I read a hundred or so books this year in my quest to better understand our complicated and turbulent world
I is James Stavridis a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a retired US Navy admiral, former supreme allied commander of NATO, and vice chairman of global affairs at the Carlyle Group.
Three stood out.
The first is 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How it Shattered a Nation by New York Times business columnist and Squawk Box host Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Much as in his previous book — Too Big To Fail, a gripping description of the global recession of 2008-2009 — it is a character-driven, front-row seat to an epic economic and geopolitical crisis, and a warning of what might be ahead.
In the roaring 1920s, people could easily buy stocks on margin and “the market only went up.” The streets of New York were full of newly minted millionaires flaunting their wealth. The nation had shaken off the effects of a global pandemic and was full of “animal spirits” and financial exuberance. A stock market at record highs? Post-pandemic animal spirits? Inclination to tariffs and isolation? Frankly, it all sounds kind of familiar.
The second powerful book is a biography.
Joseph Torigian’s The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping - who went from top roles in the Chinese Communist Party to persecution and imprisonment.
Provides both a fascinating account of its troubled subject and the origin story of his son, “the most powerful man in the world.”
Americans spend too much time trying to analyze Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is not that complicated — in essence, a mid-level KGB spymaster — and too little time understanding the deep psychological waters in which Xi swims.
Finally, there is Hotel Ukraine. Martin Cruz Smith wrote 11 novels about a complicated and skeptical Moscow detective, Arkady Renko, beginning with Gorky Park in 1981.
Finally, speaking of books, I did a podcast
recently with Shilo Brooks as part of his Old School series. It was my favorite interview of the year because we talked mostly about how literature can influence the world.
James Stavridis Bloomberg December 28, 2025
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