Favorite Books of 2019

Previously: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

This year I read 112 books. You can view them on Goodreads. Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz.

Why did I fall short of the 131 books I read in 2016 or the 135 I read in 2015? Three reasons… Firstly, for scheduling reasons, I'm blogging this a month early like last year. Secondly, the number of books I read is a counter indicator of my productivity, and I had a whole mess of work deadlines this year. And finally, podcasts… There are so, so many good podcasts to listen to…

Regardless, I read some incredible books this year. Without further ado, here are my...

Top 10 Favorite Books Read in 2019

1) Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. Both entertaining and compelling. It's almost a companion piece to Matt Ridley's Rational Optimist that made my top ten list last year. Pinker attributes all the global progress we are experiencing to the enlightenment, while Ridley attributes human progress to trade. Both books are filled with statistics on how virtually all global trends are positive; from life-expectancy, to health, to safety, to wealth, to quality of life. Whether you live in the first world or the third world, we are living in an age of incredible advancement.

2) Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. An excellent read. It's the true story of Elisabeth Holmes, who created the billion-dollar healthcare company Theranos, despite not having a working product.

3) The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence. Truly wonderful. In my opinion, the book has even more color and depth than the movie it inspired: Lawrence of Arabia. From the brutal assaults Lawrence endured at the hands of the Ottomans, to his debilitating dysentery, to his crises of conscience in his often manipulative role in geopolitics, the book is a fascinating adventure and a window into a past that is forever gone. It is wild to learn that modern Arab nationalism is an idea originally sparked by an Englishman, serving British interests.

4) The Evolution of Everything by Matt Ridley. He is just a delightful writer. Free markets seem to give rise to endless invention and creativity. There is so much good news about humanity that never makes the headlines.

5) The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley. Wonderful. This is the book that spawned the action hero, and eventually inspired the creation of Batman. McCulley crafts a story that is pitch-perfect from start to finish. Such an immense pleasure. Sword fights, honor, passion, and swashbuckling fun.

6) The Warburgs by Ron Chernow. Chernow is always top-notch. This book is a fascinating and thorough history of a very successful Jewish banking family in Hamburg leading up to World War II. The talented members of this family became wealthy financiers, art patrons, and even helped design the American Federal Reserve banking system. Chernow gives a vivid account of how difficult it was for Jews to flee Nazi Germany, even as they could see Germany heading into chaos and terror. A very detailed portrait of a bygone era.

7) 1453 by Roger Crowley. A wonderfully evocative account of Mehmet the Conquorer taking Constantinople by siege at age 21, desecrating the priceless art of the city, and brutalizing the population. I loved the intricate description of the Hungarian blacksmith forging the 27-foot cannon necessary to destroy the famous walls of Constantinople — immense walls that had stood for a millennium. Emperor Constantine and his general, Giustiniani, fought well and just might have been able to save the city but for the mistakes of a few bad employees.

8) Endurance by Alfred Lansing. One of the best books I've ever read. It's an extraordinarily well-researched and well-written account of Ernest Shackleton’s incredible journey of survival on the South Pole between 1914 and 1917. The men stayed alive by eating their own sled dogs. If you think you're ever having a rough day, just read a chapter of this book.

9) The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris. In one bold stroke, Sam Harris — in my opinion — makes more progress in the field of moral realism than A.J. Ayer, G.E. Moore, and every logical positivist of modern philosophy. Harris takes on moral relativism. He makes the point that just because science doesn't yet have a complete theory of health doesn't mean that no pursuit of medicine is worthwhile; similarly, in the past century, humanity has clearly made moral progress in virtually every measurable way despite not having complete answers to moral philosophy. By every available metric, crime is plummeting across the globe as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are on the march. Once morality is defined as that which promotes the well-being and flourishing of conscious creatures, morality becomes measurable and evidence of its progress is ubiquitous.

10) Red Platoon by Clinton Romesha. Hands down one of the best military books I've ever read and probably my favorite book this year, next to Endurance. I may have to reread this book again next year. Romesha describes his experiences in the devastating Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan. He does an incredible job of setting the scene, fleshing out the characters, and explaining the intricacies and realities of battle. This is a jaw-dropping read.