dead in water: Murder and Fraud in the World’s Most Secretive Industry
by Matthew Campbell and Kitschler, Portfolio $27/Atlantic Books £18.99
Attacks on oil tankers in Yemen, unsolved murders and court uncovered fraud and financial hoaxes weave into a thriller-like narrative that sheds light on the global shipping industry and its enablers. Shortlisted for this year’s Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award.
influence empire: The Tencent Story and China’s Tech Ambitions
by Lulu Chen, Hodder and Stoughton £25
A timely exploration of how Tencent, the developer of China’s “universal app” WeChat, rose to prominence, and how its elusive and enigmatic founder Ma Huateng maintained his influence in the highly politicized world of Chinese technology and entrepreneurship. Shortlisted for the 2022 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award.
talent: How to identify motivators, creatives and winners around the world
By Tyler Cowan and Daniel Gross, John Murray £20 / St Martins $14.99
Economist Tyler Cowen and venture capitalist Daniel Gross provide a practical guide to navigating a competitive marketplace for creative and innovative employees, with insights on how recruiters can use tools from interviewing to motivation to ensure they’re on top. Fishing tips for the deepest and most diverse candidate pool.
Power (detection) failed: The Rise and Fall of General Electric
By William D Cohan, Alan Lane £35 / Portfolio $40
William D Cohan delves into the root causes of the rise and recent extraordinary decline of General Electric (GE), once the seemingly indestructible bellwether of America’s industrial and corporate sectors. It’s a heavyweight cautionary tale of how the reputations of onetime corporate titans like Jack Welch have been tarnished by overreach and ambition.
world steward: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Thieves and Criminals
by Oliver Blow, Introduction £20 / St Martin’s Press $28.99
Arguments over how Britain’s post-imperial institutions – banks, law firms, PR firms, schools and universities – rushed to serve the corrupt super-rich, laundering personal names and laundering their dirty money so they could still amplify their fortunes See further.
Book of the Year 2022
Throughout the week, FT contributors and critics have shared their favourites. Some highlights are:
on Monday: Andrew Hill’s Business
Tuesday: Environment at Pilita Clark
Wednesday: The Economics of Martin Wolf
Thursday: A novel by Laura Battle
Friday: The Political Science of Gideon Rachman
Saturday: critic’s choice
the power of regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward
by Daniel H Pink, Canongate £16.99/Riverhead Books $28
Daniel H Pink impressively describes regret as a “negative” of the good life. Based on an extensive survey of regret, his book recasts it as an indispensable emotion that allows us to make up for losses and disappointments, to go back the way we came, and even to try the roads we haven’t taken, as long as we don’t dwell on the past .
nowhere office: Reinventing work and the workplace of the future
by Julia Hobsbawm, Ax £18.99
The pandemic has rapidly brought the future of work closer, raising questions about the status of the traditional office and the behavior of the workers who used to congregate there. This lively primer unabashedly concludes that Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdowns have made permanent and beneficial changes to how and where we work.
The sticking point: How Leaders Become Strategists
by Richard Rumelt, Introduction Book £16.99/PublicAffairs $30
Another straight-talking guide to business strategy, and how to develop and implement it, comes from veteran professor and consultant Richard Rumelt. The “difficulty point” is the hardest part of climbing the boulder, aptly illustrating his point that strategy is not a vague vision but a journey “through, over, and around a series of challenges.”
tell us what you think
What are some of your favorite books from this list — and which ones have we missed?Tell us in the comments below
25 million sparks: The Untold Stories of Refugee Entrepreneurs
By Andrew Leon Hanner, Cambridge University Press £14.99
Killing entrepreneurial momentum takes a lot of hard work. Andrew Leon Hanna found it to thrive in the most challenging circumstances of the refugee community. His initial recounting of the stories of three Syrian women is interspersed with a broader analysis of the scale of the global refugee problem. Book proposal based on the 2018 FT and McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize for Young Business Writers.
redesign work: How to Transform Your Organization and Provide Hybrid Work for Everyone
by Linda Gratton, Penguin Business £14.99 / MIT Press $19.95
Professor and consultant Lynda Gratton looks for real-world examples of how innovative employers, from Fujitsu to HSBC, are creating and managing hybrid and flexible working styles. With unique enthusiasm, she lays out four practical steps to reinvent your business for the imminent future of work.
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