It appears that beach weather has finally decided to arrive; so for just a few moments the MacRo Report blog will once again take a break from Commercial Real Estate musings. 

Last year I shared my healthy addiction to audio books and, in particular, Audible.com, an Amazon business that offers an enormous selection of terrific reads … or “listens” if one wishes to be precise about it. 

Of course, there is nothing like finding a comfortable spot in the house or in the outdoors to enjoy a good book, but even for us older guys, there never seems to be enough time to devour all the knowledge and creativity within the volumes of paper neatly arranged on all those bookshelves.

But it is amazing to me how much spare time I have found while getting work done around the house and yard, hiking or on the road.  There is so much to learn from what others have to share.

This past year, American history continued to be a dominant theme of my readings, but real life and fictional overseas intrigue also grabbed my attention as well.  A friend recommended I read a particular book or two on the theme of science, technology and the future of mankind, and wow … mind-blowing stuff is on our horizon! We happened to travel to Alaska and New Zealand over the last 12 months … so yes, had to do some pre-trip background reading. And being a political junkie, yes, I had to satisfy my appetite with a bit of behind the 2016 presidential campaign scenes reading.

So, here’s my top forty list of books I’ve enjoyed:

American History:

• The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For, By: David McCullough
• The Wright Brothers, By: David McCullough
• Brave Companions: Portraits in History, By: David McCullough
• The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride, By: Daniel James Brown
• Sea of Glory: America’s Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition 1838-1842, By: Nathaniel Philbrick
• Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations, By: John Avlon
• Written Out of History: The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government, By: Mike Lee
• Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr, By: Nancy Isenberg
• Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America, By: Walter R. Borneman
• Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle That Shaped America’s Destiny, By: Brian Kilmeade, Don Yaeger
• The Suppressed History of America: The Murder of Meriwether Lewis and the Mysterious Discoveries of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, By: Paul Schrag, Xaviant Haze
• Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower’s Final Mission, By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney

Real Life and Fictional Overseas Intrigue

• Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder and One Man’s Fight for Justice, By: Bill Browder
• Red Sparrow: A Novel, By: Jason Matthews
• Palace of Treason: The Red Sparrow Trilogy, Book 2, By: Jason Matthews
• The Kremlin’s Candidate: The Red Sparrow Trilogy, Book 3, By: Jason Matthews
• Putin’s Gambit: A Novel, By: Lou Dobbs, James O. Born
• A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel, By: Anthony Marra
• Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? By: Graham Allison
• A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order, By: Richard Haass
• Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, By: Michael V. Hayden
• Call for the Dead: A George Smiley Novel, By: John le Carré
• A Murder of Quality: A George Smiley Novel, By: John le Carré

Science, Technology and The Future of Mankind

• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, By: Yuval Noah Harari
• Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, By: Yuval Noah Harari
• A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution, By: Jennifer A. Doudna, Samuel H. Sternberg
• Thinking, Fast and Slow, By: Daniel Kahneman

Alaska and New Zealand

• Alaska: A Novel, By: James A. Michener
• Alaskan Retreater’s Notebook: One Man’s Journey into the Alaskan Wilderness, By: Ray Ordorica
• Denali’s Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America’s Wildest Peak, By: Andy Hall
• Pakeha Maori: The Extraordinary Story of the Europeans Who Lived as Maori in Early New Zealand, By: Trevor Bentley
• Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, By: Joan Druett

National Politics

• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, By: Barack Obama
• Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals, By: Saul D. Alinsky
• Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House, By: Donna Brazile
• Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History, By: Katy Tur
• 41: A Portrait of My Father, By: George W. Bush
• Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign, By: Jonathan Allen, Amie Parnes

Good Random Reads

• The Whistler, By: John Grisham
• The Man in the High Castle, By: Philip K. Dick

Enjoy your summer!