Espionage Thriller, Psychology, and Biography were the three book categories I tackled in my May reading list. Damn! These are all excellent books. My May reading list included On Target (Gray Man), Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World, and Disney’s Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World. You can’t go wrong with any of these books.
In terms of my favorite book from my May reading list, I’ll give the nod to Disney’s Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World. This book knocked me off my feet. I can’t believe the resolve and drive Walt Disney had to get this park off the ground. Mad props to him and his team. It’s truly remarkable what they accomplished in creating Disney Land. Now, let’s get to the May reading list.
On Target (Gray Man)
On Target (Gray Man) by Mark Greaney is the second book in the Gray Man series. Court Gentry aka the Gray Man is recruited by his old handlers, the CIA, for a hit against the president of Sudan. The majority of the story takes place in Sudan and eastern Africa. Gentry first attempts to kill the president of Sudan for the Russians but is soon lured by the CIA to kidnap the president. This story is wild.
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.
The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World
The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World by Randall E. Stross is the story of the famed inventor Thomas Edison. “Starting with the first public demonstrations of the phonograph in 1878 and extending through the development of incandescent light, a power generation and distribution system to sustain it, and the first motion picture cameras—all achievements more astonishing in their time than we can easily grasp today—Edison’s name became emblematic of all the wonder and promise of the emerging age of technological marvels.” Stross argues that Edison’s greatest invention was his celebrity, which is hard to argue considering how terrible he was at commercializing his inventions. It’s also evident that Edison is not someone to look to as a model of how he treated his children, particularly his sons.
Disney’s Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World
Disney’s Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World by Richard Snow is the story of the creation of the California theme park Disneyland in the 1950s. Walt Disney dreamed of building a modern theme park where visitors “could live among Mickey Mouse and Snow White in a world still powered by steam and fire for a day or a week or (if the visitor is slightly mad) forever.” Even though Disney had wealth and fame, lenders, except for Bank of America, were not lining up to provide financing for the theme park. What’s wild is that Disney financed Disneyland against his insurance policy and with sponsorship from ABC. “With financing in place, Disney assembled a team to make his theme park come to life in a year and a day from when Disney said go. The park’s first day was a disaster but 75+ years later one could argue Disney truly made it the “happiest place on earth.”
