The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos. It’s about the transformation of China and what Osnos calls “China’s Gilded Age.”  The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov — Dan Girma loves this book: “Russian literature has a tendency of steeping itself in realism, despair, and deep moral questions (which sometimes involves interventions by the Devil himself). It can also get hung up with laborious genealogy and demanding prose. But The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, has all of the steep with none of the hang ups. From the start, you are carried along by brisk and colorful writing, chirpy dialogue, and a satirical eye towards Russian life that plays with magical realism written years before Borges was a household name. It's the wheat of a great literary tradition with none of the chaff.” The Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet — Bryant Urstadt recommends this book: "I don't want to talk about The Children's Bible too much because the surprise is part of the fun. It's about a group of teenagers getting to know each other while their parents host a reunion in a huge beach house. It ends as a dark dystopian parable. It's like The Big Chill and Mad Max in one delicious peanut butter cup."   Not subscribed? Subscribe to this newsletter. Craving more content? Listen to our podcasts. Newsletter continues after sponsor message On Our Podcasts One Hack to Fool Them All — How a single hack pried open the networks of giant corporations and the U.S. government itself. Listen here Runaway Recommendation Engine — Recommendation systems have changed how we choose what we want. But are they choosing what we want? Listen here Unpacking President Biden's Big Budget — President Biden unveiled a massive budget proposal on Friday. The Indicator discusses the hefty price tag and ask two economists to weigh in on his plan. Listen here Who Let The Dogs Out? — When people were stuck at home during Covid lockdowns, the pet sitting business slowed to a trickle. But recently traveling has picked up and now pet sitters can barely keep up with demand. Listen here Also on The Indicator: Fighting A Racist 184-Year-Old Law, What Does It Take To Get Us To Try Something New?, and The Growing Racial Divide In Millennial Wealth Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: planetmoney@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Planet Money emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy