World War II, pandemics, and finance were the three books themes from this month’s best books on Amazon list. The Splendid and the Vile was my favorite book out of these three. Author Erik Larson knows how to tell a story. In 
Flash Boys was my second favorite book from this month’s best books on Amazon list. Author Michael Lewis is one of my favorite authors so I’ll read any book that he writes. In Flash Boys, he turns an otherwise mundane topic, high-frequency trading, into a page-turner that most people would enjoy.
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Best Books on Amazon
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
Winston Churchill stepped into a firestorm on his first day as prime minister. Hiter was on a warpath and London received an endless bombing campaign that lasted 12 months. Between Churchill’s time spent in his prime-ministerial home in Chequers, his wartime retreat in Ditchley, and political meeting at 10 Downing Street, it’s insane how he kept Britain together. With a combination of convincing Franklkin Rosevelt to have the Americans join as allies plus Germany’s ambitions to take over Russia, England preserved the bombing campaign with the allies coming out on top. For more books by Erik Larson, check out The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America. World War II books to consider reading include The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War, and Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies.
Recommend: Yes
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
The 1918 Spanish Flu is estimated to have killed 100 million people worldwide. Think about that. Nearly a third of the US population died in a pandemic. That puts the COVID-19 pandemic into perspective. Author John Barry tells the story of the 1918 Spanish Flu in The Great Influenza. What started as a lethal virus in an army camp in Kansas during World War I erupted into a pandemic. As troops moved east, so did the virus. Similar to COVID-19, misinformation and a lack of presidential leadership mean there was no way to contain the disease. Another book about pandemics to read is The Premonition: A Pandemic Story.
Recommend: No
Flash Boys
I know, I know. High-frequency trading isn’t a book topic many people get excited about. However, Flash Boys is so well-written that it’s worth reading. Michael Lewis tells the story about how a group of Wall Street vigilantes set to create fairness in a rigged market. High-frequency traders could jump ahead of investors’ orders, inflate a stock’s price, and then unload said stock to investors. As Lewis always does, he finds the characters that make this story. Other finance books I enjoyed include Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World, Liar’s Poker, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, and Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World. Michael Lewis’s books to check out include The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, The Fifth Risk, and Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.
Recommend: Yes
Conclusion on the Best Books on Amazon
Reading is a skill that I’ve continued to work on by focusing on books that pique my interest at the time. Hopefully, my best books on the Amazon list include books you’ll find interesting and enjoy too.
Which books on Amazon did you read last month? What books do you recommend? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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