Books read in 2004
"Faithful" by Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King (Fall, 2004). Pleasant baseball diary/journal by two diehard Red Sox fans who got lucky with the 2004 season. Enjoyable. Makes one miss baseball in midwinter. Recommended for baseball fans.
"Fairmark Guide to the Roth IRA" by Kaye A. Thomas (Summer, 2004). Short (230 pages), "plain language" guide to Roth IRAs. Little new here, but a useful roundup of wrinkles associated with Roth IRAs. Recommended, but basic.
"Millionaire Women Next Door" by Thomas J. Stanley (Summer, 2004). Written by a co-author of "The Millionaire Next Door," this book focuses on women millionaires and adds little to the earlier book. Two surprising pieces of information: (1) women millionaires give significantly more to "noble causes" than men in the same financial position, (2) perhaps more than men, women millionaires live in modest houses (average purchase price, $243,000 despite wealth in the $3-$4 million range). The basic lesson (to acquire wealth, live below your means) is reinforced repeatedly. Read "Millionaire Next Door" before/instead of this book.
"The Colombo Bay" by Richard Pollak (Summer, 2004). Straightforward, non-fiction account of a voyage westbound from Hong Kong to NYC through the Suez Canal by the containership "Colombo Bay" of the British line "P&O Nedlloyd." Appropriately filled out with statistics (container traffic numbers), anecdotes, historical references, and current events, including the unguarded state of ports worldwide. (Containers are not inspected on arrival). The author's voyage started two days after 9/11, which initially looms over the book but recedes as time passes. Partly a travel book. Enjoyable. Recommended.
"The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger (Spring, 2004). Effective inside look at NYC fashion industry from viewpoint of a recent Ivy League graduate who serves as personal assistant to an Anna Wintour-like editor of an imaginary magazine modeled after Vogue. It is regrettable that any person would have to tolerate the abuse the author was subjected to. (The author is one year older than my elder daughter, who also worked in fashion industry in NYC.) Too long but an easy read. Insightful. Recommended.
"Plan of Attack" by Bob Woodward (Spring, 2004). More a long newspaper article than a thoughtful analysis but readable (6 days). Less of a portrait of White House decision and policy making under Bush than Clarke and O'Neill books below and less thoughtful about foreign policy than Soros book. In a sense, depiction of Bush is misleading. Yes, he is decisive but there is no examination of depth of his analysis, if any. For example, he did not ask Sec. of State Powell or Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld for recommendation on whether to invade Iraq. Why not? For insight into Bush as a leader, read O'Neill and Clarke. Unchallenged as a current account of personalities and intrigues of current administration's top players (for example, Cheney and Powell dislike each other). Not recommended but educational.
"Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E.J. Kaufmann, and America's Most Extraordinary House" by Franklin Toker (Winter and Spring, 2004). Took more than 3 months to read. Everything you want to know about Fallingwater and too much more. I persevered because I like architecture but others should not. Kaufmann is underappreciated as a patron of residential and other architecture--two of his architects (Wright and Neutra) were on cover of Time magazine for two of his homes (Fallingwater and Palm Springs residence). Makes one want to visit Wright's buildings and homes nationwide and, of course, Fallingwater.
"Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer (Spring, 2004, Turkey). This book was a Christmas present and I read it based on my daughter's recommendation. It skewers the Mormon faith and examines Mormon fundamentalists and mainstream Mormonism. Krakauer has good insight into the fine line between a religious experience and madness. 33% too long but a good read. It would be shocking to someone not already familiar with America's fastest growing religion. Recommended but optional.
"The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill" by Ron Suskind (Spring, 2004, Turkey). O'Neill's portrait of Bush is devastating. He describes a cardboard President not intelligent or educated enough to preside over or encourage an honest broker discussion of alternative courses of action. All significant meetings with Bush were scripted and accomplished nothing. Helen Thomas, the former AP White House correspondent, described Bush early as "the worst President in history." This book supports her conclusion without drawing explicit conclusions. The absence of "process" in the White House, the disclosure of Dick Cheney as the power behind Bush and the power of Rove and other politicos, and the inadequacy of Bush as a leader or person were surprises. Third book in a row dealing with neo-conservatives in the White House. Highly recommended.
"The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power" by George Soros (Spring, 2004, Turkey). This is a small book, but well worth reading. Soros, too, focuses on neo-conservatives. He rightly describes 9-11 as a criminal action requiring detective work, not a retaliatory war against whoever the President chooses to pursue. Thoughtful, educational, not from an American perspective. Recommended.
"Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" by Richard A. Clarke (Spring, 2004, Turkey). Got lucky with this book, as I had read no reviews. It is a fast-paced, interesting account of Clarke's tenure as an anti-terrorism official under Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II. Clinton comes off best; Bush II worst. This book introduces neo-conservatives in the White House (Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz) and their agenda (invade Iraq, then Iran; nothing about al Qaeda). I disagree with some of Clarke's proposed remedies to fight terrorism; the cure seems worse than the disease. Recommended.
"The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home" by George Howe Colt (Winter, 2004). Nominated for a 2003 National Book Award for Nonfiction, this book traces the life of an 8000 sq.ft. summer home at Wings Neck on Cape Cod built by Ned Atkinson, who for years paid more income tax than any other resident of Massachusetts. It is a history of the Cape, the Atkinsons and Colts, and the author's modern family. With surprising candor, it describes family foibles and struggles while capturing the wonder of summers on the Cape. The Big House is lost due to property taxes and high maintenance costs -- not surprising for a century old house habitable only five months of the year. Just the right length. Highly recommended. Perhaps best written book of the year.
"Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Investor's Road Trip" by Jim Rogers. (Winter, 2004). A decade ago, Rogers, a famous (retired) Wall Street investor, rode a BMW motorcycle solo for 100,000 miles around the world. I am a fan of the resulting book, "Investment Biker." For 3 years, from 1999 through 2001, Rogers and the woman he married mid-trip, Paige Parker, drove a custom Mercedes convertible and trailer 155,000 around the world. I enjoyed this book as much as its predecessor. It provides a needed update to what the author found ten years ago. I agree with Roger's approach to investing (he is quoted at familymutualfunds.com). When published in May, 2003, Rogers predicted a severely depreciating dollar and rising commodity prices. He is down on countries currently in vogue (like India--a bureaucratic mess, he writes) and bullish on only a few countries (notably China). As always, he is worth reading and listening to.
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