Summer’s here! Need a book for the beach?
Edwards & Owens Wealth Management is pleased to offer our 5th annual 2016 Summer Reading List. Compiled from suggestions from clients and staff, the books range in subject from history to business to science, so there is sure to be something for everyone’s interests. Clicking on the book’s title will take you to that page on Amazon.com, with whom we are not affiliated. We hope that you enjoy the list and your summer.
Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell. Most historians regard Winston Churchill as one of the 20th century’s greatest figures, but where would he—and history—be without his loyal, whip-smart wife Clementine? While Churchill has been the subject of innumerable biographies, Clementine is much lesser known. Not anymore. Author Sonia Purnell reveals a woman who, in her devotion to husband and country, played an enormous role in the ultimate success of the Allied effort during World War II.
The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness by Todd Rose - No one wants to be average, but according to author Todd Rose, there’s nothing to worry about—average doesn’t exist. Yet society at almost every level is designed around the idea that there is some vast middle of mediocrity. It shouldn’t be. That critical insight is the premise for The End of Average, which lays out the mathematical flaws in the idea of average and offers three principles of individuality that can lead to a better, more satisfying life.
From Silk to Silicon: The Story of Globalization Through Ten Extraordinary Lives by Jeffrey E. Garten. Globalization may be a uniquely modern term, but it’s been brewing for centuries. Through the stories of ten disparate, sometimes obscure figures in history—from Genghis Khan and Margaret Thatcher to Cyrus Field and Andy Grove—Jeffrey E. Garten traces the roots of a world that once seemed vast but is now as close and connected as any small community.From Silk to Silicon is the story of transcendent change and the lessons civilization’s pioneers provide when they look to the horizon and beyond.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. In Angela Duckworth’s view, the secret to achievement is not talent or genius, but pure persistence, what she calls “grit.” Through interviews with some of the world’s highest achievers to historical anecdotes and insights gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance, Duckworth reveals that the ability to persevere is perhaps the greatest talent of all
Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. With its genre-bending fusion of musical theater, hip hop, R&B and pop, the Broadway sensation Hamilton has electrified theatergoers since it debuted in the fall of 2015. Hamilton: The Revolution is the official account of the inspiration for and making of the show from its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Featuring exclusive stories, photos, interviews and more, as well as the full script and lyrics, the book is an indispensable companion to a show that promises to excite and inspire for years to come.
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Part memoir and part celebration of the wonders of nature, acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren’s autobiographical meditation is an exquisite portrait of science pursued passionately, the meaning of friendship, and how—like the miracle of the plants, trees and flowers Jahren so earnestly details in Lab Girl—life unfolds when it is nurtured in all the right ways.
Map: Exploring the World by Phaidon Editors. The history of cartography is a view of the world coming into focus, a history of discovery, conquest, ingenuity and innovation. Featuring more than 300 maps from around the world, from the Greeks’ first forays into mapmaking to today’s incredible Global Positioning System, Map is a beautifully illustrated and remarkable account of civilization’s noble attempt to make sense of where it is now and where it may be going.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant. The iconoclast-as-innovator idea is well documented. What Adam Grant brings to the conversation in Originals is bountiful evidence that ingenuity is inside all of us. It often takes great courage, but challenging the status quo and changing your world or the world at large is not only the arena of the eccentric—it is available to everyone, every day. Originals finds Grant daring his readers to find the strength to improve the world in their own unique ways
The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time by Arianna Huffington. It’s safe to say you don’t get enough sleep. What you don’t know is just how destructive sleep deprivation can be to your health, happiness, career and relationships. First addressed in her best-selling book, Thrive, Arianna Huffington devotes nearly 400 pages to the science and mystery of sleep and the consequences of not getting enough of it
The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future by Steve Case. Technology has transformed the world, but where it’s going from here is up for debate. Few people are more equipped to answer this question than Steve Case, pioneering entrepreneur and co-founder of AOL. In The Third Wave, Case explores how a new wave of technological innovation will impact our lives, and explains the skills we will need to succeed.
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. From the Emmy, PEN, Peabody, Critics' Choice, and Golden Globe Award-winning creator of the TV show Fargo comes the thriller of the year. On a foggy summer night, eleven people--ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter--depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs--the painter--and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul's family
Food and the City: New York's Professional Chefs, Restaurateurs, Line Cooks, Street Vendors, and Purveyors Talk About What They Do and Why They Do by Ina Yalof. In Food and the City, Ina Yalof takes us on an insider’s journey into New York’s pulsating food scene alongside the men and women who call it home. Dominique Ansel declares what great good fortune led him to make the first cronut. Lenny Berk explains why Woody Allen’s mother would allow only him to slice her lox at Zabar’s. Ghaya Oliveira, who came to New York as a young Tunisian stockbroker, opens up about her hardscrabble yet swift trajectory from dishwasher to executive pastry chef at Daniel. Restaurateur Eddie Schoenfeld describes his journey from Nice Jewish Boy from Brooklyn to New York’s Indisputable Chinese Food Maven.
The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower. America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. In Being Mortal, bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending. Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit