My Books of 2021

2021 turned out to be a year of poor reading in terms of numbers, going by standards of previous years. I think there was a lethargy as a result of the pandemic that came over me. I don’t think its an isolated case though as I have seen some other people slack over the same period. Like last year, everything was an audiobook. That makes almost impossible to read local authors. I try as much as possible to read a wide array of topics and not just the international geopolitics which I am generally interested in. Below is my 2021 list:

1. Fault Lines — Raghuram Rajan — quite a number of things stood out for me especially when thinking about it from the Nigerian perspective.
2. 1984 — George Orwell — for a book written in 1948, it shows the level of brilliance of the author. His ability to create a new language is really good and it’s quite surprising the book has not been turned into a blockbuster movie all these years.
3. The Room where it happened — John Bolton — it’s quite amazing how much these guys knew how bad Trump was but they kept on. They had a little option anyway. He was the one that was elected president. Bolton is a real hawk and it’s pretty good he’s out of any influential office. While he is right to criticize Obama’s foreign policy record which actually wasn’t very good given the outcome in Libya he too didn’t do well in Venezuela and Iran. Neither had regime change but rather had more emboldened leaders. And given the outcome in Libya where regime change without the presence of a credible opposition endeared to the people taking over scattered the country, there is all certainty that a similar outcome, though not as catastrophic could have happened in Venezuela or Iran.
4. Rage — Robert Woodward — Probably the last book about the Trump Presidency I will read. The topic is tiring and the conclusion is the same as in all previous books. The man was a disaster. So it is mind blogging that he still has a hold on the Republican Party and may likely run in 2024. Saner climes may not be so sane after all.
5. Running Blind — Lee Child — A well written book with the traditional twists that Child brings to writing. The motive at the end however didn’t seem good enough to warrant the amount of deaths in the story.
6. Long Walk to Freedom — Nelson Mandela — Throughout the reading of this book, the thoughts of the current happenings in Hong Kong with their democracy activists always crept into mind. Mandela was a great man and his perseverance helped him achieve the equality and democracy he yearned for in South Africa. In my opinion, South Africa didn’t offer the world so much (trade and assets) making it easier to get them to change. Hong Kong with its vibrant stock market may be a different ballgame as pro democracy nations may not want to rock the boat (unless of course a hot head sits in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue).
7. Outliers — Malcolm Gladwell — I’ve always been an admirer of the 10,000 hours rule (not like I practice it). The main point of the book is pretty important. Certain chance events happen in life that put the outliers in a position to excel beyond the regular folk. Of course one has to be prepared to take up opportunities when they come. Great book.
8. The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 — Garrett Graff — This book was essentially 9/11 in horror mode. Having been alive when it happened (I recall watching live CNN on some of the worst internet I’ve ever used) and now hearing the stories of survivors and relatives and some actual recordings on the day (if you read the audiobook), you can’t be too surprised at the direction of US foreign policy after the event.
9. Echo Burning — Lee Child — Another good Reacher book. The secondary protagonist was crazy though. Would do anything to get what she wanted.
10. 1917: War, Peace, and Revolution — David Stevenson — So many very significant world events happened at this time (the fall of the Tzar, the entry of the US into WW1 after such heavy reluctance). A good book on International geopolitics and history. If the Germans didn’t insist on sinking ships irrespective of nationality, the course of the war may have been different. The Communists didn’t take over after the Tzar, the course of the world may have been different.
11. The Communists Manifesto — Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx — 1917 and the rise of Lenin was the draw to read this book. There are quite a number of the concepts I have issues with but one that stood out for me is the assumption that when the workers take power, they will not behave like the kings from which they took it. It underestimates the toxicity of power. The first major application of communism in the world (Lenin-Stalin) proves this.
12. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century — Yuval Noah Harari- Dude is crazy but I love his work. Almost always presents a clear thought process to his arguments based on available science. This is one is essentially “the machines are coming. Your beliefs are fictional. Try Vipassana meditation”.
13. A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind — Stephen Mitford Goodson 3rd Edition — This reads like a classic propaganda text ridden with conspiracy theories. It accuses the Rothschild family of seeking to enslave the world by introducing interest into loans (so one day everyone cant pay and they own everything), starting wars around the world to destroy governments that promote state led banking eg Russia in WW1 and Germany in WW2. I think a lot is left out in terms of the bad behaviour of some actors. The argument is the bad behaviour is a response to a covert provocation which the media doesn’t see or deliberately ignores to send a certain narrative. It doesn’t help that the Rothschilds page on Wikipedia is full of men with banker as their occupation. But really, what are the chances that one family will have so much control for so long without producing a weak link that would have messed things up?
14. Elon Musk; Tesla, SpaceX, And The Quest For A Fantastic Future — Ashlee Vance — Elon is a freaking genius. His dreams are out of this world. Whats most shocking are the predictions made of him as at the writing of the book and the actual outcomes today. This is one book I will recommend for anyone pursuing an engineering degree. You get to understand what the best in the trade seek, how they think and what types of things are possible (frankly everything is possible. Time, money and skills are the key determinants).
15. Without Fail — Lee Child — It reads like a typical investigative action flick. Very decent book.
16. Persuader — Lee Child — This book has the best start of all the Reacher books I’ve read. Would be a blast if properly made into a movie.
17. Dreams of my Father — Barack Obama — Another book (his first) that shows how good a writer and narrator he is. It borders on his growing up and trip to Kenya before politics took over his life. A great read.
18. The Audacity of Hope — Barack Obama — Quite a low compared to DomF. A this-is-what-I-stand-for memoir. This reads like a manifesto towards the end. Still a good book.
19. The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream — David M. Rubenstein — This provides some context to how several people from different walks of life have achieved the American Dream. Listening to how people “made it” in the States makes one think about the several challenges in this clime that we have to go through. A serious case of “this life no balance”.

Best book: Elon Musk and Tesla — the guy is a raging genius.
Worst book: A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind — a propaganda fest.
A book to read again: Probably Elon Musk as this is my second time of reading Outliers.
Best fiction: Persuader — the action at the opening was quite adrenaline pumping and the book maintained a decent adrenaline level throughout .

Sadly, I read no book focused on Nigeria despite buying a few such as Formation and Salafism in Nigeria.

In 2022, I shall make no commitments to the number of books to take on and any specific direction. I will see where the wind takes me.