Pender’s 12 Days of Holiday Reading is back!
This year, we have a bevy of brainy books for everyone on your list. Our Investment Team is pleased to share the books that inspired them in 2024 and will provide insights for them in 2025. It’s an eclectic line up of topics, from AI (natch) to global business mavericks to intelligent living on Earth and beyond. Read them and reap.
Let’s get started…
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What is the book about?
What is the book about?The book is a powerful and thought-provoking analysis on the history of information and how it has shaped and influenced our society. It studies how societies and their leaders have wielded information to achieve their means. With AI quickly replacing information networks, the book discusses the importance of this shift and the threat it presents to humanity.
Why do you recommend it?
Harari is one of the most remarkable historians of our generation with the ability to take a complex concept and distil it into an engaging and captivating story. As one of my favourite non-fiction writers, I’m always left asking more questions after reading his books or hearing him speak.
Favourite quote?
“Silicon chips can create spies that never sleep, financiers that never forget and despots that never die.”
What is the book about?
The book explores the evolution of the internet and how its structure has changed over time. It highlights the shift from Web 1.0 (read-only) to Web 2.0 (read-write), and finally, to Web 3.0 (read-write-own). The book delves into how Web 3.0, empowered by blockchain technology, introduces a decentralized model where users can truly own digital assets and data, contrasting it with today’s Web 2.0 centralized platforms.
Why do you recommend it?
The book offers an analysis of the evolution of the internet, helping readers better understand where it’s headed and why it matters. It breaks down complex concepts of Web 3.0 and blockchain technology in an accessible way, making it ideal for those who are eager to grasp the implications of decentralization on society, economy and personal digital rights. It provides insights into how this new paradigm empowers individuals by allowing them to own and control their digital presence, assets and data and contrasts this with the centralized control in today’s digital landscape. For anyone interested in the future of technology, innovation and the intersection of tech and human autonomy, this book offers thought-provoking perspectives and actionable knowledge.
Favourite quote?
“Hobbies are what the smartest people spend time on when they aren’t constrained by near-term financial goals. I like to say that what the smartest people do on weekends is what everyone else will do during the week in ten years.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?The book explores how governments and institutions often oversimplify complex societies to make them ‘legible’ for governance. This can lead to unintended consequences. In the tradition of thinkers like Jane Jacobs and Karl Polyani, the author shines a light on the importance of context, adaptability and local knowledge in decision-making.
Why do you recommend it?
The book provides a fascinating lens on the development of the nation state and bureaucratic culture, both of which are foundations of modern society. This offers an interesting resonance in the current political climate. It’s also thought-provoking in the context of startups which often leverage ‘difficult to read’ habits and local facts to drive innovation and company building.
Favourite quote?
“Local knowledge is not merely a quaint, archaic form of folklore, it is indispensable for any project of social engineering that hopes to succeed.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?The book discusses how small and unimportant Earth is compared to the huge universe. It also explains why exploring space is important for the survival of humans and encourages working together to understand science and to secure a peaceful and sustainable future for all.
Why do you recommend it?
Given the global uncertainty we are facing today, this book discusses how important it is for people to work together and be united. For those of us who work in the financial world, the book broadens our perspective on global priorities and long-term investments. The book combines captivating storytelling with deep insights. Sagan’s clear and beautiful writing makes complex science easy to understand and exciting for every reader.
Favourite quote?
“There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?The book explores how ego—defined as an inflated sense of self-importance—can hinder personal growth, success, and even damage relationships. Holiday suggest that it is often the biggest obstacle to achieving greatness and maintaining success. By understanding and learning how to manage our ego, we can stay focused on learning and improving, rather than seeking constant validation.
Why do you recommend it?
The book is a great reminder that self-awareness and humility are essential for lasting success. It’s that real greatness comes from inner discipline, hard work, and a commitment to personal growth, rather than from seeking approval or admiration from others. Holiday encourages us to redefine success, not as a race for status or recognition but as a journey of self-mastery and purpose.
Favourite quote?
“Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?The book provides a detailed look at Argentina’s debt restructuring involving a dramatic court battle spanning 2005-2016.
Why do you recommend it?
It’s an interesting story about the intricacies of a sovereign debt restructuring which can arise given the lack of bankruptcy protection available to insolvent nations. The book provides a clear account of a complex drama involving the IMF, various national leaders, and several hold-out investors. It’s a fascinating read for those interested in international law, finance, and the path to potential recoveries when a nation defaults.
Favourite quote?
Judge Thomas Griesa, who presided over the lawsuits, said, “The facts of life are this…we do not have a normal situation.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?This is a beautifully told memoir by Russia’s greatest 21st century opposition political leader. Navalny, who died recently, endured unbelievable personal hardship, including surviving an assassination attempt by nerve agent and brutal imprisonment. His story is one of great personal sacrifice in the service of others and of a democratic ideal he valued more than his own life.
Why do you recommend it?
It is easy in life to become wound up in our own small discomforts and misfortunes. “Patriot” challenges its reader to contrast these minor grievances with Navalny’s extreme sacrifices. As investors, we may believe we possess large “risk appetites”. Let us observe risk appetite of enormous proportion. If it is inspiration that you seek, look no further than Navalny’s story.
What is your favourite quote from the book?
“The only moments in our lives that count for anything are those when we do the right thing, when we don’t have to look down at the table but can raise our heads and look each other in the eye. Nothing else matters.”
What is the book about:
What is the book about:Written by the president of Microsoft, the book explores the opposing roles technology has in modern society. Smith offers readers a rare view on how Microsoft has navigated some of the most chaotic events in the company’s history, and how these events have shaped it’s ever-evolving strategies around ethics, privacy and security.
Why do you recommend it?
Regardless of your personal beliefs on Microsoft, you cannot diminish the influential role the company has on the world stage when it comes to how big tech integrates into society. Smith does an excellent job recounting pivotal moments in the company’s history and how learnings from these have been incorporated into the fabric of its operations and government relations.
Favourite quote?
“The need for balance and space for nuance when it comes to how government and Big Tech interconnect.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?The book provides a chronological series of Amazon shareholder letters dating back to 1997. Bezos discusses other key topics that were and remain important to Amazon, such as maintaining a culture that tolerates risk-taking and innovation (often the big winners will more than cover the many failures), and staying true to the principle of customer centricity.
Why do you recommend it?
Bezos highlights the importance of staying true to long-term thinking, developing an organizational culture that embraces risk-taking and how to think about the cycle of new innovations which is particularly important today.
Favourite quote?
“When I’m eighty, I want to have minimized the number of regrets that I have in my life, and most of our regrets are acts of omissions, things we didn’t try, the path untraveled. Those are the things that haunt us.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about? This book is an oldie (1966) but goodie and was recommended to me by a friend. “Wiped Out” tells the true story of an investing enthusiast who initially does well but then makes mistake after mistake and loses it all. They manage to avoid total financial ruin in the nick of time and come away from the harrowing experience with hard-earned lessons on prudent investing, including risk management. In an ironic twist, the author wrote the book to earn some money after their investments failed!
Why do you recommend it?
“Wiped Out” is a primer on what not to do as an investor. It looks at both the pros and cons of being an individual investor with a key weakness being a lack of buy and sell discipline. Because the author choose anonymity, they are fully transparent about the experience and how it felt to win and then lose in market speculation.
Favourite quote?
“It may seem easy to make money in the stock market; it is certainly easy to lose it.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?The book tells the story of the shale revolution. It is the true story of a group of audacious entrepreneurs who ignored the naysayers and pursued unconventional shale plays that the oil and gas majors dismissed. In the pursuit of oil and gas, these entrepreneurs changed both the industry and the world.
Why do you recommend it?
The Frackers demonstrates the power of contrarian thinking. It also serves as an excellent example of the tolerance for high risk often required to drive industry-wide change. It is one of the most important stories of the last several decades, in my view, given the impact of fracking on U.S. energy independence, geopolitics, the economy, and on the environment.
Favourite quote?
“Some of Mitchell’s troops resisted this method of stimulating the rock, which they didn’t think could work. Mitchell listened and acknowledged the doubts, but he pushed forward. ‘Let’s fracture it anyway,’ he told them. Mitchell was determined to be the first to extract serious amounts of natural gas from shale and to do it before his existing fields ran out of gas, scoring a potentially historic windfall and shocking the industry in the process.”
What is the book about?
What is the book about?Most people know Patrick Lencioni from his book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” (also a must-read). Inspired by his own journey and written in a narrative style, Lencioni presents a framework of how people can thrive in their work environments. He presents distinct “genius types”: wonder, invention, discernment, galvanizing, enablement, and tenacity. These types reflect the natural strengths people bring to collaborative efforts. Each person typically exhibits two primary genius types, one or two areas of competence, and one or two areas of frustration.
Why do you recommend it?
The book is for any leaders who want to maximize productivity and growth. By understanding and leveraging this model, a team can better match the work to a person’s strengths, thus fostering better productivity and less burnout. There is a diagnostic tool included, which helps readers identify their strengths and areas of frustration, offering immediate application both personally and for teams.
Favourite Quote?
“When human beings are fully alive at work, whether they are a founder, the CEO, or the most recent hire, they are much more likely to contribute to an organization’s health, and to help it avoid the perils of dysfunction.”
What is the book about?
Chip War is an excellent history of the evolution of the semi-conductor industry and its geopolitical ties. It’s highly relevant with today’s military and trade tensions, particularly between the US and China.
Why do you recommend it?
It’s a wonderfully easy read, well written with lots of great stories about the people who have built the industry and features many familiar technology giants / industry players. Knowing the background on how the industry developed gives you the context for where we find ourselves today. Knowing that background can be very useful. As an investor geared towards technology, understanding this history of integrated circuit and semi-conductors is critical to formulating opinions on where technology may be going in the next 5-10 years as we look for the next great companies to emerge as potential small-cap portfolio holdings.
Favourite quote?
“World War II was decided by steel and aluminum, and followed shortly thereafter by the Cold War, which was defined by atomic weapons. The rivalry between the United States and China may well be determined by computing power.”
