Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to you all! Typically at the beginning of the summer, I will post a short list of interesting books that you might pop into a backpack for summer vacations. This time of year, I try to highlight a few books that might make excellent stocking stuffers this Christmas.

While I publish full lists of what I have been reading (Q1’s version, Q2’s version, Q3’s version), this is a curated list that should be of broad interest to nearly any reader.

Note – All links are Amazon Affiliate Links

1. Fortune’s Children – The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt by Arthur T Vanderbilt II – Fascinating look at the rise and fall of the Vanderbilt clan.
2. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker – A must read about how best to design and structure any and all meetings.
3. Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking Fantastic book by Roger Martin – I wrote a longer blog post on this book here
4. With Winning in Mind – This book is short and fantastic. For anyone looking to level up in any field of endeavor, this book is a must read.
5. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – A lot of wisdom here
6. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford – I knew very little about the Monguls. This book was fascinating.
7. Richer, Wiser, Happier by William Green – Green does an excellent job of distilling the thought and character habits of top investors into something thought provoking and actionable.  Excellent
8. Atomic Habits – James Clear – I have read the vast majority of the ‘habit’ books out – there is a reason why this one is so popular. James Clear does an excellent job of blending theoretical and pragmatic. It is easy to read and highly actionable. Gave a copy to my wife, who does not read a lot of nonfiction, and she enjoyed it too.
9. Management Lessons from The Mayo Clinic – Leonard Berry. I got on a bit of a Leonard Berry rabbit trail this year. Berry, a professor at Texas A&M, has written a ton about service businesses. The Mayo Clinic book is a fascinating look behind the currents of how the world renowned institution delivers its patient experience.
10. The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources by Bias and Farchy – This was fascinating about a piece of the capital markets that has spent far too long in the dark.