11 Best Books I Read in 2023

It’s almost the end of 2023, and I’m starting a tradition, copied from many others, to write a list of the 11 (not 10) best books I read this year.  This will help organize my thoughts, create a record, and give anyone that reads it recommendations for what to read next.  Here it goes, in no particular order:

The Wager by David Grann:  An unbelievable but true story of a group of British sailors shipwrecked off the coast of Patagonia in 1741.  Based on diaries kept by the various stranded men, the book shows the ingenious way they managed to survive, find food and shelter, create a sort of (very unstable) social hierarchy, and ultimately figure out a way for some of the group to return to England.

The Power Broker by Robert Caro:  After watching Turn Every Page, a documentary about the decades of fruitful collaboration between acclaimed biographer Robert Caro and editor Robert Gottlieb, I needed to see what the fuss was all about. I started with Caro’s classic 1974 biography about Robert Moses, the man who built and basically ran New York in the early 20th century.  The amount of research that went into this book is difficult to fathom, the scope and detail is incredible, and the story of Moses’ rise, fall and impact on New York's development is fascinating.  It’s the platonic ideal of a biography.  One day I’ll tackle Caro's Lyndon Johnson series.

Atomic Habits:  An engaging and practical book that teaches tools for building and sustaining positive habits.  The author’s personal journey is inspiring as well, and the reader will feel energized and empowered not just to add some new years resolutions to their list, but to actually keep them.

Limitless by Jeanna Smialek.  In 2023 we saw rising interest rates, stabilizing inflation and tumult in the banking system, most notably the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.  This book tells the story of the government institution shaping and responding to these events:  The Federal Reserve.  It’s a lively historical account of the Fed since it was created in 1913, originally with a limited scope.  Over the years, as the financial system modernized and occasionally experienced crises, the Fed took on more and more power and responsibility.  Today, the Federal Reserve is one of the most powerful institution in the world, and you’ll learn why and how it happened.

Money Men: A Hot Startup, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth by Dan McCrum.  This page-turner tells the true story of the collapse of Wirecard, one of Europe’s leading fintech companies that turned out to be built on a massive mountain of fraud and fake revenue.  Dan first broke the story with a series of articles in the Financial Times, and it’s an incredible journalistic story too.  It combines one of my favorite book genres – corporate malfeasance, with a favorite topic – financial technology.

Wellness by Nathan Hill.  Although not as strong as his debut novel, The Nix, Wellness is a detailed exploration of a husband-and-wife relationship throughout the years, from their first date until the frustration of parenthood. There is also a sharp social critique of gentrification, over-the-top wellness culture, social media algorithmic polarization in modern day America and much more. This is the only work of fiction on my list, which means I need to read more great literature in 2024. 

Dopamine Nation by Anna Lemke; The Molecule of More by Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Lon; and Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter.  I’m giving these three books one collective blurb because they each cover the same topic:  why we crave and desire things that aren’t actually good for us, and how learning the science can help us make better choices in life. 

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux and Going Infinite:  The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis:  I’m giving these two books one entry, as they also a topic that dominated headlines in 2023:  the realization that cryptocurrency was in large part a vehicle for fraud and scammers.  Zeke’s fun book is a critical look at various players in the crypto ecosystem critically, most notably the people behind Tether, the ubiquitous stablecoin used when dollars are exchanged for cryptocurrencies.  Lewis does the Lewis thing of weaving a gripping and non-judgmental narrative of Sam Bankman Fried and his cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which was one of the world’s most lucrative cryptocurrency exchanges before it emerged that it had lost almost $10 billion in customer funds.  Together, these two books provide an excellent introduction to the shady (under)world of bitcoin and cryptocurrency generally.