I love putting together book reading lists where I have the opportunity to reflect on the reading year. I read 38 books that I will cover in my best books of 2022. Book categories covered in my best books of 2022 include World War I and II, the American Revolution, Finance and Investing, Fiction, the American Civil War, Philosophy and Stoicism, Self Help, Parenting, and Sports. Covering these many different book categories helped to build my tree trunk of knowledge of each of these topics. I am also able to find correlations across these book categories that help me to grow personally.
One of my goals when reading books is to stop reading books that do not engage me. I read the first 20-30 pages, ask myself if this book is worth my time, and then put the book down if the answer is no. It is a variation of what Derek Sivers recommends by asking if something is a hell yeah, and if is not, then it is a no. One of the primary goals of my book lists, including my best books of 2022, is to sift through the noise of books and recommend ones that profoundly impacted me that I also think will impact others. For previous best book lists, check out my best books of 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.
World War I and II
Night
Night by Elie Wiesel is an autobiographical account of his life as a teenager in the Nazi concentration camps. While reading this book, I couldn’t help but wonder how I would respond if I were taken to Auschwitz or Buchenwald to see death all around me every day. How do you think you would react? Would you be mentally tough like Wiesel? Who knows. This book is a sad but powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II.
The Longest Day: The Classic Epic of D-Day
It seems that I can’t get enough when it comes to learning about World War II. In The Longest Day: The Classic Epic of D-Day, you learn about the Allied invasion of Normandy. Author Cornelius Ryan recounts D-Day in minute detail. These Allied soldiers are true warriors. Standing against the Axis powers in Germany, soldiers stormed the beaches from the sea and dropped in from the air to save the world from the brink. To say this was a dark day would be an understatement. Hearing how many soldiers died, in this case, is breathtaking. This book gives you a renewed appreciation for the fight against fascism. Other World World II books to check out include The Splendid and the Vile and Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies
American Revolution
Angel in the Whirlwind
The American Revolution is one of a short list of wars that I find endlessly fascinating. Angel in the Whirlwind by Benson Bobrick is a detailed account of the American Revolution that starts with the colonists declaring independence after endless taxation from the British. The heavy-handed British tax increased tariffs on the colonists (Americans) to cover their debts following their victory in the French and Indian wars. These taxes and tariffs in the 1760s create rebellion among the colonists due to the lack of representation in the British Parliament. Major battles in and around Boston including Lexington and Concord lead to years of war throughout the mid-Atlantic. General George Washington leads the Continental Army to victory with the siege at Yorktown, Virginia over General Charles Cornwallis. Other American Revolution books to check out include Washington’s Crossing, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington, George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution, Washington: A Life, and 1776.
Finance and Investing
Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life
Vanguard Mutal Fund Group founder and author John Bogle, creator of the first index mutual fund, led a campaign educating investors on how to build wealth. The path to wealth according to Bogle was through a low-cost mutual fund that minimizes fees and taxes. Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life, Bogle explains what he considers to be enough in terms of wealth. It’s not accumulating money so that you can buy material things. It’s earning money so that you can help others. This book resonated with me because it’s how I feel about money. Yes, it’s nice to have the cash to buy things. But that won’t make you happy. What makes you happy is helping others. Other finance books to check out are Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System–and Themselves, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution, and A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market.
A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market
I was introduced to author Edward O. Thorp on the Tim Ferriss podcast. Thorp is a legendary mathematician who first gained notoriety through his books and strategies for beating the dealer at blackjack. Once he cracked the blackjack code, Thorp used his math skills to focus on the biggest casino in the world, Wall Street. Thorp ushered in the era of quantitative finance that we know today and is considered the godfather of the quants. This book tells the story of how Thorp built one of the most successful hedge funds of all time, detected the Bernie Madoff scheme before anyone else, and created the world’s first wearable computer with renewed mathematician Claude Shannon. Other finance books to check out include Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World, The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing, The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution, and Bubble in the Sun: The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought on the Great Depression.
The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution
“Jim Simons is the greatest money maker in modern financial history. No other investor–Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, Ray Dalio, Steve Cohen, or George Soros–can touch his record. Since 1988, Renaissance’s signature Medallion fund has generated average annual returns of 66 percent. The firm has earned profits of more than $100 billion; Simons is worth twenty-three billion dollars.” This is the intro to the description of The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman. Jim Simons, Renaissance’s founder, is a mathematician who pioneered the use of algorithms to make trades in the market that resulted in outsized returns. Simons wasn’t in it for his money. He wanted to learn and experiment. That’s the biggest takeaway from reading this book. Simons was able to recruit a team of brilliant people, utilize technology to gain an advantage, and ultimately become one of the most successful investors of all time.
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable is part of author Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Incerto series. This is a series that looks into luck, probability, risk, and decision-making in a world no one can comprehend. A black swan is a highly improbable event. This event carries characteristics including its unpredictability, its size, and its randomness. 9/11 is an example of a black swan. The stock market crash of 1987 was a black swan. The COVID-19 pandemic is/was a black swan. The most challenging part about black swans is that we don’t even know they exist. Stop listening to experts who make predictions and instead protect your downside per Taleb.
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System–and Themselves
Author Andrew Ross Sorkin kills it in Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System–and Themselves. It’s a story about the 2008-2009 economic crisis that brought the world to its knees. Sorkin threads together all of the players involved in this book. You learn about the roller coaster that was the melting of the world’s financial system. This book was similar to Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World and The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. Both of these books are excellent companion reading to Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System–and Themselves.
Fiction
The English Girl
Author Daniel Silva crushes it yet again with The English Girl. The plot starts with the disappearance of Madeline Hart, an up-and-coming member of Parliament, in Corsica. With the woman’s disappearance, Prime Minister Jonathan Lancaster’s career is threatened. So, Israeli spy Gabriel Allon is invited by the deputy director of M5 Graham Seymour to find the kidnappers before they can blackmail Lancaster. Allon goes to Corsica to visit with crime boss Don Orsati to ask for guidance. Orsati lets Allon use Christopher Keller, a former SAS officer to help him find Paul, the man we learn kidnapped Hart. Along the way, Allon and Keller find their way to Marseilles, Aix, Paris, and London. Allon learns the Russians are behind the plot and are using Lancaster’s chief of staff to pull the strings behind the scenes. Allon eventually gets to the bottom of the case but not before blood is shed.
The Fallen Angel
Daniel Silva’s The Fallen Angel starts with a murder at the Vatican. Legendary Israeli spy Gabriel Allon, on assignment at the Vatican to restore a Caravaggio, is called in by Monsignor Luigi Donati, Pope Paul VII’s private secretary, to investigate the murder of a young man. Initial reports indicate suicide but Allon soon realizes otherwise. The woman, whose secret involved stolen antiquities that the Catholic church hid, threatens to blow the lid off the illegal operation. Allon must find the murderer and protect the Catholic church at the same time. Other books in the series to check out include The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Prince of Fire, The Messenger, Moscow Rules, The Defector, The Rembrandt Affair, and Portrait of a Spy.
The Rembrandt Affair
Retiring in Cornwall, the legendary Israeli spy’s career seems to be over in The Rembrandt Affair. That’s until his friend and London art Julian Julian Isherwood comes into the fold. In the city of Glastonbury, England, an art restorer is murdered while restoring a Rembrandt. As tends to be the case, Allon agrees to pursue those responsible for the murder. The trail leads them from England to Amsterdam to Buenos and finally to Lake Geneva, Switzerland. There, Allon finds a master thief and powerful Swiss billionaire are in on the heist. Only Allon can find out why the Rembrandt was stolen.
Portrait of a Spy
When you hear “pleasant weekend” and Gabriel Allon, the two never go hand in hand. In Portrait of a Spy, legendary Israeli spy Allon is in London to authenticate a Titian painting. However, bombings in Copenhagen and Paris throw off Allon’s plans. As Allon absorbs the bombing news, he unsuccessfully attempts to stop a bombing in London. Chaos ensues. After returning to his house in Cornwall, England, the CIA summons Allon to Langley, Virginia. There, Allon learns that a Yemeni cleric is the one behind the attacks. The only way to stop this cleric is to recruit someone, with ties to the terrorist network, to penetrate the terrorist network. Allon attempts to take down the network for good by recruiting a wealthy Saudi Arabian heiress based in Paris with familial ties to the terrorist network.
American Assassin: A Thriller (A Mitch Rapp Novel)
Readers are introduced to a CIA superagent and his first assignment in American Assassin: A Thriller (A Mitch Rapp Novel). The rise of Islamic terrorism is what the CIA is tasked with stopping. CIA operations Director Thomas Stanfield must find CIA recruits who are up for the task. Recruit Mitch Rapp is one such individual. CIA agent Irene Kennedy recruits Rapp to the CIA to them turn Rapp over to Stan Hurley in clandestine operations. Rapp trains under Hurley before his first mission in Istanbul and retribution against the terrorist who took down a Pan Am flight that his girlfriend was on. The story ends in Beirut, where Rapp must retrieve Hurley, who is kidnapped.
The Defector (Gabriel Allon)
Israeli spy is at it again in The Defector after barely making it out alive in Moscow Rules. Allon’s Russian arms dealer Ian Ivan Kharkov kidnaps ex-KGB agent Grigori Bulganov. The same Bulganov who saved Allon’s life in Moscow. Allon must get him back. But what if Bulganov defected? Is Bulganov who he said he is or is he a defector? Allon must find out.
Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon)
Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon) starts with a bang. The death of a Russian journalist leads Israeli spy Gabriel Allon to Russia to get to the bottom of this mess. What Allon finds is that Ivan Kharkov, ex-KGB, is pulling the strings behind the journalist’s assassination plot. Kharkov also has a financial empire that deals in the dark arts of weapons trafficking. Only Allon is equipped to stop Kharkov.
The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon)
The Secret Servant is book seven in author Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series. In this novel, Israeli spy Allon discovers a plot where the daughter of the American ambassador to London will be kidnapped. After learning about the plot, Allon is too late. As Allon races around the world chasing the kidnapping, he is sucked into the vortex that is world terrorism. Read to the end to see if Allon saves the ambassador’s daughter.
Civil War
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
In this 10-state Southern Adventure, author Tony Horwitz tells the Civil War story in the present day (the book was written in the 90s) through the eyes of reenactors, battlefield visitors, Confederate descendants, and other Southerners. Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War starts in North Carolina and continues to South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. Experiences that stood out to me include Horwitz’s tour of Fort Sumter in Charleston South Carolina; the carnage in Kentucky that erupted after a white teen with a rebel flag on a truck was killed by a gunshot from a car with black teenagers; the reenactment of famous Virginia battles including the Battle of the Wilderness, Manassas, and Antietam; visiting Shiloh National Military Park in Tennesse during its annual memorial; the massacre that happened to prisoners of war at Andersonville, Georgia; walking the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama, the site of the conflict of Bloody Sunday in the 60s when police attacked Civil Rights Movement demonstrators.
Philosophy and Stoicism
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
In A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, author William B. Irvine uses the ancient stoics to teach us lessons that we can use to live a better life. The end goal of this book is to help us attain tranquility. We can do this by learning how to minimize worry, letting go of the past, focusing on what we can control, dealing with insults, and appreciating fame and fortune. This is a book I’m likely to re-read as the lessons are timeliness.
The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User’s Manual
Ward Farnsworth presents twelve lessons from Stoic philosophy in The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User’s Manual. What I appreciate about philosophy books about this is how the author helps you lead a better life using principles from the ancient Stoics. It’s crazy to think the stoics dealt with many of the same frustrations we deal with in our lives. Frustrations like worrying about what other people think, how to deal with grief and adversity, how to find tranquility, and how to be happy and grateful for what you have. Other philosophy books to check out include Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and Your Life, Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great, Stillness is the Key, Ego is the Enemy, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, Letters from a Stoic, and Meditations: The Annotated Edition.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
Admittedly, I haven’t had much success lately in finding a stoicism book that resonates with me. It recently changed with Donald Robertston’s How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. In this book, Robertson takes us to the time when Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled. Aurelius, the last famous Stoic philosopher, wrote The Meditations, which was his journal. In this journal, we learn how Aurelius went from a young noble at the court of Emperor Hadrian to becoming a Roman emperor. Aurelius’s journal helps us to become more resilient and get through adversity. When reading how Aurelius thought about life, makes you understand that everyone, including a Roman emperor, has struggles. The way to get through these struggles is to embrace the principles of stoicism.
Letters from a Stoic
Seneca was a Stoic who lived during the times of the Roman Empire. His letters, including Letters from a Stoic, are considered some of the best Stoic letters in existence. Letters From A Stoic are Seneca’s views on mastering your emotions, dealing with the setbacks life throws at you, your friendships, and how to be courageous. There are lessons to be learned from all of the Stoics. However, Letters From A Stoic wasn’t my favorite of these books. Other books about stoicism to check out include Meditations: A New Translation, Ego Is the Enemy, Stillness Is the Key, The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living, and The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph.
Meditations: The Annotated Edition
Meditations: The Annotated Edition by author Robin Waterfield is the translation of emperor Marcus Aurelius’ notebooks that are now known as his Meditations. Aurelius’s journal entries pull back the curtain on one of history’s greatest philosophers. While Aurelius is the man when it comes to sharing what he thinks, this book fell short of expectations. I much prefer Meditations: A New Translation. Other philosophy books I enjoyed include The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living, Ego Is the Enemy, Stillness Is the Key, and The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
Self Help
Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within
David Goggins is one of the few human beings who can say they’ve truly conquered their mind. Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within takes you inside Goggins’ Mental Lab where he developed strategies to tap into how to overcome any challenge. This book is raw. You hear about how Goggins and his mother were both abused by his father while they were living in Buffalo. Goggins also shares the difficulties he had in the military through special forces training and missions. In addition, you read about how Goggins fought through the pain to finish some of the most insane ultra-endurance competitions in the world. I came away with a new appreciation for what it means to work hard.
Man’s Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl’s account of his life in Man’s Search for Meaning in the Nazi concentration camps is a topic we should all consider visiting. World War II brought out the worst in some nations. The concentration camps showed the world just how dark the world can be. While I don’t love books that bring me to a dark mental space, Frankl’s book is the exception. Frankl talks about the will to live, survival in dire circumstances, the mental games you play, and the adversity you face when all is lost. I can’t imagine being taken from my home to a concentration camp to then guess whether it was my time for the gas chambers. Day in and day out Frankl found ways to trick his mind until he was finally released.
Parenting
Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be
Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be by Dr. Becky Kennedy shares her philosophy on parenting and provides actionable strategies to become a more confident parent with your kids. Good Inside is now my resource for how to raise my son to set him up for a lifetime of confidence and resilience. Hat tip to Ryan Holiday for recommending this book.
How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calmer, Happier Parent
How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calmer, Happier Parent by Carla Naumburg is another book I enjoyed on my journey to becoming a better parent. Naumburg draws “on evidence-based practices” to deliver an “insight-packed and tip-filled plan for how to stop the parental meltdowns.” The book offers a “pragmatic approach” that helped me feel more empowered to be a role model for my son.
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey is “a groundbreaking manifesto” focusing on the “critical school years when parents must learn to allow their children to experience the disappointment and frustration that occur from life’s inevitable problems so that they can grow up to be successful, resilient, and self-reliant adults.” I am certainly guilty of the modern parenting trap of overprotecting my child. What this book taught me is that my behavior is not giving my child the opportunity to experience failure and solve his problems. The book argues that “overparenting has the potential to ruin a child’s confidence and undermine their education.” Lahey “lays out a blueprint with targeted advice for handling homework, report cards, social dynamics, and sports.” Pair this book with Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd Jessica Lahey, Jessica Lahey on Parenting, Desirable Difficulties, The Gift of Failure, Self-Efficacy, and The Addiction Innoculation, and Ryan and Jessica Lahey Talk Parenting, the Process of Writing, and How to Fail Gracefully.
The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids
The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids by Ryan Holiday provides parenting medications in short form every day of the year. The book draws on lessons from historical figures like Theodore Roosevelt, Bruce Springsteen, Queen Elizabeth II, and Marcus Aurelius,” weaving stories from these figures in a daily devotional format for parents.” Other Holiday books to check out include Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave, Ego Is the Enemy, Stillness Is the Key, and The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph.
Sports
Coach Wooden One-On-One
I’m getting toward the finish line of books written by Coach John Wooden. Each book has been enlightening in its way. In Coach Wooden One-On-One, Coach Wooden teams up with Jay Carty. The book offers 60 daily readings, one page written by John Wooden and the next page written by Jay Carty. Wooden’s pages focus on leadership and life lessons he wants to pass on to the next generation. Carty’s pages are a reflection, scripture, and prayer.
Coach Wooden’s Leadership Game Plan for Success: 12 Lessons for Extraordinary Performance and Personal Excellence
Not only was UCLA basketball coach John Wooden a legendary coach but he was a fantastic writer and teacher. Coach Wooden’s Leadership Game Plan for Success is a hands-on approach to how to use his fundamentals of success as a leader in your domain. Wooden’s principles like “practice moderation in everything that you do,” “remain alert to opportunity,” and create a relationship of respect with those you lead” help me to become a better leader. Other Wooden books to check out include My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey, Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization, A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, and The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership.
My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey
Coach John Wooden’s books, including My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey, offer a behind-the-scenes look into one of the greatest coaches of all time. What is most impressive about each one of these books is how much Wooden is willing to share about his personal life. Much of this book is repetitive if you’ve read Wooden’s other books. However, I’ve found the lessons from his parents, his coaching philosophy, how to treat people, and his Pyramid of Success to be timeless principles that are worth continuing to re-read. Other Wooden books to check out include Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization, and The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership.
Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
One of the many important things legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden taught is Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. This pyramid is his explanation of how to be great by starting with one block at a time. These blocks represent principles that you build on top of one another. You start with the building blocks and work your way up the pyramid. By building a strong foundation, you are setting your life up for success. This pyramid can not only be used in basketball but also in life. Each of us has the opportunity to be great. By learning from the blocks in the pyramid, we can achieve our goals by following a process.
A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring
When you think of Hall of Fame basketball coaches, UCLA coach John Wooden is at the top of the list. In A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, Wooden shows how any person can be a mentor and mentor others. Even someone as decorated as Wooden, who lived into his 90s, still found individuals to be red. Seriously? 90+ years old and you are still wanting mentors. How can we not appreciate someone else? like this. An incredible example of a lifelong learner.
Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization
UCLA Coach John Wooden distills 41 years of coaching in Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization. As a leader in any organization, you can learn from Wooden’s leadership principles. I love how Wooden keeps it simple. It’s also interesting to read about the impact Wooden’s dad had on his leadership style. Learning from the best that the coaching world has to offer is a passion of mine. These coaches have so many lessons to learn from. Whether you’re starting a new company or progressing in your organization, this book can be a helpful guide on your path. Other Wooden books to check out include Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court and The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership.
A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court
Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden shares his philosophy on life in A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court. What’s clear is how important Wooden’s family, particularly his dad, is to him. The lessons Wooden’s dad shared with him helped Wooden to connect with his players. Ultimately, the lessons and lessons learned from other coaches allowed Wooden to become one of the best leaders ever seen in basketball. The ability to get inside the mind of a basketball legend is one of the joys of reading this book. Other Wooden books to check out include Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization and The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership.
More Than a Game
More Than a Game by Phil Jackson looks back on his time as a player and coach and what has evolved in the NBA since he joined the league. This book covers Jackson’s views on his time with the Bulls and Lakers. He also shares the intricacies of the Triangle Offense. Other Jackson books to check out include The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons Of A Harwood Warrior, and Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.
