<\/p>\n
T<\/span>here once was a kid who\u2019d proceed A parent said, \u201cReading? I try\u2014 A CEO proudly agreed <\/p>\n Pardon my doggerel, but this year\u2019s annual recommended books bears the message, don\u2019t just read for yourself; read to set a model for others.<\/em>\u00a0 For years, I have argued that reading books is vitally important for one\u2019s own professional development and performance (see \u00a02011<\/a>,\u00a02012<\/a>,\u00a02013<\/a>,\u00a02014<\/a>,\u00a02015<\/a>,\u00a02016<\/a>,\u00a02017<\/a>,\u00a02018<\/a>,\u00a02019<\/a>, \u00a02020<\/a>,\u00a02022<\/a>, 2023<\/a> and 2024<\/a>). \u00a0This year, I want to add that reading books sets a vitally important example<\/strong><\/em> to others\u2014and especially to the rising generations.<\/p>\n Recent research suggests a crisis in reading skills and habits.\u00a0 Reading scores for U.S. K-12 students have fallen for three consecutive years.\u00a0 Recent research finds that 40% of fourth graders and 33% of eighth graders now perform below a basic level in reading; the reading skills of American high school seniors are the lowest in three decades.[ii]<\/a>\u00a0 In all, experts see a \u201cstark decline\u201d in reading performance.[iii]<\/a>\u00a0 Over time, young people are reading less for enjoyment: 17% did so in 2020, down from 27% in 2012, and 35% in 1984.[iv]<\/a>\u00a0 Among adults, reading for pleasure declined by\u00a0 40% between 2003 and 2023 according to a recent study.[v]<\/a>\u00a0 Though the number of public libraries in the U.S. has remained steady over the past 15 years, library visits <\/em>\u00a0have dropped sharply, as have print books on library shelves[vi]<\/a>–this is consistent with the digitization of books and the growth of digital retailing but harkens to the decline of libraries as a cultural nexus for readers.\u00a0 And while the book publishing industry reports growth and recovery after the pandemic, the reality is that growth in revenues in the industry barely kept up with the rate of inflation from 2012 to 2023.[vii]<\/a><\/p>\n There is no shortage of explanations for these trends: rising screen time and digital absorption of attention, the COVID pandemic, the declining quality of K-12 education in the U.S., the breakdown of the nuclear family in the U.S., and so on.\u00a0 But I would add another factor: the decline of a reading culture <\/em>as opposed to cultures of watching (as in sports and entertainment), listening (to podcasts), or playing (videogames and day trading).<\/p>\n One way to understand a culture is by what everyday people chat about.\u00a0 In a culture in which reading matters you will overhear conversation stimulated by the following kinds of questions:<\/p>\n In a reading culture, such conversations are not isolated exchanges among bookish people but are part of the daily \u201csocial lubricant\u201d among employees on a break, parents waiting for the school bus, friends together at drinks and meals, and so on.\u00a0 Talking about books is a currency of social engagement.\u00a0 I recommend making a habit of talking about books\u2014with children (especially reading with them), with family at mealtime, with peers at work, in book clubs, among friends, and so on.<\/p>\n My message to you this year is to contribute to the growth of the culture of reading around you.\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t alarmed by trends in reading, you aren\u2019t paying attention.\u00a0 Get with it.\u00a0 As I have argued in previous posts, you must lead from where you are.\u00a0 Prompt the people around you to talk about what they are reading and how they have valued it (see my six questions above).<\/p>\n In that spirit, I share here recommendations of the best books among the 66 I read in the past 12 months.\u00a0 The 2025 list spans business, leadership, economic history, politics, science, the arts, and what I call \u201cguilty pleasures\u201d (mysteries and adventure tales).<\/p>\n Find a time and a place that you like to read\u2014preferably quiet, comfortable, with an appropriate beverage at hand (coffee, tea, or something stronger).\u00a0 Settle in and browse what I\u2019ve been reading \u2014 or any of the other \u201cbest books\u201d lists in circulation these days (for instance, see this<\/a>, that<\/a>, and another<\/a>).\u00a0 Pick something that seems (a) interesting, (b) fun, and (c) possibly relevant to your life or work.\u00a0 Give the book at least 30 minutes a day for the next five days\u2014this helps to make reading a habit.\u00a0 If the book grabs your attention, then plow on and finish it; if not, set it aside and pick up another book.\u00a0 When you finish a book, always get going on another soon.\u00a0 I often pick successors based on themes or interests sparked by one of the books I recently finished.<\/p>\n \ud83e\udded Business and Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick McGee, Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/strong>McGee traces how Apple\u2019s fortunes became entwined with China\u2019s industrial rise\u2014its supply chains, political compromises, and moral complexities.\u00a0 I was impressed by McGee\u2019s great depth of research and reporting and <\/em>by the message that aggressive technology transfer can have competitive and geopolitical consequences.\u00a0 Very well written.<\/p>\n \u201cA penetrating portrait of the Faustian bargain between Silicon Valley and Beijing.\u201d \u2014 Financial Times<\/em> David Cottrell & Julie Baldwin, Monday Morning Leadership: 8 Mentoring Sessions You Can\u2019t Afford to Miss.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/strong>This is a brief fable of a manager transformed through eight candid mentoring conversations. It distills leadership wisdom into simple, actionable habits.\u00a0 I have shared this book to good effect both with mentees who needed some idea of what mentoring is about and with mentors who were looking for an example of good mentoring.<\/p>\n \u201cSimple, direct, and enduringly useful.\u201d \u2014 Publishers Weekly<\/em> Steve Magness, Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness.<\/em><\/strong> What determines who succeeds and who fails under stressful conditions?\u00a0 Magness challenges the reader that the old cult of \u201cgrit\u201d (sheer determination and hard work) is not the only answer to tough challenges.\u00a0 He harnesses new research to argue that resilience stems from self-awareness, calm, and adaptability under stress.\u00a0 Friends and mentees have found it very helpful.<\/p>\n \u201cReplaces old-school toughness with evidence-based wisdom.\u201d \u2014 The New York Times<\/em> Stanley McChrystal, Character: The Ultimate Challenge for Leaders.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 <\/em>This retired four-star general gives four-star insights into the nature of leadership.\u00a0 He argues for the importance of purpose and moral grounding rather than perfect style or the paradigm du jour as the basis for effective leadership.\u00a0 The insights are peppered with anecdotes from his career.\u00a0 It is well-written with brief chapters easily absorbed by a busy reader.<\/p>\n \u201cBattlefield clarity applied to timeless virtue.\u201d \u2014 The Wall Street Journal<\/em> \ud83d\udcb0 Business and Economic History<\/strong><\/p>\n Jon Moen & Mary Tone Rodgers, Before the Fed: J.P. Morgan, America\u2019s Lender of Last Resort<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/strong>This book offers exceptional insights into investment banking and the growth of the global financial sector in the 19th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 The authors draw on previously neglected archives and use novel research techniques to discern the immense impact of J.P, Morgan\u2019s personal authority in stabilizing financial conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cA meticulous reconstruction of pre-Fed crisis management.\u201d \u2014 EH.Net<\/em> Andrew Ross Sorkin, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History\u2014And How It Shattered a Nation.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 We are approaching the centennial of the Great Crash and are bound to hear a great deal about it in the next three years.\u00a0 Andrew Ross Sorkin (the Dealbook <\/em>columnist for The New York Times<\/em>) has timed the release of this book perfectly to meet popular interest.\u00a0 I have studied the Great Crash in some detail and written about it<\/a>, as have many others[viii]<\/a>. \u00a0I wondered what might be left to add.\u00a0 The answer is that Sorkin taps previously undisclosed archives to reinterpret the events with the on-the-ground perspective of key players.\u00a0 He also carries the narrative past the crash itself to1933, the nadir of the Great Depression\u2014and he argues that the crash did not cause the depression, though it probably accelerated it.\u00a0 Sorkin\u2019s profiles of Carter Glass (U.S. Senator and promoter of the Glass-Steagall Act), Thomas Lamont (head of J.P. Morgan & Co.) and \u201cSunshine Charlie\u201d Mitchell (head of National City Bank) illustrates a lesson often forgotten in the politics and economics of financial crises–that human agency (good or bad) has a big impact on the outbreak, dynamics, and consequences of crises.<\/p>\n \u201cA gripping reexamination of the original financial meltdown.\u201d \u2014 Kirkus Reviews<\/em> Ross King, The Bookseller of Florence<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0 How did the rebirth (the Renaissance) of Western Civilization unfold?\u00a0 It was a process of the rediscovery and dissemination of Roman humanism and classical Greek philosophy, the impact of which radically transformed fields as different as architecture, medicine, politics, literature, fine arts, finance, accounting, warfare, and engineering.\u00a0 When modern pundits talk about revolutions and social transformations, it is useful to get grounded in the mother of all social transformations, the Renaissance.\u00a0 Central to the process of rediscovery and dissemination were a small number of \u201cconnectors\u201d who facilitated the translation, copying by hand (and printing), and distribution of books.\u00a0 Ross King presents a portrait of one of these connectors, Vespasiano da Bisticci (1421-1498), the bookseller of Florence.\u00a0 More than a biography of Vespasiano, this book is an engaging \u201cbiography\u201d of the early Renaissance.<\/p>\n \u201cEvokes a world where manuscripts were as coveted as masterpieces.\u201d \u2014 The Guardian<\/em> Christopher Hibbert, The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 The Medici family\u2014a.k.a. the House of Medici–was an iconic example of this transformation during the Renaissance.\u00a0 A powerful banking and political dynasty, it is remembered as one of the most impactful in European history.\u00a0 Not only did the House of Medici finance rulers, Popes, and their armies through its merchant bank, it also promoted international trade, financed the arts and the book trade, ruled Florence and other city-states, and advanced humanist ideas about government and diplomacy.<\/p>\n \u201cAs irresistible as a Florentine fresco.\u201d \u2014 Times Literary Supplement<\/em> Jill Eicher, Mellon vs. Churchill: The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 One of the most important debates in economic policy during the 20th<\/sup> Century was between advocates of austerity and advocates of credit expansion after World War I and up to mid-1930s.\u00a0 U.S. Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon advocated austerity and economic isolationism.\u00a0 Winston Churchill, Britain\u2019s Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1924 to 1929, advocated American forgiveness of Britain\u2019s war debts to America, extension of credits to rebuild Europe, and the rejection of isolationism.\u00a0 Churchill failed to sway Mellon and .\u00a0 Consequently America\u2019s economic and foreign policies contributed to the onset of the Great Depression.\u00a0 The book is well-written and a fine complement to Liaquat Ahamed\u2019s The Lords of Finance<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cA thrilling study in contrasting economic philosophies.\u201d \u2014 Financial History Review<\/em> \ud83c\udfdb\ufe0f Politics and the Political Life<\/strong><\/p>\n Jake Tapper & Alex Thompson, Original Sin: President Biden\u2019s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/em>The stunning denouement to Biden\u2019s presidency will be fodder for many writers to come.\u00a0 Tapper and Thompson were first out of the gate and bring to bear their years as senior journalists covering the White House and Washington politics.\u00a0 They document the decline in Biden\u2019s energy, cognitive acuity, and judgment during the latter part of his first term as president\u2014as well as the role of White House staff and administration officials in covering up Biden\u2019s condition.\u00a0 The \u201cOriginal Sin\u201d of the book\u2019s title refers to Biden\u2019s decision to run again.\u00a0 I commend this book to senior executives in all kinds of organizations: business, not-for-profit, government, military, religious etc. as a cautionary warning to assess the fitness of leaders and to plan for succession well in advance of the inevitable consequence of aging.<\/p>\n \u201cUnsparing and deeply reported.\u201d \u2014 The Atlantic<\/em> Margaret A. Hogan & C. James Taylor, eds., My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 In the history of the U.S. presidency, rarely have we seen a partnership that is both emotional and intellectual between the President and First Lady\u2014a marriage of equals.\u00a0 John Adams served as the second President, was among the original revolutionaries in the conflict with Britain, and ranks today among the \u201cFounding Fathers\u201d of the U.S.\u00a0 The voices in these letters portray extraordinary intellect and purpose during America\u2019s founding years.<\/p>\n \u201cAn indispensable human window on the American Revolution.\u201d \u2014 Library Journal<\/em> Kate Loveman, The Strange History of Samuel Pepys\u2019s Diary.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Diaries yield insights into motivations and behavior of key figures in history.\u00a0 Sometimes, they reveal more than the writers imagined.\u00a0 A prime example is the diary of this mid-level government bureaucrat in England\u2019s naval administration.\u00a0 The contents and history of Samuel Pepys\u2019s (pronounced \u201cpeeps\u201d) diary give an unvarnished look into the politics and the mores of London society in the late 17th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Loveman\u2019s book tells how a private diary survived, scandalized, and became one of the cornerstones of English literature.\u00a0 Provocative and at times hilarious, Pepys\u2019s diary remains one of the icons of political memoir.<\/p>\n \u201cA detective story of literary survival.\u201d \u2014 The Times (London)<\/em> \ud83c\udf0c Science<\/strong><\/p>\n Kelsey Johnson, Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Universe.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Astronomy has been a neglected hobby of mine for years\u2014these days I at least follow the planets across the night-time sky in their annual cycle.\u00a0 Astronomy piqued my interest in cosmology, <\/em>the study of the origins and development of the universe.\u00a0 It is a field of inquiry that is dense with mathematical models, particle physics, and arresting discoveries from observational astronomy.\u00a0 Over the past few decades, I dipped into various books but remained unsatisfied with what they had to tell.\u00a0 That is, until I read this one: it opened my eyes (rather, my mind) to the incredible expanse of explanations for the beginning of the universe and planet Earth, and the implications of inflation of the universe.\u00a0 She explains in some detail the physical properties of the universe and the infinitesimally small probability that these probabilities would align in the way they do.\u00a0 New instruments and observational techniques have added greatly to our understanding, though much remains a mystery.\u00a0 UVA astronomer Kelsey Johnson invites us into the wonder of the cosmos and bids us to approach it with humility as we embrace the mysteries of the Big Bang, black holes, dark matter, and dark energy.\u00a0 The book is written at the level of a college course, so the reader should prepare to slog through some scientific models and concepts.\u00a0 I slogged and still loved the clear and readable writing.\u00a0 I recommend it highly.<\/p>\n \u201cLyrical and lucid\u2014a reminder that wonder is the start of understanding.\u201d \u2014 Science News<\/em> \ud83c\udfb6 Culture and the Arts<\/strong><\/p>\n Charles King, Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel\u2019s Messiah.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cThe work of music we now call Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em> has a good claim to being the greatest piece of participatory art ever created\u2026a piece of music that people not only admire or enjoy but in which they also report finding something like truth\u2014intimate, magnetic, awesome,\u201d claims Charles King.\u00a0 At this time of year, new recordings, public broadcasts, and live concerts of the Messiah <\/em>abound.\u00a0 I have heard this work countless times and have wondered about its origins.\u00a0 This book carried me back to the 18th<\/sup> century to slake my curiosity.\u00a0 We learn from it the story of collaboration between a composer (Georg Friedrich Handel) and librettist (Charles Jennens) that produced this masterpiece\u2014and we also learn how a major artistic creation can be a child of its time.\u00a0 Charles King details the very challenging decades in which Handel and Jennens lived and worked.\u00a0 Thus, the book is a case study in the origins of a creative masterpiece.<\/p>\n \u201cTurns a familiar score into a revelation of empathy and endurance.\u201d \u2014 The Economist<\/em> Christopher Booker, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 In reading Robert Shiller\u2019s Narrative Economics<\/em>, (a very good discussion of missing elements in mainstream economics and a book that I recommended here previously), I ran across Shiller\u2019s commendation of The Seven Basic Plots<\/em>.\u00a0 Can all of literature be reduced to seven plots?\u00a0 If so, what are they?\u00a0 And why does a typology of plots matter to our understanding of literature\u2014and even economics?\u00a0 Booker suggests all stories are derivatives of these basic models: (1) overcoming the monster, (2) rags to riches, (3) the quest, (4) voyage and return, (5) comedy, (6) tragedy, and (7) rebirth.\u00a0 This is an interpretive framework for understanding stories and draws on a very large range of examples.\u00a0 Booker explores why readers are inclined to resonate with such categories and draws on psychological and evolutionary theories to explain that archetypes help us understand the world.\u00a0 This book changed the way I think about fiction by lending a framework for comparing stories and assessing how well stories resolve the tensions they create.\u00a0 I recommend it highly.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most ambitious works of literary theory ever written.\u201d \u2014 The Spectator<\/em> Joseph Epstein, Essays in Biography.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 I have followed Epstein\u2019s essays and op-eds for years\u2014he is a sharp critic with the gift of a rich and urbane writing style.\u00a0 This book collects 39 mini-biographies of political figures, entertainers, sports champions, writers, actors, and composers.\u00a0 Virtually no one escapes his sharp wit and incisive judgment. \u00a0The brief sendups are both entertaining and bound to stimulate reflections about excellence in public and private life. \u00a0Thus, this book is a refreshing riposte to biographical profiles published in mass media.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica\u2019s most civilized essayist.\u201d \u2014 The Washington Post<\/em> \ud83d\udd2a Guilty Pleasures: mainly mysteries<\/strong><\/p>\n Lee Child, novels.<\/strong>\u00a0 Child\u2019s gripping mysteries about Jack Reacher (a wandering veteran who fights injustice whenever he encounters it) continue to populate my bedside table.\u00a0 The books typically feature a long, tension-filled buildup followed by an explosive conclusion.\u00a0 Of 41 Reacher novels on the market, I have finished 11 of them.\u00a0 They are hard to put down once started\u2014I slowly dole out the Reacher mysteries so that I have time for other books.\u00a0 From this year, I commend:<\/p>\n \u201cThe last honorable drifter in modern fiction.\u201d \u2014 The Guardian<\/em> Anthony Hope, The Prisoner of Zenda.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 I first read this 1894 novel as a pre-teen and enjoyed it.\u00a0 But recently I stumbled on a copy of the book in a hotel lobby and got hooked again.\u00a0 The story involves two young men who are distant relatives but remarkable look-alikes.\u00a0 One is the new King of the country of Ruritania.\u00a0 The other is a young British tourist.\u00a0 A planned coup d\u2019etat tries to replace the king with his evil half-brother\u2014but the young Brit steps in to thwart the plot, save the real king, and leave everyone (but the evil brother) happy ever after.\u00a0 A good yarn.<\/p>\n \u201cPure escapism, perfectly rendered.\u201d \u2014 The New Yorker<\/em> Bill Clinton and James Patterson, The First Gentleman<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em>\u00a0 Clinton and Patterson teamed up to produce three political thrillers, all centered on the White House.\u00a0 In this (the third in the series) the President is running for reelection when her husband is framed for murder.\u00a0 Courtroom drama, revelations by investigative journalists, and the exposure of a conspiracy by the president\u2019s chief of staff make a fast-paced story.\u00a0 The book benefits from Clinton\u2019s former proximity to the inner workings of the presidency.<\/p>\n \u201ca twisty thriller with plenty of inside jobs, political sabotage and many, many deaths.\u201d\u2015USA Today<\/em><\/p>\n Quote: <\/strong>\u201cThe American people put me here and trusted me\u2014as they did all of you\u2014not to play petty politics with every issue but to do big things.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2728 Coda<\/strong><\/p>\n The limericks remind us that reading books is not a solo venture; it is a community venture. \u00a0Happy reading\u2014and may 2026 bring your reading example to others!<\/em><\/p>\n [i]<\/a> From my prompts with help from ChatGPT-5.<\/p>\n [ii]<\/a> National Assessment Governing Board, \u201cThe 2024 Nation\u2019s Report Card,\u201d https:\/\/www.nagb.gov\/powered-by-naep\/the-2024-nations-report-card.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n [iii]<\/a> Dana Goldstein, \u201cReading Skills of 12th<\/sup> Graders Hit a New Low,\u201d September 9, 2025, The New York Times<\/em>, https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/09\/us\/12th-grade-reading-skills-low-naep.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n [iv]<\/a> Beth McMurtrie, \u201cIs This the End of Reading?\u00a0 Students are coming to college less able and less willing to read.\u00a0 Professors are stymied.\u201d The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em>, May 9, 2024 https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/is-this-the-end-of-reading<\/a>.<\/p>\n [v]<\/a> Jessica K. Bone et alia, September 19, 2025, \u201cThe decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey,\u201d iScience,<\/em> 28(9), https:\/\/www.cell.com\/iscience\/fulltext\/S2589-0042(25)01549-4<\/a>.<\/p>\n [vi]<\/a> Tim Coates, June 28, 2024, \u201cThe Quiet Crisis Facing U.S. Public Libraries,\u201d Publishers Weekly, <\/em>https:\/\/www.publishersweekly.com\/pw\/by-topic\/industry-news\/libraries\/article\/95383-the-quiet-crisis-facing-u-s-public-libraries.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n [vii]<\/a> U.S. book publishers\u2019 revenues grew at a compound average annual rate of 2.1% from 2012 to 2013.\u00a0 Over the same period, the U.S. gross domestic product price deflator grew 2.2%.\u00a0 See Tom Corson-Knowles, \u201cReport on the Changing Landscape of U.S. Book Sales from 2000-2024 and How Authors and Publishers Can Adjust,\u201d https:\/\/www.tckpublishing.com\/report-us-book-sales\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nTo ask why the grown-ups don\u2019t read.
\n\u201cWhen they stare at a phone,
\nThat becomes what I\u2019ve known\u2014
\nSo why should I follow their lead?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nBut the day always seems to fly by.\u201d
\nYet the kid in his care
\nSaw him scroll everywhere,
\nAnd learned books were just things adults buy.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThat leadership grows from a read.
\nBut the staff in his shop
\nSaw his book habits drop,
\nAnd wondered whose lead they should heed.[i]<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cThe iPhone is a miracle of design\u2014and a monument to the contradictions of global capitalism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cYou can\u2019t lead a team you don\u2019t serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cReal toughness is about responding, not reacting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cReputation is what others think of you; character is what you think of yourself when no one\u2019s watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cWhen everyone else lost their nerve, Morgan lent his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cThe enduring lesson is not that booms can be prevented or that busts can be fully averted.\u00a0 It is that we need to remember how easily we forget.\u00a0 The antidote to irrational exuberance is not regulation by itself, nor skepticism, but humility\u2014the humility to know that no system is foolproof, no market fully rational, and no generation exempt.\u00a0 The greater the heights of our certainty, the longer and harder we fall.\u201d[ix]<\/a><\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cIn the age before printing, a library was an act of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cIn Florence, money bought beauty\u2014and sometimes salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cBetween austerity and ambition lies the soul of policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cThe tragedy of politics is not ambition\u2014it\u2019s self-deception.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote (John Adams):<\/strong> \u201cPosterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote (Pepys):<\/strong> \u201cStrange to see how a good dinner and wine make all things possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cgiven that we are sentient fluctuations of the universe, trying to understand the universe ultimately gives us insight into who we really are and what we could be.\u00a0 Ignoring the cosmos feels a lot like not living up to our potential.\u201d (p. 347)<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cIn line after line of song, the Messiah\u2019s<\/em> main message still comes through: a key to living better is practicing how to believe more.\u00a0 The cynics are wrong, but so, too, are the na\u00efve optimists, a point that Jennens emphasized over and over again in his selection of scriptures.\u00a0 There is no sorrow like this sorrow, no heaviness like the one that only we can know.\u00a0 Darkness really does sometimes cover the face of the earth, and we are all, in our ways, astray.\u00a0 But the route out of despair, he concluded, lay on the pathway toward it.\u201d (p. 157)<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cAll stories are really one story\u2014the struggle to become whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cA biographer\u2019s greatest temptation is not empathy\u2014it\u2019s envy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\nQuote (Reacher):<\/strong> \u201cHope for the best. Plan for the worst. The rest is just luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nQuote:<\/strong> \u201cFate doesn\u2019t ask your permission before adventure begins.\u201d<\/p>\n